My last round up was back in February (check them out clicking here), so it is time to share the designs I’ve made since the last post. Without further ado, here they are…
One of my favorite ways to decorate is adding discs of chocolate decorated with transfer sheets. It is quite convenient because normally I have some leftover melted chocolate after filing the molds, so I use that to spread a thin layer over the transfer sheet, let it set in the fridge and then cut circles. Those last forever at room temperature, so normally I make them and save them to use the following week.
FLOWERS ON WHITE
FLOWERS ON PINK
STRIPES ON TURQUOISE
SWIRLS ON BROWN
This series had a new technique, I used textured parchment paper to spread the chocolate and after setting, cut circles. I need more practice, it was hard to avoid bubbles, but I got a few to work ok. The background used the tie-dye technique I shared in my previous post about Oreos (link in first paragraph).
TEXTURED CIRCLES ON TIE-DYE BACKGROUND
Moving on, some designs relied on Royal Icing…
GOLD BRUSH EMBROIDERY
MINIMALIST BLACK ON WHITE
LITTLE FONDANT FLOWER
As I always say, making Chocolate-Covered Oreos can be addictive. I am always thinking about the next batch, as I try to make them every single week… I hope you enjoyed this series, and stay tuned for more soon!
I am beyond excited about this! Wax seal stamps are made to add charm and elegance to documents, love letters, envelopes. They are designed to use with special types of wax, often dyed bright red. But, guess what? They work with chocolate – both real and compound – and although there is a little bit of a learning curve to negotiate, it is totally worth it! I’ve made a few different designs and used to decorate chocolate covered Oreos. First thing you need are of course the stamps. Many available, look on etsy or amazon. These are the ones I used on my first time.
I also have this slightly larger one…
To work with chocolate, they must be frozen, so I store mine in the freezer inside a plastic bag. Then you need to work fast. Melt the chocolate and add small puddles over parchment paper. I had better luck with that instead of acetate. Since the bottom part won’t show, it does not need to be shiny, so parchment is totally fine. Once you add the melted chocolate, immediately set your frozen stamp over it, and allow it to sit for a few seconds, maybe 10 or so. Of course, it is dependent on many factors and you need to try to move the stamp gently to see if it releases ok. When the chocolate is set, it will release nicely. Once you get the gist of it, you might be able to make three designs before the stamp gets too warm. Yes, a labor of patience and love…
I need more practice, but so far I’ve been quite happy with my productions! I used white compound chocolate for these, with a very small amount of oil-soluble pink dye.
Then it is all a matter of placing them over chocolate covered Oreos, or anything your imagination comes up with. I want to use to decorate cookies, maybe cupcakes also. Stay tuned!
It is really a lot of fun to make them, and a little diamond dust can add sparkle…
I make them weekly because they are very popular with the homeless dinner, and as you might imagine, I don’t like to repeat designs. I love variety. These can be decorated in countless ways, some easier than others. In fact, I have tried a few things that quickly went into the “Never Again Folder”… For previous collections, click here and here. Without further ado, here are some of the designs I made in the past couple of months, starting with perhaps my very favorite!
. THE JAPANESE-MODERN
To make this design, all you need is some different colors of luster powder and a bit of vodka. Make a suspension and add small blotches on the surface of the mold. Let it dry for a few minutes and pour the melted compound chocolate. They will look good just with the colors, or you gild the lily with a small disc of chocolate decorated with a transfer sheet, in this case I used a cherry blossom pattern.
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The same exact method works with white chocolate… In this case I added some fondant sunflowers I had from last year’s cookie projects. I have quite a few ideas for color combinations in the near future, so stay tuned!
Luster powder can also be used to paint the surface of the chocolate after it sets, as I did for the set below… It does not go into the “Never Again Folder”, but it is a bit time-consuming.
Another great way to decorate is Royal icing… For the ones below I made straight lines in black and before they set I glued a little sprinkle heart in the crossed section. I love their minimalist look.
You can also pipe thicker lines of Royal icing coupled with a little sanding sugar… For added contrast, I dyed the white chocolate poured into the mold with fat-soluble sky blue dye. These were a good match for some macarons I made in that same week (see post here).
