Chocolate Cake

In my family, mostly non of them fancy of chocolate. They prefer vanilla over chocolate more. For me, I prefer chocolate, I like the rich and aromatic cocoa. And do you know that chocolate makes people happy and reduce of sarrow and stress, isn't better than seeing a psychiatrist.

It has been so long since I baked a chocolate cake and I'm kind of wanted to eat too. This chocolate cake does not required a lot of ingredient. Just the few simple ingredients that you can find in your kitchen if you are a regular baker. (◕‿-)

Recently the strawberry selling in the supermarket are so bright (red) in colour and consider sweet (the fruits) and it's so match with the dark chocolate cake when placed together.

The chocolate cake is so moist, rich and fragrant even thorough I use fresh milk instead of whipping cream. I bought and used van houten cocoa powder as my hershey cocoa powder had finished up. I glad I bought van houten cocoa although it cost slightly more than hershey brand. I think houten cocoa powder is better even the colour of the cocoa is darker than hershey.

I miss the chocolate cake right now after talking so much here.

Recipes source: Oksashi Book

Ingredient A (Egg Yolk batter):
- 4 egg yolks
- 35gm cake flour
- 50gm cocoa powder
- 100gm sweet chocolate (55% cocoa)
- 80gm unsalted butter (cut into small cubes)
- 40gm castor sugar
- 50 whipping cream (I use low fat fresh milk)

Ingredient B (Egg White/Meringue): 
- 4 egg whites
- 100 castor sugar
- Icing sugar for dusting on the cake

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 170°C. Prepare an 18-cm round cake pan with a removable base. Line with parchment paper on the base and side. 
2. Sift flour and cocoa powder together twice and set aside.
3. Melt chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl set over a pot of simmering water. Once chocolate and butter have melted, add sugar, egg yolks and cream or milk and mix well using a hand whisk. Set aside. *I add in the yolk one at a time and whisk it after every yolk add in.
4. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites till stiff peaks form and glossy. With a hand whisk, fold in 1/3 of the meringue to chocolate mixture and fold. Add flour and cocoa powder and fold in thoroughly. Add the remaining meringue and fold just until incorporated. 
5. Pour batter into prepared cake pan and bake for about 50 min or until a toothpick inserted into the centre and side comes out clean. 
6. When cake is done, unmould from pan and leave to cool on a wire rack.
7. Dust cake with icing sugar, slice and serve. 

Banana Sponge Cake

I got no intention to bake a banana cake but was happen to saw a branch of ripe banana on the kitchen table. The yellow skin start to appear with black dot which mean is quite ripe.

Ripe banana is best to use it to bake a banana cake. I found a recipe from happyhomebaking, which is quite a healthy one. The ingredients use oil instead of butter.

This is not the kind of rich and buttery banana cake but the texture is spongy, soft and light. I don't feel so guilty when I ate 2 slice at a go for breakfast.

I made a mistake, which I underbaked the cake and I didn't know after tasting time. The bottom and outer area are perfectly fine and cooked. The uncooked is on the top centre area.

I tend the cake in the middle of baking because the top area start to brown and I afraid it will burn if I let it bake without tend with a foil. After 40 minute of baking, I used the toothpick and check the cake by inserted toothpick at the side (outer area) and it come out clean but I did not check the centre area. The cake look perfectly fine with a glace on it. A lesson learned, I should do a thoroughly check at different area.

