Japanese Cottonsoft Sponge Cake
Before I delve into this Japanese-style sponge cake, let’s talk about eggs!
One of the most important things to remember about baking sponge cakes, chiffon cakes or any other cakes, is that the eggs used must be at room temperature! If you use eggs straight from the refrigerator, the coldness of the eggs somehow creates problems resulting in undesired outcomes. So keep in mind this fact before you tackle this sponge or any other cake recipes in the future.
Other than that, another problem with sponge recipes is the size of the eggs used especially if the recipe called for more than 3 or 4 eggs which could ‘make or break’ a cake. Take this recipe for example, it called for 6 eggs but did not specified what sized eggs to use! As I understand, this recipe is from Alex Goh’s ‘烘出蛋糕香 Cakes’ book. Since I do not own this book, I don’t know if inside the book the author had specified the size of eggs he used. So I had to go along with the recipe as given. Now the problem was, looking at the recipe, the amount of flour used compared to the liquids (melted butter, milk and eggs) was very small. I immediately was cautious about whether the cake would stand up with so little flour to bind it together. I had vision of the cake rising like a soufflé in the oven and collapsing as soon as it was out of the oven! So the problem came down to the size of eggs. Say for example if the eggs used were small, 50g each, so 6 x 50g = 300g. However if a larger size was used (I standardize all my recipes using only 60g-egg, as is usual with most recipes published in Australia), 60g each, then 6 x 60g = 360g. Now you see, a difference of 60g, which is a lot! It is like adding an extra egg to the recipe! Or if it is the other way round then it is one egg less!
Therefore, as my first try in making this sponge cake, I had to be a bit caution and assume the recipe called for smaller eggs. (But then, I could be totally wrong and the recipe actually called for large eggs!) Being on the cautious side, with so little flour, a bit less liquid was the way to go for a first try. So by my calculation, if I was to use 60g-egg, as per all my recipes, I should only use 5 eggs, 5 x 60g = 300g! I re-calculated using this assumption, and using a smaller baking tray (my Swiss roll pan or lamington tray is 30cm x 25cm x 2cm, which is smaller than the one specified in the recipe) to make it.
Now, back to the cake itself. When I first saw the recipe for this sponge cake, I was intrigued to say the least. Give it to the Japanese to come up with this new method of making sponge cake, but of course we already know they can make the wonderfully delicious sponge cake, the Castella Cake.
The method is almost like making soufflé, that is, cook the flour in hot liquid first to gelatinize the starch in the flour. If anyone is familiar with making Japanese styled soft bread using the ‘water-roux’ or 'flour-porridge' method (湯種), you would see the similarity. This process allows the flour to absorb more liquid (at the same time break down the gluten) which will make a tender moist cake. Even though I was worried with the small amount of flour used (its proportion of flour to egg ratio was even less than that for chiffon cakes), the gelatinization method makes sense here in allowing the larger amount of liquid to be absorbed by the small amount of flour used. Because of this, and to minimize the shrinkage, it is also baked in a tray like a Swiss roll rather than in a cake tin. The texture turned out moist, soft and very spongy, and this method of making is also very quick. I used a simple butter cream to sandwich the cake and voila, here it is!
Adapted from the recipe '日本棉花蛋糕' from the blog '蔡師奶', Hong Kong. (‘Japanese Cotton Sponge Cake’ recipe originally by Alex Goh.)
Makes one 30cm x 25cm sheet cake.
[Ingredients]
50g butter
65g plain flour, sifted
65ml milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 eggs, separated
pinch (abt 1/8 tsp) salt
100g caster sugar, sifted
http://cafeoftheeast.blogspot.com/
[Preparation]
1. Preheat oven to 160°C. Grease a 30cm x 25cm x 2cm lamington/Swissroll tin (or baking tray) then line base with baking paper.
2. Melt butter in a saucepan over gentle heat. Once the butter is melted, turn off heat and add all the flour at once. Whisk quickly into a smooth paste.
3. Add milk and whisk until smooth.
4. Add egg yolks, vanilla and whisk again until smooth. Pour into a large mixing bowl and set aside.
5. In another mixing bowl, whisk egg whites with pinch of salt until foamy with uniform tiny bubbles. Gradually beat in caster sugar, spoonful by spoonful, until firm and glossy but just under stiff peaks stage.
