Palet d'Or

[John McLaughlin]

I made for the first time a Palet d’Or, the classic French dessert that translates to "Golden Puck." I will say it takes preplanning as it is not designed to be made all in the same day. Thus it is time consuming. I used a chocolate ganache between layers and on top and then topped the topped layer with a ultra shiny glaze. The ultra shiny glaze is made the day before and allowed to chill over night in order to set properly and enhance it shine. The cake is easy to make. I did add ground almonds to the cake batter. Let cool and then cut into three layers, add the chocolate ganache and freeze overnight (I only did this for about four hours). Before adding the ultra shiny glaze to the cake reheat heat it in a Bain-Marie to melt. Add to the top of the frozen cake and let it flow down the sides. Place in the refrigerator to defrost. Now here is where I made IMO a major decorating mistake. I tried to smooth the ultra shiny glaze after it began to set. You can see from the photo the damage I did to the shine.