COMEOVENEER - can you ComeOverHere please :-)

[SaintDeliasprotegee]

Hello! Well d-day is looming for my birthday cake making! I've made the cake you suggested from the good food site (chocolate cake) Which looks and smells great! Sooooooooooo, let me talk ganache with you...

Am I right in thinking you said to make it tonight, put it in the fridge then whip it up tomorrow to use? Is there a reason for the refridgerating bit, it doesn't mention doing that in the recipe, although I will bow to your cake making authority of course

Also have been very foolish brave and decided to make it two layers. I've looked on t'internet and there is talk of dowling and or straws to support the second layer, can you explain and tell me how you do it PLEASE. Thanks in advance

First of many bumps...

OK

Ganache is best refridgerated for 6 hours or overnight, so that when you whip it ist doesn't separate.

Have you made 2 layers (ie like a sandwich) or 2 tiers (think 2 cakes on top of each other as a wedding cake style)?

If two layers just pop ganache in between and all over the cake to crumb coat (seal in any loose crumbs) if you are covering with fondant, or thicker covering of ganache if no fondant (am I right in thinking this is the one with berries cascading down?)

If 2 tiers (ie 2 seperate sized cakes) then dowels are plastic or wooden rods, inserted into lower cake that the cake board of the top cake rests on (this is to stop the weight of the top cake sinking it down into the lower cake). HTH.

Will be about later if you need any more help. I have to plan a 2 tiered African themed cake complete with masks, sheilds, and animal print swaths of fondant fabric, porcupine quills etc and 150 matching cupcakes for a charity event!

Cripes. Ok, am doing two cakes (different sizes) which I wanted to sit on top of each other like this...www.thesugarsyndicate.com/images/blue_wedding_cake.jpg but obviously not looking anything like that(yes you are right it is the berries one!)

I don't want the crumbs to get into the ganache when I am covering the cake so should I do a thin layer first (and then let it set) before doing the final layer?

The bottom 'tier' will be the cake you suggested I make so it will have ganache layers between the cake as well as covering it.

I looked into cigarellos to go round the edge but they were so expensive so I'm just going to have the ganache covering with the berries draping down.

Your African thing sounds amazing! Please post photos of the results

anxious bump.

Cake no. 2 in the oven. On the verge of ganache...

I'm sure it is going fine. Just make sure the caes are totally cooled before you do anything with them (cutting, ganache etc) to mae sure they are really firm.

It is! Am very nervous about slicing the cake to put the ganache layers in though...

What do you think about the other questions I had? I need help!

apologies for pestering bump

Sorry. Which questions? Yes to a thin layer of ganache , then refridgerate for a good 20 mins. Take out and smooth out any irregularities then apply thicer layer.

Thanks. Do I just put one cake on top of the other? No supports needed? I wasn't intending to put a cake board underneath the top layer.

As long as the cakes are not big nd heavy and you aren't transporting the cae anywhere you should get away with just stacking them. The dowls (wooden/plastic rods) support the wieght of the top cake rather than the lower cake doing it (and perhaps the top cake sins into the lower cake). The dowls are cut to the same depth asthe cake so when inserted the rest on the bottom board and the top cake rests on the dowels so no weight of the top cake is on the lower cake IYSWIM. ALso putting the top cae on a thin board and then onto the lower cake allows you to remove the top cake before cutting, so you can slice each cake individually, (more use when doing a 3+ tiered wedding type cake tbh). HTH.

I used straws! I've put a pic on my profile. Thanks so much for all your help. I had to trim the top cake as it was slightly too large and was forced to eat the bits, what a delicious cake (sorry, don't know how to say that without sounding boastful, I only followed instructions, it's a great recipe), it's almost like a brownie
Oh and used a couple of wires to hold redcurrants it (note to self...must remove wires, apparently choking guests is not the done thing)

Pleased it worked out well. You don't seem to have a profile.

Can you see it now?!

Wow that looks fab, Ooh really fancy some cake now.

Been a busy weekend, so only just had a chance to pop back in. It looks great, was it a hit?