Cake
My office’s holiday party is Wednesday. There’s a dessert competition. We had to sign up last week with what we were going to make. Of course, I forgot to look in my cookbooks to figure out what I wanted to make, so I signed up for the cake that I look at every time I open The Cake Bible, but never have made — the golden cage.
When I got home and looked at the recipe, I remembered why I’ve never made it. It’s a golden genoise, frosted with apricot icing, and then covered with a caramel cage:
Nothing in making it was all that difficult (although it would be hard to make without a cooking thermometer), but it’s a lot of steps. For the icing alone, you have to make the apricot puree, a creme anglais, and an italian merengue, and then blend it all together with a pound of butter. The cage — which looks so impressive — is actually quite easy and fun.
Now for the real challenge — getting it into my office in one piece.
December 12th, 2006 at 9:33 am
Cool! As you can tell from this ( http://www.unfogged.com/archives/week_2006_08_06.html#005275 ), I love that book. The cage really isn’t impossibly difficult?
December 12th, 2006 at 9:54 am
How do you get that shape? Do you bake it in a bowl? It’s really pretty.
December 12th, 2006 at 10:08 am
Wow, most impressive. One of my 101 List items (which I really need to get back to!) is to bake five cakes from The Cake Bible. I debated the Golden Cage, but chose A Taste of Heaven, Queen Bee, The Enchanted Forest, Cordon Rose Christmas Log, and the Pistachio & Rose Wedding Cake (why a wedding cake, why not?). I’m committed to making my MIL’s Buche de Noel for Christmas, but I might at least try the decorative items (meringue mushrooms, pistachio marizpan ivy leaves, and green tea pine needles) for a start.
Enjoy the cake and let us know how it tastes!
December 12th, 2006 at 11:04 am
Y’all know that Rose Levy Beranbaum has a blog (http://www.realbakingwithrose.com/), right?
That cake looks so delicious!
December 12th, 2006 at 1:42 pm
That is one gorgeous cake! I hope that transportation was easier than you anticipated.
Let us know if you win. 🙂
December 12th, 2006 at 2:31 pm
O.M.G.
Now I really think I need to try Krumkake.
Wow.
December 12th, 2006 at 2:37 pm
Oh, that looks delicious! (A *pound* of butter? Oh my.)
Guess what book is going on my Amazon wishlist now?
December 12th, 2006 at 7:21 pm
Show off!
December 12th, 2006 at 7:59 pm
Mmmmmmmm. Now I am hungry. I have a terrible sweet tooth.
December 12th, 2006 at 9:21 pm
Mieke, guilty as charged.
Phantom, I didn’t know about Berenbaum’s blog.
Ailurophile, yes, the icing uses a full pound of butter, but you only use half the icing for the cake. But the cake uses 12 egg yolks.
Merseydotes, yes, I baked it in a mixing bowl. I didn’t have the fancy cake pan that the recipe called for.
LizardBreath, the cage really isn’t so bad. Use a thermometer to tell when the sugar has turned into caramel. And use tinfoil to cover the bowl.
December 15th, 2006 at 8:42 am
so..what happened? Did it arrive in one peice? Was it delicious? Did you win the contest? Inquiring minds want to know!
December 15th, 2006 at 8:58 am
Yes, it arrived in one piece. (I drove in with it, since taking it on the metro seemed like a bad idea.) It was very yummy, but didn’t win. A banana pudding won.