Saturday was my daughter's 30th birthday. She had a party at my house. The theme was ‘gold’. This turned out to be a great idea because everyone sparkled. My son-in-law enjoyed the camp to the fullest, wearing gold and black sequin pants and a gold necklace. He looked like a mix between Russell Brand and Morrissey. I'm here for it. I love it when men dress up. My granddaughter also wore a gold dress.
My daughter hired a mixologist. He used my baby sham glasses to make cocktails all night long. I think we drank seven bottles of tequila. His margaritas, porn star martinis and pina coladas were amazing. I had 4 drinks and had a bad hangover the next day. I am lightweight.
I made food. Mini pizzettes, mini poppy seed bagels with smoked salmon and cream cheese, and a really stupid gold and white caterpillar cake with four Swiss rolls, lots of white chocolate, and a gold sheet booklet. I *think* it was edible. Whatevs.
Giant Caterpillar Cake Cuthbert
serve 60
ingredient
For a regular cake:
- 5 egg
- 175 g brown sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- Flavoring of choice: Spice or lemon zest
- 100 g plain flour
Banana Cake Alternatives:
- 130 g brown sugar
- 2 Mashed very ripe bananas
- One teaspoon vanilla paste
- One teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon good salt
- 2 teaspoon Spices of your choice: cinnamon, all spice, nutmeg, cloves, or a combination.
- 100 g plain flour
For the chocolate buttercream:
- 175 g salted butter, room temperature
- 175 g icing sugar
- three table spoon Nutella or chocolate spread (I used high quality Italian Buffalo chocolate spread from https://www.tenutavannulo.com/en/)
For the white chocolate ganache:
- 450 g Good quality white chocolate
- 250 milliliter double cream
For decoration:
- Sheet edible gold leaf
- white chocolate buttons
- One Box White Chocolate Finger Biscuits
- caterpillar head colin
guideline
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Preheat the oven to 180C
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Line a flat Swiss roll tin or baking tin with parchment paper and grease it. I made four cakes, one after another. Parchment paper is also used to roll up cakes, so use this rather than a Silpat.
For a regular cake:
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Beat the eggs and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer until doubled in size and fluffy and fluffy, about 8 minutes. When you lift the whisk, the mixture should hang like a ribbon.
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Add spices, baking powder, and salt. If you want a chocolate flavored sponge, you can replace 40g of sugar with cocoa powder.
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Carefully fold in the flour to ensure even distribution.
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Carefully and evenly spread the mixture onto the baking tin parchment paper.
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Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until springy to the touch.
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Remove from the oven, flip the Swiss roll over and carefully remove the parchment paper.
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Using the same parchment paper, roll up the Swiss roll and let it cool.
For the banana cake:
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Beat eggs and sugar in stand mixer until doubled in size, pale and foamy, 8 minutes.
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Add flavorings such as vanilla or chives, then add baking powder and salt.
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Carefully fold in the flour. Stir gently but deeply as it tends to sink to the bottom. Do not deflate the airy cake mixture.
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Using a rubber spatula, spread evenly onto the baking tin/Swiss roll tin, all the way to the edges. (Thinner edges and corners tend to bake or burn faster.)
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Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until springy to the touch.
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Remove from oven and flip cake over. Carefully peel off the parchment paper.
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Using parchment paper, carefully roll the cake and leave to cool.
For the chocolate buttercream icing:
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Beat all ingredients together.
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Once the Swiss roll has cooled, open the cake and use a spatula to spread the chocolate buttercream all over the inside of the cake.
Add buttercream:
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Then, after re-rolling, cutting and assembling the cake, you can use the remaining buttercream on top of the outside of the cake (the crumb coating), which will make it easier to pour the ganache over it.
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Let cool and roll out again. You want the back of the caterpillar to be ridged, so cut strips about 1/3 thick (2.5cm). Remove this piece of cake. (Some people use it to make legs, but I used chocolate finger biscuits and fed them to my granddaughter.)
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Place the cake in the refrigerator to chill in preparation for the ganache step.
For the white chocolate ganache:
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Break the chocolate into squares and place them in a heat-resistant container.
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Melt it in a double boiler or microwave it for 30 seconds. Never exceed 30 seconds. Try it a few times.
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When the chocolate melts, add the whipped cream and mix.
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When the chocolate begins to harden, microwave it for 5 seconds.
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Using a rubber spatula, pour the butter over the creamed and rolled Swiss rolls.
For decoration:
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Using a paint brush or pastry brush, carefully cover the gold leaf until the body of the caterpillar cake is covered.
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Add chocolate buttons to the top and white chocolate fingers on the legs, slightly pushed in on each side.
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Finally, use the remaining buttercream to secure Colin's head on one end.