Basic Chiffon Cake

Great for making layered cakes.

To my dear cousin Feli,

Here's the basic chiffon cake recipe you asked for.

This cake is soft, moist, fine textured and fluffier than other chiffon recipes I've tried. It freezes well too. The trick is to whip the egg whites until glossy and almost stiff. It's ready when the bowl is overturned the whites will not fall off. Bake at the lower rack of your oven and if you find your cake cracking, try baking at a lower temperature.

Have fun trying!

P/S Now, where's that scrummy cornflakes cookie recipe you promised? LOL 


Ingredients:

• 4 egg yolks
• 80 ml water
• 70g caster sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt (reduce to 1/4 tsp if u like)
• 120g self raising flour
• 1/2 tsp vanilla essence
• 1/2 cup (125 ml) corn oil
• 4 egg whites
• 1/2 tsp cream of tartar
• 70g caster sugar

Method:

• Preheat oven at 160C.

• Beat egg yolks, sugar and salt until sugar dissolves completely. Then, add water, vanilla, oil and self raising flour. Mix well.

• In a clean mixing bowl, whisk egg whites until frothy. Add in the cream of tartar and 1/3 of the 70g caster sugar. Whisk until sugar dissolves before gradually adding in the rest of the sugar. Continue whisking until egg whites form stiff peaks and shiny and would not fall off the bowl when overturned.

• Take a 1/4 of the beaten egg whites and fold in to the egg yolk mixture to lighten the batter. Gently fold in the rest of  the egg whites until well combined (until you see no streaks).

• Pour batter into an 8 inch round deep cake tin with removable base or springform tin (no need to grease or line). 

• Bake at lower rack of the oven for 40-50 minutes or until skewer comes out clean when plunged in the middle of the cake.

• Cool inverted on a wire rack. Remove cake from tin when cake is cooled completely.

Purple Sweet Potato Swiss Roll

It's the end of the month again, just a couple more days before we enter August and here I am scrambling to post my third and final entry for this month's Aspiring Bakers Event. For this month's event, everyone is challenged to try their hand  in swiss roll making. Most home bakers are intimidated by swiss rolls. I was too. Though baking the cake itself is easy, most dread when it comes to rolling for fear of the cake tearing. From my own experience and from other bloggers too, I found recipes that use egg white separation method (ie. chiffon cakes) make cakes that are springier and more flexible for rolling.

Here I made a Purple Sweet Potato Swiss Roll, adapted from a chiffon cake recipe. Just look at that lovely soft  purplish lavender hue ... it's all natural, no artificial coloring was added.  So pretty, so sweet and so girly, don't you think. The more I look at it the more besotted I am with the colour.  The swiss roll was yummy too. Soft, moist, and light.   

I am submitting this entry to Aspiring Bakers #9 - Swiss Rolling Good Times (July 2011) hosted by Obsessedly Involved with Food.


Purple Sweet Potato Chiffon Roll
(Recipe adapted from 'Little House' here)

Note: I have slightly altered  the recipe from the original to include an extra egg yolk, and baked the cake in a swiss roll pan instead of a chiffon cake tin.

Ingredients:

100g purple sweet potato

6 tbs milk

4 egg yolks

20g brown sugar

1/8 tsp salt

50ml canola oil

85g cake flour

4 egg whites

50g white sugar

1/2 tsp cream of tartar

Method:

- Preheat the oven to 350F (177C).

- Wash the sweet potato well and steam until very soft. Using a fork, mash the sweet potato with milk  or alternatively, blend in a food processor until smooth. 

- Whisk together the egg yolks, brown sugar, salt and oil until combined. Add the sweet potato mixture and beat until blended and smooth. Sift in the flour and beat until smooth. 

- In another bowl, beat the egg whites, sugar and cream of tartar until stiff and glossy peaks formed. Add 1/3 of the beaten  egg whites to the yolk mixture and gently mix to loosen a little, then gently fold in the rest of the beaten egg whites until well combined and smooth.

- Pour the batter into a lined (12 x12 inch) swiss roll pan. 

- Place the pan into the oven and bake for 15-20 minutes or until the cake is cooked through (test with slewer).
-  Lift cake from  pan and let cool on a wire rack.
- Once cooled, turn cake on a  clean baking paper and remove the lining. Invert it again. Carefully scrape/slice away the skin.  Spread filling of your choice.  Roll up, trim away the ends. Done!

Lime Curd & Cream Cheese Swiss Roll

I had some leftover lime curd and cream cheese frosting from the courgette cake I had made earlier. What better way to use them all up by making yet another cake! But this time I made a simple swiss roll (recipe here). The tart taste of the lime curd intermingled beautifully with the voluptuous richness of the cream cheese frosting. This is one scrummy swiss roll if  I may say so myself!

