Black Forest Torte is a classic cake from Germany. Layers of chocolate cake are filled with whipped cream and cherries are strewn over the cream. The Black Forest Torte is then finished with more whipped cream and usually decorated chocolate, often chocolate curls. Continue reading
Tag Archives: chocolate curls
Chocolate Strawberry Ruffle Cake
This Chocolate Strawberry Ruffle Cake came about when a friend of mine was gathering items to auction off to help someone. She wanted a spectacular, showstopper of a cake cake that would draw a high bid. I was happy to donate the cake. I had made the cake, filled it and frozen it a week earlier. The day came to finish it and the night before she was to pick it up, we lost all power – for 19 hours. I couldn’t open the freezer or fridge until the power came back on. So this Chocolate Strawberry Ruffle Cake never came to fruition for the auction.
This is another example of a cake made from recipes already on the blog. One of the reasons I love baking and pastry is that it is infinitely changeable. The chocolate cake is one of my base cakes that I use over and over in different versions. Continue reading
White Chocolate Curls
This post about white chocolate curls is a bit different as it features photos taken at the bakery and not in my kitchen.
Because I was never good with a piping bag, I came up with techniques that didn’t need one. This technique is one of them. Basically you spread melted white chocolate (not compound) onto a sheet pan. Then using different size putty knives available in hardware stores you shape the curls as shown.
The important point with this technique is the temperature of the chocolate. If it is too soft, it won’t curl. If too cold, it will shatter. Although my bakery was air conditioned, in St. Louis summers with 4 ovens going, it could get very hot. So often, we would place the tray on a utility cart (as seen below) and roll it into the cooler where it would set up enough to make the curls. In the winter, we didn’t have to do that.
If the chocolate gets too cold, let it sit at room temperature until you can make the curls. If the room is warm, it will be necessary to move the chocolate in and out of the refrigerator. We often had multiple sheets going at once so when one warmed up too much, we would trade it for one in the cooler. Continue reading
