I have been asked several times how the ruffles were done on the top of this cake. They are white chocolate done with a devise called a La Girolle.
You can also buy the chocolate rounds that go with the La Girolle. They are expensive so I save them for very special uses. Here is a link to see the La Girolle and if you scroll down past it you will see the chocolate rounds that fit the machine. The La Girolle was made to ruffle rounds of cheese, I suspect it was some ingenious cake decorator who thought of using it for chocolate as well.
http://beryls.safeshopper.com/200/cat200.htm?625

okay...that is soooooo cool..............is it possible to do that with a razor blade or something??? Is that thing sharp?? Does the chocolate have to be a certain temperature??

Gee that's really neat Shirley. I couldn't see the photo because CC seems to be having difficulties today, but I went to the beryl's site and saw the tool. Really smart of someone to think of using it that way.
My hubby would die to have that roll of chocolate!!
Thanks for posting it.

I suppose you could do the ruffles with a razor blade but it sounds dangerous and time consuming to me. With this you just lower the handle blade over the chocolate, turn that handle and you have ruffles. One round will do about two 10" round cake tops, plus one 6".

Wow, I just emailed a chocolate source in South San Francisco, Marque Foods, to see if they could stock these chocolate rounds, I got a phone call from them within 10 minutes saying they could special order them for me. AND the price is $29.00 for the same size Beryls and Albert Uster are charging $46.00 to $49.00 for!! SWEET!

That's the first time I've seen that technique so sorry if this is a silly question. Do you think we could make our own chocolate disk by melting it down and putting it in a pan or something to mold it?

Sweet Celebrations used to carry a metal mold and paper disc's that fit inside to make your own chocolate rounds to fit the La Girolle. You would have to temper the chocolate first and if it takes 1 1/2 lbs of chocolate to fill the mold I think you would be paying almost as much as if you ordered them ready made from Marque Foods at $29.00. And they come in stripes, solids, dark and white, Pistacio and I think they now make a pink strawberry as well.

I went poking around on the internet and found this:

http://www.shop.com/op/~Girouette_Cheese_Chocolate_Curler_By_Swissmar-prod-37818335-50358819?sourceid=298

This does come with a mold for chocolate disks. It's $39 and shipping to OH is $8.

I'm thinking......

Rae

Sounds interesting and a good price. Not sure the pre-made chocolate rounds would fit on this but you could make your own. HOWEVER, I found a really good price on the pre-made chocolate rounds. Same ones offered on Beryls for $41.00 can be special ordered by Marque Foods in S. San Francisco for $29.00 with no minimum order requiremanet. They sell on Albert Uster site for $46.00 plus a $100.00 minimum order requirement.

oh blakes cakes..........you rock!!! That is definitely something that's going on MY wish list!! That thing is so cool.

Is it me, or do these look like how you would make a carnation out of fondant? Not that you could do that with chocolate, but just a thought.

Shirley,

Just love your cake. One question, how did you do the sides?

Thanks

Sue

Thanks ShirleyW and BlakesCakes. This is definitely added to my wish list!! Too bad Christmas is over. And my birthday is not until October! Guess I'll have to come up with another excuse, I mean reason to buy this.

Very cool Shirley! This is next on my things to try. I just did the chocolate wrap and can't wait to experiment more with different styles of the wraps as well!

I loved using these, but they were so pricy when they first came out and they haven't really gone down.

I was waiting for someone to go to France for me, as one of my chefs did tell me that if I bought the one that said for cheese..it would be so much cheaper...lol

Now, Shirley, do I have to call Marque food and ask them for the item in particular ? I was just on the website and didn't see it!

I'm going to get one for sure, since chocolate tempering is not a biggie for me!! but I do love the 2 toned ones..those I guess I'd have to order.

These chocolate ruffles look rich when you sprinkle gold leave on them!!

Let's see if I can get these questions answered in one post. On the chocolate rounds from Marque Foods, they are not shown on their website, you have to contact them and have them special order for you. It takes one week to get them.

On the fondant ruffles, could they be done with the ruffler? No, I don't see how you could accomplish that. The fondant would have to be shaped in a round like the chocolate and slid down the spindle, as you turned the handle I think the fondant would just get gummy and would build up on the blade but not ruffle.

The chocolate rounds ruffle best at room temperature, don't refrigerate them.

The side design on this cake is done with a serrated edge knife with a long blade. Held with the handle up, the blade touching the cake board, angled in towards the cake, not flat. Move your hand in a quick up and down motion as you go around the cake. You want the teeth of the blade to just touch the icing, not dig in enough to expose the cake surface.

Could you use the chocolate ruffles to make a Carnation? Yes, just let the chocolate ruffle part way around the round of chocolate, cut it off with a knife blade and pinch it at the bottom. It won't look exactly like a Carnation, but close enough to look pretty I should think.

On the chocolate wrap with the chocolate ruffles, I did sprinkle gold leaf on top of the ruffles, they just don't show in the picture. That cake was for a dessert auction and the young woman who was the auctioneer was a hoot. She would carry the cake from table to table of guests and exclaim "Look, gold, real gold, what are you going to bid for this cake?" it ended up selling for $300.00 for a 10" cake. I was delighted because the money went to the Rainbow Community center and one of my $40.00 cake gift certificates went for $200.00. So in one evening the center got $500.00 for two little items.

Hey Shirley!!! Love the hair!! Didn't know you were such a hottie!!! lol....

Thank you Shirley!! always a font of knowledge!!

lol

And, you can sprinkle your chocolate ruffles with a little powdered sugar and your white chocolate ruffles with cocoa .

Ordering them sounded the way to go and at that price..you can get 2 or 3 and still be paying what you'd pay for one!

Thanks again for the info!!