Recipe source: http://happyhomebaking.blogspot.sg/2011/04/my-latest-endeavour.html

Ingredients:
- 3 large eggs, room temperature
- 120g caster sugar (original recipe uses 150g)
- 250g to 300g bananas (3 large ripened bananas, cut into chunks)
- 150g cake flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 80ml vegetable oil (original recipe uses 100ml)
- 20ml milk (I used low fat fresh milk)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Methods:

1. Grease (with butter) and flour sides of an 8" round pan, line the bottom with parchment paper.
2. Sieve together cake flour, baking powder and baking soda. Sieve the flour mixture twice and set it aside.
3. Place vegetable oil, milk and vanilla extract in a mixing bowl, set aside.
4. Place eggs, caster sugar and bananas in a large mixing bowl. With an electric whisk, whisk the mixture at Low speed for a few seconds (to break up the bananas). Change to medium-high speed, and whisk the mixture till it becomes thick, pale and triple in volume. This should take around 7 to 8 mins. The batter should leave a ribbon like trail when the paddle is lifted. Test by lifting up the whisk/paddle, and draw an '8' with the batter. The number should stay for a few seconds. Turn to Low speed again, and beat for another 2 mins. This is to stablise the air bubbles in the batter. (Note: do not over beat the batter, it is not a good thing if the '8' doesn't disappear.)
5. Sieve over the flour mixture in 3 separate additions. Each time Fold In the flour carefully with a Spatula, making sure there is no pockets of flour being trapped at the bottom of the bowl. Do not stir the batter with the spatula, it will cause the batter to deflate too much.
6. Pour a small portion (less than 1/3) of the batter into the mixing bowl in Step 3. Fold in with the spatula until the oil mixture is fully incorporated into the batter.
7. Pour the mixture in Step 6 back into the rest of the batter (Step 5). 
8. Fold in the batter with the spatula making sure the mixture is well combined. (By now the batter could be deflated by about 20% or so as compared to Step 4).
9. Pour the batter into the prepared pan, the pan should be about 3/4 full. 
10. Bake in preheated oven at 160 degC for 40-45mins or until the surface turns golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean. (The edges of the cake should pull away slightly from the sides of the pan.) Remove from oven, unmold and leave to cool (inverted) on a cooling rack.

Taiyaki

Most of the time if I hit down to Takashimaya, I will buy some Taiyaki from Mr. Obanyaki located at basement 2. So far I think is the best taiyaki I have try among other store having selling too but not as tasty as their. The filling is generous and the price is definitely reasonable and affordable.

I'm so curious to make my own Taiyaki too after I saw some blogger post some home make using the Taiyaki mold but sadly I can't find any in Singapore so I went to taobao and bought one. After I received my new toys, I went google and search for recipe. The only recipe I found is from this popular youtube video name cookingwithdog.
Recipe with video guide: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HD7JjeupVt0&feature=c4-overview-vl&list=PLAA05E501B9175B11

I try the recipe given and follow exactly the ingredients stated, the Taiyaki taste slightly crisp and nice when it is fresh and hot when it's done but it will turn hard and masticate when is cool off. I throw the rest into the bin because I doubt nobody in my family will help to clear.

I try the second time again and modify the recipe myself and yet I get the same result again, a tough and hard Taiyaki. After that I gave up and keep the mold for months without using it because I can't find any good Taiyaki recipe. For what I know, pancake recipe can be use for this Taiyaki too.

I happen to found a book name called 街头热卖甜点完整配方 at the Clementi National Library. In the book contain the top 5 famous street dessert - Imagawayaki (車輪餅), Eggy cake (雞蛋糕), Eggy shape waffle(雞蛋仔), Dorayaki (銅鑼燒) and Taiyaki (鯛魚燒). Without hesitate I borrow this book back home happily.

I try the taiyaki recipe and finally I manage to dish up a decent of Taiyaki. The taiyaki is so spongy, fragrant and most importantly it does not turn hard when it is cold. It still taste soft and delicious the next day. I'm so surprise with the result of this recipe. Now I have no excuse to keep the mold quietly. =p

I haven't try the other recipe as I don't have the mold. The next one I would like to try will be 雞蛋仔 after I manage to get the mold on hand first.

Is not easy to get a nice and good taiyaki shape because the mold I bought is not the electric type, is a portable mold that need to cook under the stove and controlling the fire is quite a challenging task. I was sweating away while standing in front of the stove to make sure taiyaki is not burn. I try and did my best to make the appearance look like the commercial made. Hahaha!

