White Chocolate Raspberry Cake - a.k.a. My Nemesis

At the risk of giving the impression that I am not ready for prime time as a cake baker, I’ll share a little story with you about a recent cake from hell experience. I do so just to shed some light on what can go wrong, and why cakes (baked from scratch with high-quality ingredients) cost more than you think they should.

The week before last, I had 3 cakes on the docket – the first was a sheet cake (15x22) for Sarah’s Golf League banquet. It was a 2-layer cake, with half chocolate and half vanilla. The filling was chocolate mousse and the frosting was a chocolate buttercream. The coolest part was that instead of just writing the names of the girls on the team on the cake, I wrote them all out in chocolate (on wax paper) and when they hardened, I stood them on the top of the cake. Wish I had taken a picture.

The second was an inside-out German Chocolate cake that was ordered by a co-worker for her birthday. The German Chocolate part is used as filling between the three layers of chocolate cake. It’s topped off with a chocolate ganache, which I then cover with chocolate leaves. Again, no picture but it makes for a beautiful and quite tasty cake. Dave says it’s quite possibly his favorite so far.

The third cake was ordered by another co-worker for his wife’s birthday. It was to be a white chocolate raspberry cake. Notice I say it ‘was’ to be. Here’s what happened.

I mixed up the cake batter just fine – was using a recipe from Rose Levy Beranbaum’s “The Cake Bible”. When I went to put it into the pans I remembered that I had cake strips that I had never used before, so I thought I’d give them a try. (For those who don’t know – they are metallic-coated fabric strips. You soak them in water and pin them around the outside of the cake pans. Their purpose is to help the cake bake evenly so you don’t get a dome in the center.) Into the oven they went.

When the timer went off, the cakes didn’t look right to me. I let them bake a bit longer and then took them out. I let them sit for 10 minutes and then went to unmold them. Egads! They fell flatter than a pancake in seconds.

Ok…let’s ponder. What did I do differently? Well, I had used egg yolks that I had frozen and then thawed. (BTW I would not recommend this as they do not return to a liquid state. They almost seem as though they have been hard-boiled.) So I thought that must be why they fell. No choice but to remake them….which I do….with fresh egg yolks. Once again, apply the cake strips. Once again, into the oven. Once again, the damn things fall once I unmold them. Strike 2.

So I remake the batter a third time. I’m just about out of ingredients here, so 3 strikes and I’ll be out. Before I bake it I consult with Dave. We decide that it must be the cake strips. This time I leave them off. This time, the cake actually rises and stays risen after I unmold! Eureka!!

But that’s not the end of the story. Not by a long shot.

Next, it’s on to the Raspberry Mousse that I intend to use as the filling. This involves pureeing 2 bags of frozen raspberries and pushing them through a sieve (to de-seed), which is a pain in the patoot, but that’s just the way that I roll. You combine that with some unflavored gelatine, which is a thickening agent, and whipped cream – and you’re supposed to have a thick, stable filling suitable for a cake. However mine was more the consistency of a sauce when it should be more like a thickish custard or pudding. Ungood.

I think where I went wrong was how I combined the gelatine with the raspberry puree. I don’t think I got the gelatine warm enough – so that when it came in contact with the raspberry puree it wasn’t able to set up like it needed to. At this point, the thought of remaking raspberry puree, and having to run to the store to get more ingredients, was more than I could stomach. Quick – I need a plan B. When all else fails, frosting heals. I’ll just double the frosting recipe and use that as the filling – maybe toss some fresh raspberries in for good measure. Perfect.

Only, I hadn’t ever made this frosting recipe before. This was the Fatal Flaw. (duhn duhn duhnnnnn)

Now I should have known how this would turn out when, in the first paragraph of the text that describes the recipe, Rose (Ms. Cake Bible) cautions that “if your butter is even remotely too warm, what could have been a lovely, silky smooth frosting will turn into a gritty vat of goo” or something like that…because that’s exactly what happened. Apparently my butter was remotely too warm.

That’s it. I’ve got nothing. (Insert statements of guilt, self-doubt and incompetence here.)

By that time I had been working a good 6-7 hours straight on this project, had done oh, I’d say 5 sinks-full of dishes, and was really not loving this. Plus, the larder was for the most part bare of all necessary ingredients. So I called my co-worker and sheepishly reminded him that I’m not a professional, and told him that I didn’t have a cake for him. Not great for a start-up business owner, but I didn't know what else to do at that point.

What was I thinking, anyway? Me? A professional baker? Bahhh!

I did manage to salvage the cake layers (they are frozen) and will attempt to remake this cake…..but not right now. It’s just too soon. The pain is too fresh. And the grocery budget is kinda low this week.

I have been temporarily bested by sugar arts - but I will prevail!