Even easier is just making a random drizzle with icing, fast and straightforward..
Sharing perhaps my second favorite of this set: Royal icing in circular piping plus a disc of chocolate decorated with transfer sheet, also saved from a project last year. The Royal icing was dyed with Americolor Gold. And once all was set, I sprayed some gold dust all over because.. why not?
Finally, the method that I don’t recommend and it truly drove me crazy: spread the Royal icing with a stencil. It was very very tricky to hold the stencil over the small surface, I had to scrape it all and start all over many times, as it would smear and end up quite messy. I managed to get three reasonably good ones, but as I said before…. never again!
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BEWARE: Making chocolate-covered Oreos can be addictive!
No recipe today, quite the opposite. My passion for baking has made me join many groups on Facebook related to cookie decorating, macarons, patisserie in general. One of the most common requests in those groups is “I want to start baking macarons… please give me a foolproof recipe”… or… I want to make decorated sugar cookies, but I want a cookie recipe that won’t spread, and the BEST Royal icing that will be easy to work with. Similar requests for bread baking, or pie crust, or laminated dough… Basically they believe that “the best recipe” is the answer to all issues. Guess what? It is not. Just to give one basic example, you can make macarons using three very different methods for the meringue (French, Swiss, Italian), and they will ALL work, if you add to it the one key ingredient no one lists in any recipe: PRACTICE.
About a year ago, I fell for something I saw advertised. A cookie recipe that was so good that you could only get it by paying for it through the author’s etsy shop. I was so intrigued, that I confess I did pay. I paid almost $20 to get ONE recipe for cookie dough, which is probably the price I pay for most cookbooks I own. It turns out that magical recipe was almost exactly the one I’ve been using for a long time, with minor differences. It taught me a big lesson. It is NOT the recipe. It is your experience, the “feel” you develop for something once you do it over and over and over.
Royal icing is tricky. Consistencies need to absolutely perfect depending on what you want to do with it. I’ve been decorating cookies on a regular basis for at least 3 years and I can tell you that every single recipe out there will work once you get used to it, once you PRACTICE. No recipe will replace practice. Some recipes tend to attract a lot of attention, because all of a sudden a group of seasoned bakers start praising it and then those who are just beginning their baking journey will try it. If that fails, they assume THEY are the failure. Trust me, most recipes can work if you allow yourself to get acquainted with the different steps, and commit to practicing it. Yes, I do sound like a broken record today…
Do I have recipes I consider excellent and tend to go back to all the time? Yes. My Grown-up Spicy Chocolate Cookiedough is one. My default French macaron recipe is another. But even those, it took me MANY attempts at making and optimizing it, until I felt comfortable with them. I now add different flavorings to the chocolate dough, omit the chipotle, take it into different directions with orange or cardamon, but the overall procedure is the same and I am confident about tweaking it because I have made it more than 100 times. If my dough behaves different one day, I can tell, and I can do the adjustments because I got the “feel” for it. No recipe gave it to me, it was just practice. Over, and over.
Sugar cookies are another example. Some recipes omit baking powder and add cornstarch. I am quite fond of that basic approach. After trying many different versions, for my particular goals, a little bit of baking powder is a good thing, but not as much as most recipes call for. Yes, baking powder makes the cookies rise UP, which is not a bad thing. But it also gives them a rounded edge I don’t care for if I am decorating with Royal icing. I rather have a more flat surface all the way to the edge. Omitting baking powder completely is perfect in that sense, but the texture of the cookie suffers. So I use 1/4 tsp of baking powder for a nice compromise (a favorite recipe of mine is this one, but I vary the flavors all the time). It works for me, but it took me months of tweaking, observing the results and testing again. And again. Another whole universe is stamped cookies in which keeping the design is a must . Different molds behave better with some recipes than others. No single recipe will be a winner. But once you commit to finding what works for you, it will all fall in place.
Bottomline is, every time someone begs for the perfect recipe and expects success, I tend to roll my eyes to the ceiling a bit. You want the perfect recipe? Be ready to work for it. You have to make it happen in your kitchen, with your oven, your ingredients and for your personal taste. No one, absolutely no one can do it for you. Baking is one of the most rewarding activities, if you enjoy the path. Including the failures, the mistakes, the less than stellar results. Don’t expect the perfect recipe to be handed to you, instead make it materialize. Work with it, and above all, make your path fun!
