I Tried Making Homemade Zebra Cakes | Claire Recreates
Summary
TLDRIn this detailed baking journey, the creator embarks on recreating Zebra Cakes, a nostalgic snack food from childhood memories. Despite never having tasted them before, they meticulously dissect the original's components, noting its tight crumb, sugary glaze, and vanilla filling. They then proceed to craft their homemade version, experimenting with a chiffon cake for the base, Swiss meringue buttercream for the filling, and a poured fondant technique for the glaze. The process is arduous, with challenges in achieving the perfect texture and appearance, but ultimately results in a delightful homemade treat that captures the essence of the classic Zebra Cake, albeit with a personal touch.
Takeaways
- 🤔 The central question posed is about recreating something one doesn't like, using the analogy of not liking a cake but trying to recreate it anyway.
- 🍰 The video is about attempting to recreate Zebra Cakes, a snack food item that the host has not had before and knows little about.
- 🎨 The Zebra Cakes are characterized by their striped appearance, which the host finds visually appealing despite not having had them before.
- 👀 Upon first tasting, the host notes the cake's tight crumb, the overly sweet glaze, and the artificial vanilla flavor of the filling, leading to a less-than-impressive initial impression.
- 📏 The host measures the dimensions of the Zebra Cakes, noting the size and proportions for the recreation process.
- 📋 A long list of ingredients is read, revealing the artificial components and preservatives used in the store-bought Zebra Cakes.
- 🍞 The decision to use an oil-based chiffon cake for the recreation is made, aiming to achieve the tight crumb texture of the original.
- 🧁 The process of making the cake involves separating eggs, mixing dry and wet ingredients, and carefully folding in whipped egg whites.
- 🍫 For the filling, a Swiss meringue buttercream is chosen to provide a light, airy, and non-dairy alternative to the original's cream filling.
- 🎨 The glaze is attempted using a poured fondant technique, which initially presents challenges in application and drying time.
- 🍫 The final touch of the Zebra Cakes is the application of chocolate stripes, which adds a non-cloying element to balance the sweetness.
Q & A
What is the central question the speaker is contemplating about the cake?
-The speaker is questioning why they are trying to recreate a cake they don't like, implying a desire to recreate something they should perhaps leave as it is.
What is the speaker's initial impression of Zebra Cakes?
-The speaker has never eaten Zebra Cakes before and is unfamiliar with them, but is excited about the challenge of recreating them based on their appearance and the concept of a layered glazed cake.
What does the speaker like about the Zebra Cakes packaging?
-The speaker likes the size and overall proportions of the Zebra Cakes packaging, finding the small, hexagonal shape pleasing and the idea of a four-bite piece of cake appealing.
What are the components of a Zebra Cake according to the speaker's initial examination?
-The components of a Zebra Cake include two layers of cake separated by a filling or frosting, a white waxy-looking glaze, and zebra stripes on top.
What is the texture of the Zebra Cake crumb like?
-The crumb of the Zebra Cake is incredibly tight with no large air pockets, yet it is also super tender and crumbles easily.
How does the speaker describe the taste of the Zebra Cake filling?
-The filling is described as a whipped, intensely sweet, fake vanilla cream that is not dairy, with a very subtle cocoa flavor.
What are the dimensions of the Zebra Cakes?
-The Zebra Cakes are approximately 5.5 to 6 cm long, 3 cm wide on each side, and just under 2.5 cm in height including the glaze, with each layer being around 7 mm thick.
What is the main ingredient in the glaze coating of the Zebra Cake according to the speaker's analysis of the ingredients?
-The main ingredients in the glaze coating are palm and palm kernel oil, along with anato extract and turmeric extract for color.
What type of cake does the speaker decide to make for the recreation of Zebra Cakes?
-The speaker decides to make a chiffon cake, specifically modifying a Siobhan sponge cake recipe, to achieve the tight crumb texture needed for the Zebra Cakes.
What challenges does the speaker encounter while making the buttercream filling for the Zebra Cakes?
-The speaker struggles with ensuring the butter is at the right temperature, achieving a smooth and silky texture without curdling, and incorporating the butter into the meringue to create a light and fluffy emulsion.
How does the speaker plan to apply the buttercream filling between the cake layers?
-The speaker plans to pipe the buttercream using a pastry tip that creates a thin, even, wide slab of frosting to ensure uniform layers between the cake pieces.
What method does the speaker use to create the glaze for the Zebra Cakes?
-The speaker uses a recipe for poured fondant from King Arthur, which includes confectioner's sugar, vanilla extract, white chocolate, light corn syrup, and hot water.
What issues does the speaker face while enrobing the cakes with the glaze?
-The speaker faces issues with the glaze not drying as expected, the cakes sticking to the parchment, and difficulty in achieving a uniform coating on all sides of the hexagonal cakes.
How does the speaker approach adding the chocolate stripes to the Zebra Cakes?
-The speaker initially attempts to use a piping bag setup to create multiple parallel stripes simultaneously but ultimately decides to pipe individual straight lines of melted chocolate.
What is the final verdict on the homemade Zebra Cakes according to the speaker?
-The speaker is proud of the final result, noting that while the process was challenging and tiring, the homemade Zebra Cakes capture the essence of the original and are visually appealing.
How does the speaker describe the taste and texture of the homemade Zebra Cakes?
-The homemade Zebra Cakes are described as very sweet, with a tight crumb and a supple, bouncy cake texture. The buttercream filling is solid when cold and has a pleasant vanilla flavor, and the chocolate stripes provide a necessary contrast to the sweetness.
