Rainbow Cake

A friend on our BBM stated : " If I didn't know better I would say this is art on Canvas "

How happy that makes us only we know !!
Its been a design we've been wanting to do since someone posted a Rainbow Cupcake on our wall and well one day when we saw it at the amazinng Izzy's Cakes we decided , let's do it.

Its fairly easy so if any of you out there want to do it , here's how :

Start with a plain vanilla cake recipe that you like. Now this you can do 2 ways :
1. Make all 7 cakes together which means you've to have a commercial oven and 7 molds of the same size.
2. Make each one individually and repeat the process 7 times.

Once you've decided the method here goes :
1. Colour the cakes the various rainbow colours. Remember VIBGYOR ( Violent, Indigo , Blue, Green, Yellow, Orange and Red - Embarrassing to say but we missed one !!! Can you guess which one ? )
2. Bake them one by one or all together but make sure the colours are deep enough so that they show nicely.
3. Stack them one on top of the other as given below with your choice of icing in between ( Whipped Cream or Butter Cream). The cream in between will make them stick to each other.

We missed one colour !! Guess which one??

4. Put an outside layer of icing , again the same as what you filled inside and decorate it with sprinkles.

Voila!! Cake with Sprinkles

The inside of the cake

If you are the adventurous types you can also experiment with flavours. But make sure they all compliment each other so it could be Vanilla- Lemon Alternate or Vanilla- Butterscotch. You could also have different flavours in each cake but then those would have to be eaten seperately ( And might not be that great an idea:)) 

Do let us know how it went and if you need any help , feel free to message us:)

The So Called "Silent" Partner in FLOC

Most of you know that we are more than 1 person running this company , but most of you don't know the other person as well so I thought I'll introduce her and give you an insight - She's Akriti Malhotra , the Younger Partner in the company (Do notice how I don't say Junior Partner , but younger as she's the younger sibling :) )

She's the creative , the stubborn and the perfectionist and in my words "the psycho :P" partner. She's the one whose pushy , has never had formal training but has learnt on the job and soon will be way way ahead of me. An ex finance student who quit her job at Ersnt & Young to give her GMAT and in between realised how much she loves food thus leaving all , has now decided to pursue her dream job- That of a Culinary Artist. She's a genius with food and can create something out of barely nothing. She's our "Midnight Snack Person" .

Saying that, in case you do end up calling her up for a cake , she might just give it to you for free (Bad, Bad for business). She hates talking money or business and cannot do marketing and that's why you rarely hear of her. But she IS the Upper Half of the Backbone of our Company. Her Belief - The Creative One doesn't have to market the products. Thus if you are looking for a free cake , contact her :P ( 90 percent of the times , the phone will get handed to me but in case you are lucky , haha). This Ladies and Gentleman , is AKRITI MALHOTRA

Avani Malhotra
For www.fortheloveofcake.in

6 cakes a day !!!

It seems that Saturdays are "THE DAY" to have all parties. They are our busiest days. From simple cakes to cupcakes to full on designer cakes , we've done each and everything in the span of this one day

Now 6 cakes might not seem much to you, but when each is cake takes a minimum of 3-4 hours (Excluding baking and icing time) , it is a hell of a lot of work .

 We start at approx 12 in the afternoon ( we are super lazy humans , but yeah working till 5 the previous night does also kinda add to the late waking up :P) and work for 10 hours straight. I'm sure you've started calculating 3 hours * 6 which is 18 hours but they are saying 10. Lol , Rome wasn't built in just one day ( That is if this even correct to use here ? *Blush* ) Anyhow, just like that, designer/customised cakes aren't made in one day. The process starts at least 2 days before.

We start by baking the cakes and freezing them . ( Yup all those people who tell you they bake and create on the same day , ALL THE TIME , are either super efficient or not telling you some vital details). When you sculpt a cake, it needs to be slightly hard and if done otherwise will start falling in pieces.  So yeah a day earlier we ice the cakes and cover them with icing ( depending on the client requirement).  Now it sounds honky-dorky but its a lot of work. You have to colour the icing according to what the client needs and then individually roll it out and then put the icing on top of each cake. The process itself takes at least 45 mins - 1 hour.