I'm submitting this entry to this month's Aspiring Bakers themed 'Swiss Rolling Good Times' hosted by 'Obsessedly Involved With Food' (Details here).

Aunt Flora's Famous Courgette Cake

Honestly, I've never heard of courgette cake let alone tasted one until I came across this recipe in my favorite cookbook, Nigella Lawson's How to be a Domestic Goddess. The only veggie cakes I've ever tried are the classic carrot cake and the sweet pumpkin cake. I was really curious and at the same time a little apprehensive how this courgette cake would turn out. In my mind I was thinking of a very 'green' tasting cake if you get what I mean. But really it was not so. It had  a hint of pleasant cucumber-esque taste and was quite delicious really. Like a carrot cake it was moist and refreshing.  I would make this again as it was so easy to make. However, next time I'll  keep the ingredients secret as my veggie hating Daughter G refused even a teeny bite.  Though the lime curd filling was delicious, I think the zippy citrusy tang overpowered the already subtle and light courgette taste - I'll leave this out next time and just make the cake with the luscious cream cheese icing.

For the cake

60g sultanas, optional

250g courgettes, weighed before grating

2 large eggs

125ml vegetable oil

150g caster sugar
225g self-raising flour
1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
2 x 21cm sandwich tins, greased and lined

Method:

If you're using sultanas, put them in a bowl and cover with warm water to plump them up.

Wash and wipe the courgettes with kitchen towel (don't peel them), then grate using the coarse side of an ordinary grater - anything finer or smaller can make them mushy.  When they're grated turn them into a sieve over the sink to drain off excess water.

Put the eggs, oil and sugar in a bowl and beat until creamy.  Sieve in the flour, bicarb and baking powder and continue to beat until well combined.  Now stir in the grated courgette and add the drained sultanas if using.  Pour the mixture into the tins and bake for 30 mins until slightly browned and firm to the touch.  Leave in the tins on a rack for 5-10 mins then turn out and let cool until you're ready to fill and ice.

For the Lime Curd filling

(Makes 350ml)

75g unsalted butter
3 large eggs
75g caster sugar
125ml lime juice (of approx 4 limes)
zest of 1 lime

Method:

Melt the butter in a heavy-based saucepan, add all the other ingredients and whisk to a custard over a gentle heat.  Let cool before filling a jar - or a cake - with it.  Keep in the fridge.

For the Cream Cheese Icing

200g cream cheese
100g icing sugar, sieved
juice of 1 lime, or more to taste
2-3 tablespoons chopped pistachio nuts (I used almond nibs)

Method:

Beat the cream cheese in a bowl until smooth, add the icing sugar, beating well to combine, then stir in the lime juice to taste. Spread on cake and sprinkle chopped pistachio uts on top.

About UFOs and Cow Pies

UFO's, anyone?

Here's  my recreation of a popular tart known as UFO, and  among the Chinese speaking community Cow Pie Tart! Call whichever way you like, but Cow Pie seems more endearing to me. Haha, I'm crude!

This delicious tart is a specialty originating from Sandakan, an east coast town in Sabah. It is basically a thin sponge cake with a creamy custard  topping surrounded by soft billowy meringue. This tart or rather cake is usually sold in old style Chinese coffee shops. One tart is never enough, and growing up, I remember this cow pie tart is bought by the carton. In those days, as styrofoam boxes were unheard of  and  take away boxes were not common, empty cigarette cartons were used to pack the cow pies! I still remember the smell of  eggy deliciousness intermingling with tobacco. Ah, nostalgia. 



How about some Cow Pies?



Sponge Sheet Cake
(recipe adapted from Essential Pastries & Cakes by Jimmy Chang)

Ingredients:
5 large eggs
100g icing sugar
30ml water
30ml vegetable oil
100gm superfine flour
1tsp vanilla essence

Method:
1) Using an electric mixer, whisk eggs and sugar until thick fluffy and pale.
2) Sift in flour and vanilla essence. Fold gently until well combined.
3) In another bowl, mix water and oil together. Add in 1/3 of the batter and mix well. Then combine with the rest of the remaining batter.
4) Pour into a baking paper lined swiss roll pan. Bake at 170C for 9 minutes  or until skewer comes out clean when tested.


