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Anna W. (Chocolate Cake)

post #1 of 10
6/2/03 at 10:19am
Thread Starter 
Hi Anna,
Since this is your preferred chocolate cake.
(M. Braun's)
And I am making this one for this weekend.
Just curious, any particular cocoa/brand that you prefer to use?
Thanks Anna.
Spoons
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post #2 of 10
6/4/03 at 4:23am
Well....I prefer Ghirdellis but what I use is Sysco's High Fat Dutch Process Cocoa. It works fine and keeps my food cost down.
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post #3 of 10
6/4/03 at 10:22am
Thread Starter 
Well, I tried a sample yesterday with good ole Hershey's. It came out okay.
I have in stock, Vahlrona & Pernigotti. But, not enough to make a 4 tier. And, I know what you mean about cost. You see, I rarely make chocolate, the brides want white cake. I don't want to buy a 40/50# drum of cocoa. Our food service supplier carries Guittard and Bensdorp, the other high end supplier has Cocoa Barry.
So, you've been successful with Dutch Process, since you reduced the baking soda? That always confuses me.
Thanks Anna. Have you been doing anything exciting?

If anyone wants to add to this.... how long does cocoa last? The Pernigotti container says...keep for one year.
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post #4 of 10
6/4/03 at 8:08pm
I bake a TON of chocolate cake. I have not had any problem with the dutch process. I can't tell you how long the stuff lasts because I buy five pound bags and they are gone within a month or two.

The most exciting thing I'm working on is a wedding with 13 centerpiece cakes- all different styles in gold and cream. It was a lot of fun designing those cakes! :) Not only that, but price was not an issue! Doesn't get any better than that!
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post #5 of 10
6/6/03 at 9:44am
Thread Starter 
Thanks Anna.
Good luck on the cakes, would love to see them.
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post #6 of 10
6/7/03 at 5:42am
Me too, I hope you'll post your photos!


Talking about wedding cakes. I had something new happen yesterday. I'm at a new country club (for me) and the manager meets with the people to deside on their wedding cake. He uses a REALLLLLLLY old wilton book as their only book to choose from unless they bring in their own photos. So this bride chooses a cake with a slanting scallop that goes from the bottom border to the top border. Then it has a really thin BLACK ribbon that accents the scallops and wraps around in other places on the cakes. It's truely an ugly cake, sorry.

So as I'm base coating the cake the florists (2 women) comes by to ask about flowers. Anyway they HATE to cake (too), their like "BLACK!" that won't match anything upstairs. Sooooooo they turn out to be the mother of the grooms personal friends and they go upstairs and tell her about the cake. Long story short, they have me change the design completely and incorporate flowers. NOW the cake really did look great in the room matching the whole color and style. BUT now I can't wait to hear the feedback from the event.

Will the bride be pissed off that the mother in law hated the cake she picked out and changed it? Will she even notice it? Kind of wierd huh, it's very risky of the MIL!
"Bakers are born, not made. We are exacting people who delight in submitting ourselves to rules and formulas if it means achieving repeatable perfection", Rose Levy Beranbaum
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post #7 of 10
6/8/03 at 12:45pm
I was reading Biranbaum on the subject just last night. She recommends omitting the baking soda if you are using Dutched chocolate as the acid has been removed.

I'm having trouble making up my mind which of her chocolate cakes to try, they all look so good? Any suggestions?
" ...but in the spirit of 'stop, think, there must be a harder way, 'I figured starting from scratch might be more gratifying.'' (Judy Rodgers)
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post #8 of 10
6/8/03 at 5:17pm
Chocolate Oblivion Torte!!!!!!!!

Wendy- any fall out about that wedding cake?
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post #9 of 10
6/9/03 at 6:07am
First time I've lived in the same area where I work. I happened to run into the lady whom insisted on the change at the grocery store. She said I did a great job, but it won't be until after the honeymooners return that I'll know how they feel.


When are your centerpiece cakes due?

Ditto on the oblivion torte!
"Bakers are born, not made. We are exacting people who delight in submitting ourselves to rules and formulas if it means achieving repeatable perfection", Rose Levy Beranbaum
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post #10 of 10
6/9/03 at 9:43am
W- well let me know if anything happens with that. I'd be very interested to see if the bride is pissed off!

My centerpiece cakes are the first weekend in September.

I had a really exciting job, had a bride who wanted an art deco theme and I designed a couple of really cool cakes- she decided to go plain with just some silver borders and a couple of calla lilies. Blah! I guess I'll just have to turn them into display cakes!
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