Durian Chiffon Cake

Durian chiffon cake

My earliest memory of durian is to sit under the durian tree in our old house ... waiting for its fruits to fall. I can't remember my first taste of durian, but I fell in love with the taste of the creamy pulp when I was a child. 

D24 durian puree from Durian Culture
www.durianculture.com.sg

With half pack of D24 durian puree left from the making of Northern Thai dish, I've decided to make durian chiffon cake.

The rich durian flavor makes this a desirable cake. And the taste of durian lingers. With my mama's 10-inch chiffon pan, I've adjusted the recipe amounts accordingly.

Soy Milk Almond Chiffon Cake

How long has it been since my last bake? 3 months? Or 5 months? I can't remember. I was wrapped up into the busyness of work that I neglected baking. And, thankfully, I managed to sneak in a 11-day summer vacation in Taiwan. 

I gotta get back to the work-life balanced lifestyle. I miss late nights bakings. I started to browse through my favourite list of  bloggers' sites. I came upon Anncoo Journal's Soy Milk Almond Chiffon Cake and remembered the tin of almond powder I bought in Jiufen old street, Taiwan and the Cake Land's heart shaped chiffon pan.

This cake has the flavour of almond with some sprinklings of black sesame seeds. It is both light and fluffy with a moist and tender crumbs. My mama loved it! 











Soy Milk Almond Chiffon Cake

(Adapted from Anncoo Journal's Soy Milk Almond Chiffon Cake)

Ingredients: 

   (A)

   100g Plain flour

   2 tbsp almond powder 

   (B)

   5 Egg yolks 

   25g  Caster sugar

   (C)

   50g Canola oil
   100ml Soya milk with almond flavoured (red sugar)
   1 tbsp Black sesame seeds, toasted

    

    (D)

    5 Egg whites

    50g Caster sugar

Method:

• Sift in (A) plain flour and almond powder and mix well. 
• Mix (B) ingredients together in a large bowl, egg yolks and sugar, then add in (C) canola oil and soya milk. Then add in (A), flour mixture and mix well with a hand whisk. Fold in black sesame seeds. 
• Beat egg whites with low speed until you can see big bubbles. Gradually add in caster sugar and continue to beat until stiff peak at high medium speed. Change the mixer speed to lowest and continue to beat for 10 seconds. (this is to minimize the air bubbles in the cake)
• Gently fold 1/3 of the beaten egg white into egg yolk batter, use cut and fold method until well blended. Then pour the batter back to the rest of the egg white and fold until mixture is well blended.
• Pour batter evenly into the ungreased chiffon cake pan (a heart shape or 18cm round tube pan). Gently bang the pan on the table top to release air bubbles.
• Bake in pre-heated oven on lower rack, 160 degrees for 35-40 minutes.
• Remove from oven, invert cake onto table until completely cooled.

Handmade Piggy Mooncakes

This is a blog post in September 2012 from the other blog of mine. I am in the midst of transferring the posts to this site. These cute piggies never fail to bring huge smile to my face. 

Last year this time, I was exploring Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia and Beijing with Pauline. I didn't have the time to make mooncakes for family. Come to think of it, we didn't get to see nor try  mooncakes when we were in the captital of China. We were definitely caught in the heavy human flow in and out of the city as folks were making their home trips for reunion.

I haven't been baking lately. The social outings and ministry training. I had been looking forward to my baking date last Saturday. My niece, Nicole, was bugging me to bring her to my place. I hesitated, but I just couldn't say no to her.  

I must say we had fun together. I pointed out to her the ingredients and tools we would be using. The 3 year-old girl never ceased to ask questions. I patiently explained to her the steps and let her have some hands-on on dough-making. 

Little piggies getting ready for the tan in the oven.

After 40 minutes of resting the dough, we started to mould the first piggy. First the eye lids, followed by the legs, eyes, ears, nose and its little tail. Nicole clearly couldn't contain her excitement in that petite body of hers following the completion of first piggy. "Look! The piggy is so cute!" she exclaimed.

She peeped at the piggies in the oven and asked "Are they ready?" She's just effortlessly being so adorable. 

That's me and Nicole, being responsible citizens, had our masks on as we made our way to a clinic. We.Must.Get.Well.Before.Hi-5.Concert.

