Wednesday, May 28, 2008

My first official daring bakers challenge


So I finally sign up for the Daring Bakers after having been intrigued by them for ages. And of course, instead of waiting for a sensible time in my life, I decided to sign up just as we're in the middle of packing and preparing for our big move. It was definitely a challenge!



My opera cake had layers of buttercream, almond cake, raspberries, white chocolate mousse, and a white chocolate glaze. With all that white chocolate I was worried about it being much too sweet so the tartness of the raspberries reassured me. I'm so glad I included the glaze. Once it hardened up, it really gave the cake and extra stability and glossyness.

I also had a personal deadline for this cake. We had a dessert auction the friday before Mother's Day and I was determined to have this ready for it. So of course, that Thursday night I was up until midnight working on the glaze, assembling the cake, tripping sleepily over moving boxes, and ignoring my husband's expression that plainly revealed his doubts about my sanity.




Late night baking or not, everything turned out swell. I was happy to trim the ugly edges off so I could taste them and make sure I wasn't auctioning off something wretched. And there were plenty of scraps! It wasn't as pretty as I would have liked. My cake layers weren't as even as they should have been. I didn't smooth them out well enough before popping them into the oven. The buttercream was from the modified recipe and it came out wonderfully.




I'm so glad I didn't completely mess my first challenge up. I was scared when I printed off the pages and pages of instructions. If you're up for a challenge, you can see the recipe at Cream Puffs in Venice.


Next challenge will be done in my brand new, kinda ugly, but with way better light kitchen at our first real home. Can't wait!


17 comments:

Renee said...

Congratulations on completing your very first DB Challenge! Your cake looks so gooey and good.

Erica said...

I was so close to doing a raspberry version myself, but forgot the liquer at home (I baked at my mom's) so had to change it up last minute. I'll bet it was delicious! I also trimmed the cake and ate the crumbs for "quality assurance".

Anonymous said...

Congrats on your first Challenge. It certainly sounds like you set yourself up with a challenge. The end result is wonderful. The raspberries have such a lovely color.

Patsyk said...

Congratulations on completing your first challenge! I still have to work on my presentation when it comes to cakes, and that's what I hope the DB'ers will inspire me to do... at least it was delicious! :)

Sarah said...

Congratulations on you first challenge! Your flavor combination sounds fantastic! Best of luck with your unpacking!

Best,
Sarah

Christine said...

Congratulations on your first challenge! Love your choice of flavoring!

Anonymous said...

Bravo! This is my 1st challenge as well and I had lots of fun. I too added some raspberry puree to my piece.

Honey Pickles said...

Great Job! Your cakes looks terrific.

Lunch Buckets said...

Welcome to the group - too bad we weren't doing one bowl brownies this month!

Anne said...

I used raspberries too, I found it really worked to combat the sweetness of the white chocolate. Good job on your first challenge!

Shari@Whisk: a food blog said...

Wow, you're ambitious to do this in-between moving! Great job!
Shari@Whisk: a food blog

Barbara said...

Congrats on your first challenge and getting ready to try your next one in a new kitchen!

Unknown said...

Great job on your first challenge! And you even put it in a dessert auction...wow!

Anonymous said...

How on earth did you do this during a move? Congratulations on your first challenge! Crazy warrior baker. ;)

silverrock said...

Yeah for DBers. This was my first challenge as well. Your cake looks lovely and full of ooey gooey goodness. I too found this to be a very challenging, and yet very satisfying recipe. Now it's time to see what June has in store!

Anonymous said...

Great job on your cake, especially with a move at the same time. It looks yummy!

Amy J. said...

Yum! You did a great job. Welcome to Daring Bakers - and I love your blog! :) I LOL at the ADD/randomness (not like that's my life or anything)!