White Forest Gateaux

MSB

My White Forest Gateaux was created for Mark and Spencers as part of their ‘Get The Look’ cake related feature on their magazine site. The challenge set was for myself and the baking brilliance of Lily Vanilli and Emily Ezekiel, to decorate one of M&S triple layer victoria sponge cakes. We were free to decorate it any way we liked, approaching the cake as blank edible canvas. Taking inspiration from my back catalogue of bakes and recipes in my new book ‘Quinntessential Baking’ I decide to create an edible whimsical woodland wonderland design. Covering the cake in a canvas of creamy sweetened mascarpone, I was able to produce the effect of white as opposed to black forest gateaux backdrop. Scatterings of cocoa powder, ground pistachios and chopped toasted nuts made up the forest floor with touches of my autumn edible confetti added to enhance the theme and textures on the cake. A variety of biscuit leaves and brazil nut acorns made up the foliage, alongside sprigs of rosemary and chocolate pine cones. The latter made up from a simple chocolate ganache with toasted flaked almonds making up their scales. More flaked almonds were used within the Marzipan tea lights, which together with the white chocolate candles added both extra flavour and flames to the cake. Finally hedgehog and rabbit shaped biscuits joined my signature squirrel amid the woodland scene and cake.