Japanese Cotton Cheesecake

"I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work." 

Thomas Edison

Thankfully, I've just found 2 ways that won't work. The ingredients are simple. However, incorporating the cheese mixture with egg white and water bath can be tricky. I banked on  my experience on chiffon cake making and the water bath method I used for chocolate cookies and cream cheesecake. Viola! My first successful Japanese cotton cheesecake!

This was a request from my mama. It's a joy to receive baking requests especially from mama. She ate most of the failed cheesecakes and encouraged me to try again. Oh yes, she's the one who encouraged me to enrol in baking classes to learn the basics. 

This fluffy cheesecake is an alternative to the rich American cheesecakes. It contains lesser fats but tastes wonderfully delish. As light as feather and as soft as cotton, its smooth and fine texture causes it to melt in your mouth almost immediately. 

Japanese Cotton Cheesecake

(Adapted from Diana's Desserts)

Ingredients:
- 140g fine granulated sugar
- 6 egg whites
- 6 egg yolks
- 1/4 tsp cream of tartar
- 50g butter
- 250g cream cheese
- 100ml fresh milk
- 60g cake flour (can also use plain flour)
- 20g corn flour
- 1/4 tsp salt


Method:
1. Prepare the 8-inch springform so that no water leaks into it while baking. Place a large 16-inch by 16-inch square of aluminum foil on a flat surface. Place the springform pan in the middle of the foil. Gently fold up the sides of the foil around the pan. Make sure to do this gently so that you don't create any holes in the foil. If there are any holes, water will get into the pan and ruin the crust. Press the foil around the edges of the pan. Place a second large square of foil underneath the pan and repeat, gently folding up the sides of the foil around the pan and pressing the foil against the pan. Gently crimp the top of the foil sheets around the top edge of the pan.

Tips:

Line the sides of your cake tin. Make sure the baking paper extends higher than the cake tin by about 1.5 inches. If you prepare the batter correctly, you will notice that it rises very well during baking. You need that extra height from the baking paper to prevent possible spillage.

Tenting with a foil. This is recommended as the cake top browns very easily. I use a sheet of aluminium foil and loosely place it over the tin. You have to provide ample room for the cake to rise, it will get stuck onto the foil. Remove it only in the last 30 seconds of baking time, just for it to brown.

2. Preheat oven to 160°C, with rack in lower third of oven. 

3. Melt cream cheese, butter and milk over a double boiler. Cool the mixture. Fold in the flour, the cornflour, salt, egg yolks and mix well.

4. This is totally option, but because I am a perfectionist, I want a lump-free, smooth as silk batter. So once I have combined the filings, I usually strain it using a wire mesh sieve. 

5. Beat egg whites with medium speed until you can see big bubbles, add in cream of tartar. Continue to beat until the bubbles become fine soft peak, gradually add in caster sugar and continue to beat until stiff peak. Change the mixer speed to lowest and continue to beat for 10 seconds. (this is to minimize the air bubbles in the cake)

6. Gently fold 1/3 of the beaten egg white into the cheese mixture, use cut and fold method until well blended. Then pour the batter back to the rest of the egg white and fold until mixture is well blended.

7. Pour batter evenly into the springform pan.

8. Bake cheesecake in a water bath for 35 to 40 mins or until set and golden brown at 160°C.

9. Leave to cool in oven with door ajar, about 30mins to 1 hour. Sudden changes in temperature may cause the cake to cool too quickly and collapse.

10. Unmould the cake immediately upon removal from oven. To prevent the cake from shrinking further. 

11. Once the cake is cooled, keep it in fridge to chill before serving.

Reference:

http://www.thelittleteochew.com/2011/03/japanese-cheesecake-tips-tricks.html

Valrhona Chocolate-Nutella Chiffon Cake

I know I have been missing in action for awhile now... I have been super busy with work!! I haven't been baking much. My to-bake list is getting longer and backlogs on blog posts are piling. 

I have one of the most exciting recipes to share thus far in my baking life. Yes, this recipe took the priority queue. If you've been following my Facebook, you've have guessed it. YES, it's the SUPER rich chocolate chiffon cake. 

