this is part zwei of my cakesultation: read part one here!
after we got the batter in, there was a discernible escalation in excitement on his part – I got the impression that the baking session had only just started at that point for him – and out came the bottles of whiskey. I’m no drinker, and it was still rather early morning, but we had an taste-smelling: how else to see what would go with the other components?
he settled on a bottle of monkey shoulder – even my untrained nose picked up the toffee and vanilla in this speyside blend – for the syrup; our initial idea of blending multiple whiskies through different syrups for each layer would have been pretty cool – but rather too intense.
just look at that fervency: french distilled water (the emphasis is his), a superb bottle of whiskey and all that gear.
I’m to tell you that he chose to use a talisker for the buttercream eventually – a peated make with greater depth. (how pedantic, gosh.)
it fell on me to make the bunting, and prep the layers for the cake. we made six six-inch rounds in all – three to sample on the day, and three to freeze for actual-day action. it was a simple enough task – removing the slight domes off the cakes and syruping, before a further education in the art of preparing a buttercream and ganache.
and voilà! the chocolate-whiskey cake was born. not technically perfect – the buttercream was melting in the heat, our ganache could be smoother, the frosting could use a crumb coat; but really, I thought it a gorgeous result of a morning’s bakeducation (I’m just blatantly inventing words now).
shawn’s always telling me my blog lacks a human touch – too many photos of food and not enough of people – and so it seems fitting he’s the first one on. I may have sounded a tad snarky in this post, but that’s the sort of friendship we have – why exchange mild plesantries when you could spar impudently – and truthfully, I thought this gesture very sweet (but don’t tell him that).
and if you’re reading, gwen, I wish you many happy returns and a great day ahead! if you like the cake, I’d like some credit; and if not, then he was just a horrible student.
p.s. this was a little something I was commissioned (probably the wrong word since I wasn’t really paid) to make for the cake box. look familiar?
p.p.s. I hope you enjoyed reading this – I promised to do a bit of storytelling for a pseudo birthday card, and so I have. see you guys next week for regular programming!
that was slightttly weird to see.. my friend’s brother smiling at me at the last picture ;) and I think I am also using a recycled kueh pie tee box to hold my opened flours and sugars too! haha! what an awesome 2-part photo-story :)
the six degrees of separation are clearly concatenated in singapore! don’t judge me for knowing him.
it was pretty fun actually, the whole thing, and I got some photography practice. get ready for the update – even I’m impressed at my teaching abilities!
Thanks for the cake. Well done! Good job. Aunty Florence Ang
thank you aunt florence! next time I’ll teach you the marble cake!
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Thanks, Sonya! The cake was awesome and it was definitely the best birthday cake I’ve had in my twenty-six years. Oh, and I’m sorry he dragged you out of bed on a Saturday morning at 8am. For that, he owes you a meal; grapes don’t count!
you’re very welcome! though likely more for tolerating him than for the cake itself. thank you for that promise: I’m already thinking of suitable payback :D
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