Not my first time making it, but in the past I was not fully happy with the results. I show you two ways to decorate it, but will share only the most recent recipe, cake portion courtesy of Helen Fletcher, my beloved virtual mentor!
for the chocolate spongecake: ¾ cup sifted cake flour (75 grams) ¼ cup sifted cocoa (25 grams) ¼ teaspoon baking powder 6 eggs separated ⅔ cup sugar, divided (140 grams) 1 teaspoon vanilla
for the filling: 1 cup unsalted butter softened (226g) 3 cups confectioners’ sugar (380g) or more if needed 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 1/4 cup 60-80ml heavy cream (60mL) or more if needed 1/3 cup black cherry jam or other jam of your choice
for the ganache coating: 170g semi-sweet chocolate, finely chopped 3/4 cup (180ml) heavy cream
Heat the oven to 350. Spray the bottom of ½ sheet pan (11×17 inches) with cooking spray. Line with parchment paper and spray the paper. Do not spray sides of pan. Set aside.
Whisk together the flour, cocoa and baking powder, mixing well. Set aside. Combine the egg yolks, ⅓ cup sugar and vanilla in a mixing bowl fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat until very thick and very pale yellow.
In a clean mixing bowl with a clean whisk, beat the egg whites until soft peaks form. Slowly add the remaining ⅓ cup sugar and beat until fairly stiff. Place the egg yolks over the egg whites and sift half the flour/cocoa mixture over the beaten eggs. Fold together. Fold in the remaining flour/cocoa. Gently pour into the prepared pan and spread out evenly. Bake 10 to 12 minutes. The top will spring back when lightly touched. Immediately cover directly with foil and place on a rack to cool completely. When ready to assemble, it will roll out easily.
Make the filling: In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix together the butter and confectioners’ sugar. Begin on low speed until crumbly, and then increase to high and beat for 3 minutes. Add vanilla extract and beat again for another minute. Add heavy cream 2 tablespoons at a time while mixing on high until the mixture is light and fluffy. Transfer the frosting to a piping bag.
Make the ganache: Place chopped chocolate in a medium bowl. Heat the cream in a small saucepan until it begins to simmer. Pour over chocolate, then let it sit for 2-3 minutes to gently soften the chocolate. Slowly stir until completely combined and chocolate has melted. Refrigerate, uncovered, for about 1 hour to thicken.
ASSEMBLE THE CAKE: Lay a large piece of aluminum foil and dust it with powdered sugar. Remove the foil on top of the cake and go around the edges of the pan with a spatula. Pick the spongecake up by the parchment and turn it out onto the powdered sugar lined foil. Remove the parchment paper. Spread the jam over the surface of the cake, then the buttercream, starting by piping large stripes of the cream over the surface (see my composite photo after the recipe). Using the foil as an assist, roll up the spongecake jelly roll style. The last roll should put the spongecake on the board. Cut the ends of the cake at a diagonal and use one or both cut pieces to make branches sitting next to the main log.
Cover the log with ganache, making a design on top with the tines of fork. Decorate with fondant pieces or meringue mushrooms, sugared cranberries, chocolate leaves, whatever you desire. Refrigerate for a few hours before serving, and allow to come to room temperature before cutting your first slice.
Comments: I advise you to go to Helen’s site to get all the details of making her cake. She uses a different method to deal with the sponge cake, and it does work like a dream. The cake is covered with aluminum foil as soon as it gets baked, and is allowed to cool like that. As a result, it steams during cooling and becomes very flexible. No harm to the texture of the cake in the finished product.
I have made a Buche de Noel in the past using a different recipe for the cake, but I am much happier with Helen’s version, that calls for a classic sponge cake. You can also find in her blog post a detailed recipe for the meringue mushrooms, which I did not use this time. They are fun to make, for sure.
I love making fondant pieces, so that is what I went with… I cannot show you a picture of the cut cake because I donated it whole, but I got very nice feedback about it, and that of course made me super happy!
Bewitching Kitchen 