Rustic Cigarillo Wedding Cake Decorating and Baking Tutorial

Struggling for time? Why not watch the whole tutorial in approximately 10 minutes? Skip to the Highlights lesson.

In this lesson Paul takes us through the method to temper chocolate and provides all the times and temperatures to keep us right. The method is quite complex so be sure to take notes and stick to exactly what Paul says to do. The pay-off is well worth it!

So we are halfway there and Paul now shows us the second set of steps to get our lovely chocolate ready for making delicious chocolate cigarillos!

In this lesson Paul shows us the final steps to getting the chocolate ready and then what we’ve all been waiting for…actually making the cigarillos! This part is quite easy. The key is to get the angle of your scraper right, go in short strong bursts and just be confident. It’s really good fun and quite satisfying!

In this lesson Paul talks us through all the different flavours and sizes of cake he is using and shows us how to cut it into layers and get it ready for ganaching.

Paul adds a lovely 3 – 4mm layer of white ganache on top of the milk chocolate ganache (after it has been in the fridge) that he then attaches the cigarillos to. This amount of white chocolate is perfect as it is enough for the cigarillos to securely attach to, but means the ganache doesn’t spill through the gaps which can get tricky to tidy.

Paul shows us how to stack the cake safely with the use of cake card and plenty of dowels…oh..and he’s made a fourth tier. He couldn’t help himself.

In this lesson, Paul shows us how to make all the beautiful flowers used for this cake. He uses a 50/50 mixture of sugarpaste and modelling chocolate and uses a Claire Bowman Mat to add extra interest to the rose leaves. In the end, Paul decides not to use the wires for the calyx so you can skip that part.

Now comes the scary part of actually stacking the cakes on top of each other and Paul suggests wearing white gloves when doing this to avoid leaving fingerprints on the cigarillos. Then it’s onto dusting and Paul tries out various dusts until he finds the perfect combination. Watch and find out.

In this lesson, Paul begins to arrange the flowers on the cake and this is a process that takes time and needs a creative eye. If arranging flowers is not your strong suit, simply copy Paul. You want to create nice shapes that have a natural flow and allow the eyes to drift down the cake.

Paul finishes off arranging the flowers and neatens up the bits that had gaps. Now that it’s looking all lovely and tidy it’s time to add a more natural look. Paul has a clever idea and uses melted white chocolate to create a moss effect. Watch and find out how he does it.

In this final lesson, Paul really brings it all to life with beautiful edible dust work on the moss, flowers and leaves. Just remember to wear a mask when doing this as you don’t want to be breathing in all that dust no matter how pretty it looks!

In this lesson Paul shares some other ideas you can implement when making this cake to make it unique to you. We are sure you have some of your own and we would love to see them! Please share your pictures with us on Facebook Page.

Paul gives some insider information detailing the cost to make this cake as well as what she would charge if commissioned to make it – vital information for any professional cake designer!