My Chocolate Fantasy

There are numerous occasions comes in your lifetime to celebrate but, birthday has its own importance. As it comes once in a year it gives you an opportunity to invite your friends and relatives. But, in a birthday party the most important thing, other then the birthday person, are birthday cakes.

People purchase a lot of gifts for the celebrant but thrill that one can feel when he/she blows the candles is something special in itself. But when, you take the pictures of cake cutting or birthday boy/girl having it, in such events cake remains the centre of attraction. That is the reason there are so many pastry shops in the market.

But, before selecting any cake you must know the choice of the celebrant. Then, you can go accordingly for chocolate cake, strawberry cake, black forest cake, etc. If you want something different then you can try cakes that are adorned with silver or golden foils that give them a different look altogether.

If you want to give a bigger surprise to your loved ones, then you can select a suitable recipe and bake the cake yourself. It is not so difficult to bake cakes whereas it provides you an extra satisfaction. You can also decorate it with different types of sweets and confetti.

These cakes are available in different sizes also. You can go for a small one or for a huge one, as per your guest list. You can also select the different shapes of the cakes that suits the age and style of the celebrant. Like, if you are celebrating your kids’ birthday then you can take cake in the shape of any cartoon character.

You can also check the flavours, shape and sizes online, as there are several pastry shops offers you cake through their websites. Through, online you can conveniently order the cake as per your requirement.

Birthday cakes are available in different sizes, shapes and colours. So, you can easily select the cakes as per your need.

There’s a certain amount of pleasure gained from making fancy birthday cakes that cost next to nothing. How? Not cheap ingredients! Make your fancy birthday cakes from the trimmings of other cakes.

There is inevitably some ‘fallout’ from making celebration cakes, particularly wedding cakes made of many layers. These cakes always need trimming and cutting into shape before they are glazed with chocolate.

• But what can you do with those delectable biscuity trimmings? • What to do with the traces of ganache from the different fillings? • What to do with the spare cake and cream left over from the cake shaping?

You can just eat it all, then and there, but that seems downright greedy – or throw it away, which seems downright wasteful… or you can make more brand new fancy birthday cakes!

Just after delivering a large wedding cake one year, to be honest I was a bit ‘caked out’! But my grandson wanted one of my ‘fancy’ birthday cakes. I needed something different, quickly.

I remembered that in my Grandmother’s time, bakers used to put all their cake ends and scrapings from the day’s production into a large bowl, together with any plain cake left unsold and a goodly slosh of alcohol. This was mixed, made into a large slab and sold next day in small slices as Tipsy Cake.

That set me wondering.

Could I do something similar for my grandson, but keep it alcohol-free, and also use up the spare ganache I had prepared for that wedding cake?

Yes! It was one of my most successful fancy birthday cakes, a 3D chocolate dinosaur.

The basic ‘construction material’ is now known in our family as Rubble Cake.

Rubble Cake is excellent for creating 3-dimensional detail. For larger cakes, use sponge layers and ganache for the main body of the shape, then rubble cake for the rest of the modelling. The shaped cake should be refrigerated at regular intervals to harden the chocolate in the mixture. Once the model is firm, more room-temperature rubble mixture can be added.

Rubble Cake: my original experiment (quantities are variable!)

Note: exact results are unpredictable according to the original cake components. Remember that ‘less is more’ regarding the amount of ganache you add to the cake crumbs. Too sticky a mixture is difficult to work with. However, don’t panic if you do add too much ganache; just pop it in the fridge to chill slightly in order for it to harden before use.

Model at will!

As well as fancy birthday cakes, this same mixture makes good plain truffles if rolled into little balls and dusted with cocoa. It can be used as a base for cold chocolate mousse cake or can be used as one layer in a chocolate layer cake.

(Note: so successful was Rubble Cake that now the joke is on me. Instead of making Rubble Cake cakes from leftover trimmings I now have to bake new cakes to break up for my fancy birthday cakes…)

All birthday cakes are unique, and can be made to your specifications and delivered to you anywhere in the UK. On our website, you can see a selection of birthday cake designs. We can create any birthday cake you desire and deliver it to any UK address.

Let your imagination run wild when you plan your birthday cake, because just about anything is possible. Your birthday cake can be filled with any type of filling you choose. Chocolate sponge cakes with fruits are very popular for birthdays; we bake delicious moist chocolate cakes that will leave your guests delighted.

Choose a chocolate birthday cake, or a fruit birthday cake, or a sponge birthday cake . . . or any other filling you like. We will make your perfect birthday cake using your chosen design in any size you like. You can have a one tier birthday cake in a round, square or any other shape. Just choose a cake in whatever size you need to cater for your number of guests. Alternatively, you can have a tiered birthday cake and it is the same story again with the design – you can have anything you desire.

Please browse our filling page for ideas. If there is anything special that you would like us to bake that isn’t shown on our site, please let us know and the chef will be delighted to prepare it for you.

If you have a special birthday cake to discuss, please feel free to phone one of our staff to discuss your birthday cake design. When designing an individual birthday cake, please give us reasonable time to complete your order. A birthday cake design chosen from the website will need a minimum of 24hrs to produce for you. Alternatively, all our UK shops have birthday cakes available for collection on the day, and all of these birthday cakes are made fresh daily.

