Welcome to the Cake Decorators Q&A

In the video Paul mentions adding Bailey’s Irish Cream and several others have suggested adding orange zest and juice or other flavorings. When and how much of these do you add? I like Bailey’s, and of course orange, cherry, strawberry or banana flavors would taste divine with the chocolate, but are these added to the chocolate sauce? Do they replace some of the water used? How much is needed to give great – but not overpowering flavor?

There are many ways to add different flavours to cake. It can be done by introducing flavours directly into the cake batter or by infusing them into the cream from which the ganache is made. If using simple syrup drenches, these too can be infused with flavourings of choice by boiling or adding into the syrup.
The easiest way would be to use ready available flavours such as these:
http://www.foodieflavours.com/
http://www.thecakedecoratingcompany.co.uk/catalog/index.php?cPath=643&osCsid=u4uk59jvm13e7usho14unie4u2
Many other cake decorating companies stock similar products. Squire’s Kitchen have a very good selection too.

At home you could infuse cream with fruit zest such as orange, lemon, lime, vanilla, herbs and spices and flavoured teas.
Infusing can either be done by boiling the ingredients with the cream and allowing it to steep so the flavour is absorbed or by cool steeping which is best done overnight. Once the flavour has been absorbed, strain off the ingredient, re boil the cream and make ganache in the normal way. The longer an infusion sits the stronger the taste. Keep tasting flavours as not to make them over powering.
All your favouite tipples can be used to flavour ganache. Reduce the cream accordingly to the amount of alcohol used.
To flavour ganache make the ganache up first then add the alcohol which must be at room temperature. Gently incorporate the two until emulsified. It will look split to begin with, don’t worry, it does all go in, just stir gently so as not to release the oils in the ganache.
Fresh fruit puree flavourings can be used. Make a reduction of the fruit first so most of the water in the fruit boils off. If you add some alcohol to the puree when making the reduction the risk of mould growth will be significantly reduced as will changes in the structure of the baked goods. Just be careful how much alcohol you use because flavours develop and become much stronger. Again experiment with small amounts to get the balance right.
You’ve mentioned bananas. These should be fried off in a little butter and caramalised before adding to ganache or batter, a splash of alcohol during frying off will enhance the flavour.
As with all things flavour, experimenting to get an even balance of taste and texture is essential. Start with small amounts and increase as necessary. Remember that flavours develop, boiled infusions will taste stronger and heavier than cold steeped ones. In time you’ll know which flavour pairings work best so don’t use new flavour pairings on client’s cakes until you’ve perfected them!
TIP: When you’re next in the supermarket take a look at the different flavour pairings in the specialty chocolates and biscuits.
To add more flavours and textures, inclusions such as biscuits and flavoured chocolates can be crushed up and mixed in with your fillings.
Another TIP, use heavy spices such as ginger, cloves and cardamom sparingly and keep away from other flavours as they tend to take over and get stronger.
If you don’t want to do any of the above, just sprinkle a little Baileys over the cake layers as shown by Paul.
Baileys liqueur comes in different flavours. Hope some of this info helps.