Outlines
🤔 Contemplating the Appeal of Zebra Cakes
The speaker begins by pondering why they would want to recreate a cake they don't like, hinting at a personal challenge. They introduce the task of recreating Zebra Cakes, a snack they're unfamiliar with but are excited to attempt. The speaker expresses initial enthusiasm, despite not having tasted Zebra Cakes before, and compares them to Christmas tree cakes. They discuss the visual appeal of the product, particularly its size and shape, and note the tight crumb and tender texture of the cake. The speaker also mentions the overly sweet and artificial taste of the filling and glaze, which leaves them unimpressed and questioning whether they want to eat it again. They conclude the paragraph by measuring the dimensions of the cake and listing its ingredients, which include a long list of artificial components and preservatives.
🍰 Planning the Homemade Zebra Cake
The speaker outlines their plan to recreate the Zebra Cake using an oil-based chiffon cake to achieve the tight crumb texture observed in the original. They decide to decrease the amount of baking powder and baking soda to control the cake's rise and texture. The process involves mixing dry ingredients, separating eggs, and creating a yolk mixture with sugar, oil, buttermilk, and vanilla. The speaker emphasizes the importance of the cream of tartar as a stabilizing acid for the egg whites, which will be whipped to create a fine foam, contributing to the cake's crumb. The goal is to create a light and fluffy batter that will be baked at a lower temperature to ensure an even texture throughout.
🔪 Trimming and Preparing the Cake Layers
After baking the chiffon cake, the speaker evaluates its texture and evenness, noting that the cake is thin and delicate. They decide to peel off the sticky, eggy layer on top, which is undesirable in taste and texture. The speaker then trims the cake to achieve a uniform thickness, aiming for a 12 cm length of cake that can be used to create the hexagonal Zebra Cakes. They express satisfaction with the cake's crumb and flexibility, and plan to freeze the trimmed pieces to firm up the cake, making it easier to handle during the assembly process.
🍦 Creating the Swiss Meringue Buttercream Filling
The speaker describes the process of making Swiss meringue buttercream, starting with combining cold butter with egg whites, sugar, cream of tartar, and a pinch of salt. They whisk this mixture in a double boiler until the sugar is fully dissolved. The speaker then whips the meringue until it is glossy, dense, and voluminous. They add the butter a piece at a time, ensuring each piece is fully incorporated before adding the next. Despite initial curdling, they emphasize the importance of continuing to beat the mixture until it becomes smooth and silky. Finally, they add a generous amount of vanilla paste and salt to flavor the buttercream, which will be used as the filling for the Zebra Cakes.
🏭 Assembling the Zebra Cakes
The speaker discusses the assembly of the Zebra Cakes, starting with the decision to pipe the buttercream filling onto the frozen cake layers to ensure an even and uniform layer. They encounter a mishap when the cold buttercream detaches from the cold cake, but they manage to reattach it. The speaker then creates a stencil to cut the cake into uniform hexagons and acknowledges the need for precision in this process. They also discuss the challenges of maintaining the integrity of the delicate cake layers during assembly and the importance of refrigeration to firm up the buttercream before the glazing process.
🍫 Making and Applying the Glaze
The speaker shares their process of making a poured fondant glaze using confectioner's sugar, white chocolate, light corn syrup, vanilla extract, and a pinch of salt. They melt the white chocolate and combine it with the sugar mixture, adding hot water to achieve a pourable consistency. The speaker then tests the glaze on a scrap piece of cake to ensure it coats evenly. They decide to coat the bottoms of the cakes first, allowing them to dry before flipping and enrobing the top sides. Despite some difficulties with the glaze setting and sticking to the parchment paper, the speaker remains determined to achieve a professional finish on their homemade Zebra Cakes.
🎨 Adding the Chocolate Stripes
The speaker decides to add chocolate stripes to the glazed cakes for an authentic Zebra Cake look. They melt chocolate in the microwave, carefully watching to avoid burning it. The initial attempt to create multiple parallel stripes using a piping bag setup fails, leading the speaker to abandon this method. Instead, they opt for a single pastry tip and apply the chocolate in individual straight lines. Despite some unevenness and thickness in the lines, the speaker is satisfied with the overall appearance and allows the chocolate to set before proceeding.
🎉 Reflecting on the Homemade Zebra Cakes
In the conclusion, the speaker expresses pride and satisfaction with their homemade Zebra Cakes, despite the challenges faced during the process. They compare the homemade version to the original, noting differences in color and size, but appreciating the captured essence. The speaker tastes their creation, finding it very sweet with a pleasant vanilla flavor and a supple, bouncy cake texture. They acknowledge the difficulty of the pour technique and the messiness of working with fondant but are ultimately happy with their stamina and perseverance in completing the challenge.
📢 Wrapping Up and Inviting Feedback
The speaker wraps up the video by thanking viewers for watching and inviting them to like and subscribe for more content. They also open the floor for special requests or subjects for future videos, showing an interest in engaging with their audience's preferences and memories associated with Zebra Cakes. Despite being tired and rambling at the end, the speaker maintains a positive and enthusiastic tone throughout the conclusion.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Zebra Cakes
💡Recreate
💡Crumb
💡Fondant
💡Buttercream
💡Chiffon Cake
💡Glaze
💡Hexagons
💡Sugar Content
💡Texture
Highlights
The central question posed is about recreating something one doesn't like, using the analogy of not liking a cake but trying to recreate it.
The baker is attempting to recreate Zebra Cakes, a treat they have never eaten or knew much about, based on a picture and their knowledge of similar cakes.
Zebra Cakes are revealed to have a striped appearance, which excites the baker and adds to the challenge.
The baker acknowledges that they have not had Zebra Cakes growing up, but recognizes the brand Little Debbie and its treats.