6. Fold 1/3 of the meringue into the yolk mixture. Repeat two more times with the rest of the meringue.
7. Pour batter into the prepared tin. Give the tin a tap on the bench to get rid of any large bubbles. Bake for about 20 minutes, or until top is light golden brown and firm.
8. Turn out onto a cooling rack and remove baking paper from the base. Turn the cake right side up to finish cooling.
9. Cut the cake into even halves vertically (or in three equal pieces to make three layers), then sandwich with your favourite filling.
[Note]
1. Please note this recipe uses 1 standard cup of 250ml, 1 tablespoon of 20ml and 1 teaspoon of 5ml.
2. The size of egg used is about 60g (includes shell) unless otherwise stated.Labels: Asian Cakes, Cakes and Cupcakes
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Taro Cream Cake 芋泥蛋糕
Taro is known colloquially as ‘yam’ in Malaysia and Singapore, so this cake is probably better known as ‘Yam Cream Cake’, or ‘Yam Delight Cake’, or ‘Yam Layer Cake’ in Malaysia and Singapore
, although ‘yam’ is a misnomer for this root tuber because true yam (山藥, or the dried 淮山 which is a common Chinese medicinal herb) is a completely different root tuber.
Adapted from the recipe 'Taro Mousse Cake' at 'Food Down Under'
Makes one 20cm cake.
[Ingredients]
Taro Paste (Ornee 芋泥):
600g taro flesh
150g ghee or unsalted butter or canola oil
150-220g granulated sugar, adjust according to taste
¼ teaspoon salt
Sponge Cake:
4 eggs
150g caster sugar
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
75g plain flour
50g cornstarch
1 teaspoon baking powder
pinch salt
30g melted butter
20ml hot water
Filling & Frosting:
450g Taro Paste
450ml thickened (whipping) cream
50g pure icing sugar
blue and red (cochineal) food colouring
http://cafeoftheeast.blogspot.com/
[Preparation]
Taro Paste (Ornee 芋泥):
1. Cut taro into slices, then steam until soft, about ½ hour.
2. Mash steamed taro with a fork. If you want smoother paste, press the mashed taro through a sieve.
3. Melt ghee in a saucepan. Add mashed taro and stir to mix well. Add sugar in two batches and stir to mix in. Cook for about 5 minutes, stirring continuously, until sugar dissolved. Let cool. You need about 2 cups (about 450g) Taro Paste to make cake filling.
Sponge Cake:
1. Preheat oven to 180°C. Grease a 20cm cake tin and line the base with baking paper. Sift plain flour, cornstarch, baking powder and salt three times, set aside.
2. Beat eggs for about 1 minute on medium high speed. Start adding sugar gradually as you continue to beat the egg mixture. Beat until the mixture leaves a trail of ribbon when you lift the egg beater, total beating time can be 6 to 10 minutes depending on the power of your beater.
3. Beat in vanilla then sift the flour mixture in a few batches into the egg mixture and fold in after sifting in each batch. Once all the flour is folded in, pour the melted butter and hot water mixture along the outer edges of the batter and fold in.
4. Pour into prepared tin and give the tin a tap on the bench. Bake in preheated oven for about 45 minutes, or until cooked. Turn out and let cool. Split into 3 even layers.
Filling & Frosting:
1. Add a couple drops of blue food colouring to thickened cream, then add red food colouring (need about 5 - 6 times more than blue colouring) to get a light magenta colour. Add icing sugar and whip the cream until soft peaks.
2. Remove 2 cups (about 450g) of the cold prepared Taro Paste and give it a good stir (if it is still a bit too hard, give it a quick heat up in the microwave to make it easier to fold in the whipped cream, let cool before folding in). Remove one cup of whipped cream and fold into Taro Paste. Use this Taro Cream as filling for the sponge cake.
