Welcome to the Cake Decorators Q&A

Hi there,
I’m going to be making a 10″ square cake for my friend’s mothers birthday. I’d like to try and use ganache instead of buttercream. What quantities of ganache would you suggest I use for that size of cake ?
I use a maderia sponge, what flavouring, if any, would you suggest I put in the sponge. I normally put lemon zest and juice in it but I don’t know if this would work with a milk chocolate ganache.?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks
Donna

Hi Donna

I usually make 1.5 k to fill and cover, If I start to get a bit short (being over generous with it) I just make up more as I go along. It also depends how many layers you will cut the cake in. I cut mine in three which gives it extra height so I do have to make allowance for that. Chocolate works really well with orange, mint, raspberry, strawberry and the list goes on. If you use fresh fruit in the filling be aware that it will significantly shorten the shelf life of the cake. Fresh fruit in fillings can mould. I tend to use all different liqueurs, Paul uses Bailey’s cream to moisten the sponge with but since you’re making madeira you could moisten with a simple syrup made up with equal quantities of say fresh orange juice, zest and sugar, bring to the boil, cool, then soak the sponge using a pastry brush. Or, you could make a syrup with just sugar and water and add a vanilla pod for flavour. Lemon tends to go better with white ganache, but it’s your choice. For the ganache, I always glugg in some liqueur. Use a little extra chocolate when making with milk chocolate, Paul has the recipe in the free/beginners tutorial library. If you need more information please post again, I hope this helps a little. x