I met Dash through my lover Tomas; they used to be co-workers. Dash is one of the most positive, optimistic people I've met. He believes in the power of kindness, and inspires the best in people. I was so happy to make a cake for him.
Tiramisu is one of my favourite desserts. As soon as I saw this recipe for tiramisu cake, I knew I had to try it. The lady fingers in the traditional dessert are replaced with two layers of cake. This cake had the best texture of the cakes I've made so far. It was moist and soft, and it rose beautifully. I'm crediting this to the buttermilk in the recipe. The cakes were basted in espresso syrup, which I should have used much more of. Meh, at least I know for next time.
The best part of this cake was the mascarpone cream. To make it, I mixed mascarpone, sugar, espresso and vanilla, and folded the mixture into whipped cream. It was my first time whipping cream by hand, without a mixer! It didn't take as long as I expected, but I did need Tomas's muscle to supplement my efforts. The mascarpone cream brought a challenge that I didn't anticipate when planning this cake: whipped cream needs to be kept cold, or it will melt. I freaked out over this for a minute, but it was easily solved by sitting the cake in the freezer for about two hours before we left. It had two hours to thaw between when we removed it from the freezer and when it was served, which worked perfectly.
Today was a big win for me. Not so much because of the cakes, but because of my preparation and organization. I've always known that projects come out much better when you gather your supplies in advance, and manage your schedule closely. However, I'm a procrastinator, and it's so easy to forget a crucial item. This week I had my recipes selected, reviewed, and my grocery list prepared days in advance. I made Taylor's cake and icing Wednesday evening and only had to assemble it on Saturday morning. And Dash's cake was ready plenty early in the day that I had time to freeze it to keep the mascarpone cream intact. This felt much better than last weekend, when I arrived at Tracy's birthday bash late!
Tiramisu is one of my favourite desserts. As soon as I saw this recipe for tiramisu cake, I knew I had to try it. The lady fingers in the traditional dessert are replaced with two layers of cake. This cake had the best texture of the cakes I've made so far. It was moist and soft, and it rose beautifully. I'm crediting this to the buttermilk in the recipe. The cakes were basted in espresso syrup, which I should have used much more of. Meh, at least I know for next time.
The best part of this cake was the mascarpone cream. To make it, I mixed mascarpone, sugar, espresso and vanilla, and folded the mixture into whipped cream. It was my first time whipping cream by hand, without a mixer! It didn't take as long as I expected, but I did need Tomas's muscle to supplement my efforts. The mascarpone cream brought a challenge that I didn't anticipate when planning this cake: whipped cream needs to be kept cold, or it will melt. I freaked out over this for a minute, but it was easily solved by sitting the cake in the freezer for about two hours before we left. It had two hours to thaw between when we removed it from the freezer and when it was served, which worked perfectly.
Today was a big win for me. Not so much because of the cakes, but because of my preparation and organization. I've always known that projects come out much better when you gather your supplies in advance, and manage your schedule closely. However, I'm a procrastinator, and it's so easy to forget a crucial item. This week I had my recipes selected, reviewed, and my grocery list prepared days in advance. I made Taylor's cake and icing Wednesday evening and only had to assemble it on Saturday morning. And Dash's cake was ready plenty early in the day that I had time to freeze it to keep the mascarpone cream intact. This felt much better than last weekend, when I arrived at Tracy's birthday bash late!
That's Dash in the striped white shirt, me standing in the green, and Tomas in the orange.