Long long ago I wanted to become a pastry chef. Perhaps I didn’t know the term but I knew I wanted to make sweet things all day, running around the kitchen with flour on my clothes and smelling very much of vanilla and chocolate. I imagined what it would be like to live in Paris and work in a lush patisserie. I pictured myself rising before the sun and baking bread, making choux pastry, separating hundreds of eggs and making the glossiest of Italian meringue. Garnishes would get my special attention and I would make sure every dessert looked pretty. The plates would go out to my customers with a smear (you know, the classic smear) of berry coulis, quenelles of the most exotic mousse and fancy dots of citrus curd. Then on top would be my prettiest chocolate curls or sugar decorations resembling art work. They would obviously have fancy names. Like ‘beauty and the beast’ and an all green dessert plate called ‘spring’.
On the contrary, I joined a bank.
The job was great..it paid well and I had an amazing team to work with. Everything was perfect and I loved my job. I forgot all about my dreams. Once in a while when we went to a fancy restaurant and ordered dessert, I could feel something tug at my heart. But life was busy and I was having a ball of a time growing in my role and getting noticed for my work.
Then, many years later my husband walked in home one evening and exclaimed ‘This does not look like our house anymore. It looks like a pastry kitchen’ I was working on a recipe for the blog and there were bowls and whisks everywhere, I had piped designs on the table to practice, props were scattered on the floor. I looked up and suddenly the truth in those words hit me. My dream. My pastry kitchen. I did not even realise that this little blog of mine brought me so close to living the dream I once had. I am nowhere close to being a pastry chef but I am doing what I love to do the most every single day.
I love my precious corner of the Internet so much that if you ask me about the last two years I will be talking about recipes, photos, disasters, delayed meals, fresh produce, beautiful friendships, touching comments, features and all of that. As if my whole life revolves around this besides my family and nothing else. Thank you so very much my lovely friends and readers for making these two years such a happy time for me. Thank you for visiting my blog, give me your valuable time and keeping me on my toes. You make me live my dream, you give me a reason to smile everyday. You make me feel like an important person (a self-proclaimed pastry chef) who has to work on recipes all day, as if I am shouldering a huge responsibility. I know, I am. I hope I never let you down. I hope you find what you come looking for.
Between the last blog birthday to this one, Sugar et al. has seen many highs which I should probably share with you in a different post. I have been working very hard behind the scenes, focusing on my photography, another subject I am very passionate about.
Moving onto this cake, it is a dark chocolate cake with a cherry buttercream filling and frosted with a milk chocolate buttercream. The cake is dense and fudgy with a slight nuttiness from the hazelnut meal (ground hazelnuts). The cherry frosting is flavored with fresh cherries which goes well with the rich cake. Swiss Meringue Buttercream is my favourite frosting on cakes as it is easy to handle, light and fluffy and not too sweet to taste.
Here’s to another year of sweet sweet things!
Dark Chocolate Cake with Milk Chocolate And Cherry Buttercream
Serves 10-12
200 g unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup, firmly packed brown sugar
200 g dark chocolate, melted, cooled
2 eggs
1 1/4 cups self-raising flour
1/2 cup hazelnut meal (grounds hazelnuts) or any other nut meal
1/2 cup) buttermilk
1/4 cup) cocoa powder
Preheat oven to 160 degrees C (140 degrees C for fan forced) Grease two 18 cm round cake pans with melted butter. Line the base with baking paper.
Use electric beaters to beat the butter and sugar in a bowl until pale and creamy. Beat in the melted chocolate and eggs. Fold in the flour, hazelnut meal, buttermilk and cocoa until well combined. Divide equally between the prepared pans and smooth the surfaces. Bake for 1 hour 10 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Set aside in the pan to cool slightly before transferring the cake to a wire rack to cool completely.
For the Milk Chocolate and Cherry Swiss Meringue Buttercream
4 egg whites
1 cup castor sugar
300 g unsalted butter, room temperature
1 tsp vanilla essence
120 g milk chocolate
8-10 fresh cherries, pitted and smashed with the back of a spoon
Place the egg whites and sugar in a large bowl that is placed over a saucepan of simmering water (over low heat), and whisk continuously, until the sugar has completely dissolved and the bottom of the bowl is warm to touch
Remove the bowl from the heat, add the vanilla essence and whip on high speed until meringue holds stiff peaks and looks glossy
Add the butter, a tablespoon at a time, until thick and fluffy. If it begins to look curdled, continue to whip until it comes back together, before adding in remaining butter.
Remove about 1/2 cup of the buttercream aside for the cherry buttercream. To this, add the smashed cherries with the juices and mix till blended.
To the rest of buttercream, add the melted milk chocolate and fold in till smooth.
To assemble: Place one layer of the cake on a cake stand or serving tray. Spoon the cherry buttercream on top and smooth out with a spatula. Sandwich with the other layer of cake. Frost the top and outside with the milk chocolate buttercream. Decorate with fresh flowers or chocolate curls.
Wow this cake is stunning xx
Thank you so much Aimee! I love all your beautiful cakes.
Happy 2 year blog-aversary! What a decadently beautiful cake to honor this milestone. Here’s to many more years of highs and following the dreams you have loads of talent for.
Thank you lovely Lynn. Those words mean the world to me:-)
Beautiful props and pictures. But the cake, oh the cake looks so good in every way, from design to slice and texture, plus flavor. Well done!
