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I want to make a Paul Bradford moist chocolate cake with ganache which is then royal iced. Is this ok? Or will I have to cover with thin layer of sugar paste first?

Hi sandbachbean

Royal icing is usually used for covering rich fruit celebration cakes. I’m not sure quite how it would behave on a ganached sponge or mud cake. These have a higher moisture content which may affect how well the royal icing dries. You definitely would need to cover the cake first with either marzipan or a layer of sugarpaste to make a barrier between the ganache and royal icing. However it will be dreadfully sweet.
Royal icing is applied to a dry flat surface, if you use either marzipan or sugarpaste as a barrier it will need to be very dry. . Personally I would just use sugarpaste like Paul does but it’s up to you how you do it. How about trying this out on a small trial cake to see whether the results are pleasing? It will also help to determine how the moisture affects the royal icing. Better to safe than sorry! Perhaps other members will say what they would do.

Thank you
This is for a wedding cake & we want to achieve a rustic effect with rough royal icing
We will do a trial cake – I have a small choc cake in the freezer which I could use

I hadn’t realised you wanted a rustic look, I thought you wanted to flat ice. I think a rustic look can be achieved providing you allow the sugarpaste to dry for a couple of days before swirling on thin layers of royal icing. More royal icing can be applied when the first layer dries. Allow the cake to defrost completely to help minimize the amount of moisture which will be coming into contact with the icing. Your feed back on how it works out would be greatly appreciated so that others may learn from your experience. Good luck, hope it goes well x