PASTEL WATERCOLOUR DRIP CAKE

by Koo-Kee in Cooking > Cake

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PASTEL WATERCOLOUR DRIP CAKE

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I have wanted to try a couple of new techniques out for a while now and the perfect opportunity presented itself on my (recent) last birthday.

This is a red velvet cake with dark chocolate ganache frosting, swiss meringue buttercream, white chocolate drizzle and decorated with meringue kisses and chocolate shards.

The cakes should be made the day before decorating and refrigerated overnight. The meringue kisses may be made the day before decorating to save time.

This was the first time I have decorated a cake using the watercolour frosting technique and also my first attempt at using the drip technique and making chocolate shards and meringue kisses...overall I'm really happy with how it turned out...if I can make this cake, anyone can!

RED VELVET CAKES

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INGREDIENTS

  • 2 x Duncan Hines Red Velvet packet mix
  • 1 x Large egg
  • 2/3 cup vegetable oil
  • Water
  • Cooking oil spray

TOOLS

  • Stand mixer (or hand held electric mixer)
  • 2 x 8" round cake tins
  • Baking (parchment) paper

METHOD

  • Lightly spray each tin with oil and line bottom and sides with baking paper).
  • Make cake mix according to packet instructions one day before decorating.
  • Cool completely, wrap well in plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

MERINGUE KISSES

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INGREDIENTS

  • 2 large egg whites
  • 1/2 cups castor sugar
  • Choice of food colouring (I used peach & pink)

TOOLS

  • Baking (parchment) paper
  • Baking trays (cookie sheets)
  • Piping bags
  • Pastry nozzles (1 x large plain nozzle and 1 x large star nozzle)
  • Mixing bowls (to mix various colours if using a variety)

METHOD

  • Pre-heat oven to 90 degrees celsius
  • Separate egg whites and yolks and place egg whites in the bowl of a stand mixer (for best results use a stainless steel bowl and ensure the bowl is clean and dry to for whites to whip sufficiently).
  • Beat on medium high until whites become thick and frothy.
  • Add one tablespoon of caster sugar at a time, ensuring each tablespoon is fully incorporated and dissolved in the egg whites.
  • Continue beating until the mixture becomes very thick and glossy with stiff peaks forming when the beaters/whisk is removed from the mixture.
  • The mixture should be smooth, not grainy when rubbed between thumb and forefinger.
  • Place the mixture into bowls and colour with your choice of food colouring.
  • Fit piping bag with a large plain or star nozzle and use a tall glass to hold the bag upright by folding the top of the bag over the lip of the glass.
  • Line baking trays/cookie sheets with baking (parchment) paper (place a small amount of meringue at each corner to hold the baking paper in place and prevent movement when piping).
  • Spoon mixture into the piping bag, hold nozzle approx 2cm from baking paper and squeeze small amount of meringue onto baking paper, quickly pulling up to create point
  • Place in oven and bake for approximately 2 hours, turn oven off and cool meringues completely in the oven.
  • Place meringues into an airtight container and keep until ready to decorate.

CHOCOLATE GANACHE

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INGREDIENTS

  • 250g good quality dark chocolate - chopped into small pieces
  • 125ml whipping cream

TOOLS

  • Medium bowl
  • Small saucepan
  • Spatula

METHOD

  • Place chocolate into a medium bowl.
  • Heat cream in small saucepan until very hot (be careful not to bring to boil or cream will split).
  • Pour hot cream over chocolate and leave for 5 minutes.
  • Using a spatula, stir the cream and chocolate mixture until smooth, thick and glossy.
  • Place mixture to one side until ready to use (do not refrigerate).

SWISS MERINGUE BUTTERCREAM

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INGREDIENTS

  • 2.5 cups castor sugar
  • 10 large egg whites
  • 900g unsalted butter at room temperature cut into pieces
  • Choice of food colouring (I used blue, peach, green, pink & yellow)

TOOLS

  • Heat proof bowl
  • Medium saucepan
  • Stand mixer (or hand held electric mixer)
  • Tablespoons
  • Mixing bowls - one for each colour

METHOD

  • Place approx 3cm of water in saucepan and heat until gently simmering.
  • Place sugar and eggs in a large heat-proof glass bowl.
  • Sit glass bowl on top of saucepan and whisk until sugar has dissolved and egg whites are quite hot to touch.
  • Transfer mixture into the bowl (large) of a stand mixer (can also be done with a hand mixer).
  • Using whisk attachment, beat on high speed until mixture has cooled completely and formed stiff , glossy peaks (up to 10 minutes).
  • Add butter, one piece at a time and beat until incorporated after each addition.
  • If buttercream separates, keep beating and it will come back together.
  • If using only one colour, add to bowl and beat until well incorporated.
  • If using more than one colour, split buttercream between bowls and colour as required.
  • Place to one side, at room temperature, until required.

CHOCOLATE SHARDS

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INGREDIENTS

  • Nestle white chocolate melts
  • Rainbow pearls
  • Decorating sugar
  • Edible glitter

TOOLS

  • Offset spatula
  • Small ceramic bowl
  • Tablespoon
  • Baking (parchment) paper
  • Heart shaped cookie cutter
  • Small bull clips

METHOD

  • Place chocolate in small ceramic bowl and microwave in short bursts (10 - 20 seconds depending on the power of microwave) until completely melted, smooth and runny consistency.
  • Spoon one tablespoon of chocolate onto baking paper and using the offset spatula, fan chocolate across baking paper to the desired shape with a thickness of approximately 2mm.
  • Decorate with decorating sugar/pearls/edible glitter while still wet to ensure the decorations stick to the chocolate.
  • Create wave effect by pinching one end of baking paper and clipping together with bull clip (you will need to work quickly here as the chocolate will start to set).
  • To make a heart shaped shard, spread melted chocolate thinly onto baking paper, wait a few minutes until partially set and then press cookie cutter into chocolate to form shape.
  • Once partially set, place in refrigerator to set completely.
  • Gently remove chocolate from the baking paper and set aside until ready to decorate the cake.