Pastry Cream
(recipe adapted from Corner Cafe here)

Ingredients:
500ml milk
4 egg yolks
110g caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract or 1 vanilla bean
4 tbsp cornflour
1 pinch salt (only if not adding butter, or using unsalted butter)
50g unsalted butter, for additional shine and firmness

Method:
1. Whisk together egg yolks, 1/4 cup milk (60ml), sugar and vanilla extract. Mix in cornflour and salt (if using).
2. In a saucepan, bring the remaining milk to just below boiling point. Slowly pour the hot milk in small stream into the egg mixture while stirring constantly with a whisk (very important). Once incorporated, pour everything back into the saucepan.
3. Whisk the mixture over medium heat until it thickens and firms up. Remove from heat and whisk in butter.
4. Pour the hot custard into a bowl and plunge the bottom of the bowl into another larger bowl of iced-water to cool, give it a whisk. (Or you could transfer the hot custard into a wide bowl, then cover with  clingfilm  pressed against it  and leave aside to cool completely.) Keep in the refrigerator until ready to use.

Meringue

Ingredients:
4 egg whites
6 tablespoons caster sugar

Method:
Beat egg whites and caster sugar until fluffy, shiny and stiff. Do not overbeat. The meringue  should be smooth when piped out.(I had overbeaten mine a little. Hence, the lumpy appearence.)


Assembly:
With a 3 inch round cookie cutter, stamp out individual cake bases from the sponge sheet. Then, using a piping bag, pipe meringue  on top of cake base along the cicumference to make a wall to contain the pastry cream. Once that's done, pipe the pastry cream to fill the middle. Turn on the grill function of your oven (upper heat element) and  bake until the meringue is lightly browned. You can also do this with a blowtorch if you own one. Done!
Note: There will be a lot of leftover pastry cream and meringue. I'd suggest cutting the respective recipes in half.

Swiss Roll with Stawberry Jam Filling

Out of the blue my Daughter, G requested for a swiss roll cake. Peculiarly she dislikes cream filling in swiss rolls and insisted that the swiss roll I make is filled with strawberry jam. And mind you not any strawberry jam will do. It has to be ARTIFICIAL strawberry jam; you know, those cheapo bright red coloured jams with zero fruit content. Yes, my G is quirky sometimes. But I can see why she preferred the artificial strawberry jam. The cheapo jam does not contain any fruit pieces and hence, no seeds will get in the way, so to speak. The jam is just basically a  strawberry flavoured jelly and it is also what I suspect most bakeries are using in their filled donuts and cakes. I've to admit I quite like it myself, reminds me of the donuts I used to eat by the bagful during my student days  :P

Here it is, simple swiss roll recipe (adapted from Baking Library here) with artificial strawberry jam.


Ingredients:

80g egg yolks, room temperature
25g castor sugar
2tbs + 1 tsp corn oil
2tbs + 1 tsp water or milk
75g cake flour
160g egg whites
60g castor sugar

strawberry jam, or any jam or filling of your choice


Method:

1) Preheat oven to 180 °C and line a 12 x 12 inch tin or 10 x 14 inch swiss roll tin with baking/parchment paper.

2) In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, 25g castor sugar, vegetable oil and water until combined. Sift in cake flour and mix until smooth.

3) In a mixing bowl, whisk eggs whites starting with low speed. When the egg whites turn frothy, slowly increase the speed to high and wisk until egg whites reach soft peaks stage. Gradually add the 60g sugar and continue whisking until egg whites are stiff but still not dry. The egg whites should stay intact when the bowl is overturned.

4) Fold one third of the beaten egg whites into the egg yolk mixture to lighten the mixture. Then incorporate the rest of the egg whites one third at a time.  Fold in gently and scrape sides and bottom of bowl with a spatula until batter is well combined and uniformly coloured. Becareful not to deflate.

5) Pour batter into the prepared swiss roll tin. Level the batter and bake for 8 - 11 minutes. Cake is done when an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Allow sheet cake to cool.

6) Carefully turn the baked sheet cake onto a piece of baking/parchment paper. Slowly peel off the attached baking/parchment paper from the cake. Place a new piece of baking/parchment paper over the sponge. Invert the sponge again, carefully. Now, peel of the top piece of baking/parchment paper. The skin would be stuck to the baking/parchment paper and would be removed.

7) With the shorter side/breadth facing you (if using 10 x 14 inch pan), make a shallow slit across the breadth of the cake with a knife, one inch from the edge. Spread on the strawberry jam. Roll the cake up tightly and trim off the ugly ends. Serve.

Black Magic!

This is one super easy chocolate cake, one of the easiest I've ever made. I only needed a mixing bowl and a wooden spoon and with a few quick stirs to combine everything together, I'm done! The best thing is the cake turned out moist, velvety and very soft! And because the texture was so soft it felt fluffy light on the palate. I couldn't believe it because I had my doubts, and was actually expecting a kueh-like flop as the batter was really thin like pancake batter. What a pleasant surprise it was!  

The only complain I'd nit-pick about is the presence of a  strong bicarb pong. As you can see from the recipe, it calls for 2 teaspoons of baking soda. Maybe my tongue was not as sensitive as my nose, though I could smell, I couldn't taste any unpleasant soapy alkaline aftertaste. The baking soda must have been neutralized by the acidity of the natural cocoa powder. The reaction between the two also explains how the cake got its fabulous deep dark hue and its name. Black Magic indeed! 