Recipe source from a book: 街头热卖甜点完整配方 
Can be bought online at: http://www.books.com.tw/exep/prod/booksfile.php?item=0010437041

Ingredients A:
- 200gm eggs
- 100gm sugar

Ingredients B:
- 100gm cake flour
- 40gm potato starch
- 4gm baking powder

Ingredients C:
- 50gm vegetable oil

Ingredients D (Filling of your choice):
- Red bean paste / Azuki bean paste
- Chocolate / Nutella
- Kaya / Jam

Method:

1. Sift all the ingredients B in a bowl.
2. Using a electric hand mixer and whisk the egg in a bowl, add the sugar gradually and whisk till batter turn pale and light colour.
3. Add in the flour mixture into step 2 and mix with a spatula. Follow by the oil.
4. Let the batter rest for 30 minute.
5. After 30 min, heat up the mold under the stove in low-medium heat. Brush a thin layer of oil and clean away the excess oil from the mold using kitchen towel paper (this is to prevent the surface of the cake will have a patch of uneven colour tone look). *It's okay to leave the oil without wipping away if you don't mind of the uneven taiyaki colour tone look.  
6. Pour the batter on the mold, put the desired filling on the batter and let it cook until small bubbles start to appear, pour another layer of batter on top of the fillings and cover the mold.
7. Flip the mold over the other side and let it cook for about 3 min. Open up the handlers and have a peek of the taiyaki to check if is cook. Cook until taiyaki turn slightly brown.
8. Remove from the mold and serve it while is still hot / warm.

Butter Cake 2

Finally I decided to try out my new toy the cake wooden mold (蛋糕木框模). I haven't start using since I bought it around in the month of January until now. Before I use the mold to bake my cake, I soak in the water overnight and guess what, the water turn into light yellow colour the next day. After soak out, I bake the mold in the oven for 30 minutes at 160C. I found this useful tips from anncoojournal who share this, the reason behind is to eliminate odour from the wood. Only need to do this step if is a new wooden mold, subsequent using do not need to do the soak n bake of the mold again.

The purpose of this mold suppose to bake castella cake but I have read a few other baker mention that castella cake is not a easy task to make. If you can't bake a normal cake well, better don't challenge castella cake to prevent wasting ingredients. I knew I definitely will not be able to do it well so I using this mold but I baking a butter cake.

Luckily is a success and is fully cook but the top is slightly burn. Although the top surface is slightly burnt but I like the "chao ta" taste. The cake is moist and buttery taste really good. A good recipe to keep.

*Recipe source: http://www.mykitchensnippets.com/2010/09/old-fashion-butter-cake.html
*How to use the wooden mold: http://blog.sina.com.cn/s/blog_494a12dc0102dt8x.html

Ingredients:

• 350 gm butter
• 280 gm sugar
• 8 large eggs, separate the yolk and white
• 330 gm self rising flour 
• ½ tsp salt
• 50 ml milk

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 160C. Prepare the wooden mold. 
2. Sieve the flour and salt. Set it aside. 
3. Using a electric hand mixer beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, scrapping down the side of the bowl a couple of times. 
4. Add in the yolk one at a time. Beat well after adding the next one. 
5. Follow by adding in the milk. 
6. Fold in the flour in 3 batches. Mix well and set it aside.
7. In another clean bowl, whisk egg white on high speed until soft peaks. Fold in the egg whites into the butter mixture until well blended. Do not over-do it or the egg whites will deflate. 
8. Pour into the prepared wooden mold and bake for an hour or until the skewer comes out clean when tested.

Mango Chiffon Cake

 

My mum bought some mango from the supermarket. The mango smell so fragrant and taste so sweet. So I took one that are very ripe and make a chiffon cake.

 

 

I have encountered a few times failure on making chiffon cake, so I wanted to practice more to improve and I decided I shall focus more on baking chiffon, swiss roll and bread for the time being. Pls bear with me if this few post will be more on C S B.