On the day itself is when we start working on all the details , the small , tiny elements that are soo important on a cake. Each element is researched on ( Google is our God) and made using various tools. It takes time but we know how important those are. Finally, the time comes to integrate the elements with the cake . That done, the cake is given a final touch- up and boxed to be picked up by the client.

Now imagine all this * 6 in one day. ( The 6 pictures above done in various colours is proof of what we are saying) That is what our Saturdays are all about. Its been hell for our social lives but oh what a pleasure for us :)

Thank You

Avani Malhotra
For www.fortheloveofcake.in

Confessions of a Chocoholic??

I'M A CHOCOHOLIC. I love , love the taste of chocolate and can devour more than 4 any given day. This doesn't bode well for my weight but arghh, that's another story for another day.

In this entry , I don't promise to tell you all that there is to chocolate or what exactly is chocolate. I'm not a chocolate maker and only make them for fun and to place on top of my cakes. But that's it !! If you are looking for a crash course on chocolate, google it but if you are in India and looking to make chocolate for fun, read ahead!!

Chocolate - that super yummy, change the taste of your mouth aphrodisiac. Its a mood uplifter and can be an addiction. Ask anyone around me , they'll tell you about my "Chocoholism". If you are like me, you must try your hand at making some.

The Heel, the Boot and the Lipstick are all made out of chocolate.

Amateur Crash Course 1 : TYPES OF CHOCOLATE : From what I've learnt there are two main types of chocolate - Compound and Couverture.

• Couverture is the superior chocolate which we rarely ever get in India and is expensive as hell. 
• Compound, its cheaper version is quite good and is what you find in most home-made chocolates so our discussion from here on will always refer to Compound Chocolate. 

Amateur Crash Course 2 : Types of Compound Chocolate (Given in order of increasing Cocoa Butter content) :

• Dark Chocolate : Its not the pure dark chocolate but good enough
• Semi-sweet Chocolate : It's what most home-made chocolates are made of and is mostly dark but with a slight sweetness to it. 
• Milk Chocolate : Its MILKY. I never ever use it while making home-made chocolate as how many ever brands I've tried, it always leaves a slight after-taste in my mouth which I do not like. 
• White Chocolate : Do I need to describe this ? However one thing I will say , its the fastest melting one out of all the others due to the high Cocoa Butter content. 

Amateur Crash Course 3 : Brands of chocolate found in the market :

• Selbourne - Decently superior taste wise, it is also expensive. 
• Morde - Not as great but one of the most popular
• 2 MA - Low quality and not great for making chocolates but its all right for usage in other forms of baking. 

There are many others brands that you will find there. Experiment and use the one you feel is the best. Don't just go by word of mouth. 

Amateur Crash Course 4 : Making Chocolate (Simple and easy):

• Buy yourself some Chocolate Moulds ( Found at most departmental stores or specialty baking stores , you can purchase some from the suppliers listed on my other post, Pigmento there specially keeps the cheap ones which are for amateur bakers,  http://floc-fortheloveofcake.blogspot.com/2012/01/sharing-and-caring.html ) 
• IN THE KITCHEN :

1. Keep your moulds ready . 
2. Melt your chocolate - There are two ways of doing this .

• In a double boiler - Break your chocolate compound , make a double boiler, put the chocolate in the double boiler and melt it while constantly stirring so that there are no lumps. Once melted take off heat. 
• In the Microwave - Now though told by most Chocolate Makers, this is not a very good way , I've found it very useful for small amounts of chocolate. Again break the compound into small pieces, put in a microwave safe bowl, which does not mean glass bowls ( Remember if the bowl is to hot for you to touch after a minute in the microwave , its too hot for the chocolate too) and heat it at 30 second intervals while stirring the chocolate inside after each 30 seconds for about 5-10 seconds.  Once the chocolate is mostly melted, take it out and stir it till fully melted ( The heat in the already melted chocolate will melt the rest ).

