CAKE WITH CHOCOLATE PAINTED CHOCOLATE
This cake was meant to celebrate Thanksgiving, my favorite holiday. The design was inspired by still-life photography and painting. Food photography's trend towards darker, deeper tones is intriguing and surprising. Darker lighting, backgrounds, styling, plating and styling are all things I love.
I wanted to capture the atmosphere of a still-life, so I covered the cake with a dark foundation that would add drama and depth to the design. It's amazing how one piece of fruit can evoke emotion in a photograph or painting. I knew that a dark base would not work. The chocolate fondant was used to cover the cake. It is easy to use and leaves a beautiful finish. Although the color was rich and deep, the cake didn't have the texture or movement I wanted, and it was not moody enough. The exterior should reflect the inspiration more directly and be painted.
The warm ganache was applied to the fondant using a food-safe paintbrush. This gave it a rich, painted look. After the first coat dried, I applied a second coat to areas that required more texture.
We created embellishments using a variety of jewel-toned decorations, including pomegranates and pears. Gum paste was used to make berries, roses and sage leaves, and pinecones and pinecones. As a tribute to Thanksgiving, I decided to go for more-is-more when arranging the arrangements. My assistant finally forbade me to add even one more berry.
The painted ganache made my cake look perfect, and I was very happy with the final result. This technique can be used in so many ways.