 

 

I'm so happy this time the cake did not sink. I cut some mango into cube and put in the batter. So when you eating the cake, you will also get to eat the real mango.

 

 

 

I bake the cake in the late evening and leave it to cool. The next morning the cake is ready for me to snap down the picture without waiting the cake to cool before I can unmold.

 

 

The cake is rather short because I using a 21cm chiffon tin and the batter only yield half portion for my 21 cm tin. The correct size to be use should be 17cm for this portion of batter.

 

 

Testing time, I feel the texture is abit dense and not the kind of fluffy. Taste wise, I can't really taste the mango aroma in the cake and is not very sweet too. Anyway is still a success to me even though there are lots of improvement need to be review. ^^

 

Ingredient A:

• 3 egg yolks
• 20gm castor sugar
• 50ml vegetable oil
• 50ml mango puree (one mango)
• 1/2 tbsp sugar
• 80gm cake flour (Sift)
• Half a mango (cut into cubes) *optional

Ingredient B:

• 3 egg white
• 30gm castor sugar
• 1 tsp cream of tartar

Method:

1. To make the mango puree - Cut the mango, discut the skin and seed. Place the mango fresh and sugar in a blender and blend until it become puree.
2. Separate the egg yolk and egg white into different bowl (make sure the egg white bowl do not contain any water or oil on it)
3. In a clean bowl, whisk the egg yolk with the sugar until the yolk become pale in light yellow colour. Than add the oil and mango puree and mix till incorporated.
4. Add in the sift flour and mix until no trace of flour can be seen. Set aside.
5. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites till stiff peaks form. With a spatula, fold in 1/3 of the meringue into (step 4) and mix. Continue mix the remaining meringue and make sure there are no trace of meringue can be seen in the batter.
6. Pour batters into chiffon tin, rap tins on counter several times to eliminate air bubbles.
7. Bake in the pre-heated oven at 170°C for 30 minutes or until insert a toothpick into the centre comes out clean. Invert the tins immediately and leave to cool completely before unmold.

Banana Swiss Roll

My sister apps me where shall we go and celebrate mother day. Immediately I reply her, shall we have steamboat at home instead of eating out. Restaurant definitely is full of patron on actual mother day. To avoid the crowds, we decided to have steamboat at my elder sister house.

I wanted to bake something for the small celebration / gathering. So I browse through the net and looking for some inspiration and I saw swiss roll. Thinking back, I have made a swiss roll before and once only. My family member both the young and elderly love banana, so I decide to bake a banana swiss roll cake on the Mother Day.

Rolling the cake is really a challenging task. This time the swiss roll crack again when I roll it and is the same area with that Butter Cream Swiss Roll. The same problem again, the swiss roll is too thick and it make it more difficult to roll the cake. Next time I must make the roll slightly thinner.

I read a few blogger and some mention that they bake it everyday or within one month bake more than 20 roll to practice and to get it right. I was like WOW! Really admire their persistence. I got a question straight to my mind, how do they handle the cake? Eat every roll? Throw away? Give away? This question keep pop on my mind if I also do that, how should I deal with all the roll???

I saw another blogger said, given one recipe and give a hundred of people to use this same recipe to bake. The result might be vary to that hundred of people, which I quite agree to her said. Why some people using the same recipe given but some might be success and some might fail. This taught me that practice is really important. More practice more improvement.

