[Sca-cooks] [OOP] Durable Cakes
Cat Dancer
pixel at hundred-acre-wood.com
Fri Aug 11 06:50:23 PDT 2006
On Fri, 11 Aug 2006, Volker Bach wrote:
>
> So, does anyone know how long I can store cake 'bases' (sponge, pound,
> angelfood, I'm not picky) and how to do that best? any recipes for
> particularly long-lasting ones? Or could I just fridge a completed cak, say
> chocolate with apricot jelly filling and cocoa frosting, from Thursday till
> Monday without major ill effects?
>
> Thanks
> Giano
If it's kept air-tight, either frosted or wrapped securely in plastic
wrap, it will keep for three or four days in the fridge easy. If you frost
it first, you'll want to wrap it loosely in plastic or put it in a cake
carrier to keep the frosting from absorbing off flavors and to keep
moisture from condensing on it when you take it out. If the frosting is
such that plastic wrap will stick to and damage it, hold the wrap off the
cake proper with toothpicks.
I like a pound cake brushed with syrup rather than a sponge cake as the
pound cake has a denser, finer crumb and is easier to torte, frost, and
decorate than a traditional butter or sponge cake. The pound cake actually
has structural integrity even when sliced fairly thin, which is vital
when doing multiple thin layers. The syrup helps the cake retain moisture,
adds an additional flavor note, and increases the cake's shelf life. I can
look up the proportions when I get home, if you like.
My discovery this past winter was that melted white chocolate incorporated
into the cake batter makes the cake amazingly rich but doesn't make it
any sweeter--you could use either regular chocolate or perhaps cocoa
butter for a chocolate cake and have a similar effect.
A chocolate pound cake with an orange syrup, with or without a touch of
liqueur, filled with a chocolate mousse* with a touch of orange and
frosted or glazed with dark chocolate ganache would be simple yet elegant
(and your co-workers would be thoroughly awed).
I have an amazingly stable and durable recipe for mousse filling if you
want it--I used it in February for a wedding cake and it held up
beautifully.
[Said wedding cake was a white chocolate pound cake (with the
aforementioned white chocolate in the cake) flavored with Grand Marnier,
torted to four layers with a raspberry filling in the middle and white
chocolate and Grand Marnier mousse between the other layers, with a white
chocolate glaze decorated with snowflakes. This might be a bit elaborate
for a birthday cake one is planning on taking to work, though.]
Margaret FitzWilliam
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