Coco&Me Wedding Cake 01
(Three tiered chocolate butter cake with raspberry ganache layer. Coated in pâte à glacer, & decorated with couverture slabs)
(I wish I could show you what the inside looks like… Obviously, I can’t cut in to it… Now I know I should’ve taken a picture of a slice when I did the test-bake…!)
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Last Thursday I made a 3-tier wedding cake for Sue’s daughter Hannah. Sue has a stall close to mine, & she is one special lady, always looking out for me, buying cakes from my stall when times are tough on a rainy day, & always when she has guests that weekend. She would also bring me all sorts of “finds” that I might like (& I do!) from car boot sales & fairs. Cake plates, vintage cadbury’s toy car, chocolate moulds, vintage childrens books for my boy, beautiful vintage cake pillars… I really like her. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not because she gives me things! It’s because she is a warm person, & I think it’s important to have nice people like her around you, to remind you to mellow out & breathe a bit, because there’ll be someone there for you. And so I was honoured to be asked to make the wedding cake for her daughter. I’m happy that my first-ever wedding cake (which means so much to me) goes to such a good home!
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Yesterday Sue & Hannah gave me the most wonderful gift. The cake stand that Hannah used for her wedding! I couldn’t believe it. The stand had been in their family for a very long time apparently, & it was Hannah’s strong wishes that it be used for her wedding cake. To give me such a special stand that means so much to them… I was honoured, & moved.
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Do you remember I did a test-bake of it earlier this year? (check this link out to read a post from that time). Well, finally it was the time to do it – & the good thing is, I was not nervous about it atall, thanks to that test-bake. I knew exactly what to do, how long it’ll take, & importantly, how delicious it tastes. I tell ya, it’s just miles better than the traditional fruit cake kind (yuk, I never liked ’em) with overly thick icing that sticks to the back of the teeth.
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Here is the recipe for the Coco&Me Wedding Cake. (although unfortunately, I do not have the ‘process pictures of it as I promised to do – Sorry guys, maybe next time – I just did not have the time nor the will to tinker with a camera on a big baking mission like this – especially when I had the pressure of meeting the deadline of 7pm handover!)
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For bakers who would rather not have the trouble of tempering your own chocolate slabs, I think a good alternative is to use store-bought chocolate thins such as ‘Jules Destrooper Chocolate Thins’ or anything rectangular!
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Some top tips when baking:
– Please read through the recipe thoroughy beforehand. That way there’ll be no surprises!
– If you do not have a 6 inch tin, do what I did – bake in a smallest that you do have (I had a 7 inch one) & cut a 6 inch cake out of it! Just remember to increase the recipe abit to compensate for it!
– And if you want to know about how to successfully whip egg whites, or how best to cream the butter, click this link for a thorough write up about it.
– Always buy some extra eggs! Just incase you brake one by mistake…
– Make sure your eggs are also at room temperature. Adding ‘straight out of the fridge’ cold yolk &/or cold meringue in to your cake mix would seize it up!
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Feeds: 25 to 30 people
Difficulty: Intermediate, if you substitute the chocolate slabs with something else such as store-bought chocolate thins.
Time to make: 3 to 5 hours (it depends on how competent you are at baking!)
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CHOCOLATE SLAB RECIPE:
Before you bake the sponges, make enough chocolate rectangles, clingfilm them & store in the refrigiator. I used over 60 slabs for the decoration. But I made alot more to make sure I had enough to hand ‘just incase’. The measurement was 3cm x 8.5cm.
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To make the slabs:
1. Temper 1kg white couverture.
2. Pour it on to a big sheet of clingfilm that’s crease-free, layed out on your table. Spatula the chocolate surface to 3 or 4mm thickness.
3. When semi-set, use a sharp knife & a clean ruler to cut to size.
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THE CHOCOLATE SPONGE RECIPE:
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Ingredients:
450g unsalted Butter – room temperature
450g dark Chocolate – melted
160g castor sugar (for step 3 in the recipe)
23 egg yolks
225g almond powder
egg whites 23 eggs worth
300g castor sugar for mixing with the egg whites to make meringue
450g plain flour
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You will need the following items:
6inch (15.2cm) round springform baking tin
8inch (20.3cm) round springform baking tin
10inch (25.4cm) round springform baking tin
Cake cards for the three sizes – It has to be thin, not drums.