The cake texture turn out dry and coarse. This time I try the sponge cake method which required to whisk the batter to ribbon stage and is my first time trying this method. Not difficult but yet I got a dry and coarse cake. (-_-")

Sponge Cake Ingredient:

• 25gm Unsalted butter
• 35gm Milk
• 200gm Whole egg
• 20gm Egg yolk 
• 90gm Sugar
• 80gm Cake flour (Sift)
• 1 tsp Corn flour

Filling and decorating:

• 180gm Whipping Cream
• 20gm sugar
• 2 medium size banana + 1 more slice into pieces *for decorating on the surface of the cake
• Small slice and pieces of chocolate (using a slice knife and slice the chocolate bar)
• Icing sugar

Method:

Cake:

1. Preheat the oven at 180°C, prepare a pan with baking paper on it.
2. Melt the butter together with the milk and stir until disslove, set aside.
3. Place the whole egg, egg yolk and sugar in a big bowl and whisk under a double boiler (fill a pot with water and heat under a stove, place the bowl on top of the pot). Remove the bowl from the pot when the egg batter is warm enough with a touch using your finger, continue to whisk.
4. When the egg batter no longer warm, places it back to the steaming pot and bring the temperture back to warm and continue to whisk until the batter turn pure in colour and in ribbon stage.
5. To check the ribbon stage by using the hand whisk and draw a 8 on the batter, if the 8 doesn't disappear immediately mean you got the right stage.
6. Using a electric hand whisk and whisk for one minute in low speed to remove the big air bubble in the batter.
7. Sift the cake and corn flour together, pour 1/3 of flour into the batter and mix using a spatula. Than divide flour into 2 times adding into the batter and mix until no trace of flour can be seen.
8. Pour 1/4 of the batter into the melted butter (step  2) and mix in a fast motion. Pour it back to the 3/4 batter and mix until incorporated.
9. Pour the batter onto the prepared pan. Using a scraper to make the surface even. Hit the pan lightly on the counter serval times to release the air bubble out.
10. Bake the cake at 180°C for 12 minute.

Filling:

1. Make sure the whipping cream is cold. Use a electric hand whisk, whisk the cream in low speed and slowly increase into high speed. Add all the sugar in and continue to beat until stiff.

Resume:

1. Spread the cream on the cake and place the whole roll banana and start to roll the cake.
2. Keep the roll cake in the fridge for 30 to 60 minute to let it set.
3. After 60 minute, remove from fridge and spread the remaining cream on top of the cake and decorate with the chcocolate, icing sugar and slice of banana.

Pandan Chiffon Cake

Does this look like a "pandan" chiffon cake? I ask this question because of the colour, it should have a light green colour but it turn out in light yellow colour. I did not use the artificial pandan paste. I bought the pandan leaves and blend together with the coconut milk and extract out the juice.

I think maybe I didn't blend more pandan leaves with the coconut milk and that's why I got a cup of light green colour.

The past one week before I bake this pandan chiffon cake, I had also baked a banana chiffon cake and a chocolate chiffon cake but both failed. At first I thought I made a batch of beautiful chiffon cake because it raised up high and tall in the oven during baking and it still stay on to the pan when I inverted it. The problem come here, when I unmold it from the pan the cake started to sink and collapse down from the center. I knew something is wrong so I cut a piece and try, the cake taste so dense. The correct texture should be light, fluffy and airy. Both banana and chocolate give me the same outcome although it did not fall off from the pan which I mention before there is once time my chiffon cake literally fall off from the pan when I inverted it.

So I was so angry and sad that I told myself, I want to bake another chiffon cake again until I get at least a pass and I did.

Honestly I was so scare when I unmold this pandan chiffon cake and luckily it turn out fine. I'm so happy when the cake remain spongy and it bounce back when I press it down slightly. The cake is light and airy but can't really taste the pandan smell. As always my mum will criticize the food I bake, she said this is my first time saw a yellow pandan chiffon cake.

