This weekend was my neighbor’s birthday. Her husband asked me to bake her a decadent chocolate cake and decorate it with “Spring Flowers.” Here in MN it isn’t exactly bursting with flora yet. In fact, as I was working on this flower cake it started to snow. But Easter is right around the corner and the tulips and rhubarb are promising to come out of the ground soon. We hold our breath and hope for a greener time, soon. Her cake, like Kathy herself, had to be over the top and fantastic! I wanted it to be bright and full of life to compensate for the snow!
The chocolate layers were made up of Devil’s Food, Chocolate Pastry Cream, Bittersweet Ganache, White Chocolate Buttercream and the flowers were made from gum paste.
Happy Birthday Kathy!
Last week I was in such a rush to get my Daring Baker Challenge done in time that I forgot to give away another Le Creuset Stoneware Heart Ramekin with Cover, Red. This week I will give away 2 to make up for it. Just leave me a note below and tell me what you are making for Passover*, Easter** or whatever you are craving now that it is spring. I will pick 2 random winners next week.
Springtime Flower Cake
Follow along with the instructions and find the full recipe below. White Chocolate Buttercream by Rose Levy Beranbaum from the The Cake Bible
To make the buttercream:
In a small heavy sauce pan heat together the 3/4 cup sugar and water, stirring constantly until the sugar dissolves and the mixture is bubbling. Turn the heat to low.
In your stand mixer beat the egg whites with the whip attachment, on low speed until they are foamy. Add the cream of tartar and beat on med/high speed until they reach soft peaks. Reduce speed and gradually add the 1/4 cup of sugar and beat until stiff peaks. Reduce speed to low.
Attach a candy thermometer to your pot and bring the sugar syrup to a boil, remove when the thermometer reads 248 degrees. Slowly pour the sugar into the egg whites, along the bowl’s edge, being careful not to hit the whip or it will splatter.
Increase the speed and allow the whites to whip until glossy and room temperature, about 2 minutes. Add the butter 1 tablespoon at a time, until all incorporated. It may go through a stage when it looks soupy, but it will come together when the last bit of butter is added and it has whipped for a minute or so.
Slowly add the rum in small amounts, whip after each addition. Then add the cooled melted chocolate and whip gently until incorporated.
To assemble the flower cake:
I split the cake into 3 layers and spread each layer with a coating of the ganache. In order to keep the pastry cream from oozing out of the cake I created a dam around the edge of the cake with the buttercream, (you could also use stiff ganache to do this), using a large plain tip in a pastry bag.
Fill the center of the flower cake with the pastry cream.
I create a crumb coat with just a thin layer of the buttercream to lock in the crumbs.
Once you have a thin layer on, refrigerate the cake for about 30 minutes so that the butter hardens. When you do your final layer of buttercream you won’t have to worry about getting dark crumbs on the outside of your cake.
Start with a large blob of buttercream on the top.
Spread it out, so that it is flat and just slightly beyond the edge of the cake. This will insure that you get a perfectly square top to your cake.
Now your want to cover the sides. Don’t worry about getting it smooth until the whole thing is covered in a nice thick layer of the buttercream.
Now you want to smooth out the sides. This can only be done well with a Turntable
To create the ferns you will need to color your buttercream with food Color and fill several pastry bags witht eh different colors. I recommend using the Disposable Pastry Bags
Create your gum paste flowers
and roses
Assemble the flower cake!
Enjoy!!!
*If you need some inspiration you should check out what Ariela at Baking and Books has put together with my recipes for Passover worthy ladyfingers. Or my Chocolate Caramel Matzo, Coconut “Haystack” Macaroons, Marzipan Cherries or Fruit Jellies!
**Here is a post I just did about Hot Cross Buns, made with 5 minute dough from my book Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day.
Don’t forget to leave a note to win Le Creuset Stoneware Heart Ramekin with Cover, Red
Ingredients
- Gum paste or fondant flowers Gum paste or fondant flowers
- One recipe Devil’s Food. Devil's Food
- One recipe of Pastry Cream, plus 6 ounces milk chocolate, melted. Pastry Cream
- One recipe Bittersweet Ganache Bittersweet Ganache
- White Chocolate Buttercream
- 1 pound 4 sticks unsalted butter, softened but should still be able to pick up the stick without it losing its shape.
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup water
- 5 large egg whites
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
- 1/4 cup rum optional
- 6 ounces white chocolate melted and cool to room temperature.
Instructions
To make the buttercream:
- In a small heavy sauce pan heat together the 3/4 cup sugar and water, stirring constantly until the sugar dissolves and the mixture is bubbling. Turn the heat to low.
- In your stand mixer beat the egg whites with the whip attachment on low speed until they are foamy. Add the cream of tartar and beat on med/high speed until they reach soft peaks. Reduce speed and gradually add the 1/4 cup of sugar and beat until stiff peaks. Reduce speed to low.
- Attach a candy thermometer to your pot and bring the sugar syrup to a boil, remove when the thermometer reads 248 degrees. Slowly pour the sugar into the egg whites, along the bowl’s edge, being careful not to hit the whip or it will splatter.
