Orange Creamsicle Cake and Wedding Cake questions1

[MistyC]

Hi all,

I am so glad I found these forums.

I was wondering if anybody had any suggestions for a home baker to make an Orange Creamsicle cake for an outdoor wedding? What type of cakes and what to fill it with. It's for a summer wedding. Also I am covering it with Fondant. Any helpful tips for that?

Thank you in advance,

Misty

[momoreg]

You can do a white sponge with a layer of vanilla bavarian (or mousse), and another layer of orange mousse. Soak the layers with a simple syrup spiked with Triple Sec.

What are your specific questions regarding fondant, and what kind of experience do you have with it?

PS, welcome to ChefTalk, Misty!

[MistyC]

Thank you for replying. Those fillings sound great. But I won't be able to refrigerate the cake for more than 5 hours. But I am definately going to use those in a scaled down version at home!

As for the fondant, well I've never used it! It just looks really nice on the cake I think and I hope that it will hold up to being outside better than buttercream.

I guess I'm just wondering how easy it is to work with it?

Misty

[momoreg]

Fondant takes some time to learn, so practice as much as you need to, so you're not cursing, trying to get it to work at the last minute. I wonder what you are planning to use under the fondant, if not buttercream...?

Fondant does no better or worse in summer weather than buttercream. I typically have buttercream under the fondant for a smooth look, but I've heard of people using jam or royal icing underneath it as well. The truth is, humidity will affect almost any finish, if the contents of the cake are cold, and the surrounding air is hot.

To obtain a nice creamsicle flavor, you really need dairy, but maybe you'd consider an orange curd or marmalade as your filling, for an orange (but not creamsicle) flavor.

[momoreg]

Where in the world do you live, and when is the wedding?

[MistyC]

I live on Vancouver Island in Canada. The wedding is this coming saturday August 21st! I think I may just have to give up on the creamsicle cake for the wedding and do it for a cake at home. I like the bavarian creme idea with the triple sec syrup! But then I need to figure out what flavors to do. I don't want the traditonal white cake. Any ideas? I know I can use french vanilla and that would be alright. Actually I guess my questions go more along the lines of fillings that will withstand the heat.

I am using buttercream under the fondant. But I am using an all shortening recipie. I've made a cake with that this past month and all was well with it. Everybody enjoyed it. I will be using a ready made rolled fondant. I'm not up to trying to make my own yet!

I also can't use any alcohol in the the cake as the bride and groom are both recovering. Most of the guests will also be recovering alcholics. I think.

Thank you
Misty

[momoreg]

Misty,

Certainly, you can add some butter to your buttercream. It needn't be ALL shortening. If you do 75% butter, 25% shortening, that's plenty of shortening to stabilize the buttercream.

That said, you can use flavored, tinted buttercream as an icing, without fondant, OR you can do the same with the fondant.

Instead of liqueur, use orange juice concentrate for some extra dimension and moisture.


I really do think that a citrus curd can give you the flavor and heat resistance that you're looking for as a filling.

[bigbuns]

I know, I know...this is heresy, but my mother just made a cake from The Cake Doctor book called Orange Dreamsicle: 1 pkg. yellow cake mix, 3/4 cup Miracle Whip salad dressing, 1 pkg. (1.3) whipped topping mix, 3/4 c fresh orange juice, 3 large eggs, 2 tbsp. grated orange zest. Everything was beaten in the mixer on medium for 3 min. She then painted the layers with a simple syrup flavored with peel, then a sugar/oj glaze. It was actually quite flavorful, and for a home baker, it was very easy.

If you are using boxed fondant, such as Wilton's, PLEASE FOR THE SAKE OF YOUR GUESTS, flavor it. Knead in some almond, orange or some type of extract. Most American's do not care for the taste of it, and Wilton's has
a chemical aftertaste. A lot of people peel it off the cake.

For more help with fondant, go to www.baking911.com. Everything you wanted to know about fondant that you never thought of asking. They also have a recipe for rolled buttercream you might like better. Also, go to Wilton's discussion forums. All levels of cake bakers to answer your questions. Good luck.