BAKING

BAKE-a-CAKE with the DARING BAKERS

2008/07/30 / 58 Comments
“Non-cooks think it’s silly to invest two hours’ work in two minutes’ enjoyment; but if cooking is evanescent, so is the ballet.”
Julia Child

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This month’s challenge is being posted on a sad note. Lis, one of the co-founders of Daring Bakers posted this on the 21st, “One of our own, Sher, of What Did You Eat?, passed away yesterday morning of a sudden heart attack. Sherry was an active blogger and her posts were always a joy to read. She was a wonderful friend, a beautiful woman, a devoted wife, mother and good friend.You can read a lovely tribute to her by one of her closest friends, Glenna, HERE.We’re going to miss you, Sherry!!!!! “

IMG 1042 Filbert Gateau with Praline Buttercream, From Great Cakes by Carol Walter….IMG 1038 …The Daring Bakers challenge this month was hosted by Chris @ Melle Cotte

As the sweet Chris said, It’s one of those cookbooks (in the small bookstore within in my home) I am a bit fearful of. Honestly! Honestly, she scared me too, but went on to say she was already beginning to bake the cake to ‘troubleshoot’ any blips that may come up. How sporting & encouraging!! Just seeing her completed post egged me on to complete this daunting challenge. Check out the recipe at her blog HERE.

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Filberts are unheard of here, so I went for almonds straight away. The gateau was easy to bake, came out beautifully, the ganache was a cake-walk…what got me to my knees was the buttercream. It made me WEEP!! I guess the culprit is the HOT HOT weather, & I admit I knew exactly what I was going in for. In fact, got onto this challenge after oscillating like a pendulum for days together. My madness is documented in my DB diary below. The gateau itself was a big hit & was polished off before I could say Jack Robinson!! A tad sweet by my standards, but a wonderful, elegant gateau for cooler days. Lovely!!

collage3Thanks a lot Chris, & my apologies for oscillating! Would have been my loss entirely!

dear diary…
7 July 08 : Have been swinging wildly this month since the Db challenge has been announced. Am desperately trying to cut down on the amount of butter & cream in sweet nothings…& being a DB certainly isn’t helping! Eventually decided to give it a pass, but some strange magnetism draws me back to the forum at regular intervals. The pictures of cake posted by the host, Chris @ Melle Cotta, swung me back to taking up the challenge. This is really very addicitive, this baking thing, & must confess that the family has never seen a better year! Sweet & fruitful in every sense. The exilarating feeling after last months challenge, Danish pastry, has convinced me to go ahead too. DH, who is witness, mostly mute, to my ungainly fickle behaviour, nodded positively when I said “How will I know the beauty of the cake unless I give it a shot? Last month’s Danish pastry taught me this lesson!” He nodded too receptively & far too bright-eyed… I think he enjoys being part of this drama that emerges every month.

19 July 08: Dear DB diary…2 weeks later panic has struck. Time is of the essence & I’m not even started as yet. It’s Saturday & I have been mysteriously struck with laryngitis…so no voice to express myself. In other words, no voice to YELL!! Kids are pleased & over the moon; I am distressed & cannot bake. Feeling like it’s a Bridget Jones type of moment again…aaaaaaaaargh!!

20 July 08: More panic…whatever shall I do. Nothing seems to happen with the kids at home. Tomorrow is THE DAY!! Bookmarked!! At least the cake HAS to be baked!! Firm resolve. All I comfortably have on hand is a bag of almonds & clarified butter…YAY!!