18 x thin wooden BBQ skewers cut precisely to 8.5cm high
2 x extra large mixing bowl
3 x cake racks
A long piece of clean string for tying around each tier to support the slabs while it sets
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And prepare these before your baking frenzy:
Pre-sift the flour.
Have the chocolates melted in a seperate bowl.
Preheat oven to 180 degrees.
Butter the baking tins. Sift flour in to it so that it sticks to the bottom & the sides. Tap out excess flour, & store the prepared tins in the refrigiator until needed.
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Method:
1. In a large mixing bowl, cream the room temperature butter.
2. Pour in the melted chocolate. Constantly whisk while doing so.
3. Whisk in the sugar.
4. Whisk in the egg yolks.
5. Whisk in the almond powder.
6. In a seperate bowl, make stiff meringue (To read up on how to obtain a perfectly whisked up meringue, click here).
7. Fold half of the meringue in to the cake mixture from step 5.
8. Sift in all of the flour & fold.
9. Next fold in the rest of the meringue.
10. Divide the cake batter in to the three cake tins.
11. In to the 180 degree oven it goes. (Pre-heated ofcourse!)
12. The ‘bake time’ for each size tin will be different. Because of this, you’ll be taking the tins out at different times. Please use the following as a guide, but please also do a ‘skewer test’ (inserting a skewer in the centre to see if it comes out clean).
6 inch = take out after 30 minutes
8 inch = take out after 50 minutes
10 inch = take out after 1 hour
13. When baked, take the tin sides off & cool them completely.
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RASPBERRY GANACHE FILLING RECIPE:
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80g unsalted butter (room temperature)
1000g dark chocolate (preferably 70% cocoa solid, in button form for quick melt, or finely chopped from a bar – although bear in mind that chopping it up takes more time to do than you think)
800g fresh double cream
200g raspberry jam
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1. Boil the cream in a pot.
2. Pour hot cream over the chocolate & the jam in a mixing bowl.
3. Leave to stand for 10 seconds. Then use your spatula to mix it in slowly from the centre, incorporating more cream from the sides as you do it.
4. Mix in the butter. Mix until it dissolves (if you still have lumps left, give it a 5 second wiz in the microwave).
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Pâte à Glacer (coating chocolate) Recipe:
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2kg White couverture chocolate
160g pure vegetable oil
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1. Melt chocolate in a mixing bowl.
2. Add oil. Mix together.
3. Place the mixing bowl in a ice filled water bath & keep stiring the chocolate/ oil mix with your spatula. Make sure you stir from the bottom of the bowl, where it is most cold. Keep stiring til it thickens.
4. Place the bowl in a hot-water bath for a very few seconds to bring the temperature up again.
5. Now it is tempered for coating the sponge.
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CAKE ASSEMBLY:
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1. Cut cake in to two horizontally, & sandwich 5mm layer of the raspberry ganache.
2. Put the sandwiched sponge on a cut-to-size cake card.
3. Place the first sponge to be coated on a cooling rack, on top of a clingfilmed tray.
4. Pour some pâte à glacer over the cake. Smooth it down the sides, to cover it completely.
5. Sit down. Get comfortable. Take your time sticking one slab at a time to the side of the cake. Make sure to overlap each one slightly. Once you’ve stuck it all on, tie a string around it to support them. Now is your chance to really make sure each slab is straight. When you’re happy, pour more pâte à glacer in the centre of the sponge & let it fall down to all the sides. This would help fill any gaps inbetween the sponge & the slabs.
6. Repeat these steps for the other two tiers. Note, you can re-use the pâte à glacer that had fallen to the tray again to cover the next sponge.
7. Once you’ve done all three, next skewer some wooden sticks in to the bottom two layers. These would act as plinths to hold the weight of the next tier up. More skewers mean more stability, but also means lots of holes on your slice. Placing nearer the outskirt also gives you stability, but make sure it is not visible when assembled. Place one in the middle, & then symmetrically skewer in a circle.
8. Finally tower up your tiers & et voila! Phew… sit back, you can relax now, & enjoy the monumental view, possibly with a beer because you deserve it!