- Increase the speed and allow the whites to whip until glossy and room temperature, about 2 minutes. Add the butter 1 tablespoon at a time, until all incorporated. It may go through a stage when it looks soupy, but it will come together when the last bit of butter is added and it has whipped for a minute or so.
- Slowly add the rum in small amounts, whip after each addition. Then add the cooled melted chocolate and whip gently until incorporated.
To assemble the flower cake:
- I split the cake into 3 layers and spread each layer with a coating of the ganache. In order to keep the pastry cream from oozing out of the cake I created a dam around the edge of the cake with the buttercream, (you could also use stiff ganache to do this), using a large plain tip in a pastry bag. Fill the center of the flower cake with the pastry cream.
- Once you have a thin layer on, refrigerate the cake for about 30 minutes so that the butter hardens. When you do your final layer of buttercream you won’t have to worry about getting dark crumbs on the outside of your cake.
- Start with a large blob of buttercream on the top.Spread it out, so that it is flat and just slightly beyond the edge of the cake. This will insure that you get a perfectly square top to your cake.
- Now your want to cover the sides. Don’t worry about getting it smooth until the whole thing is covered in a nice thick layer of the buttercream.
- Now you want to smooth out the sides. This can only be done well with a Turntable and a long Spatula. hold the spatula straight up and down at a 20 degree angle from the cake. Turn the cake turn table and slowly smooth out the cake. once the sides are smooth then you will do the top. Again at a 20 degree angle you will smooth the top, starting from the outside. be sure not to sweep all the way across the cake, just to the middle. Continue all the way around until it is nice and smooth.
- To create the ferns you will need to color your buttercream with food Color and fill several pastry bags witht eh different colors. I recommend using the Disposable Pastry Bags when using this many colors. It took me about as long to clean mine out as it did to build the cake! 😉 Use a pastry bag and a #2 Plain Pastry Tip to create the center lines. Then use a Leaf #67 Decorating Tip to create the leaves. Start larger at the bottom and get smaller as you go up.
- Create your gum paste flowers and roses and assemble.
Wow that looks great!
Turkey dinner with stuffing, cranberry sauce, veggies and stuffing
Ham
And for dessert… blondies topped with caramel icecream studded with Lindor truffles…. mmmmmm!
This is absolutely gorgeous!!! I am making the tiramisu from Ari’s website with the KFP lady fingers – am soooo excited to make this recipe! I usually make a flourless chocolate cake, yum, but this year is going to be the amazing tiramisu!
Ooops!! I am making asparagus bisque, a beautifully seasoned pork loin for the BBQ grill rotisserie, and for dessert a pear tart sweetened with cactus honey powder! Nothing like testing a new idea for the holiday!!
This cake is so beautiful and happy! I revel in good cake, you do such beautiful work!!
Whoops wrong email
I’m either going to make a mouse torte or a chicken w/ orange sauce. To break the Passover monotony, I’m going to make a challah of some sort.
This is such a beautiful and lovely spring cake. My girls would adore all the flowers on top.
OMG! That cake! But did you have to post that confection right before Passover! Nevermind, I’ll just have to make those yummy haystacks, which BTW thank you for sharing such a great macaroon recipe that doesn’t include sweetened condensed milk.
What a gorgeous cake! Well done!
Your cake is beautiful!!! I’m so excited that spring is finally here…I’m tired of being cold! For Passover I made a flourless chocolate cake.
Your cake looks stunning!
For Easter my husband and I will smoke a turkey and have mixed greens, homemade baked mac and cheese, sweet potatos, for dessert I will make a Pink Champagne Cake! For breakfast we will have Cinnamon rolls made with the Brioche dough from Artisan bread in five. Sublime.
Happy Holiday
Hi there, You make a beautiful cake. I am making cake pops for dessert at our Ham Easter dinner. Have a great holiday.
Happy Birthday, Kathy! What a fabulous looking cake. It looks absolutely scrumptious. Chocolate is my favorite, and I love how much chocolate you’ve managed to squeeze into this cake!
My family does the traditional Ham Dinner for Easter thing. I love it!
Right now I want a bite of the cake!!!
Thanks for the great giveaway!!
We always have lamb for Easter. 🙂
That such a pretty cake. I’m either going to make Ham, Potatoes, Mac and Cheese, Green Beans and fresh bread or Homemade Chicken Potpies. I have 3 birthdays this week (Mom’s and two of my kids) plus an Easter egg hunt on Saturday. I’ll see how tired I am and then decide exactly what to cook 🙂
Such a pretty cake Zoe!
Wow! That is one beautiful cake! For Easter, I plan on grilling some meats, making some empanada rolls, and a mango cake.
Mmmmm…that looks so yummy…
Beautiful cake! I traditionally make Easter Bread but, as luck would have it, my KA died on me! So no Easter Bread this year. I did manage to bake Easter cut out cookies, which my daughter iced for me. Happy Holidays to all! Steph
For Easter this year I am working on a braised celery dish
and solid chocolate eggs, inside blown out real egg shells.
the cake looks beautiful. This year for easter my husband and I will be taking my in-laws (that are visiting from Venezuela)to Napa Valley.
Such a gorgeous cake! For Passover I’m going to bake my favorite coconut balls.
Beautiful cake…you have such talent! I love the step by step photos…I think this year we will do a lamb roast for Easter…yumm!