On a side note, in baking especially chocolate cakes, it is very  important to use the type of cocoa powder specified in the recipe. Recipes that are leavened with baking soda usually require natural cocoa (Not Dutch processed!) so that the alkalinity of the baking soda can neutralize the natural  cocoa's acidity. On the other hand, those that are leavened with baking powder would require Dutch processed cocoa powder. In case you really need to make substitutions from what is called for (bearing in mind the results will most likely differ along with the substitutions), try the formula here.

I am submitting this entry to Aspiring Bakers #7: Chocolate Delight (May 2011), hosted by Doris of Tested & Tasted.

Black Magic Cake

(Recipe adapted from Allrecipes here)

Ingredients:

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups white sugar
3/4 cup unsweetened natural cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup strong brewed coffee (or use 2 tsp instant coffee granules disoolved in 1 cup water)
1 cup buttermilk  (or use 1/4 cup buttermilk powder dissolved in 1 cup water)
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract


Method:

1. Preheat oven to 175 ° C. Grease and flour two 9 inch round cake pans. In large bowl combine flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Make a well in the center.
2. Add eggs, coffee, buttermilk, oil and vanilla. Beat for 2 minutes on medium speed. Batter will be thin. Pour into prepared pans.
3. Bake at 175 °C for 30 to 40 minutes, or until toothpick inserted into center of cake comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes, then remove from pans and finish cooling on a wire rack. Fill and frost as desired.

Notes:

I've baked mine into cupcakes which took about 20 minutes to bake and frosted them with Chocolate Ganache.


Chocolate Ganache
(from Ina Garten's Barefoot Contessa)

Ingredients:
8 oz bittersweet chocolate
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 tsp instant coffee granules

Method:
Cook the chocolate, heavy cream and coffee granules in a double boiler over simmering water until smooth and warm, stirring occasionally.

Black & White Mousse Cake

Have you ever wondered how the oreo cookies got their deep dark black colour? Well, the secret lies in the use of  black cocoa powder. It is essentially  a super alkalized cocoa powder. Normal alkalized cocoa powder which is known as Dutch process cocoa powder is made from cocoa beans that have been treated with alkali solution to neutralize their acidity, and thus, creates cocoa powder that is darker in colour and milder and less bitter in flavour as compared to natural cocoa powder which is simply made from ground roasted cocoa beans. The more alkaline it is the darker the cocoa becomes. Hence, from super alkalizing  or extreme Dutch processing you get black cocoa powder. The black cocoa powder is used mostly for its color and not for its flavor. On its own the black cocoa powder has very little cocoa flavor and it leaves a soapy aftertaste - and in my opinion it also tastes like charcoal. Therefore it is recommended that the black cocoa powder  is used mixed with another cocoa powder either natural or regular Dutch process  in your bakings.




Sometime back, on a regular haunt at my local baking supply store I had come across this black cocoa powder for the very first time. It's the darkest blackest cocoa powder I've seen. Coming from a small town some baking ingredients can be really hard to come by. Fearing that it may not  be restocked,  I grabbed a packet eventhough I had no idea what to do with it. Needless to say  it remained stashed away in my kitchen pantry with no purpose until now. Blame it on impulsive (kiasu) buying! Heh. Thanks to Aspiring Bakers I've finally used the black cocoa powder - though I barely made a dent. I made a black chocolate sponge cake, split then layered with white chocolate mousse before finishing off with a covering of shiny black chocolate glaze. I really love the how the cake looked. The visual contrast of the black and white was so striking and mesmerizing. Love it!

This will be my entry for this month's Aspiring Bakers#7 - Chocolate Delight (May 2011) hosted by DG from Tested & Tasted. Do join in the fun and show off your gorgeous bakes!


Black Chocolate Sponge Cake (Adapted from here)
2 large eggs
67g caster sugar

1/2 tbs liquid glucose

1/8 tsp salt 

2 tbs vegetable oil
5g cocoa powder
5g black cocoa powder
53 g cake flour
1/8 tsp baking soda
1 tbs milk

White Chocolate Mousse (Adapted from the cookbook Baking Code by Alex Goh)

50g milk

20g sugar

1 egg yolk

60g white couverture chocolate (melted)
2 tsp gelatine
30g water
140g whipped cream


Chocolate Glaze
1/2 tbs gelatin powder
60g heavy cream
60g granulated sugar
50g water
20g unsweetened cocoa powder
10g black cocoa powder


Method:

