Well today was a whirl of cream & melted chocolate!  It was gateau day!

First off we made up some genoise sponges.  These sponges would be used to make up the gateau's & some battenburg cakes, & were either plain, chocolate, or coloured pale pink (for the battenburg's)  =)

I just went for plain & chocolate sponges in the end, although a small part of me now wishes I'd gone & made a pink sponge too!  But never mind  =)

As a result, I made a plain & chocolate battenburg, the sponges brushed with apricot jam & then rolled in marzipan.

To finish, I crimped the top edge of the battenburg, then piped a small amount of fondant along the top before adding a few small slices of mango & lime  =)

I'm quite pleased with the effect of the crimping; it adds another decorative element to the cake & lifts it somewhat.

I also made a little three tired gateau from the rest of the plain sponge.

I brushed the top of the first sponge with a little apricot liquor, then piped some continental buttercream around the edge.  I filled the inside of the cream with some mango jam/puree, then popped another sponge on top.  Then another layer of cream, before the final sponge, & more cream!

To finish, I smoothed some buttercream on the sides, which I then covered in chocolate curls, before adding a few mango & lime slices to the top, along with a chocolate swirl decoration.

I did something similar with my chocolate sponge, but that was just a two tired affair.

No liquor this time, just lots of cream!  Like the three tired gateau, I smoothed cream on the sides & covered them in more chocolate curls, & then popped another chocolate swirl decoration on top.

I'm not completely happy with the gateau's; the finish isn't perfect & I felt a little rushed trying to get them done, particularly as there wasn't much buttercream left by the time I came to assemble my gateau's.  It was also rather warm in the training room, making any sort of chocolate work tricky (bloomin' Wayne & his baguettes!).

But still, the ideas are there, & with a little less stress & a cooler environment, I'm sure I could create something that looks as pretty as I would like them to  =)

And even if they are a little rough round the edges, they'll still taste great!  =D