Thank you very much my dear Oana! I love all your creations. You made my day!
that is one beautiful cake! happy 2nd blogiversary!
Thank you so much. Glad you liked the cake:-)
I just discovered your blog two weeks back and you are very talented!! and yes, you are living your dream beautifully..each one of your posts is just stunning!!! Looking forward to many many more!! goes without saying, this cake is a stunner!!
Thanks for your sweet words Sarvani. I love blogging because I get to meet beautiful people like yourself every day. Love.
I’ve only just discovered your blog and I’m enjoying each and every post. This is such a beautiful cake and it has my favourite icing on too, Swiss Meringue. Happy 2nd year of blogging!
Swiss Meringue is just gorgeous. I can like it off a spoon just like that. Thank you so much for stopping by lovely Laura. So glad you found me..catch you around:-)
Congratulations on your blog anniversary as well as your accomplishment pursuing your dream. Thank you for sharing your talents with baking and photography. Cheers, Ardith
Thank you so much Ardith:-) I am touched beyond words at your sweet comment!
Happy second bloganniversary!!! Wishing your gorgeous and delicious blog many happy years to come… and all the success that you deserve, Sonali. You are not a formal trained pastry chef, but your desserts look like coming from one. This statement doesn’t come from the friend, but the professional chef that I am.
I only wish that I was there to help you devour this luscious cake. 🙂
Awww..thank you my darling! It means a lot coming from you. Love you heaps!
Congrats on the blogoversary!! This cake looks like the perfect way to celebrate 🙂
Thanks my dear June! I can’t think of a celebration without chocolate and cake:-)
Now I know why I came here..we share the same ”sugar” dream! Hope one day catch my dream too! Happy bloganniversary and keep inspiring us! Greetings from Greece
Yay! So glad you stopped by Eirini. I hope all your dreams come true. Best wishes, my friend!
What a beautiful way to celebrate your blog birthday. I love love love this post. So happy that you are following your dream. You’re creations and photographs are so inspiring to me. Looking forward to many more years of deliciousness! XO
So awesome of you to say that Liz! Your posts are always amazing! Thank you so much lovely:-)
Wow this cake is so beautiful and your words are very sweet and genuine. I love your photography, every detail is accounted for, your colours are so striking- like that background is just fantastic, ahhh something to aspire to !
I am moved beyond words reading your comment Chantelle! Thank you heaps my dear friend:-)
Absolutely gorgeous cake! Happy 2 year Blog birthday! Cheers to fulfilling more dreams… and more stunning cakes! ♡
Awww..you lovely woman! Thank you so much:-)
What a cake to celebrate with!! This looks and sounds perrrrrrrfect! Cheers to another year of delicious sweet things 🙂
Thank you my dear Katrina! You are as sweet as always:-)
Omg, omg, omg, just gorgeous!!! So in love with the over head shots!!!! Happy 2 year old Sugar et Al!!!
I love how you ended up doing what you love after all! I have had so many things in my life happen just like that. When I was in my 20’s my friend Tanya and I use to have lattes on the Venice Beach boardwalk and we would pretend we were in Italy or France. After we would go to the book store and look at all the travel books. Well, both our dreams came true and we both did a lot of traveling. She has never stopped. Check out her lovely blog http://www.tanyamossphotography.com/blog/
Happy, happy 2nd blog anniversary! I’m so happy that your “real” job turned out well (I’m familiar with working in a bank, too 🙂 but I’m even more glad that the blog has brought you so much happiness and the chance to live your dream in a way. : ) Such a sweet thing all round! Here’s to more creations and fulfillment. Can’t wait to see all the good things you dream up…
You always create the most beautiful cakes.. this is divine!
Happy 2nd blog birthday! Colleagues saw me browsing your blog last Friday and they were all drooling. You would put most pro bakers to shame. Another great cake here too.
Te cake is gorgeous, can you please put the cups in grams??? I am sorry i don’t know how much is in grams…Love your blog is wonderful!!! Cheers
Sorry for the misspelling!!! Phone goes crazy sometimes…
Hi, thanks for stopping by. Weights in grams are always more accurate, however I find that most of my readers prefer the measurements in cups as they may not have access to weighing scales, so I generally update it in cups. Some ingredients like butter and chocolate are best measured in g so these are updated in grams. For this recipe, here are the weights for the ones that were not in grams (approx): brown sugar 200 g, self-raising flour 190 g, 55 g hazelnut meal, 30 g cocoa, 125 ml buttermilk.
Hope this helps:-)
Happy, happy blogiversary, my friend! Wow, two years!! Wishing you all the best Sonali, always. May you have many many more years of this wonderful blog and your passion. You are nothing short of a pastry chef. Congratulations!!
PS: I never wanted anything to do with cooking….I wanted to be a mechanical engineer :/
Hi ! Looks so delicious !
I have a question : what is 1 1/4 cups self-raising flour in grams please ?
I plan to make this cake for my mom’s birthday and i juste don’t want to fail ! 🙂
Thanks for your answer
Hi Selma, I am glad you want to make the cake, thank you. I haven’t measured it in grams while making it as readers always request for cups and tbsps. But in general, 11/4 cups would be approx 190 grams. Good luck with the cake and advance birthday wishes to your Mom:-)
This is a stunning cake. I love how you photograph on a dark background, and that lighting! You know how to make food look delicious with those textures. I am in a non-food career that I’m good at, but baking is my passion too! Thanks for the inspirational post.