Christmas Ivoire
This Christmas version of Ivoire et Chocolate incorporates the colors of the holiday into a beautiful dessert. It was inspired by a holiday cake design in the excellent book Cocolat (1990).
Christmas Ivoire is a good example of taking a favorite cake and giving it a different look for a holiday.
This is a big project; it is best to split it into stages, such as assembling the cake and making the decorations on different days. The cake can be assembled in the ring and kept in the refrigerator for up to two days, or in the freezer for 2 weeks. Then, with a clean work surface, you can attack the chocolate band, the glazed cranberries, the white chocolate curls and the final assembly with gold leaf flecks.
Christmas Ivoire
| Yield: 1 6-inch cake | # of Servings: 6 to 8 |
- ½ cup fresh cranberries, rinsed and dried
- 1 cup (7.1 oz / 201 g) sugar
- 2 tbl cold water
- 1 (8 oz / 227 g) block white chocolate
- 1 package edible gold leaf1
Tools and equipment needed:
- 1 small saucepan
- Silpat, or parchment-lined cookie sheet
- Instant read thermometer
- Vegetable peeler (preferably a Y-shaped peeler), paring knife, pastry brush
- Candy fork (optional)
Directions:
- Make the Ivoire et Chocolat, leaving off the dark chocolate shavings.
- Place the block of white chocolate on a plate and microwave in 5 second intervals, just until it is somewhat malleable.
- Holding the white chocolate in one hand, peel off curls, letting them fall onto a plate.
- Let the curls sit for 15 minutes to set.
- Dust the curls with confectioners’ sugar, and place around the top of the cake.
- In small saucepan, combine the sugar and water, avoiding sugar granules on the side of the pan as much as possible.
- Bring the sugar syrup to the boil, washing down any sugar from the sides of the pan with a pastry brush dipped in cold water.
- Cook to 265 °F. Be very careful moving and working with the sugar.
- Remove pan from heat and move to a heat-proof mat or trivet on the counter.
- Dunk one cranberries at a time into the syrup, and using a standard fork or candy fork, remove each cranberry to the silpat.
- Let the cranberries set until cool. Place the nicest ones on the white chocolate curls.
- Using the tip of a paring knife, gently touch a square of gold leaf and then touch a cranberry for the gold to adhere.
Notes: Be sure to use gold leaf labeled as Edible. It is available from Amazon and L’Epicerie.