3. Use the remaining whipped cream to frost outside of the cake. Chill the cake before serving.
[Note]
1. Please note this recipe uses 1 standard cup of 250ml, 1 tablespoon of 20ml and 1 teaspoon of 5ml.
2. The size of egg used is about 60g (includes shell) unless otherwise stated.Labels: Asian Cakes, Cakes and Cupcakes
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White Sweet Rice Cake 白糖倫教糕
More popularly known just by the name of ‘White Sugar Rice Cake’ (白糖糕 or ‘Bak Tong Go’ in Cantonese), this is a popular steamed rice cake which originally came from the town of Lunjiao (倫教鎮) in the Guangdong (Canton 廣東) province.
As it came from the town of Lunjiao, it’s also known as ‘Lunjiao Rice Cake’ (倫教糕) after the town. However sometimes people also erroneously called it ‘London Rice Cake’ (倫敦糕), mistaken the word ‘dun’ (敦) for ‘jiao’ (教), as the two words in writing are quite similar.
Adapted from the recipe '倫教糕' in '點心專輯 Chinese Snacks' by 黃淑惠 Huang Su-Huei, published by 味全出版社 Wei-Chuan Publishing, 1995 (1996 revised edition), ISBN 0-941676-11-0 (平裝版 ISBN 957-9285-05-5).
Makes one 15cm (6”) rice cake.
[Ingredients]
Sponge Dough:
25g rice flour
25ml tepid water
½ teaspoon instant dry yeast
Main Batter:
75g rice flour
175ml water
90g granulated sugar
pinch salt
http://cafeoftheeast.blogspot.com/
[Preparation]
1. Combine the Sponge Dough ingredients in a small bowl and let proof, cover, in a warm place for about an hour.
2. In the meantime, for the Main Batter, place the 75g rice flour in a mixing bowl. Bring the 175ml water, sugar and salt to a boil in a saucepan and let sugar dissolve. Pour slowly into the rice flour, at the same time stirring to mix in well. Let cool.
3. Add Main Batter to Sponge Dough and let proof in a warm place until the surface is full of tiny bubbles and there is a sweet yeasty smell emanating from the batter (if it starts to have a whiff of very faint sourish smell, stop further proofing and steam immediately). Time of proofing can take anywhere from about 6 hours in warm weather to about 8 hours in cooler weather (this time includes the time of sponge dough proofing).
4. Lightly oil the surface of a 15cm pan (from my calculation, if you want to use pan of about 20cm in diameter, double the amount of each ingredient to make this rice cake). Pour batter into the pan. Steam over high heat for about 25 minutes. (As a precaution to make sure the honeycomb structure is straight by preventing the surface of the batter setting too quickly, I covered the pan before steaming with a piece of wet, but wrung dry, pudding cloth and securing it around the side of the pan with a piece of cotton twine – but this precaution step is optional.)
[Note]
1. Please note this recipe uses 1 standard cup of 250ml, 1 tablespoon of 20ml and 1 teaspoon of 5ml.
2. The size of egg used is about 60g (includes shell) unless otherwise stated.Labels: Asian Cakes, Dim Sums
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Chinese Steamed Savoury Cake 鹹蛋糕
This is a Chinese-style steamed sponge cake with savoury filling.
The combination of the sweet and the savoury is not really that uncommon in Chinese cuisine, think of the Chinese steamed buns, for example the Char Siew Pau, which is also a combination of sweet bun with savoury roast pork filling.
Adapted from the recipe '鹹蛋糕' in '點心專輯 Chinese Snacks' by 黃淑惠 Huang Su-Huei, published by Wei-Chuan Publishing, 1995 (1996 revised edition).
[Ingredients]
Sponge Cake:
4 eggs, at room temperature
1/8 teaspoon salt
160g caster sugar
75g plain flour
45g cornflour
20g melted butter
40ml hot water
Filling and Topping:
2 to 3 tablespoons crispy fried shallots 油蔥酥
1 tablespoon (20ml) light soy sauce
1 teaspoon caster sugar
3 to 4 tablespoons pork floss 豬肉鬆
http://cafeoftheeast.blogspot.com/
[Preparation]
Sponge Cake:
1. Line a 18cm aluminium steaming basket (with holes at the bottom, see tip below) with a piece of wet, but wring dry, pudding cloth. Start boiling water in a wok, with water level at least 1cm below where you intent to place the cake for steaming. (I used a wok with a steaming rack sitting across the middle of the wok and water about 1cm below the rack.) Sift the plain flour and cornflour together three times and set aside. Mix melted butter with hot water and set aside.