A detailed description of the Zebra Cake's appearance, including its size, shape, and the tight crumb of the cake, is provided.
The baker expresses surprise at the cake's tenderness and the artificial vanilla smell, which is reminiscent of packaged cakes.
The filling of the Zebra Cake is described as intensely sweet, fake vanilla, and non-dairy, with a subtle cocoa flavor from the zebra stripe.
The baker measures the dimensions of the Zebra Cake, providing specific details on its size and layer thickness.
A long list of ingredients for the Zebra Cake is read, with the baker commenting on the presence of various oils, sugars, and preservatives.
The baker decides on using an oil-based chiffon cake for the recreation, aiming for a tight crumb similar to the original.
The process of making the chiffon cake is detailed, including the separation of eggs, mixing of dry ingredients, and the incorporation of egg whites.
The baker struggles with achieving an even thickness for the cake layer, which is crucial for the final product's appearance.
The decision to freeze the cake layers to make them more manageable for stacking and cutting is shared.
A Swiss meringue buttercream is chosen for the filling, with a focus on creating a light and airy texture that won't absorb into the cake.
The baker discusses the process of making the buttercream, emphasizing the importance of temperature and the gradual addition of butter.
The challenge of applying the filling uniformly between the cake layers is addressed, with the baker opting to pipe the buttercream for consistency.
The baker creates a stencil for cutting the cake into uniform hexagons, emphasizing the importance of precision for the final appearance.
The process of making a poured fondant glaze is detailed, including melting white chocolate and combining it with powdered sugar and corn syrup.
The baker experiments with coating the cakes in the fondant, facing challenges with the drying process and the glaze's texture.
The addition of chocolate stripes to the cakes is described, with the baker opting for melted chocolate rather than adding cocoa to the fondant.
The final product is presented, with the baker expressing pride in their homemade Zebra Cakes despite the challenges faced during the process.
The baker reflects on the learning experience, noting the stamina required and the complexity of the fondant process, but ultimately feeling satisfied with the result.
Transcripts
well here's what the central question if
I don't like the cake then why am I
trying to recreate it you know what I
mean oh wow I didn't know that this was
the shape that they were in stuck what
do I do going to fall I'm going to go
for something where I like the flavor I
like the cake because why would I want
to
recreate the thing I don't really like
to begin
[Music]
with hi everyone we're back today I'm
tackling Zebra Cakes not something I've
actually ever eaten or really know what
it is my God you guys they have stripes
on oh thank God this about to be really
annoyed I'm really excited because I
think I'm going to nail it Without
Really knowing what the components
are based on the picture and knowing
that this is similar to like the
Christmas tree cakes is that what
they're called mhm I think it's
basically like store-bought snack food
version of a petaphor like a little
layered glazed cake and I love that in
theory and I know how to make that so I
feel like think I can do this and you
never had these growing up you just saw
friends eating them I never had these
growing up I never saw friends eating
them but this apparently is the common
thing to have at your house I've been
told tell so I definitely was familiar
with other Little Debbie Treats but just
not not Zebra Cakes in particular but I
do like the way that they look on the
box right off the bat I love the size
and like overall proportions of it I
love that it's like a little four bite
piece of cake very very pleasing as far
as like pick it up and eating it they're
like little hexagons which I I didn't
know and I wasn't really anticipating so
I can obviously see the cake through the
white coating a little bit but I'm going
to slice through and get a cross-section
so I can really see what the components
are it's the smell of like a packaged
like a Twinkie
or any other like packaged cake I guess
it's kind of like artificial vanilla
smell possibly like preservative smell I
mean they look really cute I I do love
the size but basically what I have here
two layers of a kind of
cake separated by a layer of some kind
of filling or frosting and then that
white waxy looking glaze and then the
zebra stripes what's I think notable
about the cake and is probably actually
good in the case of like this type of
application is that the crumb is
incredibly tight there's like no thick
air pockets in here it's really really
tight but also super tender like just
crumbs fall off that's something I'm
going to have to think about I couldn't
if when I recreate this I couldn't make
a cake that has like big open crumb
wouldn't work I feel like my body's
already rejecting
it cing is like so waxy so sugary my god
do you ever have that feeling when your
back teeth literally tingle cuz it's so
sugary that's the sensation I just got I
took such a small bite that really I
mostly got the like
glaze all right cake kind of dry very
tender almost instant dissolution like
it dissolved B almost there wasn't even
really anything there to like chew
basically flavorless The Filling is this
kind of like cream filling which is c r
e m cuz like they can't actually call it
cream because it's not dairy is very
whipped intensely
sweet fake
vanilla that's about it I do get a
little bit of chocolate when I eat it
I'm going to try to taste just the zebra
stripe extremely subtle cocoa flavor
extremely way very very sweet not
terribly impressed with the components
but like most snack foods that people
remember eating it is kind of all that
the like combination of the components
and I think honestly with anything like
this I think it's texture and they kind
of like breaking through that glaze with
your teeth into that like
interior flavor-wise I don't really ever
want to eat it again from end to end
we're looking at about 6 cm I'll go the
other way more like 5 and 1/2 close
enough we'll call it 5 and 1/ half or
six the sides are about 3 cm each the
overall height including the glaze is
just under 2 and 1/2 cm and then each
layer is around 7 mm I'm going to take a
look at the
ingredients I think it's going to be
great it's kind of a long list sugar
corn syrup enrich bleached flour
parentheses wheat flour nasin reduced
iron fyin mononitrate vitamin B1
