Welcome to the Cake Decorators Q&A

Hi, as this cake will just be a trial run for me I was thinking of using a Madeira Cake Mix from cake dec supply shop but will it be firm and substantial enough to use in this case?
Plus does anyone know the depth of Paul’s choc cake he uses in the video?
Would appreciate any help.

Hi gina

Paul’s cakes are approximate 2.5″ to 3″ deep. He uses a regular 3″ deep pan.

I’ve never used the brand of cake mix you mention so don’t know what consistency of cake it makes. If it’s a mix for professional use it should be sturdy enough for carving. I wouldn’t trust a supermarket box mix unless you doctor it with additional flour or possibly a instant pudding mix. I’ve never done this, although my friend brought back some pudding mix from the States which I’m going to experiment with. Best way to find out is to go ahead and do it. The ganache will provide a good firm covering. I can’t remember whether Paul used a centre dowel, if he didn’t, I would suggest doing so with the cake made with cake mix. Good luck with it, your feed back would be great so others may learn from your experience. x

Hi miwl, thanks for your reply – yes the madeira mix is for professional use, I would never use a supermarket mix. Now as for using ganache…I was going to use buttercream, purely to keep costs down (could very well go in the bin or out for the birds) so would that be okay?
As for tip re using a centre dowel, I will def do that.
Thank you, much appreciated.

You can use a stiffer buttercream but it still won’t give you the same sharp results that ganache will give. How about using a cheaper brand of chocolate to keep the cost down? Lidle have a really acceptable brand for 39pence for 100g and it is perfectly palatable. If the Westie doesn’t work out, with a little extra ganache the cake could be turned into cake pops so nothing will be wasted. A professional mix will be fine because they are designed to produce quality cakes.

Thank you madeitwithlove, had no idea chocolate could be that cheap…will certainly look in Lidl.

Hi, I’m about to cover the dog in sugarpaste now but worried that by the time I come to ‘texturing’ the coat, the paste will have dried out too much. I won’t be working as quick as Paul 🙂
Any ideas as to which SP he uses?

Hi Gina

You can water mist the icing a little to keep it soft enough to work. I use a bottle which squirts a little at a time in a very fine spray. Don’t overdo the watering because you’ll end up with a gloopy mess. Even a slightly damp cloth will do the trick. You’ll be amazed at how quickly you can work the texturing. I work really slowly because of arthritis but I managed to texture a two foot dinosaur without many problems. Good luck with the texturing. x

A two foot dinosaur? OMG! That is a great tip re fine spray/ damp cloth madeitwithlove, will do that.
Oh and btw, you were right about getting a firmer finish with ganache rather than buttercream.
Many thanks, much appreciated.

You’re very welcome! Yes my two foot dinosaure sat on my lap in the car, he had big goofy teeth which made everyone laugh. What a delivery that was! I made him out of rice krispy treats, won’t be doing that again in a hurry, my hands were done for!
Lidle have reduced their Fin Carre chocolate down to 35 pence per 100g I don’t know how long the offer is on for. If you’ve used it this time and liked it, might be worth stocking up. The dark chocolate is 50% cocoa content and the white 29%. I don’t use milk chocolate so don’t know what the content is of that one. I offer this chocolate to people who are on a budget, I let them taste it first. In my humble opinion most people can’t discern the difference between top quality chocolate to the more everyday brands. This particular one is good, I’ve used it for our own cakes. It comes out good when compared with my Callebaut, but obviously not the same tingly fine taste. x

Hi madeitwithlove, he sounded wonderful! I don’t know how you could have parted with him.
As for choc, I did buy from Lidl. I picked up what I thought was 39pence per 100gr, can’t remember the name now, but when I got to check-out it was 79p. Still cheap I thought.
But the Dr. Oetker Fine Cooks Chocolate Dark 150g, Sainsburys, is on offer at £1 at the moment and so costs 66p per 150gm bar (I hope I’ve worked that out right) It tastes good too.
Yep, I will go back to Lidle and look for the one you mention as definitely worth a try.

Have fun xx!