Blackforest Cake

Our good friend Steve just had a party, and his favorite cake is a Black forest cake. Most people love chocolate cake and some feel an addiction to it. Maybe it's because chocolate has a little caffeine in it that gives you a kick. This is also my husband's favorite cake, it has fresh whip cream and dark black cherries inside the layers. It can also taste amazing with layers of chocolate ganache and dark black cherries. This is what Prabakar my husband requested for me to make for his Birthday cake. It becomes twice as rich with the chocolate ganache, and so amazing if you are a big chocolate fan. He fell in love with one bite and said it is the best cake I had made for him.  This cake also has No oil or butter in it and low sugar, yet very moist and delicious.  You really don't need oil or butter in cakes, if you know the secret method of making your cake.  It is all in the process of making the cake, so you don't need the extra fat and calories any more.  I am still working on recipe books for you so you can make gourmet cakes and pastries right from your home. 

French Rollet Baking Class

Our first French Baking class took place finally last Sunday. I had one person after another ask me, "when will you start teaching your classes?" I also started getting emails from people asking about classes, so finally I just decided I had to just do it.

There was a lot to prepare for in a very short amount of time and I must admit I was a little panicked the night before. Thanks to my husband, he calmed me down and helped me prepare. I taught some of my closest friends first who had been wanting to take the class, and decided they would be great students to experiment on. Also I knew they are easy going and fun to be with and would give me good feedback. The baking class was on how to make a Rollet cake from scratch. The cake comprised of chocolate shavings and fruit decorations on top and fresh whipped cream inside the white cake.

There were 6 students, Amy, Mike, Nancy, Maria, Sally, and Jinous. The class was held at Jinous' home who was very generous to open up her kitchen and host the class. Her large kitchen with an island was the perfect setting for the baking class. The students made their own Rollet cakes with complete hands on experience. I provided all the equipment and ingredients needed, so they did not have to worry about bringing anything. I demonstrated and guided them in what they were to do, and then allowed them to do it on their own which they preferred and was the best way to learn. Their final work of art was impressive for their first time. I am definitely proud of each one of them and know they will go home and practice and perfect their baking talents even more.

You are all talented and awesome baking students and have inspired me in your conviction and dedication! Your efforts definitely paid off and it shows in your beautifully decorated Rollet cakes. I thank each one of you and wish you success in your baking endeavours!

Now that the first class is behind me, I am going to be having these classes regularly. If any of you are interested, please contact me. We can either have these classes in my kitchen or at your homes. I offer giving classes for up to 6 students at a time.

Finally, I also want to share that I have dedicated my baking business and endeavours to raise money for the less fortunate. My husband and I wish to dedicate our time and efforts to raise money to help those in need. We are so fortunate and have many wonderful things in life to be grateful for, that we cannot forget the less fortunate peoples of this world. We know we can't solve world hunger, but if we think that way, then nothing will get done. Instead we have to do our small part individually to make a change because its the multitude of small parts that make the difference. All proceeds from my baking business will go towards charitable purposes.

White Strawberry cake with white chocolate shavings

This cake was made for a little angel who turned one! Her name is Nura which means light in Persian, and you guessed it she is a little angel of light. This was an enormous 21 pound cake, filled with three layers of strawberries and fresh whip cream, and about 5 to 6 inches in height. This cake easily fed 70 people plus there was left overs for the family to take home. Niky, who is Nura's mom had told me for several mornings after the B-day party, her family had cake for breakfast, and day by day it tasted even better. This is actually true as the strawberry's juice and whip cream soak into the cake over time.

I never use oil or butter in my cakes and that makes for a very healthy and light cake, and that is why people can easily eat more than one slice. Also using fresh whipping cream and not frosting which is made of butter and sugar, makes my cakes very light and healthy. As we try to live a healthy life we need to be aware of what we put into our bodies. Therefore if we can eliminate cakes that have butter, oil, and lots of sugar, we will then eat a healthy cake that is delicious and brings a sigh of yum with every bite we eat.

Niky wanted Nura's cake to have the appearance of snow, so she wanted only white chocolate shavings for the decoration with happy birthday to Nura written on marzipan. There were many Marzipan lovers at the party, especially Anisa and Tandis, who could not keep their eyes off the rich tasting marzipan piece (they knew how tasty marzipan can be). Either you are a big fan of marzipan and love it, or you simply may not know enough about it and may not have taste buds for it (yet). As for me, I love a high quality marzipan. Happy Birthday little Nura and may you have many more angelic birthdays to come!