riboflavin vitamin B2 folic acid clo
parenthesis water palm and palm kernel
oil palm and soybean oils with tbhq and
citric acid to protect flavor dextrose
soybean oil contains 2% or less of each
of the following dried egg whites corn
starch whey parentheses milk lemoning
parentheses baking soda sodium aluminum
phosphate cocoa salt mono and
diglycerides sorbitan mono sterate soy
leian sorbic acid parentheses to
preserve freshness titanium dioxide poly
sorbate 60 natural and artificial
flavors polysorbate 80 anato extract
turmeric extract soy
flour it's a long list I have to process
this
so I feel like a lot of times you
learn from the like 2% or less
list because it kind of tells you like
what they're going for so the idea that
there's egg white in this tells me that
that's like the coating like it's like a
royal icing or something there's just so
little that's actually in here mostly
what I think the Glazer coating is is
like those oil the the palm oils
basically palm and palm kernel oil palm
and soybean oils the anato extract and
turmeric extract are definitely there
for color in the cake I'm guessing
because that's the only part that has
any color to it there is Coco so that's
partly in the
stripe but mostly there's just a lot of
stuff in here that I don't want to eat
now in terms of the cake I'm thinking
that I'm going to go with an oilbased
cake so I think I'm going to make a
chiffon but I'm going to have
to make some adjustments cuz I I want to
achieve something with that extremely
tight crumb after a the cake I want to
make the filling fill and stack cut out
hexagons glaze and step six chocolate
Stripes all right so I'm going to get
the oven on this is going to be such a
thin layer of cake that I think I want
to bake it a little bit lower than I
normally would so I'm going to get on
325 and then I'm going to grab my
ingredients for the chiffon cake I got
cream of Charter in here
somewhere here we go so the cake is
yellow usually you would see that at
pink butter cake but this but what's
great about chiffon cake is it has both
yolks and egg whites so the yolks are
going to take care of the color I'm
going to go with this recipe my Siobhan
sponge cake recipe so I'm going to start
by mixing my dry ingredients 90 G cake
flour this recipe uses baking powder and
soda I am going
to decrease those amounts slightly the
less baking powder the less sort of like
you know chemical reaction
and gas production as it bakes 3/4 of a
teaspoon kosher
salt three that's my dry mix set this
off to the side so I need three large
eggs separated I'm going to do whites in
here yolks in the smaller Bowl 1/2 cup
of sugar I need 1/4 cup of oil and 1/4
cup buttermilk then a little hit of
vanilla call that a teaspoon and an e/
of a teaspoon cream of Tarter so cream
of tartter is an acid this is used for
stabilizing egg whites so now I'm going
to make my yolk mixture so I'm going to
mix my yolks about half of the sugar in
this bowl until they're pale and thick
then I'm going to stream in the oil and
buttermilk and vanilla the rest of the
sugar is going to go with my egg
whites probably could use a bigger bowl
but oh well so now I'm going to stream
in my oil and buttermilk and
[Applause]
vanilla that's really my liquid
mixture just going to scrape in all of
that
buttermilk and now I'm going
to combine my wet and dry so I'm going
to pour in my
wet and I'll mix this until it's
smooth so this is my batter base and now
the next um and kind of final step is
beating my egg whites so I want to clean
off these beers really well cuz if
there's any fat on the beers it won't
whip up the egg
whites often you'll see instructions for
like a sponge cake say when you're
beating the egg whites gradually add the
sugar and that's great but I'm not going
to do that I'm going to actually add all
of the sugar at
once because if you add the
sugar all at once and then whip it you
get a finer foam so you get smaller air
bubbles and that's what's going to help
me get a slightly tighter crumb with
fewer like big open air bubbles so all
this is going to go in my cream of
tartar is going to go in because this is
going to help
stabilize the foam that I create
basically the suspension of air bubbles
in with my egg
whites so I'm going to continue to whip
these until I get nice firm Peaks it'll
take a minute or two so you see how it's
like holding the the trail I'm almost
there I don't really want to overbeat
egg whites because it will make it hard
to incorporate them but these are nice
firm Peaks see the little like beaks off
the tip of the beers and how they're
standing straight
up that's firm so now I'm going to
scrape my egg whites
into my batter over here and fold them
in can you go the other way around yeah
I could camera yeah I can do that so I'm
actually going to to scrape this yolk
mixture into my egg whites the reason I
can do that is cuz both of them are very
light and texture so they'll incorporate
together
evenly so you can see it makes this
beautiful like super fluffy light batter
I'm going to scrape this out onto my
sheet
tray I need to get this in a really thin
layer I think maybe it's enough batter
that I can go all the way to all four
sides I think I might have to even
remove some batter we'll see going for
such a thin
layer 7 cm SL I guess just 7 mm one
thing that's going to happen with sponge
cake because I've created this foam you
get this kind of like sticky cuz it's
kind of like merang like layer on top
that gets really Brown and I'm going to
peel that off cuz it tastes eggy and it
gets sticky and it's just not the best I
know it's not as even as it could be but
I think it's all right I'm going to grab
my cake
tester I think it's
good no it's not I know testing not the
cake dness but the thickness all right
so the thickness of the layer is we're
already at a centimeter so I might want
to take away some batter would you need
to remove like
half it's going to Puff a little bit
right yeah but I'm not sure how much
it's going to collapse at the same time
I kind of think that what how it goes in
is how it's going to be when it comes
out but we'll see all right so one thing
I want to do before I put it in the oven
is I'm going to give it a nice sharp tap
on the
counter I got to get this into the
oven this is going to bake really fast
because it's so thin so I'll check it in
like I'll literally look at it in 5
minutes and see how it looks I just want
it to be I want it to be just barely set
like I don't even really want much color
on
it thanks Archie so the 5 Minute Timer
just went off ooh I it's so close I
think it just needs one more
minute sorry now I really think it's
done it is just barely golden on the