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Oh, it turned out so beautifully! I reckon champagne would be an even more fitting way to celebrate such an achievement. Hannah must have been thrilled to have this as the centerpiece of her wedding feast!
Comment by Laura - May 14, 2007 8:26 am
Thanks Laura! You’re right, champers will be more fitting, but in my case, I always have a stash of beer in my fridge, so beer always ends up as the choice of bevvy consumption…
Comment by tamami - May 14, 2007 8:37 am
hi, what a wonderful cake. Do you have to keep this cake in the fridge? I would like to try this for my husband’s birthday party, but I dont have enough space in my fridge to keep this cake.
cheers,
Comment by Alice - June 15, 2007 6:00 am
hello Alice. Thank you!! If you’re baking & serving on the same day, you can keep it out, in a box, in a cool place. If any longer, it is advisable to keep it in the fridge. Happy Baking!
Comment by tamami - June 15, 2007 10:44 am
Hi Tatami,
thanks, I have another question. Do you use a fan forced oven? I havent tried baking 3 cakes in one go. :) must check whether my oven can fits in the 3 sizes of tin.
Cheers,
Alice
Comment by Alice - June 22, 2007 1:07 am
Yup, I do use fans-assisted! It’s always a good idea to check how the tins go in to the oven before starting with the recipe! Good luck baking!
Comment by tamami - June 22, 2007 2:07 pm
Need a cake – saw you sat last week – the wedding cake. Like to collect it on thursday.
Comment by Adwoa Hagan - July 22, 2007 3:34 pm
Hello Adwoa!
I have sent you an email. Many thanks!
Comment by tamami - July 22, 2007 7:57 pm
Wowee! That looks incredible… I’d love that for my wedding cake! Hope you don’t mind the addition of your site to my blogroll!
Comment by Sarah - August 21, 2007 9:42 pm
Hi Sarah! Thanx!! And double thanx for listing my site in your blog list! Much appreciated!! ;-) ;-)
Comment by tamami - August 21, 2007 11:53 pm
Dear Tamami,
It is me again after troubling you wih the butter cookies, i think i will need to trouble you with this cake.
I will like to try bake this for my son’s BD but I dun intend to do a 3 tier therefore I was wondering if you have the ingrdients porportion for just a 10-inch springform pan.
Thanks so much :)
Comment by Angelia - May 28, 2008 1:28 am
Hello Angelia,, no problem! ^^
try halving the above list, & see. I think it may give you a little more than enough, in which case, just pour the excess in to a smaller tin for your consumption ;) ;) ;)
Or try dividing the list in to 1/3??
Happy Baking!!!!
Comment by tamami - May 28, 2008 1:52 pm
ok
Thanks so much :)
Comment by Angelia - May 29, 2008 12:06 am
hi Tamami, I will like to ask u, when u bake you sponge cake, did the top of your sponge cake crack? cox my cake did.
Thanks n sorry for asking you so much.
Comment by Angelia - June 9, 2008 1:22 pm
hello angelia, it’s been a while since i made this, but no, it didn’t crack. maybe you’re over-baking – try using an oven thermometer for preciseness?
Comment by tamami - June 9, 2008 6:45 pm
ok thanks :)
Comment by Angelia - June 9, 2008 11:47 pm
Hello
I am attempting to make this cake, but I’m trying to avoid tempering my chocolate (more for the sake of my own sanity than anything else!). Anyway, I’ve been trying to find somewhere that sells Jules Destrooper white chocolate thins and I’m having no luch at present. I was wondering if you could let me know where you think does supply them?
Thanks!
Comment by Sharmila - February 26, 2009 1:38 pm
Hello Sharmila,
I presume you live in the UK? If so, I have seen them in Tescos. But you know, I think you can use alternative things – doesn’t neccessarily need to be the Jules Destrooper! Anything white chocolate coated I guess! — I wish you good luck ;-) with the cake – please do test-bake before the important day!! xx
Comment by Tamami - February 27, 2009 1:29 am
Hi Tamami. Thanks for the advice! I actually contacted a really lovely chocolate shop and school near me and they said they might be able to create slabs or what have you for me, as they need to temper their chocolate anyway. Very nice of them. Another thing I was thinking was potentially using white chocolate tuilles (is this right – the little cylinders of chocolate) rather than slabs, the reason being I need to extend the cake further than for 30 people, and smaller outside decoration would make it easier to slice in smaller pieces! Do you think this sounds viable also? Thanks!