I was very happy with the review from Nura's family, friends of the family, and those who don't like cake, but really enjoyed this one. I will be putting together all my recipes in a book for sale in the near future, for all of those who have been asking and like to bake. Also sometime soon I will begin teaching classes for those who have asked. Happy New Year to all, and best wishes for 2010!

kiwi strawberry rollet cake

Great news! I will be giving French baking classes soon. I have been putting together plans to start teaching french baking classes. It has been on my mind for a while and I have been talking to my friends and customers to get some feedback. Many of them have asked to come and learn, watch, be an assistant or to get recipes for my cakes and pastries. So look forward to more plans and details on that.

My friend Atousa had invited us over for dinner this past weekend. My husband and I decided to make a rollet cake to take as dessert. I figured I would experiment with teaching him how to make a rollet cake. Mind you, it was a little frustrating teaching him :) as he just doesn't listen sometimes, but he was a good student after all. It took us about 2 hours to get it all done and believe it or not, it came out great.

Here are the quick details of the cake we made. It was a white cake with whip cream and chocolate shavings with fruit on top. Kiwis and strawberries look great on chocolate shavings. It gives a holiday look, feel and taste. Everyone loved the taste and the design. They couldn't believe that my husband had made it and not me. Rollet cakes are easier to make than a standard round or square cake and I think they taste better too if you want something different. I add a lemon and orange Zest for additional flavoring and a unique taste. I think there was about 4 or 5 people at the party who wanted to take the class. Yeah!!

Holiday Yule Log Cake

Its the holidays! Whether you are celebrating Christmas, Hanuka, Kwanzaa, or holiday, its a great time to add the sweets as part of your celebration.

This year I am making Holiday Yule Log cakes. Several friends have already placed their orders and here is my first one for the season. What is a Yule Log cake you ask?

The term goes way back to the 12th century, when it was customary for families on Christmas eve to sit around a fireplace and light a log. Yes, it was actually a real fire log that had to be burned for 12 hours. Families and friends would watch it burn for hours while telling ghost stories . Then over time, tradition changed and the log was replaced by luscious desserts made to represent the log. Therefore the circular tree rings on the Yule log cake.

My Yule log cakes are made french style, no oil, no butter, just natural and healthy. It is a white cake with orange zest, fresh whip cream and chocolate shavings on top with holiday decorations. A lot of love went into it to make it as delicious and pretty as can be. It is a very festive and fun dessert to have during the holidays. I still have to do all my clean up and dishes, but it was worth the hard work.

Raspberry White cake with Chocolate Shavings

During our bakery days, our french style cakes were the most popular. We made french cakes for all kinds of occasions, from birthdays to anniversaries to weddings and just parties. Making french style cakes has always been my favorite part of the bakery days and I truly enjoy the experience and results.

Today was my friend Anthony's birthday party. I decided to make a white cake with raspberry whip cream filling for him. I always like to decorate with chocolate, so I'll top it off with some chocolate shavings. There is an art to making french style cakes. The difference is not only in the recipe but also the process. My father taught me one of his secrets to making cakes spungy and moist. We never use oil or butter in our cakes. Surprised??? Yes, for all the years that we have been making cakes, we never used oil or butter to make the cake soft and moist. It is a secret that has made our cakes so popular. It is healthly, all natural, and tastes so great! So have an extra slice without worrying too much about the fat :)

Here it is! A white cake with raspberry whip cream filling and chocolate shavings on top and on the sides and decorated with raspberries on top.

Rollet chocolate cake with chocolate shavings topped with raspberries

Today I had a French Chocolate Rollet birthday cake order. This is a birthday cake for a friend's mom and she loves chocolate and raspberries. It will be a chocolate cake with fresh whip cream in it and on top, then decorated with chocolate shavings and raspberries. For my cakes I never use frosting. I am totally against frosting - its high in sugar, cheap, and does not make for a delicious tasting cake.

Lets get started and see how it turns out............. I have finished! Check out my work of art - it looks fabulous.

It will taste delicious too. Recently most of my orders have been rollet cakes and I enjoy making them. I also decided to add mandarin oranges to it for a more diverse colorful look. This particluar cake will easily serve 20 people and it is something different than your usual round or rectangular birthday cakes. It has a different look which I think captures the eyes. It will be eaten on Thanksgiving day, so I will have to wait and hear the reviews. It is really fun making something too pretty to eat :)

OK, gotta get back to other thanksgiving day pastries. I will be making an apricot pie with almond and custard filling - a french style of making pies. It was a huge hit in the days of our bakery and I expect it will be a hit again this year. Of course there will be pumpkin pie as well, but thats nothing to rave about. I will post some pictures of the apricot pie though.

Happy thanksgiving to all!