Please drop in to any of our branches and choose the birthday cake that is most suitable for you. We can make small adjustments to the cake on the spot if you require. Otherwise, if your birthday cake order has to meet a certain specification at short notice, or for the same day, please call us and the chef will do everything possible to fulfil your requirements.

If you have any questions or queries about your birthday cake, please don’t hesitate to contact us.

At Patisserie Concerto, we will help you design the birthday cake of your dreams, in any combination of shape, style, flavour, colour and decoration. We believe that your birthday cake design should be unique and match your own personality and style.

All birthday cakes are unique, and can be designed and created to your specifications. On our website, you can see a selection of birthday cake designs. We can also create any birthday cake in your own design.

Let your imagination run wild when designing your birthday cake, because just about anything is possible. Your birthday cake can be filled with any type of filling you choose. Chocolate sponge cakes with fruits are very popular for birthdays; we bake delicious moist chocolate cakes that will leave your guests delighted.

Choose a chocolate birthday cake design, or a fruit birthday cake, or a sponge birthday cake design . . . or any other filling you like. We will help you design your perfect birthday cake in any size you like. You can have a one tier birthday cake in a round, square or any other shape. You can choose a cake in the perfect size to cater for your number of guests. Alternatively, you can have a tiered birthday cake and it is the same story again with the design – you can have anything you desire.

If you have a special birthday cake to discuss, please feel free to phone one of our staff to discuss your birthday cake design requirements. When designing an individual birthday cake, please give us reasonable time to complete your order. A birthday cake design chosen from the website will need a minimum of 24hrs to produce for you. Alternatively, all our UK shops have birthday cakes available to collect on the day, and all of these birthday cakes are made fresh daily.

If you have any questions or queries about a birthday cake design, please don’t hesitate to contact us.

It’s your child’s birthday and you want to surprise him/her with that special treat-a really great tasting chocolate cake that is sure to be a hit with his friends. Just check out those 2 chocolate cake recipes for your kids’ birthday

Moist Chocolate Birthday Cake Chocolate Cake

Ingredients: 2 cups sugar (1 white, 1 dark brown-Domino Brand) 1/2 cup Parkay Margarine (1 stick) 2 eggs 1/2 cup Hershey Cocoa 1 TBSP vanilla (imitation) or 1tsp real vanilla Pinch of salt 1 TBSP baking soda (Arm & Hammer brand) 1 cup buttermilk (or powdered buttermilk-follow directions on label to equal 1 cup buttermilk)

2 cups sifted flour (measure flour first prior to sifting it) 1/2 cup boiling water Chocolate Cake Icing Ingredients: 1/2 box Domino’s Powdered Sugar (1 lb. size) 1 stick Parkay margarine 2 level TBSP Hershey’s Cocoa 2 tsp imitation vanilla 1.5 TBSP milk How to

Make the Chocolate Cake: Beat Parkay margarine and sugar until creamy. Add eggs, vanilla, salt, and cocoa. Mix baking soda in buttermilk until it starts to fizz. Pour buttermilk into batter. Stop mixer and add flour.

Mix until smooth, about 3 minutes. Add boiling water and mix. Pour batter into long cake pan 13 by 9 by 2. Bake at 375 degrees for 35 minutes. Test if it’s done using a toothpick. If toothpick comes out clean, it’s done. If it doesn’t come out clean, leave in a few more minutes and retest.

How to Make the Icing: Feed in mixer. The longer you beat it the creamier it gets. Cool cake first before frosting.

For vanilla icing, use same recipe but omit cocoa. Best Chocolate Cake Ingredients: 50g/2oz plain flour 60g/21/2oz ground almonds 225g/8oz good quality dark chocolate (at least 70 per cent cocoa solids), broken into pieces 225g/8oz butter 6 free-range eggs, separated 50g/2oz soft brown sugar grated orange zest (optional) 175g/6oz caster sugar icing sugar, for dusting Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4.

2. Grease and line the base and sides of a 20cm/8in loose-bottomed or clip-sided cake tin with greaseproof paper.

3. Sift the flour and almonds into a large bowl.

4. Place the chocolate pieces and butter into a heatproof bowl set over a pan of gently simmering water, making sure the water doesn’t touch the base of the bowl. Heat while stirring from time to time, until melted and smooth. Remove from the heat and allow cooling slightly.

5. Separate the eggs into two large bowls. Add the brown sugar to the bowl with the egg yolks and whisk together for a few minutes until frothy. Add the flour mixture, melted chocolate and grated orange zest, if using. Fold lightly to mix, using a large metal spoon.

6. Whisk the egg whites until soft peaks form when the whisk is removed. Gradually add the caster sugar and continue whisking until stiff peaks form when the whisk is removed.

7. Gently fold the egg white mixture into the chocolate mixture. Pour the mixture into the cake tin.

8. Bake in the oven for 45-50 minutes, or until crisp on top and squidgy inside. Test the cake with a cocktail stick or skewer – it should come out a bit sticky, but not wet. Allow to cool on a wire rack – the cake will sink but that’s ok. Carefully peel the paper off when the cake’s cold

9. To serve, dust the cake with icing sugar and cut into slices.