Black Chocolate Sponge Cake: Preheat oven to 170°C. Prepare a 6 inch  round baking tin with removable base.Gently warm up vegetable oil, mix in the cocoa powder and the black chocoa powder. Set aside. Whip eggs,caster sugar and salt at high speed until sugar dissolved. Add in the liquid glucose and continue whipping till ribbon stage- (Very important! The mixture must be well beaten till very fluffy and thick. When the beater is lifted, it leaves a riboon like trail that will dissipate into the batter after a count of ten). Sift in  flour and baking soda, mix at medium speed for 20 seconds until just combined.
In another  bowl, take some batter and mix with the cocoa mixture together with the milk until well blended. Pour back into the batter and fold in until well combined. Pour batter into tin and bake for about 25 minutes  or when skewer comes out clean when tested. Remove from oven and cool upside down on a wire rack. Once cooled, remove cake from tin.

White Chocolate Mousse: Bring milk to boil. In a separate bowl, combine egg yolk and sugar. Gradually pour in the boiling milk, mix well. Then pour back into the pan and cook for 1 minute. Remove from heat. Mix in the melted white chocolate and set aside. In a separate bowl, sprinkle the gelatine over the water and set aside for the gelatine to soften. Then place over double boiler and cook until gelatine has completely melted. Now combine the dissolved gelatine with the white chocolate mixture.Cool over ice water to 30°C. Fold in the whipped ceam.

Chocolate Glaze: In a small bowl, sprinkle gelatin over 1 & 1/2 tablespoon water. Set aside to soften. In a saucepan, combine heavy cream, sugar, water and cocoa powder. Bring to a boil. Let boil for 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and add in the softened gelatin. Mix well then sieve. Let cool a while. Once the mixture has thicken, use immediately.

Assembly: Line a 6" removable base cake tin or cake ring with a piece of sponge cake. Pour in half the mousse then lay another piece of sponge cake before topping with the remainder of mousse. Cover and chill in the fridge until the mousse set. Once set, remove the cake tin/cake ring. Make the chocolate glaze then pour over the whole cake to cover. Leave a while for the glaze to set then keep in the fridge to chill before serving. Decorate as desired.

Swiss Carrot Cake

My mom is a big fan of carrot cake. In honour of Mother's Day I've baked her a carrot cake using Sonja Watson's winning recipe from the People's Cookbook, a British TV cooking show. Believe it or not, there's no oil or butter in the recipe! The cake turned out to be tender and very moist. It was also lightly spiced and tasted refreshing with a hint of lemon.

As I was busy  capturing pictures of the sliced cake, my Daughter G couldn't wait to tuck into the cake and kept pestering me. For a person who never fancied carrot cake before, I was surprised at her eargerness to eat the cake. To my amazement, she even helped herself to a second piece! I guess that says alot about this cake.

Swiss Carrot Cake
(Recipe from The People's Cookbook)

Ingredients:
5 eggs, separated
250 gm sugar
1/2 lemon, finely grated zest and strained juice
100 gm plain flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla extract
250 gm carrots, grated
250 gm ground almonds

Kirsch Icing:
200 gm icing sugar
1 tbsp water
1 tbsp kirsch
50 gm almonds, dry roasted and finely chopped

Method:
1.  Grease a 22 cm springform cake tin.
2. Whisk the egg whites in a bowl with a tiny pinch of salt until they are stiff, then set them aside. Mix the egg yolks and sugar in another bowl until smooth, and stir in the lemon zest and juice. Add the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, carrots and almond meal and mix everything together well. Gently fold in the whisked egg whites.
3. Pour the mixture into the cake tin and put it into an unheated oven. Set the oven to 180C/350F, and bake the cake for 50–60 minutes until it is baked through. Test by inserting a skewer into the centre of the cake and removing it; if it comes out clean, the cake is ready. Remove the cake from the oven and allow it to cool in the tin for 10 minutes. Turn it out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
4. For the Kirsch icing: sift the icing sugar into a bowl and mix it with the water and kirsch until you have a smooth paste. Pour this on to the cold cake and spread it evenly over the top and sides, using a warm knife. Finally coat the sides and rim of the cake with a 2–3 cm wide band of the almonds.




Happy Mother's Day!



Where's the butter?

That's precisely what you'll be thinking when you're told that there's no butter in this cake. This cake smells buttery, tastes buttery and looks buttery  just like any butter cakes. But instead of butter it uses whipped cream. The texture is very tender and velvety, way better than any butter cakes. You can even take a big greedy mouthful bite and that wodge of cake will glide down your throat ever so pleasantly. You don't need to reach out for a cup of water. My hats off to Rose Levy Beranbaum for such a lovely cake. Do check out my fellow blogger Jess's (Jess Kitchen) perfect looking cake here. I swear you'd definitey be itching to try out the recipe after looking at her beautiful cake.   