*Using a 21cm chiffon tin

 Ingredient A:

• 4 egg yolks
• 50gm castor sugar
• 45ml vegetable oil 
• 90gm cake flour (Sift)

Ingredient B:

• 4 egg white
• 50gm castor sugar
• 1 tsp + 1/2 tsp cream of tartar 

Ingredient C: Pandan Juice

• 60ml coconut milk 
• 10-12 pandan leaves *Cut into small pieces (I would recommend more, maybe 20 pandan leaves to get the natural green colouring and of course the aromatic pandan taste)
• 1/2 tsp pandan essence (optional)

Method:

1. Extract pandan juice by blending the coconut milk with the pandan leaves and squeeze out the juice. Get 60ml.
2. Separate the egg yolk and egg white into different bowl (make sure the egg white bowl do not contain any water or oil on it)
3. In a clean bowl, whisk the egg yolk with the oil. Than add the pandan juice and pandan essence and mix, follow by the sugar and mix till the sugar dissolve. 
4. Add in the sift flour and mix until incorporated. Set aside.
5. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites till stiff peaks form. With a spatula, fold in 1/3 of the meringue into (step 4) and mix. Continue mix the remaining meringue and make sure there are no trace of meringue can be seen in the batter.
6. Pour batters into chiffon tin, rap tins on counter several times to eliminate air bubbles.
7. Bake in the pre-heated oven at 170°C for 30 minutes or until insert a toothpick into the centre comes out clean. Invert the tins immediately and leave to cool completely before unmold. 

香腸与蘑菇咸蛋糕 aka Sausage with Mushroom Savoury Cake

This is different from the usual sweet pound cake we see. I bought a book name call 美味滿點的法式鹹蛋糕。This book is all about savoury recipe cake, I find it special which we don't usually get to see it.

In French, this cake is name as Cake Sale which mean Savoury Cake. 法文 salé 是咸味的意思。cake salé 意即因为咸蛋糕。The different in the ingredient are replaced with cheese over sugar, meat or fish over fruits or chocolate. Is not a necessary to bake the cake in a loaf pan, it can be bake in a muffin pan too.

Ingredient:

• 6 pieces mini sausage (Cut into slices)
• 4 to 5 pieces button mushroom (Cut into slices)
• 20gm of tomato sauce 
• 1/2 tbsp olive oil 
• 100gm cake flour
• 3gm baking powder
• A pinch of garlic powder (I omitted this)
• A pinch of salt
• 2 eggs
• 100ml milk
• 40gm parmesan cheese
• 25gm mayonnaise
• 60gm cottage cheese

Method:

1. Prepare a loaf pan by brushing the butter around the pan, dust with flour and invert the pan, tapping out any excess flour. Preheat the oven at 180°C.
2. On the stove, pan fry the sausage and mushroom with the olive oil and add in the tomato sauce. Set aside.
3. Sift the flour, baking powder, garlic powder and salt into a large bowl, add in egg together and whisk. Follow by the milk and mix together.
4. Add in the parmesan cheese and mayonnaise together and mix until incorporated. 
5. Pour the batter into the prepare pan, add in the pre-cook sausage, mushroom on the top of the batter evenly. Lastly top the cotton cheese evenly on the surface of the pan. 
6. Bake it for 30 to 40 minutes at 180°C. Cool on wire rack completely before removing the cake out of the mould. 

Durian Chiffon Cake

I went goggle and realise that there are quite a few places in Singapore have Durian tree. Usually my mum will purchase the durian from the fruit store during the durian season but this time the durian we are having is grow in Singapore wild durian. 

My aunt friend gave her about half a basket of durian, where her friend picked up somewhere in Singapore (sorry I forgot the place) and my aunt can't finish all. So she gave us about 10 durian, there are a mix of small and big different size. So generous of her and her friend too. 

The first night when we received the durian, we are so excited to try out. So my parent try to open up the durian shell by chopping using a knife, pull apart the shell and using different method but still unable to open up the stubborn shell and I told them to gave up. I really scare they might hurt their finger and hand, the way I see them chop and pull the sharp shell make me sweat and panic for them. I rather forgo the durain than seeing them injure themselves.

The next day when I reach home, I saw durian flesh is inside the plastic container than my mum told me the next day when she try again and surprising all the durian is so easy to open.    

