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Hi there

I am looking to make the chocolate wrap cake for a party taking place at the end of june this year, I was wondering if anybody could answer a couple of questions for me please:

1) If it is a lovely hot (and potentially humid) day will the cocoform lose its shape and start flopping (melting)? I had a problem with regular sugarpaste last year it wouldn’t hold its form, so I am worried the cocoform will wilt.

2) How far in advance can I do the cake in order for it to be at its best. The party is on a saturday?

3) Can i make the cocoform flowers fans etc a couple of weeks before or will they go off?

4) How long will the ganache keep for (on the cake)

I hope I am not being too cheeky asking all of these questions and I hope they make sense, it will be my first time using ganache and cocoform, so I am trying to head off any possible problems. Any other advise over and above what I have asked would be gratefully received.

Thanks

Lara

Hello Lara0159

I’ll try and answer in order of asking:

1. Cocoform is chocolate so yes potentially if it gets too hot it can start flopping and melting. In which case keep it away from direct sunlight and in a cool room. I don’t think it will hold up in a marquee or outside type venue if the sun is streaming down ( if we’re lucky!)

2. The shelf life of a cake depends on the recipe and the type of filling it’s stuffed with. Sponge cakes have
an approximate shelf life of five days however ganache and butter cream type fillings can keep cake moist for a couple more days. In fact they’ll keep for a little longer but for the sake of safety five to seven days would be reasonable in a cool environment. You could easily bake and freeze the cakes and take them out two or three days in advance to fill and ganache. However if the weather is warm you’d need to keep the cakes as cool as possible, ganached cake can be refrigerated in card board cake boxes until you’re ready to decorate.

3 The fans and other decorations can be made well in advance, refer to use by date on the packaging and longer. Once made keep covered in a cake box in a cool place away from heat sources. Cocoform doesn’t have to be refrigerated, it’s meant to be kept at room temp but obviously just not in hot conditions.

4. Ganache has to be kept cool in hot weather because it contains cream. In a cool environment in your home it will last longer than the cake however again for safety reasons five- seven days. At a party venue cakes should be kept away from direct sunlight and heat sources.

There are lots of member comments on ganache and chocolate wrap cake throughout the site. All the information is useful and well worth browsing through. Just put in the above search box ‘ganache’ and ‘chocolate wrap cake’ for hints, tips, advice and opinions. Not all the comments will be relevant but still worth a peek at. You could also hold a chocolate wrap cake in the refrigerator to keep cool but once brought to room temperature it is likely the difference in the two temps will make the chocolate cocoform to sweat and possibly spoil some decorations.
The information above is opinion from my own personal experience of ganache and cocoform. I haven’t made the chocolate wrap cake so have no idea how well behaved it is.