Does Anyone Combine Smbc & Ganache?

Decorating By dailey Updated 21 Sep 2014 , 12:53pm by costumeczar

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dailey Posted 19 Sep 2014 , 3:23pm
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AI really want to start icing my cakes in white chocolate ganache to get sharper edges, however, my customer really like my SMBC iced cakes. So, I thought maybe I can mix the two and get the best of both worlds?? Has anyone tried this? Do you get sharper edges? Thanks!

22 replies
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Gingerlocks Posted 19 Sep 2014 , 6:28pm
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I suppose you could give it a try on a small scale and see how it goes. I will say that you can get ultra sharp edged from an SMBC too though. There are some great tutorials out there on youtube etc..if you need some pointers.

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AZCouture Posted 19 Sep 2014 , 7:00pm
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AYou can, I don't see why you'd want to though. I don't care for mixing textures like that, but at least it's not ganache and [B]American[/B] style bc. Haven't had any luck with sharp edges and smbc? Or do you get them, and then lose the effect when the fondant goes on?

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dailey Posted 19 Sep 2014 , 7:01pm
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AThanks! I have gotten some pretty nice edges with SMBC..but it seems like when the icing starts to warm up, it kinda loses the sharpness? Maybe that only happens to me, lol!

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dailey Posted 19 Sep 2014 , 7:03pm
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AYes!!! That is *exactly* what happens!

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dailey Posted 19 Sep 2014 , 7:04pm
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AMy last comment was directed at Azcouture.

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AZCouture Posted 19 Sep 2014 , 8:18pm
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AYep yep, it usually happens to me too, unless I roll the fondant so ridiculously thin, it's like paper and starts to disintegrate. I have mostly given up on it altogether, even slightly rounding the edge down a bit before applying the fondant. It's going to wear down anyways once I start smoothing, why not do it first and not give it any room to squish around. I went thru a phase of wanting super sharp fondant edges, and then got tired of it. As long as they're smooth and even, they're good for me. So I'm no help there! The ganache will definitely hold up for you and you'll be able to get sharp edges though.

Pretty sure the cold SMBC makes the fondant seize up and harden too quickly before you can work the edges sharp, explaining why I'd have trouble. So I gave up. I definitely spend the time on cakes without fondant though, but you know that, that's easy to do.

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AZCouture Posted 19 Sep 2014 , 8:21pm
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AJust the small amount of time out of the fridge, allows that top edge to warm up enough that it rounds back out, PLUS the fondant getting hard from the cold icing, makes it difficult for me. So...yeah, I don't even bother trying anymore, unless I'm working with ganache. I know of several people who can pull it off with smbc though, but I have a feeling they are aliens or something not human, that allows them to achieve it. :D

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MBalaska Posted 19 Sep 2014 , 11:49pm
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reading the title of the post I thought that you meant "Can you put chocolate ganache in SMBC?"

I've put a little ganache in SMBC and it came out like the inside of a 3 Muskeeters Bar, wonderfully delicious.

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costumeczar Posted 20 Sep 2014 , 2:19am
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Quote:

Originally Posted by MBalaska 
 

reading the title of the post I thought that you meant "Can you put chocolate ganache in SMBC?"

I've put a little ganache in SMBC and it came out like the inside of a 3 Muskeeters Bar, wonderfully delicious.

Me too, yum!

 

And sharp edges are overrated. Ask your clients whether they prefer sharp or softer and I bet the majority will say softer. I don't know when decorators started thinking that you have to get sharp edges on things, but in the "olden days" 15 years ago rounded edges were desirable because that meant that you were using fondant, and fondant was more unusual in the US at that point. People had techniques to get rounded edges on buttercream so that it would mimic fondant, too...So the sharp edges are a style, not the basis for judging whether you know how to cover a cake or not. As long as it's not monkey-iced and it's what the customer likes, it's fine.