There are left over durian flesh and immediately I told myself I shall bake something using the durian flesh. So I decided to bake some mini durian chiffon cake, using the mini chiffon tin. This time the chiffon appearance has been improve compare to my previous attempt on the black sesame chiffon cake. But I still need to improve better, there are still some small flaky fall from the side. The chiffon has the strong durian fragrant taste and is soft and moist. Even my parent also like it. ;)

*This recipe yield 4 mini chiffon cake.

 Ingredient A:

• 3 egg yolk
• 20gm castor sugar
• 50ml vegetable oil
• 50ml water
• 80gm cake flour (Sift)
• 125gm durian flesh

Ingredient B:

• 3 egg white
• 50gm castor sugar

Method:

1. Separate the egg yolk and egg white into different bowl (make sure the egg white bowl do not contain any water or oil on it) 
2. In a clean bowl, using the hand whisk, whisk the egg yolk with the sugar till the batter colour turn slightly pale yellow. 
3. Add in the durian flesh and mix, follow by the oil (add in bit by bit) and mix well, follow by the water (add in bit by bit) and mix well.  
4. Add in the sift flour and mix until incorporated. Set aside.
5. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites till stiff peaks form. With a spatula, fold in 1/3 of the meringue into (step 4) and mix. Continue mix the remaining meringue and make sure there are no trace of meringue can be seen in the batter.
6. Pour batters into chiffon tin, rap tins on counter several times to eliminate air bubbles.
7. Bake in the pre-heated oven at 170°C for 30 minutes. Invert the tins immediately and leave to cool completely before unmold. 

Black Sasame Marble Cake

This is my first attempt on black sesame marble cake. The actual recipe is chocolate marble cake but I want to try something different. I use the same black sesame paste for the flavour instead of powder, can be found in my previous post here.

Disappointed on the marble effect, despite that this is my third attempt on making marble cake yet I still can't get the beautiful swirl pattern that I wanted. I guess the problem either the dark batter portion is too much nor I over swirl the batter when they will combine in the tin.

The cake is wonderfully moist, and it brings out the black sesame aromatic fragrant. But a mistake that I didn't realise that the top part is undercooked. I start eating from the bottom part of the cake and find it pretty awesome than slowly to the top parts texture taste quite wet and soggy. I did check if the cake is cook or not, I insert the tooth pick in and it come out clean but I didn't tap the top to check.

I knew why, initially I afraid the cake might turn brown quickly so I placed the rack at the lowest rack instead at the medium rack. Anyway it is too late when I realise it because is impossible to re-bake after the cake has already cool off.

So I used the knife and cut off the uncooked area and slice into small cubes for easy consume. I find this is a good way offering people the dessert, instead of one whole slice, one cubes pop into the mouth just nice and no crumb will be laying around.

Ingredient:

• 170gm Unsalted butter (room temperature)
• 170gm castor sugar
• ¼ tsp salt
• 4 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 60ml milk
• 160gm cake flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 20gm black sesame paste (put lesser if you do not want the strong taste)

Method:

1. Preheat oven at 160°C with a wire rack in the middle. Line an rectangle or circle cake tin with parchment, butter and flour. Sift flour and baking powder in a bowl. Set aside.
2. Cream butter, sugar and salt in the bowl with a electric hand mixer till light and fluffy.
3. Beat all the egg in another bowl. Add in the egg a little at a time into step 2 (divide into 5 to 6 times) and continue using the electric hand mixer and beat. *Make sure is mix well before you add in another portion of egg into the batter.
4. After all the egg have been added and mix well, pour in the milk and vanilla extract and mix well again.
5. Add in the the flour and baking powder gradually until just incorporated.
6. Scoop out ¼ of the batter in a separate bowl. Add in the black sesame paste over it and fold to mix well. Pour batters into tin, alternating between the two mixtures. Start with the yellow batter follow by the black sesame batter and repeat the step. Rap pan on counter several times to eliminate air bubbles. With a long skewer or chopstick, swirl around the batter to create the marble effect.
7. Bake for 40-55 minutes or until a tester inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean. Tap the top of the cake, make sure is not wet and will slightly bound back after tapping on it.
8. Cool on wire rack completely before serving. Cake keeps at room temperature up to 3 days and can be frozen up to 3 month.

