On to more exciting projects - this Birthday Cake! As you can see I was able to see this through, even when it became tiresome and after the tedious work had begun. Am I trying too hard to dispel the astrology drivel?
We purchased a Moroccan tagine set about a month ago from HomeSense and used it for the first time recently. We christened it with a vegetarian tagine, but I can't wait to try a lamb, chicken or beef version. The Moroccan fare got us thinking, well, Moroccan - I see a trip in our future. With my birthday around the corner, I thought I would stay with that theme for my birthday cake.
So, I got to work implementing the idea floating around in my head. The base would be a deep, rich brown, framed with colourful, yet muted tiles in three of my favourite colours.
I whipped up a double batch of my currently favourite chocolate cake recipe. I made an 8" base and topped it with a 6" and filled them with colours that coordinated with the tiles. A thin layer of vanilla bean buttercream was then applied to prepare the cakes for the chocolate fondant.
Now the fun stuff. I used my hydrangea petal cutter to cut out the tile shapes and then used a #2 round piping tip to create holes in the center of each. As I discarded each into a close-by bowl, I thought of ways to incorporate them back into the design. I planned to add gold dragees to the tiles in the top tier; instead, I found good use for the discarded centers. Can you say, homemade sequins?! Using a mixture of lustre dust and vodka, I painted a number of the tiles to try and achive a more rustic look. Then I placed the centers, now dry-dusted with lustre dust back in their rightful place - well, some of them.
My birthday cake was complete in my opinion, until I came across this photo. I instantly knew they would become a part of my cake. With photo in view, I set about recreating the Moroccan Poppies to top my cake. I think they turned out just lovely and are now number three in my sugar flower repertoire.
One more thing about Geminis not mentioned above - we love to share. Here, have a slice on me!
*Astrology info found on the web, but can't recall the link.
Ingredients
Cake:
- 2 sticks unsalted butter
- ½ cup high quality Dutch process cocoa
- 1 tablespoon instant espresso powder dissolved into ¾ cup water
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1 tablespoon almond extract
- 2 large eggs
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
Frosting:
- 3 sticks + 2 tablespoons unsalted butter softened and cut into cubes
- 3 cups confectioners' sugar icing/powdered
- 3 tablespoons milk
- 1 vanilla bean scraped
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- pinch of salt
- 1 drop each of Avocado Violet and Orange Americolor gel paste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350° F. Prepare pans - I use cake release.
- Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium-low heat; add cocoa, stirring until smooth. Whisk in the espresso water and remove from heat.
- Add the sugar, sour cream, vanilla, and eggs to the warmed cocoa mixture and whisk until smooth.
- In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, and salt. Add to the first mixture, whisking until well blended.
- Pour batter into the prepared pans. Bake for 40-45 minutes, or until it feels firm to the touch and has slightly pulled away from the sides of the pan.
- Cool in pans on a rack for 20 minutes. Remove from pan by placing the rack over the cake and invert, tapping pan lightly, if required to loosen.
To make the frosting:
- In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, whip butter for 8 minutes on medium speed until very pale & creamy.
- Add remaining ingredients and mix on low speed for 1 minute, then on medium speed for 6 minutes. Frosting will be very light, creamy, and fluffy. Place about ½ cup of frosting in three small bowls and add the colours to each. Use the coloured frosting to fill each layer of the cake. Use the remaining frosting to mask the entire cake.
Notes
SpecialtyCake says
Happy belated birthday!
And I really love your design and colour combination. Bold and elegant!
I once used a small round piping tip like you did to make fondant sprinkles.
Paula Kelly-Bourque says
What a beautiful cake, inside and out. Just like you. Happy Birthday 🙂 My zodiac sign is Cancer and pretty well fits me to a "T".
I Sugar Coat It! says
Thanks, Regina!! Fancy seeing you here!! That's is a great idea - DIY sprinkles. Thanks again for dropping by.
I Sugar Coat It! says
Aww, thank you, Paula! I don't think I know any Cancers, but then again, I don't ask about zodiak signs. One of my aunt's called me after reading to say how much that fits me to a "T" - so I guess there is some truth to these things!
Haniela says
What a gorgeous gorgeous cake! I absolutely love it!
I Sugar Coat It! says
Why, thank you!! This is my absolute favourite chocolate cake recipe.
Queenie says
i apologize for maybe not seeing the directions for it, but where do the colors come from? is that cake or buttercream? I see the buttercream layer under the chocolate fondant... but the orange, green and purple?
I Sugar Coat It! says
Thanks for your note - no apology required. After reading again, I realized that I was not very clear and have updated the recipe with instructions for the frosting. I made this recipe as a Bundt cake prior and forgot to adjust for this post. The orange, green and purple layers of buttercream were achieved using a drop each of Americolor gel paste.
G Pavao says
This is beautiful. Thank you for the tutorial on the poppies. I'm always trying to make new flowers and this is one I haven't tried yet.
G Pavao says
I'm trying this recipe this week. It sounds really good.
I Sugar Coat It! says
thats so beautiful 🙂