Cakey Saturdays: Chef Ali Mandhry and Chef Venessa Greeley bake a 3 tiered cake using Choco-Pan and Simi isomalt for the decoration details

Chef Ali Mandhry meets with award winning Chef Vanessa Greeley and they create a masterpiece 3 tiered cake using Choco-Pan and Simi isomalt for the decoration details.

A little bit about Chef Vanessa Greeley.

Chef Vanessa Greeley is a graduate from French Culinary Institute in NY, Vanessa’s work can be seen at some of the most prestigious cake competitions throughout the USA.  Her accolades include a gold medal at the 2008 American Bakery Expo, Best in Show trophy at the 2009 National Capital Area Cake Show, first place and Divisional medals at the 2009 Great American Cake Show, first place at the 2010 NY Cake Convention Live Challenge, first place at the 2010 Great American Cake Show Live Challenge, second place at the 2010 Connecticut Cake Competition Live Challenge, second place at the 2010 National Capital Area Cake Show.  She has consulted for Dove Chocolate Discoveries developing recipes for their Entertaining magazine.  Her work has also been featured in Baking Buyer magazine, Cake Central magazine, 201 Magazine, The Record newspaper, The Gazette newspaper, CBS news, NY1, Fox News, CNN, Yahoo news, Reuters and First Look on CNBC to name a few.

Vanessa competed on a live challenge for Wedding Cake Wars on WEtv, she has been a guest chef on Telemundo’s “Cooking with Susso” television show, guest chef on Univision’s “Housewives of Connecticut” television show.  She has also designed and created a chocolate dress for the Chocolate Fashion Show in NY since 2008 along side of Tony award winning costume designers.  Most recently Vanessa earned second place on the Chocolate Myths episode of FoodNetwork’s Challenge TV show and on the When Toys Come to Life episode of FoodNetwork’s Sugar Dome TV show.

Here is the recipe she used for her cake on Cake World Tv. 

Sour Cream Pound Cake

This is a rich delicious and buttery pound cake.  The tanginess of the sour cream adds a nice flavor and it tenderizes the cake crumb.  You can also add orange or lemon zest to this recipe to transform it into a flavorful and tasty orange or lemon pound cake. Enjoy it!

 Ingredients

450 grams cake flour

1 tablespoons baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

450 grams unsalted butter, room temperature

570 grams granulated sugar

6 large eggs, room temperature

3 egg yolks, room temperature

227 grams sour cream

1 tablespoons pure vanilla extract 

Zest of 1 orange or lemon (for orange or lemon cake)

Juice of ½ orange or 1 lemon (for orange or lemon cake)

 Procedure

1. Preheat oven to 325F.  Butter and flour the 2 loaf pans.

2. Sift together the flour and baking powder, and salt.  Set aside.

3. Cream the butter and sugar with the paddle attachment until light and fluffy.

4. Add the eggs one at a time, making sure that each one is completely incorporated before adding the next.

5. Add the vanilla.  If you are making the orange or lemon cake, add the orange or lemon zest and juice.

6. Add the dry ingredients to the egg mixture, alternating with the sour cream.

7. Pour the batter into the prepared pans.

8. Bake until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.

9. Unmold the cake immediately after baking onto a cooling rack

10. Pound cake is usually served accompanied by fresh berries, fruit compote, and crème Chantilly

For the frosting we used Swiss meringue buttercream.

Swiss Meringue Buttercream

Ingredients

165 grams egg whites  

283 grams of granulated sugar

440 grams of unsalted butter (room temperature-cubed)

Vanilla

Other variations widely used

10 egg whites

2.5 cups granulated sugar

1.5 lbs room temperature unsalted butter (6 sticks)

1 cup egg whites

2 cups granulated sugar

2 cups butter

Procedure

1. Warm the egg whites and sugar over a bain-marie until all the sugar is dissolved (130 F)

2. Remove the egg mixture from the heat

3. Whisk the egg mixture until white in color and stiff peaks

4. Add butter small amounts at a time

5. Add vanilla or any other flavor of your choice

6. Scrape off the sides of the bowl as necessary

Special Instructions

1. Carton egg whites work too and its pasteurized.  However, fresh eggs raises better, but in the end is all the same

2. Avoid fat residuals on tools and utensils by cleaning them up with vinegar.  Rinse and dry before use

Enjoy it!

Recipe by Chef Vanessa Greeley 

Connect with Chef Vanessa Greeley

Website: www.chefgreeley.com

Facebook:  @chefgreeley

Instagram:  @chefgreeley

To Watch the cake series Subscribe To Chef Ali Mandhry YouTube channel.

www.youtube.com/ChefAliMandhry