surface so when I press on it it Springs
back lightly so I know it's cooked my
feeling from looking at it is that it
does seem maybe a little thick in the
middle I'm going to grab my kick
tester oh
yeah much thicker I can try to like trim
it basically the very edges where it's
much more Brown are going to be a little
too done so I'm going to actually just
trim the sponge do this while it's
hot I mean that crumb looks really good
it's really small but nice and really
fine even crumb not lots of big air
bubbles so that looks good
good why am I eating this really want to
eat it what's your review tastes
good so do you see how there's this like
sticky film on the surface I'm going to
I'm going to peel it off just like that
it's really fun look at it look at how
fun it is actually now now it's exposing
the crumb you can see larger air bubbles
but oh well the bottom is cool to the
touch let me get a closer
look can see how flexible it is
basically Ally the thickness is just
really uneven all the way around and
part of the reason is that the sheet
tray itself is not really perfectly flat
and I didn't really spread it very flat
this part is extra thin and extra crispy
trim
that I'm really happy with the crumb I'm
just cutting it into small enough sizes
that I could really look at it it's like
so this is the thickest end this is the
thinnest end it's kind of too thin at
the thin part and too thick at the thick
part so let's see what I want to do here
at the thickest part I'm at basically a
cenim and a half and at the
thinnest I'm at about a half a
centimeter can I cut and level the
layer I do have these straws these
plastic straws which are about 7 mm
thick so these can be my guys and I'm
making like super super
fine sawing
motion cuz I just I don't want to just
like tear up the whole
cake which I kind of am see that I'm
trying to use a blade that I know is
sharper but not serrated but maybe
that's actually good cuz the bigger
teeth and the serrated knife are maybe
tearing up the cake so kind of seems
like this is
working so my goal is to get a 12 CM
length of cake that is the correct
thickness because I can cut two
hexagons from each pair that kind of
worked this way o I'm right at six here
I have a nice even cake layer good whole
structure tastes good super light it's
going to be good it's going to make such
a good zebra cake so I'm going to repeat
that leveling process with my remaining
pieces of cake and hopefully get
eight like equal size equal thickness
strips that I can stack into then four
stacks and then cut my cakes from there
it really does feel like I'm portioning
fish because it's like little fillets
yeah I'm actually thinking that I'm
going to freeze it because the cake is
really delicate and now I just trimmed
it so now there's like still kind of
loose crumb on the surface and the cake
is really thin and delicate and I think
that when I go to apply the filling to
it there's a good chance that it could
kind of tear and I might have a hard
time spreading it so I'm going to freeze
it get it kind of soft solid and that's
going to make it easier for me to stack
and
trim and cut the hexagons so I'm going
to do that clean up and then I'm going
to make the filling I think I'm
overthinking the filling I basically
want to make a buttercream I want it to
be buttercream like it has to be a
fat-based you know some type of filling
um and buttercream is light and Airy and
it's not going to like disappear or
absorb into the cake I know that for a
fact so I think that's the way to go so
I'm going to make
what to me is kind of a go-to
buttercream which is a Swiss merang
buttercream I'm using a recipe I've used
before also a Stella Parks recipe that's
on Serious Eats I'm just going to modify
it a little bit and cut it in half cuz I
don't need such a large quantity so I'm
going to start with 10 oz of
butter and I want this to this is cold
butter I want it to be room temp so I'm
going to do my best to soften but not
melt it in the fridge it's a lot of
butter yeah it is a lot of butter you
can't really reduce the
quantities that much because like you
need a certain volume in the St mixer
for it to whip so I will have leftover
buttercream and positive and I'll just
freeze it for another use I need sugar I
need 3 oz of egg whites so I need to
save the yolks these are
[Music]
Big cream of tartar vanilla
butter kind of it
[Music]
all right I think it's good that was
successful the kind of like classic step
for making Swiss mering buttercream is
combining the egg whites and the sugar
and whisking them in a double boiler so
there with some like basically barely
simmering water underneath until that
sugar is dissolved and you get this like
liquid sticky mess so I'm going to set
up my double boiler yes so I can get
all that like dissolving I have my sugar
in my Mixing Bowl going to
add maybe like a/ teaspoon of kosher
salt then I'm going to add a little bit
of cream of
tartar just sort of like a pinch that
stabilizing
acid and now I'm going to add my egg
whites often I used to do this with a
whisk but I think Stella Parks talks
about like just it's actually somewhat
more effective to use a flexible spatula
you get more friction against the sides
of the bowl and all I want to do here is
warm this mixture to the point where the
sugar is dissolved so if it's grit-free
then you know it's fully dissolved so
I'm just going to put it little tiny dab
uh no a little gritty so I have to go a
little little longer well now it's just
it's like super liquid and I can just I
can tell like I'm not I'm not getting
any sandiness when I rub the spatula
against the side so I'm going do little
test tiny little dab it's perfectly
smooth and now I want to whip
this until I have this like beautiful
glossy dense super voluminous mering um
and I need it to be basically room
temperature cool to the touch basically
and that's cuz I can't add butter to
something hot cuz it'll just melt so I
want to create like this light fluffy
Emulsion so I'm going to start it on
kind of medium and then increase the
speed mixer's been going for several
minutes you can see I have the mering is
like baled up inside the Whisk that's
one of the ways you know you have a
really stiff mering see how it's all
inside the Whisk firm Peaks so now I'm
going to start adding the butter and
with buttercream you truly have to trust
the process it's very common in making
buttercream that your butter might be a
little cold or your mering might be a
little warm and you end up with
something that looks soupy or like
curdled but just keep beating I promise
it will work so I'm going to start by
adding the butter a piece at a