      3. MOLDING THE CHOCOLATE : Now put the melted chocolate into the moulds with a spoon so that   

          you don't over fill and once done with all the cavities, tap the mould lightly by raising it and dropping it 

          on your work surface. Do not leave it , drop it while holding it so that it levels out and no chocolate is 

          outside the cavities. 

    

     4.  COOLING THE CHOCOLATE : Put it in the fridge (not freezer) and after 10 mins take it out and 

         de-mould it by inverting the chocolate mould and lightly tapping on the top of each chocolate. They 

         should fall out easily. If not , do not force them . Put them back in the freezer for 5 mins and take them

         out again. 

These are your Basic Chocolates. If you've any questions , message on this and I will reply back. 

Enjoy !!

Avani Malhotra

for www.fortheloveofcake.in

Big Chill - Still the best in town ?

There's a question on my mind : When you blog from your official business ID, does it always have to be about that business only ?

Well, breaking away from the conventional is something we do really well so here goes :

BIG CHILL - We've all heard of it and if we've been living in Delhi since childhood I'm sure we've visited it at least once. The beauty of this place is that in a place like Delhi, where restaurants die out faster than we get to know of them , this place has survived for 11 years ( started out in 2000)  and its popularity has never dimmed, just grown.
Well that's about the place. Now to get down to the real part :
Its desserts are AMAZING. I do not say this lightly. I'm a chocoholic and hate anything non-chocolate but they've amazed me with their beautiful, yummy products , though their Chocolate Truffle is still my very favorite. The most awesome part - they haven't changed their basic recipes in 11 years. They found out what worked early on and then stuck to it and even though Delhi has been awarded the Best City for Food , the funda of sticking to what is working , has given it, its unique place in the city.

So if you are looking for yummy desserts, this is the place to go .

Avani Malhotra
For www.fortheloveofcake.in

Logo Designing : :-O

It's a logo ? How tough can it be , right , righttt? I mean I know its supposed to define your company and I know its supposed to be your identity but is it really that big deal ?


Well, the answer to that question , which I found out 2 months of major designing and re-designing , YES IT IS!!


Let me give you an example or wait let me give you a word , "APPLE"
Yup , that should explain to us what a logo means. The logo is the identity of the company , whenever we see the half- eaten apple we know how beautiful the product will be.


The description we started with : " It needs to be subtle , pretty , define our work and should be pink. "


The logo we got : 

Thank You Pria for giving us the perfect identity.

The Art of Pricing : The Whys'

I get about a half a dozen calls a day , most result in orders while some do not , and 50 percent of the times this could be due to a price factor so I felt very strongly that the customers needed to understand why they are paying the price that they are. I've been trying to figure out how to convey this to you and read a status that stated precisely what I had been wanting to tell you so here goes :

"The price of cakes - particularly novelty cakes can sometimes be more than you might have had in mind initially. "Oh my gosh!", you think. "Surely it can't be that much - it's just a cake!". People often expect to pay a lot for a wedding cake, but are surprised at the quote they have been given for a novelty cake. Yet novelty cakes are often more difficult to make.

A novelty cake is never just a cake. It's a tailor-made commissioned piece of art for your friend/ loved one. A personalized gift to light up their face and make their day, and hopefully remember for some time afterwards. Much much more than simply a dessert at a party, or something to eat with their cup of tea; a novelty cake takes centre-stage on the table at any celebration."

- *Wish upon a Cupcake*

I'm not turning around and saying we don't make money. Of course we do , after all it is a business but do we feel the cake is worth the money. Definitely YES!!!

Still have questions? Call me on 919811614222:)


Avani Malhotra
For www.fortheloveofcake.in