Black Sesame Chiffon Cake

 

 

In the older days, pandan chiffon cake are more habitual and common seen in bakery shop. But these days in order to attract people attention and be out of the ordinary, hawker start to introduce different interesting and special flavour such as strawberry, banana, chocolate, Oreo etc. Patron are so fortune to spoil with different choices nowadays.

 

 

Every morning, I will spread different jam flavour on the bread for breakfast. I will constantly look for new kind of jam or spread in the supermarket if I finish the current one on hand and I saw this black sesame spread on the shelf in NTUC. So I bought one and try, I pretty like it, you can taste the strong sesame aroma.

 

Instead of the usual pandan chiffon cake, I decided to make a sesame chiffon cake since I have the sasame paste (spread) on hands. I went to phoon huat and bought the mini chiffon cake tin to make this on the weekend. I do have a 21cm chiffon cake tin but I wanted to try a mini size. It is more convenient and I do not need to cut into pieces, one mini chiffon cake equal one serving.

 

The result is supreme to me, the cake texture is soft and fluffy, with the hint of sesame taste. The only disappointed thing is the shape, when I took out from the tin, somehow the chiffon didn't come out in a nice shape and some of the corner chip off and left with some holes.

 

Anyway luckily this time my chiffon didn't fall off from the tin because I make sure the egg white is beat into stiff peak (but do not over beat too). How to know whether is in the stiff peak? You turn it over the bowl upside down without the egg white falling off to the ground.

 

My parent said the chiffon cake is not sweet enough but to me is just nice. For the recipe, I get 4 mini chiffon cake.  

 

*Recipe source: Okashi sweet treats made with love. This book can be found in Kinokuniya.



Pork Floss Cake

 

I believe you are familiar with the floss bun that breadtalk has bring it out. Instead of laying floss on a bread, should I try topped with cake (I thought to myself). So I went research for recipe and I really found one blogger doing that. Great, so I decided to give it a try using her recipe.

 

 

Initially I wanted to make 2 layer of pork floss and 3 layer of sponge cake but after I pouring the second batch of batter than I realise that batter is not enough. I'm quite disappointed with the final product look of the cake, because the first layer batter is too thin and second batter is too much. The proportion I did not measure well due to the greediness I wanted.

 

 

I make some adjustment on the method step and follow with my cook book. The texture of the sponge cake is soft and fluffy but lack of the eggy taste.  

 

*Recipe source:

http://chingkitchen.blogspot.sg/2011/12/blog-post_13.html

 

Ingredient:

• Milk 35ml
• Oil 25ml
• Cake flour 100gm
• Baking Powder ¼ tsp
• Egg 200gm
• Sugar 100gm
• Vanilla Extract 1 tsp (optional)
• Salt ¼ tsp
• Ovalette (Sponge Gel) 1 tsp
• Pork Floss (Amount up to your own preference)

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 150°C.
2. Place the milk and oil together, set aside.
3. Sieve the flour and baking powder together, set aside.
4. Using the electric hand whisks beat (high speed) the egg, sugar and vanilla extract in a bowl until the batter turn slightly into light yellow colour and volume become double. Add in the ovalette and continue beat for 1 minute (low speed).
5. Add in the 1/3 of the flour into the batter and mix with spatula slowly without overmix. Continue add in another 1/3 and mix than finally add in the remaining flour and mix. 
6. Scoop ¼  of the batter (from step 4) and mix together with the milk and oil in another bowl.
7. Pour the (step 6) into (step 4) and mix until Incorporated. *Do not over mix.
8. Pour ½ of the batter into the baking tin. Bake at 150°C for 10 to 15 minutes or until batter no longer in liquid form, remove from the oven and sprinkler the pork floss on the sponge cake, follow by the remaining batter and bake until insert a toothpick in and come out clean.