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mattyeatscakes Posted 20 Sep 2014 , 5:33am
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AOmg! Happy to read that it's not just me! I get the sharp edges with SMBC, but after i add on the fondant it's get rounded. So i gave up.. And felt like a failure.. Because a lot of cakes i see right now are sooo sharp and i feel that's what i should aspire for.. So yay! I try to get a little bit of sharpness. Too rounded edges sometimes make the cake look squat. Hehehe

I have mixed melted chocolate to SMBC, delish. But i've never made ganache - gasp!

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MBalaska Posted 20 Sep 2014 , 6:50am
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It was one of my mad experiments today.  I'd made chocolate cupcakes, and a small batch of ganache to dip the tops of the cupcakes in. ( a 7 oz. candy bar which was 198 grams plus 100 grams of cream)  so when I was done I had about a 1/3 cup of ganache in the bowl and just sat it aside. Ok, Yes I was going to eat it with a spoon later on. :P

 

Made a batch of SMBC, and actually used 4 whole sticks of butter today, more than I usually put in.  Looked at the tiny bit of ganache  and thought "why not?"

so I put it in the SMBC.  It gave the most beautiful color of light chocolate, and flavored it so beautifully.  There couldn't have been more than 2 oz. of chocolate and I was amazed at the flavor!!    I'll be doing this again and soon.

 

Of course I can't handle plain cupcakes, so I took out some dark chocolate modeling chocolate and made some small maple leaves to put on top, just to up the chocolate factor.

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dailey Posted 20 Sep 2014 , 1:40pm
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AThanks for the replies! I guess I don't feel so bad now since it seems to be pretty normal to lose the sharpness once the fondant goes on, lol!

MBalaska, I *did* mean mixing the two together. I was just wondering if it helped keep the edges sharp? I added white chocolate to SMBC a while back and I vaguely remember it making the SMBC stiffer?

Also, what does white chocolate ganache taste like on a cake? I would only iced it in the ganache but fill it with SMBC. For some reason, I am thinking the white chocolate ganache will taste sickly sweet?

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BeesKnees578 Posted 20 Sep 2014 , 1:46pm
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When I make chocolate buttercream, I mix a choc ganache into my meringue buttercream.  Very smooth and yummy...

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MBalaska Posted 20 Sep 2014 , 7:20pm
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Quote:

Originally Posted by dailey 

Also, what does white chocolate ganache taste like on a cake? I would only iced it in the ganache but fill it with SMBC. For some reason, I am thinking the white chocolate ganache will taste sickly sweet?

 

Don't know, never tried it.  I don't know anyone who eats white chocolate, so I only use it for modeling chocolate.  It might be sickly sweet, You'll have to give it a try.

 

You can't reach home plate and score without taking your feet off first base.

 

 “A Ship in harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are built for”

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MBalaska Posted 20 Sep 2014 , 11:16pm
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chocolate cupcakes, choc ganache dipped, chocolate smbc, modeling choc leaves.   I put way too much icing on my cupcakes,

 

Devils food cupcakes, dipped in chocolate ganache, chocolate SMBC icing, modeling chocolate leaves on top.  and I am positive that I ruin the looks of the swirls by adding that extra poof of icing on top, but I love SMBC and I really load those cuppies up.  I'm so glad that I joined CakeCentral and gained knowledge!!

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costumeczar Posted 20 Sep 2014 , 11:28pm
post #17 of 23
Quote:
Originally Posted by dailey 

Thanks for the replies! I guess I don't feel so bad now since it seems to be pretty normal to lose the sharpness once the fondant goes on, lol!

MBalaska, I *did* mean mixing the two together. I was just wondering if it helped keep the edges sharp? I added white chocolate to SMBC a while back and I vaguely remember it making the SMBC stiffer?

Also, what does white chocolate ganache taste like on a cake? I would only iced it in the ganache but fill it with SMBC. For some reason, I am thinking the white chocolate ganache will taste sickly sweet?

