One of my favourite creations to date!
One of my coworkers had a significant birthday coming up and I happily volunteered to make his cake.
I made two layers of dark chocolate cake based on this amazing recipe from Sweetapolita, and I also followed her recipe for Swiss Meringue Buttercream icing. It is fantastic. I used to use the one in the Joy of Cooking, but her explanation of swiss meringue buttercream icing made it significantly less daunting to create. Now that I feel comfortable with it, I shall never go back to regular buttercream. Meringue buttercream icings have a wonderful rich, light volume without any cloying sweetness or the feeling that you’re eating sugar and solid fat.
I covered it in fondant that I left white and scored for the pages, and coloured/flavoured chocolate for the cover. I also rubbed the cover down with cocoa powder to try and make it look more leathery-y. The binding and text are made from fondant and gold paint (mix edible glitter with vodka, paint quickly before the alcohol evaporates).
The delicious innards…
The Secret Catacombs of Cake and Tea 