FoodBanter.com - View Single Post

at Thu, 29 Sep 2005 09:03:17 GMT in
.com>,
(Roy) wrote :

>>I'm taking my first Wilton cake decorating course and I'm having fun
>>learning new things. For the course we have to make this buttercream
>>which is mostly made up of vegetable shortening & icing sugar it's
>>great for piping flowers & doing th boarders & of course frosting the
>>cake. But I don't like the idea of all that shortening..
>
>I think what you sorely need as a beginner is some words of advice not
>new materials to play upon your fledgling capability..
>
>There are some modification of the formulations where you can use
>butter and shortening blend or even other form of buttercream. where
>pure butter is used; but that knowldedge should be better be learned
>when you are already competent with your decorating ability.
>I would say that you better improve your skills first before you jump
>on more challenging materials for your icings and cakes.

I will voice a philosophical disagreement here. In my view limiting your
initial learning to a narrow range (of materials, techniques, etc...) risks
setting notions in your head that become more difficult to escape from in
the long run and develops skills along a particular direction that can be
very hard to undo. If we start out learning as a "blank slate" a lot of the
basic structure of that slate gets set in the early phase of learning and,
once it's set, is difficult to change. If that structure is set up in ways
that aren't compatible with new skills or materials, then one can end up
spending more time "un-learning" ideas that only work for what you learned
on in order then to re-learn with whatever new concept you've introduced.
So, for instance, if you were working with shortenings you might get used
to certain aspects of handling properties (a good example is that they have
a much wider range of working temperatures, so the priority to work fast is
relaxed), then essentially expect, if not mentally then from a standpoint
of instinctive physical/mechanical movements, other ingredients to behave
in like manner. It could then easily become very difficult to learn how to
do it right with the new one (e.g. if you then switched to butter with
narrow working temperature, you might not have developed the kind of
coordination or mind-set to work as fast as you need, and so all your old
experience would have to be jettisoned while you figured out how to move
*quickly*).

I think it's better to experiment early and often so that you get a good
broad base from the outset on the range of techniques and properties that
you'd need to learn about. This also helps your creativity because you will
have a much better idea of the sort of tradeoffs you're accepting in
choosing one style or ingredient over another. It also often gives you a
much more detailed insight into recipe choices and especially on recipe
instructions, so that you can decipher what something will actually do,
what results you can expect, and what is the reason for some seemingly
strange or time-consuming step (or indeed, if there is no reason as often
happens if someone adapts another recipe without that knowledge and blindly
copies over one of the steps that only applied to a part of the recipe
that's no longer being used)

Of course the downside is that you can spend more time gaining basic
competence, but in the end, it's worth it because you now have much more
solid skills.

As for "favourite" cake and icing, that would be easy. Check under my previous
posts for Chocolate Death and you'll find the one that is *my* personal
favourite.

However, for decorating, here's a recipe I posted some time back that's also
delightful (for a cake flavoured with rosewater - great for weddings) and which
also includes an icing recipe and a recipe for marzipan. The icing is a good
one to play around with for decorating. It isn't as fluffy as a true
buttercream, which IMHO is a plus - makes for a cake that isn't overloaded with
heaps of fluffy frosting. Meanwhile marzipan is another decorating tool -
usable for moulding shapes, or for making pre-covers (many cakes are covered
initially with marzipan to give a smooth, sealed surface, then frosted), or as
a covering/icing substitute in its own right (which makes an appearance
somewhat similar to rolled fondant). If you don't feel up to the task of making
marzipan yourself, you can, of course, always buy it.

Almond-Rose cake

2 cups white pastry flour
1 2/3 cups sugar
1/2 lb butter
5 eggs
2 oz almonds
2 tbsp rosewater
1/2 tsp salt

Preheat the oven to 350F. Thoroughly grease a tall 8" springform pan.
Blanch the almonds in boiling water quickly to slip off the skins, then
chop very finely. Put 2/3 cup of the sugar and the butter in a medium-sized
bowl and cream well. (I use a wooden spoon and cream manually.) In a second,
larger bowl, whisk the eggs with the remaining sugar until it is at least
double in volume, pale lemon in color, and very foamy. Add the salt, then
fold in the flour slowly. Fold in the creamed butter. Divide the batter
evenly between the 2 bowls and add the chopped almonds to one and the
rosewater to the other. Spoon the batters alternately into the pan. Bake for
1 1/2 hour or until the top of the cake is quite dark and a thin skewer
inserted in the center comes out more or less clean. Cool the cake completely
on a cooling rack.

Marzipan

1/2 lb almonds
3/4 cup caster sugar
4 tbsp butter

Blanch the almonds, removing skins, and grind (using a manual grinder - not to
butter - to fine grounds) into a bowl. Melt the butter and cool until solid
again. Mix the butter into the ground almonds with a spoon. Add the sugar,
then mix with the same spoon, pressing down with each stroke into the mixture,
until it becomes crumbly and just barely cohesive, like pasta dough. Press
with the spoon very firmly into an 8" springform pan line with parchment using
the spoon, and smooth the surface. As you press it in the marzipan should
adhere together and assume its familiar texture. It should become very
malleable and plastic enough for you to smooth the top as flat as a table.
Chill in the refrigerator.

Butter Ganache Icing

12 tbsp butter
2 cups milk (I used nonfat in the event)
8 tbsp sugar
4 tbsp water (approx.)

Put the milk in a heavy saucepan, not nonstick. Heat to a simmer over medium
heat, and, stirring constantly, reduce to 1/4 cup. At this point it should be
very think indeed, and a tan color. This will take a long time and is very
tedious - and you must keep stirring constantly, you can't leave it alone no
matter how much you will want to do so 1 hour into the process or more. Set
the pan, covered, in the refrigerator to cool. You can prepare this the night
before, or even days before if you store the product in a sealed jar. Put the
sugar in a heavy saucepan and add the water - the amount is approximate - use
enough to make it just fluid without being watery, like a grainy syrup. Bring
to a full boil, minimizing stirring, and cook until a candy thermometer
reaches the firm-ball stage - 247 F. While the sugar cooks, scrape the
now-chilled condensed milk (it will be very solid) into a medium-size bowl,
leaving it refrigerated until the sugar is ready. As soon as the sugar comes
to temperature, pour it over the condensed milk and begin beating with an
electric mixer. Add the butter, 1/2 tbsp at a time, beating constantly with a
uniform circular motion using the mixer. Once all the butter has been beaten
in it should have a very definitive smooth texture just like ganache before
it's firmed up. This textural transformation will happen suddenly and
dramatically near the end of the process. Spread over the cake of your choice
and refrigerate. Makes enough to ice a 2 layer 8" cake.

--
Alex Rast

(remove d., .7, not, and .NOSPAM to reply)