Chapter 0: The idea…

My very best friend… just getting married. This summer. My very best friend is getting married with a good friend of mine… They’ve been living in New Zealand for a couple of years but going home to Hungary for this time because of their families obviously… and i`m still in Brighton but going home for their `after-wedding-party`…  however, i will have only 3-4 days to spend with them.

The idea of the present… what the hell can u give to your best best friend in your life, who is living thousands and thousands miles away, can see each other once in a few years…. i know, that they don`t want to spend sh*t lots of money for this whole ceremony – considering the fact, that the flight tickets from the other side of the world costs a fortune… and considering the fact, that i am a chef… wanted to take part of the food-story…

It’s really nice of me to offer my wallet and my knowledge to feed a bunch of friends… this is alright, any time… but i can not offer my spare time – i will have four short days there to spend with my Gigi, chat, gossip. drink, eat, dance. sleep, breath together… i can not spend any minute in the `whoeverknowwhatkitchen` to make some snack to eat…

BUT… i was still wondering about the ideal present… what i created in my mind… so i decided to make a `perfect wedding cake` for theme here in Brighton, in my kitchen with the help of my friends who are willing to try every little bite of my love… so at the end, i can give the `IDEA OF GIGI`S PERFECT WEDDING CAKE`…

p.s. Hopefully i will have a chance in the lifetime to actually bake this little wonder-cake to them with lots of love…. :),

Chapter 1: The base…

First of all… i need to call my memories back about my friends eating-habits… and just need to stop after the first step… Gigi is not a very big fan of sweets… that could be a petit-petit problem… so i need something not crazy sweet… i thought about Gabor, who adores sweet any time any way…. :) well well well… lets design something not crazyly sweet, but dreamy-creamy dessert cake suits for both of them. Nice! :)

Flavours… first and most important is the chocolate… i was asking all around everyone and no one would miss Mr. Chocolate. Basic. Basic base. And the real thing i am good in it – brownie… So lets starts with a `light` gluey brownie…

I try so many different way to get the perfect one. If u are swimming deeper in it not just on the surface – u have to realize, just because u have the best recipe, its far not enough.

I do have the best recipe of the perfect brownie with lots of love. But using different timing or order what to whisk with what and when to add this and that and the final baking… every little step was so important. U should know, the main ingredients of a brownie is eggs, sugar, chocolate, butter and flour, salt – after these u can play with other stuff (nuts, fruits, paste etc)… Need to have the choc melted and the butter as well – i tried two different way.

The first is the `don`t let the eggs to split` way. This case u melt the choc with the butter together, meanwhile u whisk the eggs with the sugar together, than add the melted stuff to the sweet egg mixture whisking continually and finish with the flour and salt. Ready to go to the oven – the texture is quite runny in this case and u can hardly stop licking it from everywhere :))),,,.

The second way is the `crunchy cookie` way. This time u melt the chocolate separate and warm up the butter just to room temperature – so it can mix really well with the sugar forming a strong bond. U add your eggs one by one to this fluffy sugar-butter mixture – at the end the whole thing should be double sized. That is the point when u pour your melted choc in, that add the flour and salt slowly slowly. Ready to go to the oven – the texture is quite fluffy in this case.

In both ways i used the same amount of ingredients – just the method different. And now the baking… u dont want a thin sheet of dry brownie crunch, so u need a deeper tray, which means longer time, which means lower temperature. My favourite heat is 170degrees – and around half hour. I still can choose between dry heat or add some moisture to it… I tried both ways with both of the recipes.

First i steam-baked `the don`t let the eggs to split` brownie resulting a really straight, almost raw but stiff chocolate-middle. No real crunch outside – no different textures. Steam-baking the `crunchy cookie` brownie came out with an absolute cake-way. Proper sponge – nice nice, but nothing really to do with the old`s cool brownie.

Second time i used just dry heat – there was not too much difference between `the don`t let the eggs split` and the `crunchy cookie` brownies, but i have got the perfect one. Crunchy outside but runny chocolate-glueyness in the middle. The surface of the brownie brakes when u try to cut it thru. Really nice. My real choice will be the dry heat – `crunchy cookie` way. Job has done. The first layer – perfect base.