Gussying up a cake quickly

Jack Frost is in town

My Jack Frost cake

This blog has been neglected for some time and apologies for the same. I wanted to put up my best order as the post that followed me crossing a 1000 hits. (Yayyy, big achievement :)) Thanks a tonne guys for reading and encouraging my blog. This one is for you'll. Only wish I could actually share by bakes with you'll too rather than just share pics and recipes... 

     The reason for the delay is that the pictures of the winning cake (sugarless, might I add) sadly weren't all clicked by me. While I have the mini version of it, the final product has been clicked by b'day boy Manu (a talented photographer) and I haven't been able to get the pics just yet. So I decided not to wait any longer and post something else, rather than neglect my blog any longer.

     I just completed by 4th b'day order cake and frankly didn't have much time to decorate it as the darned power went off whilst baking (that's another story altogether with me frantically pacing up and down praying for the power to come back and driving everyone mad with my antics). Thank God the cake had baked its course (almost) by then so the residual heat from the oven baked it through and through, minus the power. So cut short to me having half an hour to pretty up a cake before it was to be picked up, this being a sugar-less cake, icing and butter cream was out of the question, so was melting and blitzing the butter etc for lack of time. So, I decided to go for chocolate ganache once again, only this time, I have my new and improved chocolate ganache. That still looked a lil plain so I 'frosted' it a little. No, not with icing, but with a lil sprinkling of icing sugar mixed with sugarless sugar (diet baking sugar for those in the dark). I call it my Jack Frost cake and the result was simple and stunning and I suggest you keep this as a go to decorating idea for those days when time is of the essence.

New and improved chocolate ganache:

200 grams dark chocolate

100 ml double cream or thick cream

1 tablespoon unsalted butter (you can add more if you want more gloss, but I find 1 tablespoon works fine)

Method:

Chop up the chocolate into tiny pieces or flakes if possible and place in a glass bowl (heat proof bowl). Heat the cream on a saucepan till it comes to boiling point and pour over the chocolate flakes. Drop in the butter on the mixture and leave on the counter top covered for 3 minutes. DO NOT stir it even though the cream at this stage will just about cover the chocolate, not looking liquidy enough. After 2 to 3 minutes the chocolate will still look solid but would have melted. Gently shake the bowl so that the cream covers the chocolate and you can see swirls of brown over the cream. Now, take a silicon spatula and give it a good mix till the butter, cream and chocolate have combined to form this glossy, clear chocolate thick syrup. If you find some lumps in the ganache, heat the bowl in the microwave for 10 seconds at a time and stir till it has all dissolved. Leave to cool for a while and use. I simply poured the mixture over the cake and guided it over, it till it gently slipped onto the sides. Pour some icing sugar or fine sugarless sugar onto a strainer and gently dust over the cake to get this lovely snowed on effect. Viola, you have a pretty cake in a jiffy. It does help to make the ganache before as it sets well and stays for long when refrigerated. When you want to use it, just bring it to room temperature, heat it in the microwave for 10 seconds till it is pourable and use.