So when I saw Helena's post on moist chocolate chiffon cake and Chocolate Nutella Chiffon cake, I'd told myself that I have to get hold of valrhona cocoa powder soon and try out these two recipes. 

Her recipes never fail to amaze me. I'm so excited to share this recipe with you on the very same baking day. This chocolate chiffon cake is rich in chocolate, moist and spongy, and tasted so good! It  is indeed deliciously moist and fragrant as described in her blog post. The power of valrhona cocoa powder and nutella.

I urge you to use the best cocoa powder you can find. Since we are not using any other form of chocolate, we want the best and darkest cocoa out there. It's a splurge, but a worthy one. 

And I guess this cake is perfect for birthday cake too. 

The Furby Birthday Party!

A week before her birthday party, my best friend had requested for a Princess cake. Five days later, I asked my best friend to double confirm her Princess cake request. 

To my horror, she asked for a Furby cake. There, the challenge for me. 

Thankfully, I managed to google a Furby cake tutorial. The video is in Thai language. I didn't have the time to ask my sister-in-law to interpret. The video clearly depicts the step-by-step the making of a Furby cake. 

I bought a chocolate cake. I didn't have the time to bake another cake. I made classic vanilla frosting. Eyes, ears, feet and mouth are cut from fondant. 

The Furby next to the cake is the actual one my brother and I bought for her birthday that night. His name is Sprite and he's adorable!

Seeing my best friend's smiles and happiness is all my family can ask for. 

Happy birthday, my dear Nicole. I wish you the best of the best things in life, just like you have given me the best days and best nights of my life. Wish you a best and joyful birthday. Love you lots, XOXO. 

Bittersweet Chocolate Cupcakes

Hello cupcakes! I usually don't enjoy dark chocolate much, but I am making an exception for these cupcakes. They paired well with Mocha Latte from Starbucks. But they ain't from Starbucks. 

These bittersweet chocolate cupcakes are not from Starbucks.

The recipe calls for 24 cupcakes but I yielded 15! So I gathered my initiator, Huey Jia, and internal auditor, Sheena. We needed to find out the reason for the shrinkage in number of cupcakes. We analyzed the cupcakes in depth. Verdict? The cupcakes tasted heavenly. Price? A 3-km run in the evening. But it's all worth!

My committee concluded that the shrinkage is likely due to the size of the baking cups. Action plan is to use mini baking cup - they can help calorie-counting dieters better. 

Mini cupcakes make perfect Christmas gifts

Fret not, Swedish study says chocolate lovers have fewer strokes!

Love love love chocolate!!!

Bittersweet Chocolate Cupcakes

(Adapted from Tartelette)

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cardamon (I omit this)

1/8 teaspoon salt

2 sticks (8oz) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 cup granulated sugar 

4 large eggs, at room temperature

6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, melted and cooled

1 cup buttermilk

1. Preheat the oven to 175 celsius.
2. Sift together the flour, baking soda, cardamon and salt and set aside.
3. In a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, mix the butter and sugar on medium speed until airy and reamy.
4. Add the edges, one at a time, beating well after each addition (scrape down the sides if necessary).
5. Still on medium speed, add the chocolate and mixing until well incorporated. 
6. Add the flour, baking soda and salt alternating with the buttermilk. Make sure that all the ingredients are well incorporated but do not overbeat.  
7. Spoon the batter into cupcake liners, filling them about 2/3 of the way full. BAke for 20 - 25 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cupcakes comes out clean. 

Whipped Ganache Frosting:

12 ounces (360g) good quality bittersweet chocolate

2 cups (500ml) heavy cream

1. Place the chocolate in a medium size bowl and set aside.
2. In a large saucepan set over medium heat and bring the cream to a simmer.
3. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate and let sit for a couple of minutes.
4. Stir the cream and chocolate together gently until the mass becomes smooth and shiny. Let cool and refrigerate until very cold.
5. When ready to use, whip the ganache until it holds its shape and spreads easily. Use as soon as it is made or it will be too stiff to pipe. If this happens, just reheat it on top of a double boiler to melt it again, and repeat the cooling and whipping process.

If your chocolate is less than 72% bittersweet, add 2 more ounces before adding the hot cream.