Butter Cake

Recipe

Ingredients
250g butter
120g caster sugar
1/2tsp salt
5 egg yolk
300g cake flour
1/2tsp baking powder

5 egg white
100g caster sugar

Steps:
1. Preheat oven to 175C.
2. Sift flour and baking powder together and set aside.
3. Use a cake mixer and whisk the egg whites till frothy.
4. Gradually add in the sugar and whisk till stiff peaks but not dry, set aside.
5. In another mixing bowl, cream butter, salt and sugar until light and fluffy.
6. Slowly beat in egg yolk and vanilla essence until well combined.
7. Fold in 1/4 of the meringue into the butter mixture until combined.
8. Then fold in the rest of the meringue and flour alternately until well combined.
9. Pour batter into a lined and greased 8inches square tin.
10.Bake in a preheated oven for 40-45mins.
11.Remove cake from tin and cool on a wire rack.

Black Glutinous Ang Ku Kueh

I'm using the same Ang Ku Kueh recipe from here. I just substitute 40g of glutinous rice flour with black glutinous rice flour.

Tube Pan

Some of you has asked me, why is my chiffon cake is so nicely brown and is it due to the tube pan I used? So today I posted the image of the tube pans which I used all this while. The one on the left is 21cm (chiffon cake uses 4 to 5 eggs) and the right is 20cm (chiffon cake uses 3 to 4 eggs).

I think the answer lie on the oven or maybe my oven (above 12years old) heating element is old, so it heat up very fast and caused the cake to brown easily. As I had ever tried baking chiffon cakes and cakes using lower temperature for longer time (an extra 5-10mins more than the usual baking time) and the result still the same.

Gula Melaka Chiffon Cake

Last week, I had a short chat with my son's kindergarten teachers on cakes. During our conversation, I had mentioned to them difference flavours of chiffon cake which we couldn't get it from the bakery shop. One of it which I mentioned was Gula Melaka Chiffon Cake and they were very keen to try it. So this morning, I specially baked this chiffon cake and bring it for them to try.
Recipe here.

Black Glutinous Flour Chiffon Cake

I like to say 'Thanks:)' to DG from Tested and Tasted, for sharing her black glutinous flour and recipe with me. However I made half the portion from the recipe and made some changes to it.

Recipe

Ingredients
4 egg yolk
20g sugar
1/4tsp salt

50g thick coconut milk ('Kara' brand packet coconut milk)
1/2tsp vanilla paste
2tbsp veg. oil

35g cake flour
45g black glutinous flour
1/4tsp baking powder

3 egg white
60g sugar
1/4tsp cream of tartar

Steps:
1. Preheat oven to 175C.
2. Sift flour, black glutinous flour and baking powder together, set aside.
3. Whisk egg yolk, salt and sugar together until well blended.
4. Add in oil, coconut milk and vanilla paste and whisk till combined.
5. Add in flour and stir until batter is smooth.
6. Use a cake mixer and whisk the egg whites and cream of tartar till frothy.
7. Gradually add in the sugar and whisk till medium stiff peaks form.
8. Fold in 1/4 of the meringue into the egg yolk mixture until combined.
9. Then fold in the rest of the meringue lightly in 3 portions until well combined.
10.Pour batter into a 20cm tube pan.
11.Put into a preheated oven and bake for 40mins.
12.Remove from oven, invert cake onto table until completely cool.
13.Remove cake.

Comments dissappeared again???

I had received five comments on Yam Cream Cake. Just now when I published all the five comments, only three comments appeared. Where are the other two comments??? This is the second time I had this problem and I still can't find the answer. Maybe someone can help me. Thanks.

I also liked to apologize to the two visitors who had posted your comments on Yam Cream Cake. I really appreciate, if you could leave your comment again. Sorry for the inconvenience cause.

Yam Cream Cake

Last Sunday, we didn't get to celebrate Mother's Day as my nephews and my son are preparing for their exam. What a relief, 'Exam' is over now. :) So this weekend I made a Yam Cream Cake for my Mum, a belated Mother's Day Gift for her.

'Sign... :(' I don't find much improvement in my piping skill. I do understand what is the reason. It was because I didn't practice my piping skill very often. I think I have to put it this way as I dislike washing the oily piping tips so I seldom practice piping. I only do piping on my cake for special occasion. I think some of you out there also share the same view as me.