time just kind of throwing it in there
and I still have the Whisk I might
switch to the paddle part of the way
through so once that first piece is
fully Incorporated going to keep
adding it's starting to regain that
volume more
butter okay so I added all the butter I
do want to give the bowl a really
thorough scrape cuz I'm sure there's lot
lot of butter trapped around the sides
but you can see the texture it's like
incredibly smooth and silky but also
light there's white and then yellow so
that's mering that didn't really
incorporate so I want to get all that
mixed together so I'm going to throw
this back in the mixer and then of
course I have to add the flavoring which
is my vanilla swis mering buttercream is
incredible texture-wise but if you leave
it
plain it basically just tastes like
butter which to me I don't love it's
just like too rich
which is why I love adding like coffee
or chocolate to it cuz that bitterness
helps to temper everything but here
we're just going straight
vanilla which means I'm going to add a
lot so I'm going to add like a full
tablespoon of vanilla paste so that's
going to go in I'm just going to eyeball
it and I already added salt so that kind
of Seasons
everything all right so back in
[Music]
this is my finished buttercream I'm
going to taste
it it would be a lot to eat this like a
whole piece of cake but as a thin layer
of filling inside the little sandwich
pedor that we're making it's going to be
so good I was thinking about a plan for
getting the filling into the cake
because the cake is quite delicate which
is why I froze it but I also want to
have a way of ensuring
not just an even layer but uniform
layers between all the pieces that I
have so I think I'm going to pipe it
with a pastry tip and I have one in
particular that I'll show you I have one
like this this is actually used for
doing a basket weave pattern but it
basically lays out like a thin even wide
slab of frosting and it's going to be
pretty thin but I'm going to if I can do
two layers so basically I can like pipe
neat even rows of the frosting across
the cake make the little sandwiches
it'll be really
uniform with buttercream you can
actually incorporate too much air and
then it gives you a texture that is just
so filled with air bubbles that you
can't really smooth it over a cake and
get that like perfect finish but I'm not
using it as a frosting I'm using it as a
filling and I want it to be really light
so I did whip it quite a
bit so it is very very
fluffy see when I drag my spatula
through it that you see little air
bubbles that's good as a filling if you
want to avoid that while you're making
frosting for a cake use the paddle
rather than the Whisk when you beat in
the
butter I want to do a little bit of a
test strip to gauge how many layers
of frosting I'll need using this pastry
tip so maybe I'll do it on my cutting
board or I can just do it right on here
so I'm going to do it basket weave up I
was was basically thinking I would do
like a layer basket weave up and then a
second layer basket weave
down does that get me the thickness that
I'm wanting I feel like it kind of does
let's measure
it I
think and I can't
be super accurate but I think that's
pretty close so I think that double
layer and I can apply light
pressure with the top layer of cake just
to make sure they fuse and I don't have
any like air bubbles in it
or you know in between like the two
basket weave textures but pretty good
I'm going to go with
that one happy accident is I didn't
really take into account like the width
of the pastry tip and the width of my
cake but it's like three perfect rows
would you want to go to the zebra cake
factory
sure now the really fun part I'm going
to put the sandwiches together this
one here I want to really be careful
about lining up the
edges gentle
gentle pressure now same thing with this
piece ah oh no look what happened
ah so the the buttercream got cold ah
from the cold cake and then it came off
press press press get
everything adhered I might have to trim
them on all sides meaning if they're 6
cm at the widest they're going to have
to be a little bit smaller cuz I do want
to shave off a little bit from every
side I am going to make a stencil
because uniformity is important in this
project so I'm going to use my ruler to
make I'll make maybe two hexagons and I
I got just like a little piece of
cardboard off of a package that we
got a little bit smaller than the cake
itself but that is to account for the
knife going on the outside of the
stencil plus the
coating I'm going to make another one
just as a backup
this one's going to be nice because I
get to have plenty of trim on all six
sides so I'm just using my serrated
knife really gently before I continue to
cut I'm going to get some hot water and
a towel so I can clean off the knife in
between cuts so I don't get it
dirty so I'm at like
2.4 CM no
sorry I totally understand why sponge
cake is called sponge cake the whole
point is it soaks up flavors but like
any other word but sponge would really
be more appealing what would you name it
I don't have like an alternative did you
find the zebra pakes at Walmart what
about
zingers Zing good what about Star
Crunch cookies with caramel and crisp
rice see how there's like little teeth
marks still from the buttercream so if I
see any of those little marks on the
finished hexagons I'll smooth them
shouldn't it all be covered with a glaze
though yeah but I think the smoother all
the surfaces are going into the glaze
the smoother they'll look when they're
covered like you think the glaze is
going to cover the imperfections and
really the glaze just highlights it it's
like
putting on heavy foundation and bad
lighting here you have like little
texture in the buttercream from where
the two layers didn't totally adhere so
I'm just giving it like a super quick
smooth but that was really the only
little
spot I'm really happy
with the proportions the
layers the
dimensions how straight the sides are
the they're they look really neat and
that's good because the neater they are
now the neater they're going to look
when they're glazed and before I turn to
the glaze I actually want to put these
in the fridge because I want the
buttercream to actually get a little bit
cold so that when I glaze it it's just
like they feel a little
sturdier now I want to look up a recipe
for poured fondant there's a recipe that
I've used in the past from King Arthur
I'm going to look that one up so I'm
grabbing some confectioner sugar some
vanilla extract not paste cuz I just I
don't want any
specks I need white chocolate I need
light corn
syrup I'll grab salt although it doesn't
call for it just a
pinch and now I need white
