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!