Crafting The Perfect Chabela Wedding Cake

Chabela wedding cake is a traditional Mexican wedding cake, made famous by the novel and film 'Like Water for Chocolate'. The recipe is included in the novel, and the cake features in the film when the protagonist, Tita, makes it for her sister's wedding. The cake is said to be so delicious that everyone who eats it feels heartbroken and longs for their lost loved ones. The recipe includes 17 eggs, 175 grams of sugar, 300 grams of cake flour, and the grated peel of one lime. The cake is filled with apricot jam and topped with a lime fondant and meringue icing.

Ingredients: 17 eggs, 175g sugar, 300g cake flour, grated lime peel

The Chabela wedding cake is a traditional Mexican wedding cake, made famous by the novel and film 'Like Water for Chocolate'. The recipe includes 17 eggs, 175g of sugar, 300g of cake flour and the grated peel of one lime.

To begin making the cake, place 5 egg yolks, 4 whole eggs, and the sugar in a large bowl. Beat this mixture until it thickens, and then add 2 more whole eggs. Repeat this process, adding the remaining eggs two at a time until all the eggs have been added. When the last two eggs have been beaten in, beat in the grated lime peel. Continue beating until the mixture has thickened, and then stop. Add the sifted flour, mixing it in gradually with a wooden spoon until all the flour is incorporated.

Finally, grease a pan with butter and dust it with flour. Pour the batter into the pan and bake for 30 minutes. This recipe makes a dense, soft, and not-too-sweet cake.

For the filling, heat 150 grams of apricot paste with a little water. Once the mixture comes to a boil, strain it through a hair or flour sieve. Place the paste in a pan, add 150 grams of sugar, and heat while stirring. Keep heating until the mixture forms a marmalade. Remove from the heat and allow it to cool slightly before spreading it on the middle layer of the cake, which should be sliced into layers.

To make the fondant icing, combine 800 grams of sugar and water in a pan. Heat this mixture, stirring constantly, until it boils. Strain it into another pan and return to the heat. Add lime juice and cook until it reaches the soft-ball stage, wiping the edge of the pan with a damp cloth to prevent crystallisation. Pour the mixture into a damp pan, sprinkle with water, and allow it to cool. Once cool, beat with a wooden spoon until creamy. To ice the cake, add a tablespoon of milk to the fondant, heat it, and add a drop of red food colouring. Frost only the top part of the cake with the fondant icing.

For the meringue icing, beat 10 egg whites and 500 grams of sugar together until they reach the coarse-thread stage. Frost the rest of the cake with this meringue icing.

Method: Whisk eggs, sugar, add flour, grease pan, bake for 30 mins

First, grab a large bowl and place 5 egg yolks, 4 whole eggs, and 175g of refined granulated sugar inside. Whisk the eggs and sugar together until the mixture thickens. Then, add 2 more whole eggs and beat the mixture again. Repeat this process, adding the remaining 8 eggs two at a time until all the eggs are combined. Once you've added the last two eggs, beat in the grated peel of one lime. Keep whisking until the mixture has thickened.

Now it's time to add the dry ingredients. Stop beating the mixture and slowly add in 300g of sifted cake flour, mixing it in a little at a time with a wooden spoon. Be careful not to overmix!

Finally, grease a baking pan with butter, dust it with flour, and gently pour the batter into it. Your Chabela wedding cake batter is now ready to be baked!

Place the pan in the oven, which should be preheated to 350°F, and bake for around 30 minutes. While the cake is baking, you can start preparing the filling and fondant icing.

Filling: Apricot paste, granulated sugar, heat, stir, spread on middle layer

To make the filling for a Chabela wedding cake, you will need 150 grams of apricot paste and 150 grams of granulated sugar.

First, heat the apricot paste with a little bit of water. Once the mixture begins to boil, strain it through a hair or flour sieve, or a coarser strainer if you don't have access to either of those.

Next, place the paste in a pan and add the granulated sugar. Heat this mixture, stirring constantly, until it forms a marmalade.

Remove the pan from the heat and allow the mixture to cool slightly. Before assembling your cake, spread the apricot filling on the middle layer, which should have been previously sliced into layers.

Fondant icing: Combine sugar, water, heat, add lime juice, beat until creamy

To make the fondant icing for a Chabela wedding cake, you'll need the following ingredients:

• 800 grams of granulated sugar
• 60 drops of lime juice
• Water
• A tablespoon of milk
• A drop of red food colouring

First, combine the sugar and water in a pan and heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture comes to a boil. Then, strain the mixture into another pan and return it to the heat. Add the lime juice and continue to cook until the mixture reaches the soft-ball stage, wiping the edge of the pan with a damp cloth periodically to prevent the sugar from crystallising.

When the mixture reaches the soft-ball stage, pour it into a damp pan, sprinkle with water, and allow to cool slightly. After it has cooled, beat with a wooden spoon until creamy. To ice the cake, add a tablespoon of milk to the fondant and heat until it softens. Then, add a drop of red food colouring and use this fondant to frost the top part of the cake.

Meringue icing: Beat egg whites, sugar until coarse-thread stage, frost cake

To make meringue icing for a Chabela wedding cake, you'll need 10 egg whites and 500 grams of sugar.

First, place the egg whites and sugar in a bowl and beat them together. Keep beating until the mixture reaches the coarse-thread stage. You can test this by rubbing a bit of the mixture between your fingers—when it's ready, it should feel smooth with no grains of sugar.

Once your mixture has reached the coarse-thread stage, you can frost the rest of the cake with the meringue icing. This recipe makes enough to frost a 3-tier naked cake or about a dozen cupcakes, so double the recipe if you're planning to frost a layer cake.

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