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21 July 08: Lack of time looms large…but today has been bookmarked to make a definite beginning. The cake is finally in the oven, with the heart in the mouth, because electricity has been playing up of late. I am even practicing how to react if it gets up & goes halfway thorugh…real drama in my mind. Shall I just present a half-baked wonder & tell my tale on the blog; do I have the ‘get up & go’ to get up & make another one? Being a DB is not childs’ play…this is serious business. Realised it on my first challenge; confirmed & reconfirmed it on every subsequent one!! O woebegone me…hope I live to tell my tale!! 5 minutes to go & the almond genoise shall be popped out of the oven. Halfway daring if nothing else!! Ciao for now, diary my dear!!IMG 0401
P.S. Just came back to let you know that electricity upped & awayed 10 minutes after the cake was done…providential escape!! Must have done something good sometime to have narrowly missed high drama. Now the sponge is safely in the fridge, swathed in cling wrap & a plastic bag. Maybe, I shall endeavour to embark on the next step in a day. Got 3 days in the fridge!! Woohoo…

22 nd July 08 : Huge moment of indecision; am down with the viral & can feel the panic setting in. Can’t make it today…maybe the freezer is a safer place. So now…phew…the blessed thing is sitting happy in the freezer.

25th July 08: 5 days to go & the DB pressure has been steadily building. What if all I have is a cake sans frosting…panic again. Praline time early in the morning. Doesnt become pasty as the recipe says, but is pretty close to it. Weather update : HOT HOT HOT; humidity 87%. NOT a good time to frost, but little choice left;the cake’s out of the freezer. SOB!! No way will buttercream come together after reading so many buttercream horror stories, so I’ve decided to go the whipped cream way. See you in a bit…IMG 0942
Am back & am ready to run away…migrate to the Southern hemisphere if need be. The whipped cream BROKE UP big time after the praline went in…so the freezer is busy again. The cream is in there!! Made the ganache, which is my all time favourite way of frosting…but no longer. Things are melting faster than the moments left to the deadline, & I’ve decided I hate frosting! The kitchen is HOT…only saving grace is that the kids are at school & DH is at work. I could SCREAM!! Am trying to calm down; this is a challenge after all…IMG 0947
OK, am back again. Have patched the cake together with melted marmalade & melted whipped cream, poured the ganache over it. At 37 degrees C in the kitchen, hardly needed to grate the bar of chocolate to decorate my poor gateau…it almost dripped all over the cake. I drizzled the praline buttercream over the cake…looks so sad. It’s back in the fridge as I’m getting outta here…don’t think I can take it! IMG 0989
2 hours later, am back. Chris’s words are still ringing in my mind. The praline has to be on the cake in some form & buttercream too. So, there is loads of praline paste/powder left…I’ve stuck it into the sides.IMG 1044 Have also made some buttercream which I’ve piped on in a hurry. Topped the cake with a few flakes & almonds to make it look halfway decent…& I”M DONE!! This is definitely a winter cake. Will take it across to my parents place this eve…baked this for a belated birthday for my Dad. We shall know tomorrow, the fate of this DB.

26th July 08: What an absolutely beautiful day…Cake cut & devoured quite happily last night.collage

Was a little on the sweeter side. This despite the fact that I didnt use even a 1/4 of the sugar syrup, & halved the preserves. Shouldn’t have sweetened the whipped cream I think. Otherwise, was a brilliantly soft & moist cake with a subtle flavour. Almonds, chocolate & orange really compliment each other beautifully…but there wasn’t a very pronounced almond flavour, even though I used loads of almonds. This is definitely a winter cake & will taste most yummy in cooler weather. The sponge had a lovely nutty yet light texture & the whole cake disappeared too soon. Maybe the next time I make it, will add ground almonds sans praline to the whipped cream, like I’ve done

here, in this Chocolate Cloud Orange Gateau. That way the cream will stay firmer & less sweet too. Otherwise, a very elegant cake, with a load of work….a challenge indeed!

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Thank you Chris, a delightful choice & a challenging bake.
Do also stop by at other Daring Bakers across the blogosphere here & check out their delightful Gateaux & tales!!
Posted by Deeba @ PAB

About me: I am a freelance food writer, recipe developer and photographer. Food is my passion - baking, cooking, developing recipes, making recipes healthier, using fresh seasonal produce and local products, keeping a check on my carbon footprint and being a responsible foodie! I enjoy food styling, food photography, recipe development and product reviews. I express this through my food photographs which I style and the recipes I blog. My strength lies in 'Doing Food From Scratch'; it must taste as good as it looks, and be healthy too. Baking in India, often my biggest challenge is the non-availability of baking ingredients, and this has now become a platform to get creative on. I enjoy cooking immensely as well.

