Jordan Rondel / Owner, The Caker, Los Angeles, CA and Auckland, N.Z.
The intense flavor and vibrant color of The Perfect Purée Cherry Puree inspires The Caker’s Jordan Rondel to make a cherry swirl for her Matcha and Cherry Cake.
“I love to swirl The Perfect Purée onto my iced cakes, or mix it into the icing itself for a vibrant kick of tangy fruitiness,” she says.
The Caker’s locations in New Zealand and Los Angeles have inspired cult followings of Jordan’s custom floral-decorated cakes, her baking kits and her books. She is the author of four cookbooks including, most recently, “Sunday Baking 2,” a compilation of recipes for the glossy magazine insert of The Sunday Star-Times of Auckland.
Jordan’s work is inspired by her early experiences cooking and baking with her grandparents in Paris, where she preferred eating at home to going out. She has a unique ability to bridge decadent and decorous recipes with gluten-free and vegan ones that make the latter taste like the former. On her website, she credits her grandparents by saying, “My ethos is informed by something my grandparents told me when I started: ‘Whatever you make should taste even better than it looks!’”
Jordan’s advice to bakers everywhere? In an interview about her latest book in the New Zealand food lovers’ magazine dish, she says everyone should, “cream your (room temperature) butter and sugar like there’s no tomorrow — this is the best way to truly aerate your cake.” Also, don’t overmix your batter and get to know your oven because they’re all different.
Jordan’s Matcha and Cherry Cake has tart cherries baked into each layer which imparts the health benefits and gentle caffeine kick of matcha on a cake that’s worthy of your beloved this Valentine’s Day.
“The Perfect Purée products are intense in flavor and beautifully rich in color,” Jordan says. “Amongst my favorite purees are the Red Raspberry, Apricot, White Peach and Cherry — all of which embody the true essence of the fruits they are made from.”