Whipped Cream Cake

(adapted from 'Rose's Heavenly Cakes's by Rose Levy Beranbaum )

Ingredients:

225g cake flour

2 tsps baking powder

3/4 tsp salt

348g heavy cream (or uht dairy whipping cream with at least 35% - 40% fat content)

3 large eggs, at room temperature

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

225g superfine sugar (reduced to 175g)

Method:

1. Grease and flour a 10-cup fluted pan or bundt pan. Preheat oven to 175C.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the cake flour, baking powder and salt and then sift them together to make the mixture easier to incorporate.
3. In another bowl, whip the cream, starting on low speed, gradually raising the speed to medium-high as it thickens, until stiff peaks form when the beater is raised.
4. In a small bowl, whisk the egg and vanilla just until lightly combined.
5. On medium-high speed, gradually beat the egg mixture into the whipped cream. The mixture will thicken into mayonnaise consistency (unless high-butterfat cream is used).
6. Gradually beat in the sugar, it should take about 30s to incorporate it.
7. Add half of the flour mixture to the cream mixture, and with a large spatula , stir and fold the flour until most of it disappear, continue with remaining flour mixture.
8. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the surface.
9. Bake in preheated oven for 25-35mins, or until a wooden toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean and the cake springs back when pressed lightly in the centre.
10. Let the cake cool in the pan for 10mins before unmolding and cool completely on a wire rack before serving.

Torta alla Gianduia

As I've mentioned in my earlier post, April is a month of birthdays and that includes yours truly here. :) This year I have specifically instructed my nearest & dearests NOT to buy a birthday cake for me as I wanted to bake my own. You see, there are just so many recipes - too many! in my to-try list (which gets longer & longer everyday), I doubt I'll ever finish trying all in my lifetime!

After all that mousse (here) and cheese (here), I wanted something simple. For my cake, I've chosen Torta alla Gianduia or plainly known as Nutella Cake from none other than the domestic goddess herself, Nigella Lawson. Mind you, though simple & easy to whip up, this flourless cake was nothing short of decadent! A WHOLE jar of nutella is required, imagine that!  It was dense yet soft, gooey-ly rich, nutty and moist with a texture of a cross between pudding and fudgy brownie. Mamamia!



U only live once -INDULGE!



Though a year older, I still feel as young as when I was 18 years old! Now, if you're wondering how old I am - well I'm sorry, I'm not going to divulge my age. I had no problem a few years back but now it has become a little sensitive for me, more so with each passing year! I hate to think I'm growing old, so let me be forever 18! Hahaha! Here's a quote I like very much which I think is very appropriate to share with u all - Growing old is compulsory but growing up is optional! :)

Cheers!


Torta alla Gianduia @ Nutella Cake
(adapted from Nigella Lawson's "How to be a Domestic Goddess" Cookbook)

Note: Recipe is halved to fit a 7 inch round cake tin. Please keep tab on the baking time for this size, u may need less than the baking time called for. Mine needed exactly 40 minutes.

For the cake
3 large eggs -- separated
small pinch of salt
60g soft butter
1/2  jar of Nutella (200 g)
1/2  tablespoon water (use Frangelico or rum, if u have)
50g finely ground hazelnuts
50g dark chocolate, melted

For the icing
70 ml double cream
60g dark chocolate

Method:

Preheat oven to 175 degrees C.

Prepare a 7-inch springform pan or a loose base pan: grease and line with parchment or wax paper.

In a large bowl, whisk the eggs whites and salt until stiff but not dry. In a separate bowl, beat the butter and Nutella together, then add water (or what you're using), egg yolks, and ground hazelnuts. Fold in the cooled, melted chocolate, then lighten the mixture with a dollop of egg white, which you can beat in as roughly as you want, before gently folding the rest of them in a third at a time. Pour into the prepared pan and cook for  40 minutes or until the cake's beginning to come away at the sides (or when skewer comes out clean), then let cool on rack with cake still in mold.

In a heavy-bottomed sauce pan, add the cream and chopped chocolate and heat gently. Once the chocolate's melted, take the pan off the heat and whisk until it reaches the right consistency to ice just the top of the cake. Unmold the cooled cake carefully. Ice the top with the chocolate icing, and decorate with  hazelnuts if u wish. Serve with a whipped cream or ice cream.

Calamansi Yoghurt Cake



Satisfyingly moist & tender!



This was originally a lemon yoghurt cake recipe but as I didn't have any lemons on hand I used calamansi limes instead. Lo and behold, a Clamansi Yoghurt Cake is born!  A very delicious moist one too!