Comment by Sharmila - March 2, 2009 9:34 am
Hello Sharmila, that’s great that the local chocolate shop is making them for you. My advice is get them to make a little more extra than needed, just in case…! But white chocolate tuilles sounds wonderful! Check the wedding cake picture on: https://www.cocoandme.com/2008/12/08/just-two-market-days-left-this-year/
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It is similar to what you’re thinking of I think! Good luck with the baking! xx
Comment by tamami - March 2, 2009 12:55 pm
Hi,
Love the cake! I want to use the recipe for my son’s b’day cake. I am looking at cooking it in one tin and then cutting the resulting cake into the shape I need (a one!). The tin I am using uses approx. the same volume as batter as your recipe which is great. My big concern however is the quantity of batter and how I am to mix this. Do you have an industrial mixer? The volume of 23 egg whites must be huge – did this fit in a normal mixing bowl?
Also, I have never baked such a large cake before – any advice you could offer?
thanks and regards
Comment by Sara - May 4, 2009 2:39 am
Hello Sara, thanks for your comment!
No, I don’t have an industrial mixer – just a handheld electric mixer, that’s all!
I have a very large bowl – 15″ wide.
By the way, the 23 egg whites were for the 6″, 8″, 10″ tins combined.
If the quantity is a problem, what about doing this in 2 go’es. For example, do two sponges, & put the filling in the middle? That way, you’ll save on cooking time in the oven (as it is shallow, it’ll bake quicker), & if it goes wrong, you’ve got only half a damage! ^^
Good luck with the baking!^-^
Comment by Tamami - May 4, 2009 9:38 am
Thanks for your reply Tamami. One more question re. the tempering of the pate a glacer. I was rather unsure of what “a few second to bring the temperature up again” constitutes. You don’t give temperatures here – should I use the temps you give in your description of how to temper white chocolate? Thanks for your time – it is really appreciated! Have a wonderful weekend away,
sara
Comment by Sara - May 5, 2009 5:25 am
Cheers Sara. Re: tempering the white chocolate pate a glacer;
– since it is white chocolate AND oil, you really don’t need to stick so precisely to the temperatures given on: https://www.cocoandme.com/2007/05/28/how-to-temper-chocolate/
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but you can certainly use it as a guide!
One thing I do suggest to everyone is to always test-bake before the big day. That way, the pressure won’t be so bad!
Good luck with the baking – & let me know how it goes won’t you? xx
Comment by tamami - May 5, 2009 10:28 am
Hi Tamami – I hope you don’t mind if I ask just one more question! Can you clarify for me the measures for liquids in the recipe (i.e. oil, cream and raspberry jam). You have given these in grams – did you weigh these or did you measure them in mls? Thanks for your time once again, regards, sara
Comment by Sara - May 11, 2009 8:41 am
Hi Sara! No prob.
It’s all in grams! Simply just use one weight scale for all measuring! xx
Comment by Tamami - May 11, 2009 9:58 am
Hi There
I live in Australia and it seems like we do very similar things. I do the local farmers market and I supply cakes for weddings etc, I now supply a really good ‘country pub/hotel and a cafe in Sydney with my cakes.
I did a very similar wedding cake to your white choc one only no tiers, I will put one on my blog so that you can check it out if you like.
bee
Comment by bee smith gilbert - May 29, 2009 6:21 am
Hello Bee, what a lovely cake! xx
Comment by tamami - May 31, 2009 10:21 pm
hello lovely cake lady ;{}
this is the one i’m going to make for my daughter alexandra’s 25th on 4rd Jan 2011
… i will post the results and definately look you up again 1<3
Comment by jacx - December 5, 2010 8:00 pm
Jacx, wow, thank you!!!
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Please always do a test-bake before the important date so that you are sure!
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All the best,
T xx
Comment by tamami - December 5, 2010 11:58 pm
[…] cups of Chocolate Raspberry Ganache […]
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Cheers for linking up! xx
Comment by tamami - January 14, 2012 4:47 pm