Tuesday, July 1, 2008

Buttercream Gateaux

Here comes the heart-attack cakes! 2kg worth of butter! and I never want to see buttercream again. Urghh, the thought of it irritates my stomach. It also reminds me of the hazelnut mousseline for Paris Brest. Regurgitation is not the best experience.

Anyway, after all the mise en place from yesterday, we made the italian buttercream and tried to assemble at least a decent looking cake. To make a buttercream gateau, you need, 1 genoise sponge, 1 japonaise (optional), lots of buttercream, punch and some chocolate decorations (optional). First, you slice the genoise sponge into 2-4 equal parts, depending on how high your sponge rises. Then, you brush the base layer with punch. Third, slather an even layer of buttercream on it. Repeat these steps until your last layer then you start to even out the rough edges with your palette knife. Chill it till buttercream hardens a little. Followed by another layer of buttercream as the outer (decorative) layer. Decorate with more buttercream and chocolate designs. Done. It may sound easy but getting that nice finish takes years and years of experience. And my chefs can do it like within minutes. I am in awe.

These are some of their designs, traditional to modern 2008 designs.



And this is mine. No chocolate deco for me. :( We were too slow in the kitchen, therefore didn't have time to produce chocolate work. But at least I managed piping. :D I gave one of my buttercream gateau to the cleaning ladies (we each made two). I don't think I can possibly stomach buttercream anymore. It is like eating one tub of sugar and two tubs of butter in one sitting. No wonder chef Karin calls them the heart-attack cakes.


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