chocolate let me get my double boiler
back out even though I just put it away
and start melting this on the stove
white chocolate melts so easily so it'll
melt really quickly oh I need light corn
syrup this might be exactly the amount
that we need my God please have enough
please have enough please have enough
might be like one tablespoon
short which is fine so now I'm going to
weigh out my confectioner sugar about a
pound 454
G that is a pound so actually my white
chocolate is fully melted and I just
have the stove on like the lowest
setting so it's just staying warm you
don't want to overheat so like a lot of
glazes por fondant is basically all
powdered sugar it's just what it
is so it's going to be extremely sweet
but the goal is to not put a thick layer
now I need 1/4 cup of hot tap water oh I
can add to this actually just a little
bit of salt pinch not measuring
so I have my whisk into the center of my
powdered sugar just made like a little
well I'm going to
add my corn
syrup just gives a little landing
spot I'm going to add my hot water I do
need a spatula for this
[Music]
I'm going to just whisk this starting in
the center until the whole thing is
smooth can also add just a dash of
vanilla
extract this seems kind of
thick
but we'll see
cat I can always thin it with more water
okay okay so now the next step in the
recipe is I'm going to bring over my
white
chocolate I'm actually going to bring
the whole double boiler over because
this is going to help me keep the
fondant warm it's more workable when
it's warm so now I'm just going to add
the white chocolate to my powdered sugar
mixture
okay so now I'm going to whisk this in
seems kind of grainy I'm going to get
this
over the double boiler it's like did the
chocolate Seas this is not what this is
supposed to look like add the melted
coating to the sugar mixture then add
the vanilla and the coloring for using
it if the mixture is too thick to pour
reheat it briefly over low heat oh and
stir in 1 to 3 tablespoons water let me
get some warm
water just just needed a little water to
loosen up to me this is still thick so
I'm going to add another little
tablespoon of water oh I hope I didn't
thin it out too much oh no okay has this
nice porable
texture I want to check the
consistency make sure it's not too thin
not too thick let me grab one of those
scrap pieces of cake and I'm just going
to kind of coat it and see what happens
here's a good piece to use as a test
oh God was going to fall so this
technique is like in chocolate making
called in robing where you are totally
covering something in a
coating I think the coverage actually
seems pretty decent what do you think it
has to dry obviously I think it looks
pretty good pretty coose looks pretty
good okay see how the bottoms are coated
I want to coat the bottoms first
actually before I end up enrobing and
like let that part set
coated and then bonded side down we'll
just let them dry facing up and then
flip them over if they have to drain at
all like I want them to pull downward
rather than dripping down the sides you
know what I mean like that will they be
stuck no the parchment won't stick I'm
going to pop this in the fridge or maybe
even the freezer real
fast so that that bottom layer hardens
because it has the white chocolate in it
it should Harden I think let's get into
enrobing I'm going to
see I think I'm going to leave the pedor
in the freezer and take them out one by
one and enr them I found this big fork
that I can kind of use like an enrobing
Fork to
suspend the cake and then I'm going to
use this to like cover
it no it is true that I probably should
have let it set more the fun isn't
really set in that bottom layer and you
know
what I don't know if it's really going
to work at all it's so stuck to the
parchment we'll just let them dry facing
up and then flip them over will they be
stuck no the parchment stick I think I
know what I have to I think I did it
backwards I think I have to enrobe them
first then do the bot no that doesn't
work
either do
the this is annoying
okay really is that how I have to do it
let this dry okay fine fine that's what
we're going to have to do starting over
so it was a mistake to put them fondant
side down
on the parchment and I need
to they're stuck what do I
do just really carefully slide them off
don't worry the cats are fine I promise
they're playing is it really all coming
off some of it like absorbed into the
cake which I don't think is a Bad Thing
some of it is staying on the uh
parchment this process does make a lot
more sense than the way I was doing it
and now that I have them coated side up
they do need to dry I'm going to put
them in the fridge to dry once they're
dry and set then I'm going to turn them
over and rope them so I can get the
other side that's bare and all six of
the hexagon sides and I'm going to place
them on this rack they're going to drip
down into the tray so any excess can
fall off and then I'll have every single
side
coated going to grab the tray the
fondant isn't exactly getting the like
hard coating I was hoping for but maybe
it just needs more time but let's just
see no they're not white they're a
little on the yellowish side oh you know
I mean it's hard keep it going it's a
tiny bit tacky while it's stick to the
fork yeah it seems like it will turn on
yeah maybe I yeah
it's like semi shiny it should be more
matte so I just going to let
[Music]
it just going to let it continue to
[Music]
dry
verdict I can try one and see if it
comes off it's so tacky is it the white
chocolate I just don't understand why is
it not drying
faster that one's pretty
dry this is truly how most mistakes
happen so you just say it'll probably be
fine but I'm really getting tired of
waiting for these to dry so the fondant
layer is dry to the touch but if you
were to press it's like a still a little
tacky so here's the
plan very gently
place this so by placing it on the fork
this way the fork isn't really in
contact with most of the
area that bottom
layer so time to
enrobe can you guys tell me if there's
any bare spots on those
sides the corners oh yeah corner
little bit right
[Music]
here not bad with the enrobing I'm going
to repeat that process and actually
before I just do all the rest I'm going
to turn the AC back on cuz I want some
air circulation so that these actually
[Music]
dry you think that's how they did it at
the factory like like a gravity
fed I'm sure there's like a conveyor
belt with like
a like just a sheet pouring you guys
that one fell in
yeah not the worst that can happen
though G me a head
start missing a
corner thank you would you consider
doing another
layer uh no I would not consider doing