    

Calamansi Yoghurt Cake

Ingredients:

110g butter

100g caster sugar

2 egg yolks

1 tsp grated clamansi rind

30 ml calamansi juice

125 g plain yoghurt

140 g plain flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp bicarb soda

2 egg whites

1/8 tsp salt

40 g caster sugar

Icing:

55 g icing sugar

1 tbs water

Method:

1) Preheat oven to 170 deg Centigrade. Prepare a greased and floured ring pan. Sift together plain flour, baking powder and bicarb of soda. Set aside.

2)  Beat butter and 100g caster sugar until light and fluffy.Slowly beat in yolks. Blend well. Add  calamansi rind and juice.

3) Fold in yoghurt and plain flour itermittently in batches. Combine well.

4) In another bowl, whisk egg whites until frothy. Still whsiking, gradually add the 40g sugar and salt. Whisk until soft peak forms.

5) Gently combine egg whites with the flour mixture.

6) Pour batter into prepared pan, bake 30-35 minutes or till cooked.

7) Remove and leave to cool on a wire rack.

8) Icing: Beat icing sugar and water till creamy. Put into piping bag and pipe on top of cooled cake.

Note: I baked mine in a 4x8 inch loaf pan and a few cupcakes. Adjust baking time accordingly. 



Calamansi Yoghurt Cupcakes, anyone? 



Mandarin Orange Chiffon Cake

 So moist & soft!

The Chinese New Year celebration has come and gone over a month ago, and believe it or not, I still have a basketful of Mandarin oranges left sitting in my fridge! When I found out this month's Aspiring Bakers' Challenge hosted by Jess of Bakericious is themed Fruity March  (details here), I quickly took up the challenge. What better way of disposing those oranges than to bake a delicious citrusy cake with them. Talk about killing 2 birds with 1 stone. Heh.



Mandarin Orange Chiffon Cake
(Recipe from "My Kitchen Snippet" here.)

Ingredients :
(A)

1 3/4 cup Self Rising Flour

1/8 tsp of salt

(B)

6 egg yolks

1/2 cup of sugar

3/4 cup Mandarin orange juice

zest of 1 orange

1/4 cup of vegetable oil

(C)

3/4 cup of sugar

6 egg white
1 tsp of cream of tartar

Method:

1. Pre-heat oven to 325 degree F / 165 deg Centigrade. Sieve all the (A) ingredients in a mixing bowl until well combined.
2. Mix (B) ingredients  until well blended and then add in ingredient (A) and mix until smooth. Set aside.
3. Beat (C) ingredients using a mixer on high speed until stiff peak. It should not fall out when you turn the mixing bowl over. Fold 1/3 of the egg whites into the egg yolk mixture to loosen the mixture, then fold in the rest of the egg whites. Remember to fold in gently until well mixed.
4. Pour batter into ungreased 10" tube pan and bake for an hour. Use a bamboo skewer to test the cake for doneness.
5. Remove from oven and invert cake (in pan still) and leave to cool completely. When completely cooled, loosen the edge of the pan and remove cake from pan.

Vanilla Butter Cake

 

Vanilla Butter Cake from the Australian Women's Weekly Cake & Slices Cookbook. This is one good ol' recipe that my family like and praise everytime. Tender and moist this butter cake uses a different method of mixing unlike the usual creaming method where the butter is beaten with sugar till fluffy. Instead, in this recipe, the eggs are beaten with sugar and the butter is melted before incorporating into the batter.



My Daughter G's favourite kinda cake! 





 

Vanilla Butter Cake Recipe

(Australian Women's Weekly Cake & Slices Cookbook)

Ingredients:

125g Butter
3 Eggs
1 Cup Castor Sugar
1 Tablespoon Vanilla Essence
3/4 Cup Milk
1 1/2 Cup Self- Raising Flour

Method:

1) Grease a deep 19cm square cake pan, line base with paper, grease paper.  (I used 8" round pan)
2) Combine butter and milk in saucepan, stir constantly over heat until butter is melted. Remove from heat; cool to room temperature.
3) Beat eggs and vanilla essence using electric mixer until thick and creamy; gradually add sugar, beat until dissolved between addition. (I beat until very thick & fluffy ribbon stage)
4) Transfer mixture to a large bowl, stir in half the sifted flour and half the butter mixture, then remaining flour and butter mixture. Pour into prepared pan. Bake in 190° C oven for about 45 mins. Stand 2 minutes before turning on to wire rack to cool.

Note:

1 Cup = 250 ml
1 Tablespoon = 20 ml

Green Tea Tiramisu

When I first saw this recipe here, I thought 'How ingenious! How come I've never thought of that?' I've eaten green tea ice cream, green tea mochi, green tea chiffon cake, green tea butter cake but GREEN TEA TIRAMISU? How interesting! I knew instantly I had to make it ... and I made it just in time for a family reunion potluck dinner.

