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Sugarpaste covering too soft
Help please!
I used milk chocolate ganache to cover a cake then covered with Renshaw’s chocolate flavour sugarpaste.
It all went on beautifully and tastes divine….but the ganache covering is going very soft and so too is the sugarpaste!
It is not easy to now get a good clean slice, as the sugarpaste is far too soft and the ganache is squelching out when the cake is cut.
I have resorted to putting the cake in the fridge, which will firm up the ganache and sugarpaste, but the sponge will not taste lovely and moist and light as it did before.
Is the hot weather doing this to the sugarpaste, or is it the fact that it’s chocolate sugarpaste?
Should my ganache for the covering have been very firm to start with?
I read that cocoform can be used 50/50 with sugarpaste and used to cover cakes. Will this make it firmer.?Should I do this or just add some CMC to the chocolate sugarpaste?
I don’t want the covering to end up to hard though, from the point of view of cutting and taste.
Lots of questions, but I would really appreciate some insight.
Many thanks.
Deane-Mae
Help please!
I used milk chocolate ganache to cover a cake then covered with Renshaw’s chocolate flavour sugarpaste.
It all went on beautifully and tastes divine….but the ganache covering is going very soft and so too is the sugarpaste!
It is not easy to now get a good clean slice, as the sugarpaste is far too soft and the ganache is squelching out when the cake is cut.
I have resorted to putting the cake in the fridge, which will firm up the ganache and sugarpaste, but the sponge will not taste lovely and moist and light as it did before.
Is the hot weather doing this to the sugarpaste, or is it the fact that it’s chocolate sugarpaste?
Should my ganache for the covering have been very firm to start with?
I read that cocoform can be used 50/50 with sugarpaste and used to cover cakes. Will this make it firmer.?Should I do this or just add some CMC to the chocolate sugarpaste?
I don’t want the covering to end up to hard though, from the point of view of cutting and taste.
Lots of questions, but I would really appreciate some insight.
Many thanks.
Deane-Mae
Hi Deane-Mae
Indeed it is the weather interferring with all your good work! Renshaws chocolate paste is already very soft without the hot weather and milk chocolate ganache takes longer to set in normal conditions.
CMC or tylose can be added to firm up paste. I begin with half a teaspoon to 500g of paste and add a little more until the paste is more manageable. Don’t add more than 1 teaspoon otherwise you’ll end up with gumpaste.
You can try 50/50 cocoa form, however you may still end up with it just as soft because it’s chocolate. Certain cocoa forms are softer than others, Squire’s kitchen works best for me.
Milk chocolate ganache behaves much the same as white. In hot weather making 4:1 chocolate to cream ratio help it set better. Last year I had the same problems, if you remember the weather was even hotter than this year.
It’s possible you may experinece problems with other Renshaws pastes as you can read here:
Unfortunately placing the cake in the fridge will make the texture dry out over a period of time depending on which recipe you’ve used.
Hope some this helps. x
I had a good b’d thank you even though I did all the catering despite my broken tendons! My ankle I am told will take 3 months to repair!!
I have an 18th birthday for the end of August which will be with milk ganache and chocolate sugarpaste so I’m expecting to encounter similar problems to yours. We’re delivering the cake to Wales.
Three days later I have a 5 tier wedding cake using cocoa form and sugarpaste. I’m hoping the weather will have cooled off by then. Trials and tribulations!! x 🙂