another layer it doesn't need it would
you enjoy designing food factories
no I don't think so I think they look
great do they look like they came out of
a factory definitely not but they didn't
so I want to let these dry and while
they're drying Actually I don't even
they don't have to be 100% dry for when
I do the
chocolate one more step chocolate
Stripes so I'm thinking for the
chocolate Stripes I'm not going to do
just like I guess I could add cocoa to
the fondant but that's going to be
really sweet I'm thinking I'm just going
to do melted chocolate so I'm melting
chocolate I need a small amount and I'm
all out of bowls I'm just doing in the
microwave so I'm doing it on 22nd bursts
on low power so almost done maybe one
more burst it's really easy to burn
chocolate so you don't want to go full
power for very long if at all partly out
of a desire for it to look like the
original and mostly SL partly out out of
a desire to just wrap this up I'm tired
I want to see if I
can fashion
a Piping Bag setup where I can pipe
multiple stream simultaneously so that
they're parallel and I can just do like
one pass across each row and there's all
the stripes but the idea is like can
this become basically like my pastry
chip I'm going to poke some holes
ideally I get to five so I'm going to do
one in the
middle what I think I want to do is
Place some tape over this because I
don't want it to like immediately start
spilling out this is slightly ridiculous
the biggest disaster would be if the cup
part fell
out oh my gosh
ah bu a little bit of chocolate I mean
basically all of
it really I guess the test is If gravity
is going to do it for
me and I guess the answer is it's
not I need more
chocolate is what I'm realizing
you also are doing huge waves they
barely move it's almost like a straight
line on the zeer
K oh my God you guys what am I supposed
to do here just do a straight
line that's what a straight line Looks
like that's pretty good that looks
good no cuz there's not I'm I'm piping
them individually I've just decided I'm
abandoning this
plan oh
man you know you think things are going
to be easier I'm going to remelt all
this chocolate together so if I can
salvage all of it so I don't waste it
this is actually really good chocolate
chocolate I'm scraping all of the test
chocolate off back into the bowl going
to get the chocolate out of the bag back
into the bowl just get everything melted
again now I'm going straight one pastry
tip one stream just going to do a couple
different
Stripes I'm just trying to maneuver so
that I
have some pressure built up going do a
practice line minus the part where it
broke I feel good about that I'm going
to start on this row and I'm going to
just go continuously you're going to get
the sides
ah I'm not making any premises a little
nervous it all comes down to
this so now I'm just going to go back in
each
one oh no
the line thickness is pretty good some
of them got the size but but I feel like
that's kind of like this T
huh I think they look really pretty
similar there we go I'm done biggest
difference is the color yeah and the
size a little bit here are my finished
Zebra Cakes overall I'm really happy got
a little nervous with the lines but they
turned out pretty well so now I have to
let them set particularly just the
chocolate the fondant actually is pretty
dry so I'm feeling really good about
that the chocolate needs to just harden
a little bit we'll come back and it'll
be time to taste yay very happy about
that the chocolate is set I was excited
like one second ago but then I got tired
again
ooh chocolate is set I'm going to get
them onto a plate this part actually is
kind of tricky you can see that the
glaze has sort of like set around the
rack so try to lift it off without it
cracking or like losing any part of the
glaze this is so unnaturally white cuz
like the plate is kind of like slightly
off-white and mine are yellower than the
plate and theirs are so much whiter than
the plate it's kind of crazy I'm
actually really proud of these that pour
technique is not as easy as it looks the
enr M yeah it's just can be so messy and
like can get out of hand they're a
little smaller than the original
obviously these are homemade but they
look so appealing and I think that they
capture the essence of the original
zebra cakes and I'm very excited to eat
one I'm going to I'm going to not grab
one off the plate I'm going to grab one
from
here okay but you also got to taste the
old one to no I'm not Tak going to taste
the other one so here is my homemade
zebra cake it's a tiny
bit tacky like it's not coming off my
fingers but if I were to like hold it in
my hands for a while I think it would it
needs a little longer to dry frankly the
bottom has a coat coting but like it did
get a little bit it did pick up the
impression of the rack but like the
bottom of theirs isn't really perfectly
smooth either so I feel okay about that
I know where my measurement got off I
really thought I measured them and
measured the sides I don't know what
happened but I think the stripes turned
out pretty well the stripes have I think
the look of the kind of factory Stripes
not exactly but close enough I think the
layers are the exact same height on both
M okay one they're a little
cold one thing I forgot to think
about is that buttercream is going to be
more solid when it's cold if I were to
let them hang out a room temp the
buttercream would be soft like the cream
filling they are very sweet I have to
say the fondant is basically all sugar
really uniform crumb pretty tight I
think very similar looking to the
original nice even layers
cake filling cake very tender not tender
in the way that the original are but
this cake has like bounc it's Supple so
I'm very happy with this the chocolate
is so important because it is the only
nons super sweet item here so it does
help to cut through some of that
fondant but very very pleasant and also
good vanilla flavor this challenge
tested my stamina a little bit I got
very t tired I really wanted to quit
basically halfway through not cuz I
couldn't do it I was just like oh it's
so many steps I did think it was going
to be easy but the fondant kind of gets
you obviously I'm glad I stuck with it
because I'm very proud of the end result
if you have special requests of subjects
for us to tackle let us know in the
comments for anyone that like loved
Zebra Cakes totally respect everyone's
childhood memories and their preferences
but homemade version Pretty into
it now I'm rambling cuz I'm so tired
let's rrap up thank you so much for
watching and don't forget to like And
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