Dark Chocolate Wedding Cake With Chocolate Orange Ganache And Orange Buttercream Food

TUSCAN COUNTRY CHOCOLATE WEDDING CAKE

Steps:

• For assembly:
• one 8-inch cardboard round.
• one 6-inch cardboard round
• three 8-inch plastic straws
• Make cake layers:.
• Preheat oven to 350°F and line 2 buttered 7- by 2-inch round cake pans and 2 buttered 9- by 2-inch round cake pans with rounds of wax paper. Butter paper and dust pans with flour, knocking out excess.
• Put cocoa powder in a bowl and whisk in boiling water in a stream until smooth. Stir in chopped chocolate and let stand 5 minutes. Stir mixture until smooth and chocolate is melted and cool mixture. Whisk in sour cream and vanilla.
• Into a bowl sift together flour, baking soda, and salt. In large bowl of a standing electric mixer beat together butter and sugars until light and fluffy and add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping down side of bowl. Reduce speed to low and add flour mixture and cocoa mixture alternately in batches, beginning and ending with flour mixture and beating until batter is combined well.
• Pour 2 cups batter into each 7-inch pan and smooth tops. Divide remaining batter between 9-inch pans (about 33/4 cups each) and smooth tops. In middle and lower thirds of oven arrange one 9-inch layer and one 7-inch layer on each rack, putting 7-inch layers in front part of oven. Bake 7-inch layers 25 to 30 minutes and 9-inch layers 35 to 40 minutes, or until a tester comes out with crumbs adhering. Run a thin knife around edges of pans and invert cakes onto racks. Peel off paper and cool cakes completely. Cake layers may be made 2 days ahead and kept at cool room temperature, wrapped well in plastic wrap, or 2 weeks ahead and frozen, wrapped well in plastic wrap and foil. Defrost cake layers (without unwrapping) at room temperature.
• Make ganache:.
• In a small saucepan bring cream just to a boil. Remove pan from heat and add chocolate, butter, zest, and liqueur. Let ganache stand 3 minutes and whisk until chocolate is melted. Chill ganache just until cool, about 40 minutes.
• In a bowl with an electric mixer beat ganache just until light and fluffy before using (do not overbeat or it will become grainy).
• Assemble cake:.
• Put one 9-inch layer on 8-inch cardboard round and spread evenly with 2 cups ganache. Top with remaining 9-inch layer and gently press layers together to form an even tier. Put one 7-inch layer on 6-inch cardboard round and top with remaining ganache and remaining 7-inch layer in same manner.
• Frost top and sides of 9-inch tier with some buttercream and chill while frosting 7-inch tier. Chill both tiers until buttercream is firm.
• Cut straws in half and insert 1 straw piece all the way into center of 9-inch tier. Trim straw flush with top of tier and insert remaining 5 straw pieces in same manner in a circle about 1 1/2 inches from center straw. Center 7-inch tier (still on cardboard) on top of 9-inch tier. Fill in any gaps between tiers with buttercream and transfer cake to a cake stand or platter. Chill cake at least 6 hours and up to 1 day.
• Arrange fraises des bois and roses decoratively on top and around sides of cake. Let cake stand at cool room temperature (buttercream is sensitive to warm temperatures) 2 to 4 hours before serving. Serves about 30 (including top tier).
• Make orange curd:.
• In a small heavy saucepan whisk together yolks and sugar and whisk in orange juice, butter, and a pinch salt. Cook mixture over moderately low heat, whisking, until it just reaches boiling point, 5 to 7 minutes (do not let boil), and strain through a fine sieve into a bowl. Whisk in lemon juice and cool curd, its surface covered with plastic wrap. Chill orange curd, covered, until cold, at least 4 hours, and up to 2 days.
• Make buttercream:.
• In a heavy saucepan bring sugar and water to a boil, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Boil syrup, undisturbed, until it registers 248°F on a candy thermometer. While syrup is boiling, in large bowl of a standing electric mixer beat whites with a pinch salt until foamy and beat in cream of tartar. Beat whites until they just hold stiff peaks and beat in hot syrup in a stream (try to avoid beaters and side of bowl). Beat mixture at medium speed until completely cool, 15 to 20 minutes. Beat in butter, 1 piece at a time, and beat until thickened and smooth. (Buttercream will at first appear very thin and at some point look like it is breaking but, as more butter is beaten in, it will thicken and become glossy and smooth.) Beat in orange curd, salt, and zest until smooth. Buttercream may be made 4 days ahead and chilled in an airtight container or 2 weeks ahead and frozen in an airtight container. Bring buttercream completely to room temperature (this may take several hours if frozen) and beat before using. (If buttercream is too cold when beaten it will not be glossy and smooth.) Makes about 8 cups.
• Note: A cake-decorating turntable is extremely helpful for assembling and decorating a wedding cake.
• Decoration: fraises des bois (wild strawberries) and small roses with some leaves attached (both fruit and flowers must be nontoxic and pesticide-free).

ORANGE CHOCOLATE GANACHE CAKE

Steps:

• Bake the Cake: Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. You will need two 8" round cake pans, line w/ parchment paper at the bottom, greased and coated w/ very fine bread crumbs.
• Into a large mixing bowl, sift together flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
• Make a wide well in the middle of the dry ingredients. Add in the following order, without mixing, the buttermilk, oil, eggs and vanilla. With a large wire whisk, beat until smooth. Mix in coffee. Set aside.
• Gently pour the batter into the pans. Bake for 30 minutes at 325 degrees F, or until the top springs back when lightly pressed with a fingertip. Cool completely.
• For the frosting: Chop the chocolate and melt with a double boiler. Cool to room temperature.
• Beat the butter until light yellow and fluffy. Add egg yolk and vanilla. Gradually add the sugar. Dissolve the coffee in 2 t hot water. Add the chocolate and coffee to the butter mixture until blended. Do not whip! Spread immediately on cooled cake. Top with candied orange.

ORANGE-CHOCOLATE GANACHE

Steps:

• Zest orange with a microplane, add to heavy cream and place it into the sauce pan.
• Heat the cream in a sauce pan over medium heat stirring constantly untill it comes to a boil. take off heat.
• add hot cream to chocolate in a medium bowl, stirring untill all chocolate has melted, add butter at once, and stir untill melted.
• chill untill thickened to spread on cakes, brownies, or cupcakes. pour over cakes or dip cupcakes while still liquid. chill untill firm.

WEDDING CAKE - RICH DARK CHOCOLATE CAKE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 160C/fan 140C/gas 3. Butter, double-line and wrap the sides of the 30cm deep-round cake tin as before. Put the butter and chocolate into a medium saucepan, then stir over a low heat until melted and smooth. Stir in the coffee and vanilla.
• Sift the flour, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda into the biggest bowl you have. Add the sugar, breaking down any lumps with your fingertips if necessary. Beat the eggs and soured cream together in a jug or bowl and pour into the flour mix. Pour in the melted chocolate mix as well, then stir with a wooden spoon until you have a thick, even chocolaty batter.
• Pour into the prepared tin and bake for 2½ hrs - don't open the oven door before 2 hrs is up, as this will cause the cake to sink. Once cooked, leave in the tin to cool completely. The unfilled cake will keep for up to four days, wrapped as before, or frozen for a month.