Building the Cake

The construction is important as well. As you become more experienced in making the different components and more familiar with their nature and how they react and perform once completed, you will become more adept at constructing different cakes. The desired appearance of your cake will also play a big part in how you construct it.

For cakes that require a flat surface, I often make them upside down, as shown in a number of the desserts in this book. You first pour or pipe the mousse into a Lined metal pastry ring onto a sheet of acetate, and then push in the assembled middle components, which flattens the mousse and forces it up around the sides of the inserts. The cake is frozen hard, then inverted and the acetate and rings removed. This inverted construction is essential for inserting silicone-textured moulds for unique finishes.