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Chocolate Painted Cake

November 24, 2014 by Erica OBrien

How to paint a cake with chocolate | Beautifully dark fall harvest cake with pumpkins, pears, pomegranates, eucalyptus and sage, perfect for Thanksgiving | Erica OBrien for TheCakeBlog.com

Our contributor, Erica OBrien, owner of Erica OBrien Cake Design, is back for the next post in our Trending series.  Erica is helping us translate today’s top trends in fashion, design, art and everyday life into fabulous cake designs.  Watch each month as she goes from inspiration on Pinterest to cake concept and then the final cake design.  Today is all about dramatically dark designs!

How to paint a cake with chocolate | Beautifully dark fall harvest cake with pumpkins, pears, pomegranates, eucalyptus and sage, perfect for Thanksgiving | Erica OBrien for TheCakeBlog.com

I wanted this cake to be a celebration of the bounty of Thanksgiving, my absolute favorite holiday.  For the design, I was inspired by still life photography and painting.  I find the trend in food photography towards deeper, darker tones really unexpected and intriguing.  I love the dramatic effect created by darker lighting, backdrops, plating, and styling seen on food blogs and in food magazines.

How to paint a cake with chocolate | Beautifully dark fall harvest cake with pumpkins, pears, pomegranates, eucalyptus and sage, perfect for Thanksgiving | Erica OBrien for TheCakeBlog.com

To capture the mood of a still life, I needed to cover the cake in a dark base that would lend depth and drama to the design.  I’m amazed at how a photo or painting of a single piece of fruit can evoke so much emotion, and I knew a light or pastel color palette simply wouldn’t work.  I covered the cake in chocolate fondant, which is a dream to work with and gives a flawless finish.  The color was deep and rich, but the cake lacked texture and movement, and didn’t lend the moodiness I was looking for.  I also wanted the finish to be a more literal interpretation of the inspiration and have a painted, rather than a smooth, exterior.

How to paint a cake with chocolate | Beautifully dark fall harvest cake with pumpkins, pears, pomegranates, eucalyptus and sage, perfect for Thanksgiving | Erica OBrien for TheCakeBlog.com

To achieve a rich, painterly look, I brushed warm ganache on the fondant in random directions using a food-use only paintbrush.  Once dry, I added a second coating in areas that needed more texture.

How to paint a cake with chocolate | Beautifully dark fall harvest cake with pumpkins, pears, pomegranates, eucalyptus and sage, perfect for Thanksgiving | Erica OBrien for TheCakeBlog.com

How to paint a cake with chocolate | Beautifully dark fall harvest cake with pumpkins, pears, pomegranates, eucalyptus and sage, perfect for Thanksgiving | Erica OBrien for TheCakeBlog.com

How to paint a cake with chocolate | Beautifully dark fall harvest cake with pumpkins, pears, pomegranates, eucalyptus and sage, perfect for Thanksgiving | Erica OBrien for TheCakeBlog.com

How to paint a cake with chocolate | Beautifully dark fall harvest cake with pumpkins, pears, pomegranates, eucalyptus and sage, perfect for Thanksgiving | Erica OBrien for TheCakeBlog.com

For the embellishments, we created a bevy of jewel-toned décor including pomegranates, pears, and pumpkins made out of modeling chocolate (my new favorite medium).  Berries, roses, ranunculus, cherry blossoms, succulents, eucalyptus, sage leaves and pinecones were made out of gum paste.  For the arrangement, I threw restraint out the window and went for a more-is-more approach as an homage to Thanksgiving.  My assistant eventually forbade me from adding even a single additional berry.

How to paint a cake with chocolate | Beautifully dark fall harvest cake with pumpkins, pears, pomegranates, eucalyptus and sage, perfect for Thanksgiving | Erica OBrien for TheCakeBlog.com

How to paint a cake with chocolate | Beautifully dark fall harvest cake with pumpkins, pears, pomegranates, eucalyptus and sage, perfect for Thanksgiving | Erica OBrien for TheCakeBlog.com
How to paint a cake with chocolate | Beautifully dark fall harvest cake with pumpkins, pears, pomegranates, eucalyptus and sage, perfect for Thanksgiving | Erica OBrien for TheCakeBlog.com

In the end, the painted ganache gave the cake exactly the look I was going for, and I was quite pleased with the results.  There is so much you could do with this technique.  I hope you give it a try!

How to paint a cake with chocolate | Beautifully dark fall harvest cake with pumpkins, pears, pomegranates, eucalyptus and sage, perfect for Thanksgiving | Erica OBrien for TheCakeBlog.com

 


 
YOU MAY ALSO ENJOY:
Glittering Deer Cake
Marquee Letters Cake
Flamingo Cake
Chalkboard & Paper Flowers Cake
Golden Pineapple Cake!


 

Find more cake recipes, cupcake recipes and tutorials in our Fall Baking Gallery!

Fall Baking Gallery - Cake Recipes, Cupcake Recipes and more on TheCakeBlog.com

November 24, 2014 by Erica OBrien

Erica OBrien , CONTRIBUTOR

Erica OBrien has been a cake designer (and avid cake stand collector) for almost twenty years. She lives in Connecticut with her husband and two spunky daughters. Read more about Erica on her bio page.

connect with Erica :

Make the most of citrus season with one of these cake recipes!

« Extreme Peanut Butter Cup Brownies
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Comments

  1. zeta says

    November 25, 2014 at 4:34 pm

    Love your ideas

  2. Donna Zell says

    October 13, 2015 at 2:48 pm

    This cake is just absolutely gorgeous! Love how the colors of the fruit and flowers just POP against the rich chocolate color of the cake. Love the texture you got by painting it with layers of chocolate. Thank you for sharing how you achieved this look! I LOVE EVERYTHING YOU DO!

  3. Lori says

    June 29, 2016 at 11:15 am

    I love this cake as soon as I saw it I thought it looked like a painting! Stunning!!!

  4. Gay Lynch says

    August 10, 2016 at 6:52 am

    This is such a stunning cake, the contrast is great …

  5. Eden Passante says

    September 14, 2016 at 5:04 pm

    I have never seen a cake painted with chocolate. For some reason this totally satisfies my sweet tooth, and it looks gorgeous! Love the added touch of flowers too!

  6. Margie says

    September 25, 2016 at 9:45 am

    Love this cake and the tutorial! Just wondering how this would stand up to Florida heat, even with AC?

  7. Carol G. says

    September 12, 2018 at 2:51 pm

    Stunning. Beautiful jewel colors against the chocolate. Reminded me of a Flemish or Dutch still life painting where items are on a slant .

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