Before she went to culinary school, before she competed on MasterChef, before she staged at some of the top restaurants in the world, Jennifer Maune was baking cakes—one in particular, for her husband, every Valentine’s Day.
“When my now-husband told me he loved me for the first time, it was Valentine’s Day, and he ordered a layered chocolate mousse, raspberry, and chocolate ganache cake from a local bakery,” the Arkansas-based chef remembers. As a tradition, they started ordering the cake every February 14. But the bakery closed, and Maune, then a blogger and home baker, tasked herself with recreating the dessert. “At that time it was the most difficult pastry I had ever tried,” she says, but she perfected it and made it year after year.
Then, at age forty—while pregnant with her sixth child—Maune decided to pursue her dream of attending culinary school. She graduated with honors, applied to compete on MasterChef, and made the cut to represent the South on the TV show’s thirteenth season. Desserts proved to be her signature, and in the season finale she made her “I love you” cake. “The producers loved the story behind the cake, but the challenge was that I needed to elevate it to a fine-dining dessert concept,” she recalls. The result? A French entremet with delicate layers of chocolate mousse, raspberry mousse, chocolate cake, Chambord folded into a raspberry coulis, and chocolate ganache—so good that when Gordon Ramsay bit into it he told Maune he had three words for her: “I love you.”
She finished that 2023 season as a runner-up, and just a few years later she’s at work opening Fleur, a French-meets-Southen restaurant in her hometown of Little Rock. It’s slated to debut in late spring with its own pastry shop, which will serve the famous cake. “I’m holding onto the recipe, and I tell everyone who wants it that they’ll just have to come to Fleur,” Maune says.
But while she’s keeping that particular recipe under wraps, she shared a few general tips for upping your cake-baking game—and maybe winning some hearts of your own.
Get outside your comfort zone.
“Never be afraid to try something that looks difficult because every new task you try, every new tool you use, every new concept you learn in the kitchen only helps elevate your skills. That’s how I started as a home baker. And then, of course, it’s very rewarding when you accomplish something new in the kitchen.”
Play with flavor combinations.
“I love mixing in interesting flavors. For instance, with my lemon mousse cake, I use lemon mousse because it’s really light and fresh but then combine it with lemon curd, which has a distinct tart flavor. Then I add in raspberries for a little bit of sweetness. I want to think about what creates a balanced bite, even in baking. Savory elements like almond help with that, too.”
Do sweat the small stuff.
“Before I even start baking, I measure everything out to make sure I have what I need. On the flour, don’t just get a measuring cup and go into your bag. Always fill the measuring cup with spoonfuls of flour and then level it off. If you’re working with powdered sugar or cocoa, you have to always sift. Don’t overmix your batter. Prep your pans properly—either lightly flour them or use a cooking spray, and I always use parchment paper on top of that. All of these are tried-and-true baking steps, and they really make a difference.”
Don’t just set it and forget it.
“I rotate both of my cake pans 50 percent in the oven—do it very gently. I’ll also then switch what rack they’re on, whether it’s the top rack, the middle rack, or the bottom rack. Doing that just helps with overall evenness in the baking. After doing that, I wait till the baking time is over before opening it again. That way you protect the top of your cakes.”
Make your own icing.
“There are a couple of things that I am a stickler for that don’t take a lot of time. Making homemade icing is one of them. It tastes a thousand times better, and it’s really easy to do. My buttercream icing, for instance, is light and easy to use. The same goes for whipping cream; instead of using something from the grocery store out of a spray bottle, I always make my own. The more of your elements that are scratch-made will give you a better end product every time.” For her buttercream icing, Maune uses a simple mixture of butter, powdered sugar, vanilla extract, lemon juice, and salt.
Get artsy with the decoration.
“Baking is not only science, it’s also artistry. I consider my desserts my art on a plate. I love adding buttercream flowers like roses and peonies. If you have the right icing tips, they really are easy to do. You can play with different shapes and colors and even different pressures with the icing bag in your hand.” View the full tutorial, complete with the supplies you need.
Lindsey Liles joined Garden & Gun in 2020 after completing a master’s in literature in Scotland and a Fulbright grant in Brazil. The Arkansas native is G&G’s digital reporter, covering all aspects of the South, and she especially enjoys putting her biology background to use by writing about wildlife and conservation. She lives on Johns Island, South Carolina.
