My friend, D, had just undergone lasik procedure and I couldn't have possibly imagined if I were her. Fortunately, my eyes have always been good. I can see pretty normally in the day, I just need to wear my glasses at night, when driving, or when I'm outside, basically my vision at night is not as good as in the daytime. While she is okay now, I decided to make her a get-well-soon cake on last Saturday to make her fell better since it wasn't so busy that Saturday afternoon either. Other than that, I was also planning on make a mini or individual cake for my friend L whose birthday falls today on Monday. Just for fun, or maybe because I have been craving some cake for a while, I was also planning on making Indonesian cheese roll cake, so much planning in one day, eh? I always try to make my Saturday really productive and try to make as many baking done as possible as this is the only day I can do this. But little did I know that something unexpected or unplanned could be happening.
When I was preheating my oven to bake my roll cake, I smell something funny coming from the oven. It turned out that there is an acetate sheet in the corner of my oven and it has been transformed to a gooey liquidy mess. Since the temperature of the oven is ready, and the batter was also ready, I had no choice other than just sticking the pan inside the oven and hope that the melted acetate doesn't get worse. I worried so much and I became impatient of the baking time. I guess the cake wasn't completely done when I took it out because when I attempted to roll it, it breaks. Frustrated, I just cut the broken sheet of roll cake using 3" cake ring to make two individual cakes for D and L, killing two birds with one shot :). Plus, I think they will love it more if it's Indonesian cheese layer cake instead of some sort of French/American cake (trust me, it never gets old in my circle of friends :D)
So, after cleaning up the oven by removing the base of it and trying to get the melted acetate off completely, I began to decorate the individual cakes. Ever since I owned
Peggy Porschen's book a while ago, I immediately fell in love with her design for her stripy cake. It was so beautiful and neatly done. I've been trying to find the perfect occasion for more than a year to replicate it, but it's either than the occasion was never suited this kind of design, or I that I didn't have the confidence to make it, until last weekend.
What I didn't know is that decorating mini cakes is a lot more difficult than decorating a big cake, at least for me. I think it took me longer to finish these two mini cakes compared to decorating a 6" or 8" cake. The fondant is harder to smooth out on the edges since the surface area is smaller, etc. Peggy uses royal icing to pipe the lines, but I decided to use fondant instead, knowing that I wouldn't be able to pipe that straight of a line. This was also the perfect time for me to try out the clay gun I have been having for a few months now.
In the end, it turned out okay, I was pretty pleased, although the stripe could have been closer, that's my only regret. I put each cake inside a mini white box with window on top and most importantly, D and L were so happy to receive it, and that's the most important thing :). I still want to make probably an 6" version next time and this time, I'll be sure to put the stripe closer together :).
13 comments:
Pretty! What's a cheese layer cake? Is it cream cheese or real (like cheddar) cheese?
I think they look terrific!
I have difficuly with PP's work too. She must have a VERY steady hand. Your roses are lovely though! :)
It's very beautiful !!!
Thanks everyone!
Janice: Indonesian cheese cake is layers of Indonesian sponge (regular sponge with LOTS of yolks and butter, very little flour), buttercream, and shredded cheese. It's not cheddar cheese, it's processed cheese that taste really creamy and slightly sweet. I guess it's a nostalgic thing :)
What a lovely cake. I think it looks perfect.
Thank you cie! It looks so pretty, I almost don't want to eat it :)
Hi! I love your pink stripy cake! It's so gorgeous. I don't have time to knead and roll fondant, so I was wondering what kind of icing I can use to pipe the stripes. All of the icings I have made in the past come out too runny and would not hold its shape when piped. Do you have any icing recipes you can share with me? Thanks!
Hi Christine: thanks! the best icing to use if you don't want to use fondant is royal icing. In fact, Peggy used royal icing to pipe her cake, but you will need a really steady hand to make it straight. That's why I preferred fondant :). But yeah, you can use RI and you can make it as thick or as thin as you like. let me know if you're not familiar with RI, then I can share what I know with you :)
Hi Bertha,
Thanks for the reply! I have never worked with royal icing before, but I did a quick google search and found some recipes to start with. However, some website mentioned that it will dry hard? Is there a way to keep the icing stiff, but not completely hardened (so it won't be like chewing crunchy candy)? Do you have a preferred recipe for royal icing? Thanks so much! :)
Yes, RI will harden once it's set, no matter what recipe you use. Unfortunately, I think it is the best icing for piping. buttercream will not have the same consistency. You won't feel like chewing a crunchy candy, it will melt once it's in your mouth. Plus, with RI, you won't have to worry that the decor would be ruin because someone accidentally touch it because it will be dry.
I just order this book after seeing your mini cakes. Where can I buy the mini cake pan for this?..thanks
Hi Passion Delight, I didn't use mini cake pan for this. I simply bake the cake in rectangular pan (or square) and cut it with 3" cake ring or you can use cookie cutter too. Then, stack them, fill and frost with buttercream. Have fun with your new book :)
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