Those who are interested in self-learned simple piping technique, you may visit You Tube and view the demonstration of Shell border and Buttercream Rose. Happy piping. :)


Recipe

Ingredients
Sponge cake:
(A)
3 egg yolks
60g castor sugar
1/4tsp salt
40g veg. oil
70g water
1/4tsp vanilla essence

(B)
110g cake flour
1/4tsp baking powder
1tbsp milk powder

(C)
3 egg whites
50g fine sugar
1/8tsp cream of tartar

Yam filling:
200g yam (steam and mashed)
40g sugar
60g coconut milk
50g water

200g whipped cream
1/2tsp yam paste

Decoration:
200g whipped cream

Steps:
Sponge cake:
1. Preheat oven to 175C.
2. Use a hand whisk and mix (A) together.
3. Sift (B) and mix into (A).
4. Stir till well blended and set aside.
5. Use a cake mixer and whisk egg whites and cream of tartar till frothy.
6. Gradually add in the sugar and whisk till medium stiff peaks form.
7. Fold in 1/4 of the meringue into the egg yolk mixture until combined.
8. Then fold in the rest of the meringue lightly in 3 portions until well blended.
9. Pour batter into a lined and greased 8" round tin.
10.Bake in the preheated oven for 30mins.
11.Remove cake from the tin and set aside to cool.

Yam filling:
1. Boil water and sugar together until sugar dissolved.
2. Pour in the coconut milk and yam.
3. Stir over low fire until mixture is almost dry.
4. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.
5. Mix the cool yam paste, whipped cream and yam paste together until well blended.
(Note: You can skip the cooking part for the yam if your yam is moist and starchy. Just mix the mashed yam with whipped cream and yam paste, you may also add in some coconut powder.)

Assemble cake:
1. Slice sponge cake horizontally into three pieces.
2. Place a slice of sponge cake on a cake board, spread the yam filling over it and place another slice over it.
3. Spread with filling again and place the last slices on it.
4. Cover the whole cake with whipped cream and decorate as desire.

Honey Star Strawberry Cookies

Recipe

Ingredients
120g butter
80g caster sugar
30g strawberry jam
1tsp strawberry paste/emulco
140g plain flour
2tbsp corn flour

adequate Honey star cereal

Steps:
1. Preheat oven at 160C.
2. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
3. Add jam and strawberry paste, beat until well combined.
4. Sift flour and corn flour together.
5. Beat in the flour mixture into Step no.3 to form a soft dough.
6. Wrap up the dough and rest in the fridge for 15mins.
7. Pinch some dough, shape into round ball and flatten it slightly.
8. Arrange them on a greased tray.
9. Decorate it with honey star cereal.
10.Bake in a preheated oven for 20mins or until slightly firm.
11.Cool on a wire rack and keep it in an airtight containers.

Apple Kanten

Recipe from 'Chilled Desserts from the Japanese Kitchen'.

Recipe

Ingredients
1 large apple
2tbsp sugar
1tbsp lemon juice (I used 2tsp of lemon juice)
1 1/2cup peach juice (I replaced it with apple juice.)

4g kanten powder
1/2cup water

Steps:
1. Peel the apple skin, remove core and cut it into small cubes.
2. Put apple, sugar, lemon juice and apple juice into a saucepan.
3. Simmer over low heat until apple softened and the liquid has reduced.
4. Puree the apple mixture until smooth in a food processor, set aside to cool.
5. Pour water in a small saucepan and sprinkle the kanten powder into the water.
6. Simmer over low heat until powder dissolved, stirring constantly. (The kanten mixture should be smooth not lumpy or grainy and thicken like gel.)
7. Gradually add the kanten mixture into the apple puree and mix well until smooth.
8. Moisten the mould and pour apple kanten mixture into the mould.
9. Leave it to cool and chill in the fridge for 2 hours until set.

Wishing all Mothers in the World (: A Wonderful Mother's Day :)

Sweet Potato Crown Bread

Recipe

Ingredients
Overnight Sponge Dough: (yield about 150g)
100g bread flour
60g water (room temperature)
1/4tsp instant yeast

Bread Dough:
(A)
300g bread flour
40g sugar
3g salt
1 1/2tsp instant yeast

(B)
140g water
30g egg

(C)
60g overnight sponge dough

(D)
120g sweet potato (steamed and mashed)
30g butter

(E)
100g golden raisins

Steps:
Overnight Sponge Dough:
1. Mix yeast with water until well-blended.
2. Add in flour and knead to form dough.
3. Cover and set aside to prove for 30mins.
4. After 30mins, keep it in the fridge to rest overnight or up to 48 hours.

Bread dough:
1. Leave the sponge dough at room temperature to thaw for 10-15mins.
2. Mix (A) in a cake mixer with a dough hook attracted until well-blended.
3. Add (B) into the dry ingredients, beat at medium speed until it form a rough dough.
4. Add in (C) and continue to beat until well-blended.
5. Add in (D) continue to beat until it form a smooth and elastic dough.
6. Lastly, add in (E) and mix until well-blended.
7. Cover dough and leave it to prove for 50mins.
8. Divide dough into 12 or 14 equal portions.
9. On a lightly floured surface, mould it into round shape.
10.Arrange them in two greased 20cm or 21cm tube pan.
11.Cover and leave it to prove for 50mins or until it doubled in size.
12.Preheat oven to 190C.
13.Brush surface with egg wash and sprinkle top with some black sesame seeds.
14.Bake in a preheated oven for 15-20mins.
15.Remove bread from pan and cool it on a wire rack.

Sweet Potato Lotus Paste Buns