New workshop dates in September 2009

While I'll be teaching Ultimate Fudge Cake Workshop, a hands-on class, at Shermay's Cooking School in August (on 7, 8 & 9 August 2009 and 21, 22 & 23 August 2009), I understand from the school that availability for these dates has become pretty limited.

As such, an additional round of these workshops - the final round of this class for 2009 - has been scheduled for September 2009. Bookings are currently open and being taken for these last three dates: 4 September 2009 (Friday), 5 September 2009 (Saturday) and 6 September 2009 (Sunday). The September schedule has all the details; for all inquiries, please call the school at +65 6479 8442 or email shermaycs@yahoo.com.sg

I like to think of the recipe pack for this class as a collection of recipes that you can mix-and-match as you fancy by tweaking the cake flavour/finish/filling/frosting/soaking syrup. That way, you get greater mileage from playing with permutations and combinations of these component recipes.

Following up on this, here's a bit more on the Bonus Section with Extra Recipes & Ideas for Other Chocolate Layer Cakes included within the recipe pack. This section includes:

Chocolate Cake Variations such as:
*Chocolate Orange Cake
*Chocolate Lemon Cake
*Chocolate Coffee Cake

*White Chocolate Buttercream using Valrhona Ivoire 35% White Chocolate. A rich and luxurious buttercream that’s the perfect foil to an intense chocolate cake. Variations on this include:
*Orange & White Chocolate Buttercream
*Lemon & White Chocolate Buttercream
*Raspberry & White Chocolate Buttercream

*Milk Chocolate Frosting using Valrhona Jivara Lactée 40% Milk Chocolate. A creamy and comforting chocolate frosting. Variation on this is:
*Mocha Frosting

*Dark Chocolate Glaze using Valrhona Equatoriale Noire 55% Dark Chocolate. A dark chocolate glaze if you prefer a silky and shiny finish

The basic cake recipe can easily be turned into individual portions with the help of small-ish cutters. My favourite application of the Dark Chocolate Glaze is for these miniatures.

While the recipe pack is designed to encourage free play, some complete layer cake ideas have been suggested. These include:

*Framboise Chocolate Cake Layers Soaked in Framboise Syrup with Fresh Raspberries and Raspberry & White Chocolate Buttercream (picture at beginning of this post)

*Orange Grove Chocolate Cake Chocolate Orange Cake Layers Soaked in Cointreau Syrup with Orange Marmalade and Orange & White Chocolate Buttercream

*Lemon Surprise Chocolate Cake Chocolate Lemon Cake Layers Soaked in Limoncello Syrup with Lemon Curd and Lemon & White Chocolate Buttercream

*Mocha Madness Chocolate Coffee Cake Layers Soaked in Espresso & Kahlua Syrup with Mocha Frosting