Yeah, it used to be that rounded edges were upscale, but then for some reason decorators started insisting that sharp edges were the goal. I think it's one of those new vs. old decorators things, the longer you've been doing it the less likely you are to think of a sharp edge as something you have to have.

 

And to me white chocolate ganache is sickly sweet... I just don't like white chocolate, though. I wouldn't be able to cover a cake with it, I just think it's too much. If you like white chocolate it's probably something you'd get into, but I just can't like it. People talk about confectioner's sugar buttercreams being so sweet, but white chocolate ganache is way worse, gag...

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morganchampagne Posted 20 Sep 2014 , 11:44pm
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AAnother one who gave up on that super sharp edge business. At this point I just want smooth nice looking fondant.

I tried ganache under a cake and it was ok. Didn't change my life by any means.

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vldutoit Posted 21 Sep 2014 , 12:01am
post #19 of 23

AI

Original message sent by MBalaska

[URL=http://www.cakecentral.com/content/type/61/id/3287203/]chocolate cupcakes, choc ganache dipped, chocolate smbc, modeling choc leaves. I put way too much icing on my cupcakes, [/URL]

Devils food cupcakes, dipped in chocolate ganache, chocolate SMBC icing, modeling chocolate leaves on top.  and I am positive that I ruin the looks of the swirls by adding that extra poof of icing on top, but I love SMBC and I really load those cuppies up.  I'm so glad that I joined CakeCentral and gained knowledge!!

j I joined CakeCentral and gained weight and knowledge

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costumeczar Posted 21 Sep 2014 , 1:15am
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Quote:

Originally Posted by vldutoit 

I
j
I joined CakeCentral and gained weight and knowledge
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AZCouture Posted 21 Sep 2014 , 3:49am
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ASeriously...let's start a movement, a return to softly rounded edges. Enough with the dang sharp edges! :D

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mcaulir Posted 21 Sep 2014 , 4:09am
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Quote:

Originally Posted by AZCouture 

Seriously...let's start a movement, a return to softly rounded edges. Enough with the dang sharp edges! icon_biggrin.gif


You can't do that yet - I just got semi-good at the sharp edged thing.

 

Or I thought I had until a friend whose wedding cake I'm doing in November brought me  Faye Cahill photo that she loved. But she didn't like this part of the design, or that part. Eventually I asked her what she liked about it. She liked how the edges were super sharp. So I had to explain that I was me and not Faye Cahill, and I'd do my best, but the edges might not be quite as good.

 

But that's practically the only thing that she saw in that photo - the sharp edges.

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costumeczar Posted 21 Sep 2014 , 12:53pm
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Quote:

Originally Posted by mcaulir 
 


You can't do that yet - I just got semi-good at the sharp edged thing.

 

Or I thought I had until a friend whose wedding cake I'm doing in November brought me  Faye Cahill photo that she loved. But she didn't like this part of the design, or that part. Eventually I asked her what she liked about it. She liked how the edges were super sharp. So I had to explain that I was me and not Faye Cahill, and I'd do my best, but the edges might not be quite as good.

 

But that's practically the only thing that she saw in that photo - the sharp edges.

that's funny, because I have people who come to me and without me even asking they say they don't want the sharp edge.

 

I think that the sharp edge thing started around the time of the "cake tv" boom, when so many people started doing cakes. Thing is, they were looking at pictures of dummy cakes in magazines without knowing it, so the standard was based on a styrofoam dummy that you can easily get a sharp edge on. I remember a few years ago when people online were saying "you have to get a sharp edge, that's the right way to do it" and I was confused about where they were getting that idea. But it was mostly the noobs who were so gung ho on the idea, so I suspect it's just not knowing that they're looking at a piece of plastic in a magazine, not a real cake. All I know is you can waste a lot of time trying to get a hard corner to stay on a soft cake, and I have no time for that foolishness when I'm trying to make cakes for a profit.

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