I was afraid the cake would not hold up well and fall apart after unmoulding (it would've been a total disaster!), so I brought the cake to the potluck still in its tin.

Ta-daaa! Just before serving, I removed the tin with the help of  2 or maybe 3 other persons, I couldn't exactly remember, my mind was fuzzy as I concentrated hard not to ruin the cake whilst unmoulding. Phew! It was intense! LOL! I must admit the cake looked pretty good except for the icky green which my Daughter said looked like algae!.

This was how it looked like inside. It tasted very light and the green tea flavour was refreshing and very mild. I just wish I had sprinkled green tea powder on every layer of the sponge fingers for a stronger green tea taste.

Green Tea Tiramisu

(Recipe adapted from the blog "The Scent of Green Bananas" here)

Ingredients:

3 egg yolks

1/3 cup white caster sugar (I've reduced the sugar by 2 tablespoons)
8oz mascarpone cheese
1 cup dairy whipping cream
1 tsp vanilla extract
cointreau, or any orange flavoured liqueur (I've omitted this and replaced with the juice of half a lemon)
green tea powder
1-2 c brewed strong green tea, cooled
3 egg whites
savoiardi (sponge fingers)

Note:

1) I used an 8 inch round removable base cake tin as the mould. There was about 1/3 cup leftover filling. I used about 36 pieces of sponge fingers.

2) To the 1 cup dairy whipping cream, I've added 2 Tbs icing sugar and 2 Tbs piping gel during whipping. This is to stabilize the whipped cream.

3) To tone down the bitterness of the green tea powder, I've mixed  in some icing sugar prior to dusting the top of the cake. Due to condensation (hot humid weather here), the mixture melted .... and became 'icky green algae'! LOL!

Method:

1. Beat the egg yolks and sugar in a bowl set over pan of simmering water, until pale yellow. Remove from heat and add the mascarpone cheese and beat until smooth and creamy. Do not overbeat!

2. In a separate bowl, whip the cream. Add vanilla and orange liqueur, then fold into the mascarpone mixture and blend well.
3. In yet another bowl, beat the egg whites to stiff peaks. Fold gently into creamy mascarpone mixture. 
4. Dip sponge fingers into the brewed green tea, then layer them on the bottom of a serving dish. Spread the creamy mascarpone mixture top, and repeat layers.
7. Refrigerate for at least a couple of hours or overnight.
8. Dust with green tea  powder just before serving.

Triple Chocolate Mousse Cake

Happy Birthday Mom!

My mom turned 59 on Boxing Day. 

A birthday is just not complete without a birthday cake, right?

Homemade birthday cake, Triple Chocolate Mousse Cake. It has 3 components ... chocolate sponge cake, chocolate mousse filling and chocolate ganache coating.

After finishing a slice, Mom declared, 'awfully chocolaty cake'! and proceeded with a second slice. :)

Triple Chocolate Mousse Cake.

Ingredients:

1) Chocolate Sponge Cake
    (recipe here)

* Note: I've halved the recipe to make a 7 inch round cake.


2) Chocolate Mousse Filling
    (recipe adapted from Alex Goh's 'Temptation of Chocolate")

*Note: I've used half portion only and added 1/2 tsp vanilla essence.

    100 g dark chocolate
    30 g sugar
    3 egg yolks
    250 g whipped dairy cream
   

Method:
1) Melt chocolate. Set aside.
2) In a double boiler or a bowl over simmering water, whisk together egg yolks and sugar until thicken and pale.
3) Remove egg yolks mixture from heat and combine with the melted chocolate. Leave to cool.
4) Mix chocolate mixture with whipped cream.


3) Chocolate Ganache Coating
    (recipe adapted from  Alex Goh's 'Temptation of Chocolate")

*Note: This amount provided more than enough coating for the cake. I reckon this amount can cover even a 9 inch round cake.

    150 g whipping cream
    250 g dark chocolate, chopped
    15 g butter

Method:
1) Heat whipping cream till almost boiling. Remove from heat.
2) Add chopped chocolate into the heated cream. Stir lightly until chocolate is completely melted.
3) Add in the butter and mix until combined.Leave aside to cool. It will thicken.

To assemble:
Split sponge cake in half. Place one layer  in a removable base cake tin or a cake ring. (At this point I brushed some Kahlua on the sponge. You can brush with any liquer you like or omit this step altogether. It's optional). Pour in the chocolate mousse filling. Top it with the second layer of sponge cake. Leave in the refrigerator to set for at least 6 hours. Remove cake from tin. Pour cooled chocolate ganache over cake. Decorate as desired. Put the chococolate covered ganache cake back into the refrigerator to set the ganache. Take cake out when it's time to cut cake. Do not leave cake out in room temperature for long duration or the mousse will melt and become one chocolaty mess. Enjoy!