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58 Comments

  • Dharm

    2008/07/30 at 1:58 am Reply

    I love the diary concept!! Your cake looks just lovely and I’m glad you decided to make it!

  • Y

    2008/07/30 at 1:58 am Reply

    What a cakestravaganza! I love the chocolate curls. Good to hear the end result was happily received 🙂

  • glamah16

    2008/07/30 at 1:59 am Reply

    You are a better woman than me( I didnt do this month). Its all turned out well event though you were worried.

  • Manggy

    2008/07/30 at 2:14 am Reply

    Oh Deeba I didn’t know you kept an actual diary for these things! That’s adorable, haha 🙂 I’m sort of alarmed that the electricity seems to fail so often. I remember when that was the case for this country too (it was a “crisis”). I wonder what changed. I’m glad you pulled through, because it looks really well-done! Subbing almonds for hazelnuts will always result in a subtler flavor 🙂

  • Cakelaw

    2008/07/30 at 5:31 am Reply

    Lovely cake Deeba. LOL at all the drama leading up to it – I can relate to that (though lucky heat wasn’t one of my issues here)!

  • arundati

    2008/07/30 at 5:34 am Reply

    you hysterically funny woman!! sell the rights and do BJ out of business…..loved the diary….hope you beat the life out of that flu…..and the cake looks fab!!

  • Michelle

    2008/07/30 at 6:24 am Reply

    OH my gosh! This absolutely the most exciting cake I’ve seen tonight! It’s just gorgeous!

  • Nirmala

    2008/07/30 at 7:55 am Reply

    Thats a lovely cake Deeba and reading your post made me cling to the tip of my chair with nails bitten aaahhh! And how nice to see the piece of cake on the plate? Divine!

  • Aparna

    2008/07/30 at 10:57 am Reply

    Boy, were you challenged!
    They say nessity is the mother of invention and your cake seems to personify it.
    Your cake looks fabulous.

  • lachandra

    2008/07/30 at 11:10 am Reply

    Wow! Good job! Your cake looks delicious!

    I’m Morgana, you left a comment in my blog, in a “Green Tea cake article”.

    http://morgana.blogolosas.com

    Thank you for your comment. This is my answer:

    Yes, Deeba. It’s a matcha cake but I can’t find a way to get the green I’d like for the cake. I think it must be because of the quality of the matcha tea, not good enoug. Just look for “green tea cake” at google and you will find the recipe. The yogurt recipe is really good but I can’t get a green cake. :-(((

  • Ann

    2008/07/30 at 11:28 am Reply

    Amazing determination on your part to get this challenge done! I do know what you mean about a hot kitchen– we’ve been suffering a lot here and it does make it very difficult to handle chocolate and buttercream. Your cake looks terrific!

    Ann at Redacted Recipes

  • Christy

    2008/07/30 at 12:10 pm Reply

    WOW…i love all the details you put on that cake of yours…it’s stunning!! Oh I can hardly imagine working on this cake with the hot and humid weather…but trust me, you do not want to move to the southern hemisphere..it’s so cold here I turn on the heat all the time the ambient temperature seldom goes below 30 degree celcius..I love your diary entries and i will be back!!

  • giz

    2008/07/30 at 1:19 pm Reply

    A true Daring Baker – in the face of all adversity – the show must go on!! And how elaborate did it turn out – really gorgeous.

  • familiabencomo

    2008/07/30 at 3:40 pm Reply

    This was like a soap opera! I love all the DRAMA!!! I'm glad that you pulled through in the end. Your cake is stunning & how I wish I had a slice. 37 C? That's hot! That might be troublesome so the little surprise I have for you….. Darn. AND, you lost your voice?!?! I know my DH would love that. Great job, sweetie! Thank you for journaling your progress, I felt like I was a part of the challenge this month.

