Graduation Book Cake !!!

Cakes By Catriona
Sep 25, 2020
4 min read

(My graduation gift to myself )

Classic vanilla cake with chocolate ganache filling ...

Graduation Book Cake (For 2 layers of cake / About 20 servings) !

Ingredients (For the classic vanilla cake)

540g of pastry flour

25g of baking powder

5g of salt

60ml of vanilla essence ('Robson' brand - 2 small bottles)

320g of white sugar

300g of unsalted butter (at room temperature)

6 eggs

250g of Greek yogurt (2 small pots - unsweetened/ nature sans sucre)

100ml of full cream or semi-skimmed milk

Rectangular baking trays (I used one 24 x 30 cm baking trays in 2 separate batches)

1.5 kg of fondant/ sugar paste (Cake decoration)

Black food coloring (Cake decoration)

Edible gold luster dust (Cake decoration)

Corn flour for dusting (Cake decoration)

300g of your favourite nougat (Creation of Graduation cap)

Metal clay extruder tool for decoration (I use it only with sugar paste - Refer to photo step 11)

Tons of love (Cake creation !)

Ingredients (For the chocolate ganache filling and frosting)

600g of dark chocolate

50g of unsalted butter

200ml of heavy cream (min. 35% fat)

Note: I made my cake in two separate batches (I halved the recipe for both batches) since my oven won`t accommodate both baking trays ...

Procedure

Step 1 (Cake) : Get your baking pan ! For the 'book' effect, it should actually accommodate a normal A4 page ...

Step 2 (Cake): In a bowl, add in your flour, salt and baking powder. In another bowl, add in your milk, yogurt and vanilla essence. Mix until combined .

Step 3 (Cake): Cream your butter and sugar. Then add in your eggs one at a time and mix using your electric mixer .

Step 4 (Cake): Add (while sifting) your dry ingredients mixture (flour, salt, baking powder) followed by your wet ingredients (yogurt, milk, vanilla) to your butter/ sugar/ eggs mixture.

Step 5 (Cake): Mix just until combined (do not overmix !). Your vanilla cake batter is ready !

Tip: It is very important not to overmix your batter to avoid activation of too much gluten resulting in a rubbery rather than a soft/ moist cake texture ...

Step 6 (Cake): Line your slightly greased baking tray/s with parchment paper and spread your cake batter evenly.

Step 7 (Cake): Bake in a pre-heated oven at 180 degrees Celsius for about 16 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted in the center . Out of the oven at 16 minutes (Photo - Right) !

Note: I made my cake in two separate batches (I halved the recipe for both batches) since my oven won`t accommodate two baking trays ...

Step 8 (Cake): Allow your layers of cake to cool completely .

Step 9 (Ganache): Get your ingredients to prepare your chocolate ganache ! This should be done prior to your cake decoration as it needs time to set in the refrigerator!

Step 10 (Ganache): Heat your heavy cream in the microwave or on the stove until just before it starts boiling. Add the hot cream to your dark chocolate and mix until all the chocolate is melted completely ! Cover with cling film and place in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours !

Step 11 (Cake decoration): Get your tools and ingredients ready. Most of all, prepare to have fun ...

Step 12 (Cake decoration): Coloring the fondant/ sugar paste ! (reserve 500g of fondant uncolored - as book 'pages' and decorative pieces will normally have a white base )

Step 13 (Cake decoration): Still coloring the fondant/ sugar paste .

Step 14 (Cake decoration): Preparing decorative pieces including 'book borders' ...

Step 15 (Cake decoration): Preparing decorative pieces ...

Step 16 (Cake decoration): Painting (using edible gold luster dust) decorative pieces...

Step 17 (Cake decoration): Allowing decorative pieces` 'gold paint' to dry ...

Step 18 (Ganache - Cake filling and frosting): After at least 2 hours in the refrigerator, mix your chocolate ganache until light and fluffy. Add your unsalted butter (room temperature) and do a final mix. Voila, your filling is ready !