Earl Grey Chocolate Buttercream: Made for the Stage!
Still from the show as Mary (Mimi Tanaman) carries a chocolate cake to a table
My recipe for Earl Grey chocolate buttercream was featured on the English On Stage facebook page today! What does cake have to do with theatre you may ask? Well, a frosted chocolate cake was a very important prop for our new musical. Given the number of gags that precipitate on the cake being real (like licking the frosting and blowing out birthday candles), it was important that we have a real edible cake to use during the show. Of course I volunteered for the task, not only ensuring the cake was beautiful, but also that I could eat it myself afterwards! It also meant that I could have some secret fun with flavors, while still making it look like plain chocolate.
The cake recipe I used was the regular Earl Grey cake recipe I posted several months ago. One of the things to remember when baking for the stage is that you have to ensure that your props will not only hold up under the lights, but also won’t go rancid in the amount of time it sits on stage (just another reason to avoid dairy!) In this case, it’s best to use shortening, rather than a melty margarine like Earth Balance (or ya know the margarine that’s really bad for you).
With another show coming up soon, I’m already planning what cool flavors I can slip into our next chocolate cake.
For more information on Tom’s Diner the Musical, click here! It’s really a fun new show, featuring all of your favorite music from the 1950s and 60s.
And with that shameless plug, I bid you goodnight (and promise to post some new recipes soon, as well as a post all about being in Israel).
