This is the first cake I made from Fiona Cairns's book Bake & Decorate. Read my review of the book here.
This was a simple sponge cake to make but looks most impressive with the addition of a few strategic glittery roses that are ridiculously easy to make!
I was never really that into decorating but there are a lot of really easy ideas in the book that could be mixed and matched with any kind of cake. Make sure to read the introduction and pages in the back as this is where the idea for glittery roses was.
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This picture doesn't do the final product justice at all. They were spectacular in the light and everyone was really impressed at work that I made them myself. It's not easy taking photos at 10pm.
Note: If you want edible flowers check with your florist that they can be eaten (you never know if something has been sprayed of them). I bought these at the supermarket and was pretty sure that they weren't safe to eat. I took them off when served.
The only change I would make is to use less or omit the rose essence. There are already a lot of great flavors going on in this cake and I think the rose took away from that. I enjoyed the pistachios and raspberries more, personally. I would maybe add a little more cardamom in the cake next time as well.
White Chocolate and Cardamom Rosewater Sponge
From Fiona Cairns Bake & Decorate (with permission from Quadrille)
Ingredients
For the Cake
130g unsalted butter, at room temperature
20 green cardamom pods
170g self-raising flour
100g white chocolate, chopped
130g caster sugar
2 eggs, beaten
1 tsp vanilla
For the frosting/ganache
200g white chocolate, finely chopped
200ml double cream
2-3 tsp rosewater (or to taste, I find it quite strong)
For the decoration
100g whole pistachios (roast in the oven for 5- 10 minutes at 170 C ahead of time and then shell)
250g fresh raspberries
7 roses, cut with a inch of the stem remaining
1 egg white
edible glitter
1. Preheat oven to 180 C. Butter and line your cake tin with parchment paper.
2. De seed the cardamon pods by cutting them in half and emptying out the little seeds. Grind the seeds finely with a pestle and mortar. Sift afterwards to remove any husks.
3. Place the chocolate in a food processor with half of the sugar. Process until as fine as possible. Add 2 tablespoons of hot water (not too hot, you should be able to stick your finger in it). Dribble into the chocolate, process until it has melted.
4. From this point the directions continue to use the food processor but I don't have a big one so I used my hand mixer. I transferred the chocolate mixture to a large bowl. Add the remaining sugar and butter and beat well. Add the eggs, flour and vanilla and beat again.
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5. Pour into the tin and bake for 25-30 minutes. Remove and place on a wire rack for a few minutes, then turn on a wire rack and remove the paper. Leave until it is completely cool.
6. Make the ganache by placing the chocolate in a bowl. In a pan bring the cream and rosewater to a boil. Pour over the chocolate, leave for a few seconds, then gently stir until smooth. Leave until completely cool.
6. Make the ganache by placing the chocolate in a bowl. In a pan bring the cream and rosewater to a boil. Pour over the chocolate, leave for a few seconds, then gently stir until smooth. Leave until completely cool.
7. Whisk until thick like frosting (I beat for a few minutes with my electric mixer).
8. Carefully cut the cake in half. Using the flat half for the top.
9. Fill with ganache and then a layer of raspberries.
10. Top with the flat layer cake. I then dry iced it with a thin layer of ganache and put it in the fridge for 30 minutes.
11. Evenly spread another layer of ganache around the sides and top of the cake (I really wish I had a cake decorating turntable). Decorate the sides with the shelled and roasted pistachios.
12. Make the glittery roses by placing the egg white in one bowl and the edible glitter in another. Brush the sides and top edges of the flower with egg white using a pastry brush, then roll the flower in the edible glitter. Don't brush the egg white on too thick or the glitter will look lumpy. Place in the hole of a cooling rack to let the glitter dry.
13. Press the stems of the roses in the center of the cake in a circle pattern. Any mistakes can be covered with any extra icing so the holes don't show.
