Tortes Times Three: Marzipan Dome, Lutetia, Sacher

We had a busy month in Advanced Cake Decorating, executing three different tortes that each have interesting components and techniques.

The first torte is the Marzipan Dome Torte. From the bottom up, we built this torte with the following layers: walnut chiffon genoise, brandy simple syrup, raspberry marmalade, marzipan, walnut chiffon genoise, brandy simple syrup, praline buttercream, walnut chiffon genoise, brandy simple syrup, raspberry marmalade, praline buttercream, and walnut chiffon genoise. After building the layers, we used our serrated knife to cut the cake into a dome shape. Once we had the dome, we covered the entire torte in praline buttercream.



We next rolled out a layer of marzipan to cover the entire torte, placed this on top, and carefully used our hands to smooth out the dome all around. We trimmed the bottom edges. We marked the torte into 16 equal slices, and used piping chocolate to pipe a thin ornament on each slice. We finished the torte by creating a marzipan rose, colored with a spray gun, and three leaves.








The second torte we executed was the Lutetia Torte, named for a Romanian princess. This torte also contains layers of walnut chiffon genoise, rum simple syrup, and raspberry marmalade, but it varies in that it contains chantilly cream and soft ganache. After building the torte, it was chilled for 20 minutes so the soft ganache could set up. While chilling, we took time to prepare a ganache coating. This was spread over the torte and smoothed as best as possible using a palette knife.



To decorate this torte, we marked it into 16 equal slices. Using royal icing, we piped a design on the edge of each slice. A quarter piece of walnut dipped in chocolate was placed within the piping.



We finished this torte by creating a carnation out of marzipan, which was also colored with a spray gun and adorned with three green leaves.






The third torte executed was the Sacher torte, named for the pastry chef in Austria who created it. The cake layers for this torte contain marzipan and cake crumbs in addition to hazelnut flour and cocoa powder so generally speaking this is a flavor profile that I can get excited about. This torte has two layers of the Sacher cake with a layer of apricot marmalade in between. It is covered with soft ganache, then chilled for 20 minutes, before being covered in ganache coating.



To decorate this torte, we marked it into 16 equal slices and used piping chocolate to pipe "Sacher" on each slice. We had to do this in the style used by Sacher himself.



Overall, these tortes allowed me the opportunity to execute a variety of new techniques such as building a dome out of cake, covering a cake with marzipan or ganache, piping with different goals in mind, and using marzipan to create roses and carnations. All in all, it was a busy month with lots of new techniques and skills.