this was a birthday cake for a recipient who likes strawberries, so chocolate-dipped strawberries on top of the cake seemed a likely decoration. this is a chocolate cake with a layer of sliced fresh strawberries and whipped cream inside. i stabilized the whipped cream with gelatin to avoid a potentially runny mess (might have gotten away with not doing this at this time of year, but i thought i wouldn’t take the chance).

i dipped the strawberries in ganache - chocolate melted with whipped cream, and then melted additional white chocolate and drizzled that over the dark for added contrast.

Here’s a mocha chocolate cake that I literally whipped up on the morning of a party, so spontaneity was the name of the game. I didn’t have any buttermilk, which is what I normally use for my chocolate cakes, so I decided to experiment with soy creamer instead. I also added minimal traces of cayenne, ginger and cinnamon. I was really quite happy with the outcome. The cake was less dense, but also more fragile, as it was much lighter in texture. However, it was incredibly moist, as well.

I came up with the ideas for the decorations on the fly, as well. I had some slivered almonds on hand, so I tried making some sort of basket or wall-like pattern. I made the flowers out of gum paste and sprinkled the top of the cake with coconut flakes. This was a huge hit!

it’s a new year and i’ve resolved to practice healthier habits. i cashed in a gift certificate i received from my father-in-law for a class at the institute of culinary education and took a course on vegan chocolate desserts taught by fran costigan. i was quite pleased by the results and thought very little was sacrificed in terms of taste by using exclusively nondairy items.

pictured above is the recreation of the dessert my group created in class, the black bottom chocolate chestnut tart (made for my dad’s birthday). it was composed of an organic chocolate cookie crust, a layer of ganache, chocolate chestnut filling, and chestnut cream. alas, i have no photo of a slice or cross-section of the tart, but the light chestnut cream created a nice color contrast against the chocolate filling and dark cookie crust. whole chestnuts or marrons glaces would have been an ideal topper for the tart, but since i ran of chestnuts, but did have some ganache to spare, i made truffles with the latter, rolled them in cocoa powder or chopped nuts, and used that for decoration.

fran was a lively teacher and created her recipes after years of experimentation and tweaking. it was really interesting to learn how various ingredients could be substituted, i.e. agave for sugar, canola oil for butter, soy creamer for milk, etc. (of course, it’s not a matter of simply substituting canola oil whenever butter is called for, often other ingredients are also incorporated to create the right chemistry).

my health-conscious parents were quite pleased with this no cholesterol dessert. i was happy with the clean taste and happy to serve them a less guilt-ridden dessert. i’m looking forward to trying some other vegan recipes from fran’s class - “gianduja” cheezecakes in a chocolate hazelnut crust (using tofu), and triple chocolate black forest cake. yum…

The buche de noel is a Christmas cake in the shape of a tree log. I used Nick Malgieri’s recipe from his book, Perfect Cakes. I baked a layer of chocolate genoise sheet cake, then frosted it with mocha buttercream. The sheet cake was then rolled into a cylinder. One end was truncated, and the cut piece placed atop the cake formed a branch. I frosted the cake with the remaining buttercream and used an offset spatula and/or fork to create a bark-like texture. The mushrooms, holly leaves and berries and pine cones are all made of marzipan. As a final touch, the entire assembled cake is dusted with cocoa powder and confectioner’s sugar. Happy Holidays!!!

I received a request to create a chocolate birthday cake with rose petal buttercream frosting. I was a bit surprised by the final product, as it has a more unusual look than the other cakes I’ve made (perhaps I’ve been influenced by all the vintage designs and patterns I’ve been researching for work lately). The rose, vine and leaves are all made of marzipan.

This cake was for a friend’s birthday. It was a chocolate cake (seemingly everyone’s favorite flavor!), frosted with whipped cream. There was a slight twist to the filling–I added chocolate shavings and ground almonds to the whipped cream, which gave the filling a crunchy texture. I continued the theme of placing a sliced almond atop a piped star. I was quite pleased with the rustic look of the cake, and the guests were quite pleased with the taste!

This is a chocolate cake frosted and filled with mocha buttercream, topped with large coconut flakes and drizzled melted chocolate. This was an ordered cake, and one I couldn’t taste! I’ll always have the picture…

This was a cake celebrating my mother’s birthday. My mother has always loved mocha, so I used a mocha flavored buttercream to frost and fill this chocolate cake. I decided to add a little zing to my usual chocolate cake by adding a bit of cinnamon to the batter. It really added a very subtle smoky touch. I piped a decorative border and topped each point with an almond sliver. A gumpaste rose painted with pink luster dust tops the cake (I had to add some pink to liven the brown). I was very happy with the way this one turned out and mom loved it, especially the border!

I made this cake for a co-worker’s bridal shower. It’s a three-layered chocolate cake with grand marnier buttercream frosting, filled with buttercream frosting and raspberry jam. I piped a curly, swirly decorative motif all over the cake with buttercream. I had several options for making the roses. My first attempt to create one out of homemade white chocolate modelling paste proved unsuccessful. Fortunately, I had a plan B and C and settled at plan B pictured above - roses made of gumpaste. (Plan C, incidentally, was to use marzipan, which I knew would be the safest route). The cake was another big hit!