    Tanti baci,
    Amy

  • Ivy

    2008/07/30 at 4:13 pm Reply

    Wow, your cakes get better and better and better. I don’t know what to say. It looks stunning.

  • Susan

    2008/07/30 at 4:27 pm Reply

    As usual you managed to pull off pure gorgeousness, despite your trials! Love being privy to your diary.

  • Namratha

    2008/07/30 at 5:32 pm Reply

    Hehe, I enjoyed reading this one. I guess all the stress was worth it, your cake looks gorgeous.:) I like the idea of using Almonds instead, I think I would like that.

  • Rosa's Yummy Yums

    2008/07/30 at 6:17 pm Reply

    A wonderful cake! Wow, your decorations are gorgeous and very pretty!

    Cheers,

    Rosa

  • JMom

    2008/07/30 at 7:46 pm Reply

    WOW! just when I’ve seen the best decorated cake, I come across another one! Your cake is incredible! and I love how your wrote it up as a diary 🙂

    I had thought of putting the excess praline powder on the side too, but I was too afraid to mess with the ganache since it came out well the first time around.
    JMom – Cooked from the Heart

  • Cynthia

    2008/07/30 at 11:56 pm Reply

    hehe i was also rather averse to the whole buttercream/layer thing, but decided to just whack it last minute like you! your cake looks really delish! very nice decorations! 🙂

  • PAT A BAKE

    2008/07/31 at 1:51 am Reply

    Hi – your cake-diary made interesting reading ;). Liked the thingy about the ‘providential escape’. You have been real lucky. I have this ‘gas’getting over whenever we have guests- and its a real pain in the whatever.

    Your cake looks lovely and your pictures so cute. Im a lousy photographer…any free tips :. Im a regular at your blog..he he. Gr8 work out there – way to go.

  • Pat

    2008/07/31 at 1:55 am Reply

    It’s so nice to meet you Deeba!
    Your cake looks fantastic!

    I know I had trouble decorating because of the heat and humidity here also.

    I love how delicious this cake was, especially the praline swiss buttercream. It was my first Darng Baker assignment and it was fun!

  • silverrock

    2008/07/31 at 3:48 am Reply

    Wowee Wow! i love the decoration of your cake and the genoise looks so light and delicious. Way to go on your DB challenge for this month. Can’t wait until next months!

  • arundati

    2008/07/31 at 1:13 pm Reply

    deebs….you’ve got a little something waiting for you at my blog….drop in and pick it up when you can….cheers!!

  • Amu...

    2008/07/31 at 2:27 pm Reply

    Hi Deeba…You are so good at what you are doing…I have been a GREAT FAN all this while…and been a silent reader of your Blog….

    Lovely Work here in your Blog….I have a Small Something for you in my Blog….Please check my page at http://amusworld.blogspot.com/

    Please do acknowledge My Request…
    Thank You….Amu 🙂

  • cookemila

    2008/07/31 at 7:13 pm Reply

    I loved how to make the cake, chocolate and almonds uhmmmmmmmmm black umhhmmmmm great job and great photo

  • Dwiana P

    2008/08/01 at 2:53 am Reply

    Oh Debra, your cake is always come out very nice! make me drooling and the style? beautiful.

  • madcapcupcake

    2008/08/01 at 4:15 pm Reply

    Wow, great post – and beautiful, beautiful decorating 🙂 Your cakes looks so delicious!!

  • Ruth Elkin

    2008/08/01 at 8:43 pm Reply

    Absolutely loved reading that diary! So funny and creative!

    Love how you’ve decorated your cake! You’ve done a great job and i’m glad you stuck with it despite wanting to give up.

  • meeso

    2008/08/03 at 2:46 am Reply

    How sad that a fellow blogger has died 🙁 Reality will find us anywhere, I suppose. The cake is gorgeous!

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