WHITE CHOCOLATE GANACHE DRIZZLE

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**DO NOT MAKE DRIZZLE UNTIL CAKE HAS BEEN CONSTRUCTED AND FROSTED**

INGREDIENTS

  • 250g good quality white chocolate
  • 125ml whipping cream
  • Food colouring (I used peach)

TOOLS

  • Medium bowl
  • Small saucepan
  • Spatula

METHOD

  • Place chocolate into a medium bowl.
  • Heat cream in small saucepan until very hot (be careful not to bring to boil or cream will split).
  • Pour hot cream over chocolate and leave for 5 minutes.
  • Using the spatula, stir the cream and chocolate mixture until smooth and glossy.
  • Consistency should be runny...USE IMMEDIATELY.

CAKE CONSTRUCTION

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TOOLS

  • 2 x wooden skewers
  • 1 x 8.5" round cake board
  • Cake decorating turntable
  • Tablespoons
  • Teaspoons
  • Offset spatula
  • 30cm plastic ruler
  • Small mixing bowls (one for each color of buttercream)
  • Cake display cake or stand

STEP 1

  • When ready to decorate, place one cake on decorating turntable and insert both wooden skewers through the center of cake.
  • The skewers will act as a guide and will help you to evenly split each of the cakes in half.
  • Using the serrated knife, split each cake in half and remove skewers.

STEP 2

  • Place a small amount of buttercream on the turntable and place the 8" cake board on top (the buttercream will stop the cake board from moving around when decorating).
  • Place another small amount of buttercream on top of the cake board (this will stop the cakes from moving while decorating).
  • Place the first layer of cake on the cake board and press down gently, make sure the cake is centered on the cake board, there should be approximately 1/4 inch of board showing around the base of cake (this will act as a guide to evenly frost the cake).

STEP 3

  • Spoon 1/4 of dark chocolate ganache on top of the first cake layer and spread evenly to a thickness of 1/2 inch. Don't spread all the way to the edge as it will ooze out when you add additional layers, try to spread to 1/4 inch from the edge of the cake.
  • Place the next layer of cake on top of ganache and press down gently. Slowly spin the turntable to ensure all layers of the cake line up evenly.
  • Add the additional layers of ganache and cake.
  • Make sure the last cake layer added is the bottom half of one of the cakes and place it upside down so that the top of the cake has nice clean lines and is even on top.

STEP 4

  • Apply a thin layer of buttercream for the crumb coat and refrigerate the cake (on the turntable) for 30 minutes, this will allow you to frost the cake without getting crumbs in the frosting.
  • Split the remaining buttercream into bowls and color with your choice of colours (add a little color at a time and build up to the desired shade)

STEP 5

  • Remove turntable and cake from refrigerator and place on a clean even surface with plenty of space for your bowls of buttercream.
  • Place one heaped tablespoon of buttercream on the cake (it should be nice and thick). Repeat with the same color at random intervals on the cake.
  • Repeat this technique until the whole cake has been covered with dollops of colored buttercream (again, this should be nice and thick all the way around).

STEP 6

  • Place the ruler so that it is vertical to the cake.
  • Butt the ruler against the bottom of the cake board and slowly turn the turntable, holding the ruler steady, to scrape away excess buttercream.
  • Continue turning the turntable, holding the ruler steady against the bottom of the cake board to remove excess (you will need to scrape the excess of the ruler into a bowl from time to time).
  • You will start to see the frosting create the watercolor effect.
  • Continue turning and scraping the sides of the cake until even and straight.
  • Fix any air bubbles or gaps with extra dollops of buttercream (if there is a gap in a pink spot, use pink buttercream to fix etc.) and then continue to scrape to remove the excess buttercream.
  • This technique is very forgiving so just keep turning and scraping until you are happy with the effect.
  • Smooth additional buttercream on top of the cake and smooth out to create sharp edges all around the top of the cake.
  • Place cake (and turntable) back in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

STEP 7

  • Remove cake from refrigerator and make chocolate drizzle
  • To create drizzle effect on the cake, use a teaspoon to place small amounts of chocolate drizzle around the top edge of the cake and allow to drip down the sides. Because the cake will be cold it will help the drips set as they run down the side of the cake.
  • Continue placing teaspoons of chocolate drizzle around the edge of the top of the cake using the teaspoon to move the chocolate and add additional where needed.
  • Add additional chocolate drizzle to the top of the cake and spread evenly using the offset spatula.
  • Place the cake (and turntable) back in the refrigerator for 10 minutes.
  • Remove cake (and turntable) from the refrigerator and insert the chocolate shards into the top of the cake.
  • Add the meringue kisses to the top of the cake and place the heart chocolate shards on top.
  • Carefully move the cake to a display plate or stand.
  • Crush extra meringue kisses and carefully spoon around the base of the cake.

STEP 8

  • Serve cake at room temperature.
  • Slice, share & enjoy!!!