Chocolate Flower Cake

Every girl is like a flower. My friend's daughter turned 18 and her favorite color is lavender, so I made this chocolate flower cake from cake blog for her birthday.

Ingredients

8" cake - this is a chocolate mousse cake
White Chocolate

Purple gel color
Purple Sixlets

Buttercream for assembly, tinted purple to match the petals

Steps

1. Use a black Sharpie to draw triangles on parchment paper in various sizes. These triangles will serve as a guide for creating your chocolate petals. I used three sets of triangles, approximately 2, 3, and 4 inches long. I planned to use 5, 6, 7 petals for each layer, respectively, to make total 18 petals. I also planned for an extra petal for each size just in case one breaks during assembly.

2. Melt white chocolate in a small heatproof bowl, over double boiler, and tint it with food color.

3. Flip the pieces of parchment paper over before spreading on the chocolate. Use a small icing spatula to spread melted chocolate onto the triangle template. Work from the tip to the base of the triangle, leaving lines and ridges in the melted chocolate. The base of the triangle will be the outer edge of your petal. Spread the chocolate in a rounded, messy way, not in a solid line. This will give you more of a petal-y look.

4. While the petal is still wet, place it into a bowl to give it shape. Use tape to help hold the petal into place while it dries. Repeat with the rest of your petals.
5. Once petals are completely set, peel away the parchment paper. 

6. Fill a piping bag with buttercream, and use it to attach the largest petals in a circle on the top of the cake, then attached a second layer of smaller petals on top of the first layer, and then the smallest petals. Once petals are in place, pipe some buttercream in the center and attach some sixlets.