Countdown to Kelly Ripa, day 1.5: Cakes by Gisele Perez

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Yes, I know I already posted my Countdown to Kelly Ripa's Cake-Off for a Cause today. But I got these great photos from LA food blogger and caterer Gisele Perez, and I wanted to share them with you. I've had so much fun in this series looking at all the different cakes, cupcakes and other sweets my friends have made!

Says Gisele:

The photo above is a birthday cake I made for a friend last year. I used easy decorations - fresh flowers and sugar  molded instruments, sombreros etc. purchased from cake decorating store. [Erika says: Good tip for those of us who can master the basic icing steps but have neither the skills nor patience to mold fondant or gum paste.]

German Chocolate cakes (below) often don't have much decoration, but I always like to finish them off by icing the sides and adding a shell border. It makes for a beautiful presentation, and I think it helps to "sandwich" the cake together- German Chocolate can be delicate. I use Rose Levy Beranbaum's Milk Chocolate Buttercream (a truly luscious buttercream) to finish. It's one of those recipes which requires the buttercream to be at just the right temp to use, but it's definitely worth the trouble. I use Callebaut's Bittersweet and Milk Chocolate.


Because the traditional German chocolate cake recipe (included on the Baker's German Chocolate packing) makes a slightly crumbly cake, I always give the  sides of the cake a "crumb coating" of the buttercream, then let it set for a few minutes in the fridge before giving it a second coating.

   

Crumb coat on the sides of the cake

Second coat of frosting on the sides of the cake

The finished cake with its shell border

Beautiful, yes? These are cakes I definitely think I could handle. Thanks, Gisele!