Oh my word, where to even start this week! When my husband and I watched episode 5 I said, I do hope it's something simple this week, flapjacks maybe....then they unveiled the Prinzregententorte. I thought the cake looked impressive and then they cut into it to reveal all of those layers and I knew I was in for a busy week.
First I spent some time deciding how to replace all of those eggs. I have tried throughout this process to use different replacements as, in my opinion, this is the area that people can find most difficult. Things like butter, chocolate and milk have easy plant-based versions and are a straight swap. Eggs can be included for various reasons and there are plenty of options. I spent a lot of time looking into volumes of eggs and egg yolks to create the recipe and came up with one which, whilst it was the most complicated recipe I've veganised, actually worked really well.
Here is the link to the original recipe and method: Prue Leith's Prinzregententorte - The Great British Bake Off | The Great British Bake Off
INGREDIENTS
For the sponge: 10 large eggs, separated (I used 220ml soya milk and 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar) ¼ tsp salt 180g caster sugar (I used 200g, to make up for the missing vanilla sugar) 3 x 8g packets of vanilla sugar (I used 1 tsp vanilla extract) 175g plain flour (I used 220g) 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda 65g unsalted butter, melted (I used 1/4 cup olive oil)
For the chocolate cream filling: 600ml whole milk (I used organic soya milk) 3 large egg yolks ( I used 3 tbsp soya cream) 60g cornflour 40g cocoa powder 150g 54% dark chocolate, chopped (I used 85% accidentally vegan dark chocolate) 375g unsalted butter, softened (I used vegan butter) 200g icing sugar, sifted
For the chocolate crown decorations (optional): 150g 54% dark chocolate, chopped (I used 70% accidentally vegan dark chocolate) edible gold powder
For the chocolate ganache: 200g 54% dark chocolate, chopped (I used 85% accidentally vegan dark chocolate) 300ml double cream (I used soya cream) 25g unsalted butter, softened (I used vegan butter)
The chocolate I used was quite dark but this was only because the 70% had sold out. I like darker chocolate anyway!
METHOD
There were a few changes to the method this week so I'll outline them here.
The sponge: I simply mixed all of the dry ingredients in a bowl, mixed all of the wet ingredients in a jug. Waited a few minutes and then mixed all of the ingredients together to make a cake batter. If you read the Bake Off page, this method was much simpler! I baked for less time, just 5 minutes till it was just baked.
The chocolate cream filling: I followed the recipe on the Bake Off page although I found this made a very large amount.
The chocolate crown decorations (optional): I followed the recipe on the Bake Off page. I had some bronze edible dust already and, in my experience, it sticks better if applied by mixing it with alcohol or a liquid extract such as vanilla. It can then be painted on and sticks a lot better than if just dusting.
For the chocolate ganache and assembly:
I followed the recipe on the Bake Off page.
Tips based on my experience
Well, I have a lot of tips, mainly because I made plenty of mistakes. The biggest lesson I learned was when Bake Off says it can be made in 2 hours plus chilling time, that actually means 5-6 hours. I cannot believe I spent so much time solidly making a cake. The recipe does not account for small ovens that only fit one thing in at a time and continuous washing up because you only have one spatula and limited space, bowls etc. My husband could not believe I stuck at it but I think he was glad I did when finally, at 9pm, after starting the session at 4pm, I presented him with the fruits of my labour.
So....
-I increased the amount of flour from 175g to 220g based on ratios of milk/vinegar in past sponge recipes.
-The first sponge I made was 86g (as this was an eighth of the mixture) but in the baking time given it went completely brown at the edges and as hard as a wafer. That reduced the number of layers it was to have to 7 as it couldn't be used. You can see an example of this in the first picture below. It was only slight here so I still used it. Ideally it is nice and floppy like in the next picture.
-I found 100g per layer was the best amount to make sure it didn't burn and become rigid and 5 minutes was all it needed. I would say, watch it carefully. This increase in the amount meant I lost another layer, reducing the final number to 6.
-The custard recipe made a large amount. I know I missed a couple of layers but even still, it made a lot in my opinion. I've frozen it to top cupcakes with in the future.
-I piped the chocolate crowns the previous day. Again, 150g is a large amount. I used 100g and still made lots of crowns and had some chocolate left.
-When piping the crowns, use the stencil. I drew a crown, traced over it on the parchment paper and thought, I'll do this freehand. The next 5 crowns just got bigger and bigger! I then decided that the stencil was not a bad idea after all.
-Resist peeling the crowns off the paper until they are painted. It's much easier to do when they are stuck in one place rather than chasing them around the surface with a paintbrush.
-If your cake has messy edges, like mine, just pipe the icing around the base.
-There was only one 'disaster' really with this, by which I mean, something I couldn't rectify or hide! The ganache started to split as I was putting it on the cake. I wondered whether scraping it off and fixing it was an option but I felt that the risk of ruining it completely was too high and I just persevered and hoped it wasn't too messy. The result was that instead of the shiny coating, it was dull but it was still tasty. In future I would perhaps put less butter in. I read afterwards that too much fat can cause it to split in this way.
In Conclusion
Well, everyone loved this cake. I have to be honest and say, whilst it was very nice, the amount of work involved means it is unlikely I will make it again...unless I get a dishwasher and a much bigger kitchen....and maybe a sous chef! I did, however, think it may benefit from a flavouring adding to the chocolate filling or the ganache maybe. Something like coffee or orange extract would be nice.
This was universally liked by all those who sampled it which included my husband, mother in law and work colleagues. They all seemed to really rate it which was nice after the hard work that went into it. I still don't regret my commitment to the project although I am a little worried now what the future has in store!
Thanks so much for reading and to those who have commented in the shop on my blog, I really appreciate you coming with me on this journey. It was a shame to see vegan Freya leave this week but I'll continue the Vegan Bake Off here as long as I can.
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