Welcome to the Cake Decorators Q&A

Hi
Has anyone used white chocolate ganache on a sugar syruped cake? Does it taste nice? I want to have a go with white ganache but uncertain which vanilla sponge cake recipe to use, I’ve always used BBC Good food easy vanilla cake which is delicious.
Thanks for your help
Diane

Hi Diane

I use that recipe too with vanilla pods boiled up in the syrup for extra taste. It lovely with white chocolate ganache or any ganache for that matter. I also use raspberry liqueur drench which goes really well with the white chocolate. What ya making? being nosey! x

Ooh, that sounds lovely. Thank you made it with love, I knew I could rely on you, you really are a cake guru!
I’m making a 2 tier stacked christening cake, bottom tier chocolate and top tier vanilla. It’s a bit of a challenge for a novice. She is having all FOUR of her children christened on the same day and wants one cake. She wants bright colours which is a nice change from pastels. I’m going to encourage her to have the white chocolate ganache instead of buttercream, costs a bit more but the finish is better. If I can pick your brains further what quantities of cream and white choc do you think I would need for a 7″ round cake?
Thanks again
Diane x

Hi Diane

Are you going to fill and cover the cake? I always make too much and never make small cakes so I’ll just give you the amounts I use for filling and covering my smallest cake which is nine inch cut into three layers.

600 gm white chocolate
200 ml double cream

White chocolate ganache doesn’t set as well as dark so this ratio makes a firmer ganache for filling and covering. If you have any left over, don’t do as I do, that’s eat it, your hips will grow and you’ll blame me!!!!!

I don’t know how you make your ganache, some recipes say boil the cream, I never do because I find white chocolate releases fat and it takes quite a while to get to spreading consistency. I heat my cream to hot, I can still put my pinky finger into it to test. I grate the chocolate using the grater attachment on my Kenwood then pour in the cream in a swirl. I find rotating the bowl allows the cream to reach all the nooks and crannies and is better than taking a spatula and stirring, at least in the initial moments of melting.
Once most of the chocolate has melted I just gently encourage the rest to incorporate with a spatula, again this prevents too much release of fat. If there are a few lumps left and the bowl is cold I micro wave on a low setting at intervals of ten seconds until it is all melted. I know some recipes say 30 second intervals in the micro, but I think that’s too much, better to do it slowly than burn it. Not so long ago I spoiled a whole kg of white choco ganache by over heating it, so bang goes your theory of me being a guru! I make so many mistakes, mainly because I have the concentration span of a goldfish, I don’t like other people to make the same mistakes. I always wizz my ganache with an electric hand mixer once it’s cold, perhaps it isn’t the correct thing to do, but it is always lovely and still sets up just as well as when not wizzed. Obviously you have your own way of doing things, so I don’t need to interfere. I hope some of this helps, I’m sorry for my late reply, I’ve been baking my old bones in the sun! xx

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Thank you MIWL. You are the cake Guru, because you have made all the mistakes for us and are generous enough to share your wisdom. I for one really appreciate it. I’m looking forward to making the white choc ganache and I will be following your method.
We have to make the most of the last of the summer sunshine, glad to hear you’ve been catching some rays, I’m jealous!
Thanks again
Diane

Hi there,
I am doing my first naked cake soon and was wondering if a sugar syrup (I have never used before!) will go ok with a lemon cake and chocolate cake? The carrot cake is very moist anyway as its made with oil. What quantities do you use for your sugar syrup with vanilla pods it sounds yummy! 50g golden caster sugar to half a vanilla pod to 50ml water? The thing I am most concerned about is putting too much syrup on and it going stodgy? Any idea as to how many tablespoons of sugar syrup on a 11″ cake, 4″ deep for instance? Thanks very much.

Hello the-cakery-wetheral

If you’re making Paul’s moist chocolate cake don’t put syrup on it because it’s a very, very moist cake anyway. You could drizzle some favourite tipple on it for an extra flavour, Paul uses Baily’s cream. Certainly use it with the lemon cake. Syrup is made from equal quanitites of liquid and sugar. It’s up to you how you make up the liquid, it can all be water or it can be part water and part juice. Bring to the boil for a minute or two, cool and brush on it on your cake with a pastry brush sufficient for the syrup to soak down into the spong. For a 10″ round 3 layer cake I make approximately 300 ml x 300g for a dense cake like madeira which usually needs a good soaking on both sides of each layer. I make more if needed or if I’ve made too much place it in glass bottle and keep it to add to another batch. If your lemon cake isn’t as dense as a maderia perhaps 200mls would be enough, you’d need to judge it, make as much or as little as you want. Not everyone uses the same amounts. For that amount use a whole vanilla pod. Simple syrup keeps for months so you could make a fair amount and use the remainder on another cake.

Thank you so much madeitwithlove – you are very kind to share your wisdom!! Looking forward to trying something new! x