My first Daring Bakers Challenge: Filbert Gateau with Praline Buttercream

My first Daring Bakers Challenge was certainly just that. A recipe more than 4 pages in length and 6 hours in the kitchen. Although the bigger challenge may have been sharing this delicious cake. I did dole out portions to my sister and her husband, my boss, my parents (who conveniently forgot to deliver an extra slice to my brother... a mistake or perhaps more cake for Dad???). The rest was for me and my husband and we certainly enjoyed.

3 layers of a filbert based cake layered with praline buttercream and smothered in rich bittersweet chocolate ganache. Every inch of it from scratch. My kitchen has not looked such a mess in a long time!

Here's the cake fresh out of the oven. It was then sliced into 3 layers each topped with praline buttercream. MMM!

After smothering it with ganache, I let it sit for awhile in the fridge before trying my hand at piping. Try piping buttercream when it's 100 degrees outside. A very challenging endeavor indeed! The final product came out tasty, even if I need to work on my decorating skills.

Not a crumb remains (nor a dollop of buttercream, nor a drip of ganache...)

I eagerly await my next challenge. Come back next month for more pictures and adventures.