Sweet temptations

Boy, do we have a treat in store for you!

We sat down with Darvella Patisserie Executive Chef, Lindsay Krahenbring for a behind-the-scenes look at the decorating of their gourmet cakes. Below, Lindsay shares her top tips and a divine buttercream icing recipe.

By TEAGAN WITHEROW

What tools are a must when decorating a cake?

A good turntable, cake scraper, palette knives, cake decorating tools, piping bags, and a pastry knife.

Tell us what steps you take to get the base of the cake to the final design…

The first step is deciding on the cake flavour. Then we play around with decorating the cake to match the flavour. We rotate through so many cake flavours, so sometimes it can be tricky to think of new ways to decorate. We usually make a few model cakes and play around with icing techniques until we create something we’re happy with.

What is your favourite piping style and why?

I love piping ’shag’ style cakes with a grass nozzle piping tip. They take a long time, but the end result is awesome!

Where do you seek inspiration for cake designs?

There are loads of places on the internet to look for cake inspiration, but I’m a huge fan of cookbooks. My cookbook collection is huge, and I might not even get inspiration from an actual cake design, but rather plated dishes or flavour combinations – the rest just happens in my mind.

Describe the most elaborate cake you have ever decorated…

Definitely triple tier wedding cakes with amazing flower arrangements or marbled buttercream cakes.

Tell us what you love about working at Darvella Patisserie…

We have a lot of free rein here to play with new concepts and ideas which is amazing. We are also a really tight-knit team and work together with new menu ideas – I like to have all of the chefs involved with this. I definitely love working at Darvella!

You’ll need:

175g egg whites

175g caster sugar

500g unsalted butter, softened 2 vanilla pods, seeds scraped

Method:

Place egg whites and sugar in a bowl over simmering water and whisk constantly, checking with thermometer until the temp reaches 70°C

Transfer meringue to a KitchenAid bowl and whisk on high until thick meringue has formed. Add scraped vanilla seeds. Reduce speed and gradually add the butter, once all the butter has been added continue to whisk until light and fluffy.