bake - May 2018 - cake - 4

Andrea Meyer uses
premade templates to
improve the efficiency
of cake assembly.
"You can save a lot of money by not having to roll it out really
thick. If you don't want a lot of marbeling, I just do it a couple
of times. Then hold a pizza cutter at an angle to cut off the
excess, so the fondant doesn't drag on the table."
Use the excess fondant to make a thin roll with chocolate
streaks. Twist the roll to create a candy cane look. You can use
this as a border to match the rest of the cake.

NOVELTY CAKE IDEAS

"Having some cake in each flavor and projecting necessary
fillings/toppings at the beginning of each week is helpful so
you're not in a fire drill with each order," she says. "We're not
a cake shop per se, so trying to stay ahead of possible orders
when we're producing 60-plus other pastries is a challenge,
but we usually allow time in our weekly schedules to flex for
orders when we have them."

Say hello to new colors. That's an encouraging message from
Satin Ice, makers of premium rolled fondant. Satin Fine Foods
founder and chief executive officer Kevin O'Reilly shared
news at the Atlantic Bakery Expo that three new colors (navy,
peach petal and burgundy) have been added to the Satin Ice
rolled fondant line.
"We are bringing new tools and ideas for cake decorators
every day," O'Reilly says.
Colette Peters, an acclaimed cake decorator with Colette's
Cakes in New York City, is a big fan of Mona Lisa fondant because it offers a lot of workability. "It's a really nice product,"
she says. "I don't need to use any cornstarch to roll it out.
That's another good thing about this product."
To marbleize a cake, start with a crumb coat of buttercream
or ganache. For dummy cakes, she normally uses water or piping gel prior to applying the fondant. Sugar is a preservative; it
keeps the cake from getting moldy.
"You don't need a lot of fondant to cover a cake," Peter says.
4

2018

THE SUMMER ISSUE

©Kevin Marple 2014, ©Oleg Begunenko - stock.adobe.com

NEW OPTIONS WITH FONDANT

Novelty cakes are a perfect fit for summer parties and special
occasions because people are looking for fun.
Charles Niedermyer II, chef instructor at Pennsylvania
College of Technology, is a big fan of Guittard chocolate and
offers creative ideas for using chocolate ganache in everything
from elegant cakes to fun cake pops.
"Cake pops continue to be popular," he says. "They are easy
to pass around. It's something small people can enjoy."
To make ganache cake pops, Niedermyer suggests a basic
ratio of 40-45 percent ganache to cake. Chopping is a significant labor expense; he buys chocolate wafers. "When you
chop chocolate for ganache, it needs to be fine."
One of the most common mistakes when making ganache is
melting the chocolate, Niedermyer advises. You want to make
an emulsion. Niedermyer uses an immersion blender to make
ganache. You can use a whisk or a robot coupe, also.
"Great ganache can be the center of a great wedding cake.
It should be very shiny and reflective," he says. "I try to never
refrigerate ganache if I don't have to. It can last three weeks at
room temperature."
To make cake pops, save cake tops and other scraps and
throw it all in a bag and then right into the freezer. Or if you
make a lot of cake pops, make cakes just for cake pops. "We
bake cakes to make our cake pops," he says. "It matters."
Experiment with dark chocolates, Niedermyer adds. Customers also really enjoy the higher cocoa percentage chocolates with dairy have. White chocolate (cocoa butter, sugar
and milk powder) is a great fit for cakes topped with fruit.
"White chocolate is a perfect vessel for accenting flavors,
or a perfect canvas to introduce other flavors. It is spectacular with fruit," he says. "It is a great way to produce ganache
or filling that can be flavored with fruit. More exotic fruits
like mango showcase much better with white
chocolate. It also colors
very well."
Also, if you want
to produce a highend chocolate
cake, replace

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