Welcome to the Cake Decorators Q&A

Hi I have just become a member and did not realize that all pauls cakes are chocolate and ganache. I have a birthday cake to make for wednesday and she doesnt want chocolate. I was going to attempt a handbag would i just do the same thing with madeira and buttercream as the chocolate and ganache??? thank you

Hi eliboo0, Madeira is a good sturdy cake for carving a handbag, and yes you could use buttercream ok with it. My concern would be the security of the cake on the board because the cake would be ‘standing up’. If it were me I would probably use a white chocolate ganache as a crumb coating because it has a firmer ‘set’ and would ensure the handbag has no chance of moving around. Another option could be to add some melted white chocolate to your buttercream mixture for added firmness. Just my opinion, but maybe worth considering? Hope this helps.x

I should also have mentioned that you can also add/infuse any number of flavourings to ganaches, or chocolate buttercreams, so just because you use a bit of chocolate, it doesn’t necessarily mean you have to taste it!

And here are some flavour ideas http://www.cakeflix.com/questions/white-chocolate-ganache-flavouring
and here too http://www.cakeflix.com/questions/flavouring-ganache-aakake-with-liqueurs
The site shop here http://www.cakeflix.com/shop/ has many flavours to offer if you need more ideas.
If you decide to use buttercream instead of ganache, a stiffer consistency for the crumb coat would be better than the consistency used for filling. It can still be smoothed using a hot pallet knife exactly the same as Paul does when ganaching.

The new free/beginners section here http://www.cakeflix.com/online-cake-decorating-courses/using-buttercream-overview explains how to give more structure to buttercream. There are 8 lessons which are worth looking at.

Thanks everyone, I don’t really have a clue what I’m doing but hopefully it will be ok going to study the butter cream tutorials. I followed a ganache one that was free a while ago and it was so good, I could of cried when she said she didn’t want chocolate!!