Rosa and Rosana's ‘I Still Believe’
Course:
Dessert, Cake
Seasonal Event:
Christmas
INGREDIENTS:
Chocolate Sponge:
- 1420 g boiling water
- 360 g cocoa powder
- 1000 g all-purpose flour
- 28 g (1 tbsp) baking soda
- 6 g (¾ tsp) baking powder
- 18 g (1½ tsp) salt
- 680 g unsalted butter at room temperature
- 1200 g (3 cups) white granulated sugar
- 12 large eggs, at room temperature
- 2 sticks butter to grease pans
Chocolate Hazelnut Buttercream:
- 908 g (4 cups) unsalted butter
- 960 g (8 cups) powdered sugar
- 784 g (2⅔ cups) Nutella-hazelnut spread
- 10 ml (2 tsp) pure hazelnut extract
- 10 ml (2 tsp) vanilla extract
- 2 g (¼ tsp) salt
- 120 g (8 tbsp) heavy whipping cream
- 1 tbsp Frangelico
Nutella Whipped Filling:
- 1428 g (6 cups) heavy whipping cream
- 662g (2¼ cup) Nutella chocolate-hazelnut spread
- 6 tsp Knox unflavored gelatin
- ½ c cold water
Surprise Center:
- 175g (1 cup) 54% semi sweet chocolate chips (melted) (175g)
- 142 g (1 cup) hazelnuts
- Black Fondant 1.5 lb (0.68kg)
- Gray Fondant 125g
- Gold Fondant 125g
- White fondant 0.45 kg
- Red Fondant 220g
- Powder sugar for dusting the table to work with the fondant
- Black nonpareils (small black ball sprinkles)
- Gold sprinkle balls
- Silver edible dusting glitter
- Gold edible dusting glitter
- Fondant brush and cutting tools
- 4x10” square cake pans
- 3x5” square cake pans
- Round cutters for train wheels
- Small ball light for train light
- Fondant smoother
- 6 gauge armature wire
- White Cotton candy
DIRECTIONS:
Chocolate Sponge Cake:
- Preheat oven to 350 F
- Grease and line pans with butter and parchment paper
- Make cocoa mixture by boiling water then whisking in cocoa until smooth. Set aside in freezer
- Sift all dry ingredients into a bowl
- In a stand mixer fit with a paddle, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy (8-10 min)
- Add eggs one at a time. Then on low speed alternate the cocoa mixture and dry ingredients in 4 intervals
- Divide the batter then bake cakes for 20-30 min
- Once baked, cool in flash freezer until ready to cut and assemble
Buttercream:
- In a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, cream butter until fluffy. Spoon sugar spoonfuls at a time until well blended. Add the Nutella and beat on medium
- Stir in extract, salt and whipping cream and beat on high until stiff and fluffy. Set aside
Nutella Filling:
- Sprinkle gelatin into cold water and set aside until firm
- Place whipping cream and Nutella in a stand mixer with whisk attachment. When the gelatin is set, place the bowl in the microwave for 10 seconds or until liquid. Begin to beat contents in mixer, then add the gelatin as a steady stream and beat until medium stiff peaks are achieved
- Toast hazelnuts over medium heat then dip into melted chocolate and set aside to cool
- Remove cakes from pans
- Cut 10” square in half, leave the 2x5” and cut the last 5” diagonally
- With the 2nd 10” square-cut circle using a circular cookie cutter (I will provide) to form the engine
- Align the pieces to create the train shape. Then disassemble, and restack piping a layer of buttercream and Nutella mousse on each cake. Cut a rectangular hole in the body of the cake and fill with “coal” covered hazelnuts. Use dowels to reinforce the cake as it being stacked
- Crumb coat the cake with buttercream and place back in freezer until ready to fondant
Roll out the fondant and cut the following pieces:
- 6x6 square for roof
- Circle for front of engine
- 2x rectangular windows
- 1 square door
- Strips for the grill
- 10 small circles and 2 larger for the wheels
- Mold a log and sphere disk onto a 6 gauge armature wire to make the chimney
- Make a medium then smaller log for other chimneys
- Make a cube then insert the ball light for train light
- Roll out black fondant and cover the train
- Place train on the display board
- Attach fondant details
- Paint more details using the edible dust
- Attach cotton candy to the wire to make the smoke