Friday, April 27, 2012

Cohiba Cigar Box Cake

I decided to start a blog mainly to share my craft, which is modern cake decorating. I figured I could snap a few "step-by-step' processes from baking, to ganaching the cakes, making the decorations and so forth. 

Hmm...I have one photo so far of a "work-in-progress" cake shot. Every time I remember to do it, either the cake has already been completed, or my hands are dirty and I can't be bothered stopping the momentum of getting the work done. 

I need to start getting into the habit of taking photos as I work, or else, this blog will be nothing more than a gallery of completed cakes! 

Boooooo-ring. 

Ok, so this week I had a task of making a Cohiba (very expensive Cuban cigars) cigar box. I was actually looking forward to it and I found a very elegant looking box online as a reference. Here it is :

I baked 2, 7" square chocolate cakes and cut them into a rectangle. Then I used the excess cake to cut into stripes and form a "wall" around the cake, to create a box. I ganached the sides and bottoms to secure the "wall". And it took around 45 minutes just to make sure everything was smooth and square. The insides of the box was the most time consuming as it wasn't easy getting into the corners! That's my only action shot of the cake making! Hahahaha, what a sad start to my cake blog!

Once everything was set, I iced the box in pieces. So the wood paneling went on first, followed by the black panels. 

The lid was pre-made using cardboard as the centre support system and I handpainted the Cohiba logo on the inner side. Wood grain was also added to the interior of the box to make it look more realistic.

The fun part was making the cigars. I went to my local grocery store and bought these old-fashioned cigar chocolate wafers. Then I rolled out brown icing really thin, and wrapped it around the wafers. Indents were made to make the cigars look like they were hand wrapped by skilled Cubans, and then Cohiba labels were stuck on.

All in all, a great looking masculine looking cake - which I actually enjoyed making! For all those who don't know me very well, I like making girly, pretty, cute cakes, and making manly cakes aren't my thing. However, this one was good fun! 

Here is the finished product.





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xx Thanks for stopping by!




27 comments:

  1. wow! the end product is confusing! is it really a cake?? hahahhaa.. well-done! u got chef's hand...

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  2. Thank you Akuzle Ayu! It was really fun making the cigar box! And congratulations, you are officially my first person to comment on my new blog! Welcome :)

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  3. @Anonymous: No problem at all. Thanks for stopping by!

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  4. Looks awesome!!! Great job!!! How did you make the labels for the cigars and can you get the wafers you used in other places?

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    1. @Anonymous : The labels were printed on edible paper. By other places - where do you mean? Try looking in the biscuit section of your supermarket. You might be surprised to see what you can find :) You can use anything really that resembles a cigar shape.

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  5. Fantastic cake! Did you add tylose to your panels and let them dry for a few days before attaching to the cake?

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  6. @Anonymous : Thank you! I didn't do that, but you could, and I reckon you'd get straighter and neater edges that way. Great idea. You would need to be super accurate with your measurements though, so you'd have to wait till your cake is cut and ganached, then make the panels to size. Thanks for stopping by :)

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  7. Thanks for your reply about the panels. I have done it that way before with a toy box cake I made for my son. If you try it, just make the panels bigger than you need and cut them to size using a sharp knife before applying to the cake. I made mine a couple days before I needed them and I attached with melted chocolate.

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  8. But does that not crack the panels once they are dry?

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  9. How did you get the cigar labels? are they edible images?
    thanks
    Liz

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  10. Hi Liz, yes they are printed on edible rice paper. Thanks for stopping by!

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  11. hello...how much would you charge for the same cake...email me at kcross1789@aim.com my bf bday is March 16, and im having it a a cigar lounge in the east village...he likes Cubans but he likes the Romeo y Julieta cigars....

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  12. how did you get the black pannels to look so real? the shine is amazing! looks exactly like a real fancy box.

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  13. Hi Anonymous, I brushed a cold mirror gel on the fondant for that incredible sheen :). Thanks for stopping by :)

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  14. Where are you located? I'm trying to find someone to do the exact same thing for me. It's my Fiance's 40th birthday in June and I was looking for that exact cake.

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  15. Hi there, I'm in KL, Malaysia :)

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  16. What are old-fashioned cigar wafers? And cold mirror gel? What recipe did you use for the ganache? Thanks so much! Make a cigar box for a 40th birthday and I'm a little nervous.

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  17. Wow, I love this cake! I am making a cigar box cake this week - I hope it turns out as great as yours! How did you attach the lid so it doesn't fall??

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  18. How did you do the cover for the cigar box? I know you mentioned using cardboard. But what did you do? I'm trying to determine what else.

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  19. If you have time, please answer the last three questions.. thanks!!

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  20. I'm sooooo sorry everyone for the delayed response!!
    Ok, cold mirror gel is a glaze used in patisserie. It's used to glaze tarts and mousses. It's does not require heating up, therefore on fondant it's perfect.
    Ganache recipe is : 500g dark chocolate, chopped, 250g pouring cream, brought to a boil. Then poured over the chocolate. Let it sit for a few minutes, then whisk till smooth. Let is sit overnight, and it will set into a peanut butter consistency. T
    The cigar wafers are biscuits. I get them in a grocery store here in Malaysia, and they are wafers that are in the shape of a cigar.

    The lid is dried overnight, and I use plenty of royal icing to stick it to the cake. Then, I put something behind the lid, so it has support and then let it dry overnight.

    I use a thin piece of cardboard for the lid for support. I roll out a super thin piece of icing then dampen the cardboard with a bit of piping jelly. Put the icing on and trim. Let it dry overnight. Then the next day, do the other side.

    Good luck!! xx



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  21. Hi, I trying to make a cigar. SMH !!
    Help !!

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  22. @Bak"N Buddies, hi there, what's the problem?

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  23. This is a gorgeous cake! Did you place the two 7-inch cakes side by side? Or stacked? In other words, what are the dimensions of the box? Thank you!

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  24. What were the measurements you cut the rectangle too?

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  25. your cigar box cake was imitated by a baker who failed ... massively.

    See http://www.cakewrecks.com/home/2016/6/16/mist-marx.html?lastPage=true&postSubmitted=true

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  26. Hi. Ur cake is amazing. I was thinking about my dad birthday gift and here it is. Thanks alot for ur cake ;) i would love to try it ;)

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