2. Beat eggs and salt for about 1 minute on medium high speed. Start adding sugar gradually as you continue to beat the egg mixture. Beat until the mixture leaves a trail of ribbon when you lift the egg beater, total beating time can be 6 to 10 minutes depending on the power of your beater.
3. Sift the flour mixture in a few batches into the egg mixture and fold in after sifting in each batch. Once all the flour is folded in, pour the butter/water mixture along the outer edges of the batter and fold in.
4. Pour half the batter into the prepared steaming basket. Steam for about 8 - 10 minutes, depending on how strong the heat of your stove is. Open the cover of the steamer, drizzle half the shallot mixture evenly over the surface of the cake. Then spread half the pork floss evenly over the surface as well. Pour the rest of the cake batter over, drizzle the remaining shallot mixture evenly over the surface of the cake batter. Then spread the remaining pork floss evenly over the surface. Cover and steam for another 8 - 10 minutes. Turn off heat but do not remove the cover immediately. Wait five minutes before removing the cake from the steamer, this is the lazy man method of preventing water dripping onto the cake when you open the cover. Let cool before serving.
Filling and Topping:
Mix crispy fried shallots, light soy sauce and sugar together. Put pork floss aside separately.
[Tip]
Use bamboo steamer if you don’t have an aluminium steaming basket. Note that the bamboo steamer will be shallower than an aluminium steaming basket, so you may need a 20cm diameter steamer in this case.
[Note]
1. Please note this recipe uses 1 standard cup of 250ml, 1 tablespoon of 20ml and 1 teaspoon of 5ml.
2. The size of egg used is about 60g (includes shell) unless otherwise stated.Labels: Asian Cakes, Teatime Treats
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Honeycomb Cake
I am still struggling with my sick computer at the moment, after fixing one problem, it seems another problem always pops up again, grrrrrrr…
BTW still owe another meme article I promised to write up, will do that soon (probably after Chinese New Year) as I’ve just been too busy with work lately!
This is just an experimental version of the Honeycomb Cake I adapted from a recipe by prominent Malaysian food writer, Amy Beh. Not 100% yet since the cake separated into 2 layers, a fluffy sponge on top with the more traditional chewy texture of honeycomb cake at the bottom.
I was not going to post this version, but since there’s a request for it, I will just post it for reference purposes. I added vinegar to further create the reaction with baking soda to make a more substantial honeycomb structure. If any of you do try and improve further on this version, I would appreciate it if you could let me know, yeah…
Adapted from the recipe 'Honeycomb Cake' by Amy Beh at The Star Online Kuali, Malaysia.
[Ingredients]
100g granulated sugar
200ml water
75g plain flour
75g cornflour
1 teaspoon baking soda
125g butter
200g sweetened condensed milk
4 egg yolks
½ teaspoon vanilla essence
4 egg whites
50g caster sugar (could increase, not sweet enough for my taste)
1 teaspoon white vinegar
http://cafeoftheeast.blogspot.com/
[Preparation]
1. Preheat oven to 180°C. Grease and line a 20cm round cake tin.
2. Mix together plain flour, cornflour and baking soda, then sift and set aside.
3. Caramelise granulated sugar until golden brown in colour. Remove away from heat and add water, be very careful as the sugar syrup will splatter! Put back onto stove and cook until all sugar crystals dissolve. Cool.
4. Cream butter until fluffy, then add condensed milk, beat to combine. Add egg yolks, beat again to combine. Beat in vanilla essence.
5. In another clean bowl, whisk egg whites until soft peaks formed. Gradually add caster sugar and beat until stiff. Beat in vinegar.
6. Fold flour mixture into butter mixture. Fold in cold sugar syrup. Fold in meringue.
7. Pour into prepared tin and leave to sit for 5 minutes before putting into the oven to bake. Bake for about 1 hour, or until cooked.
[Note]
1. Please note this recipe uses 1 standard cup of 250ml, 1 tablespoon of 20ml and 1 teaspoon of 5ml.
2. The size of egg used is about 60g (includes shell) unless otherwise stated.Labels: Asian Cakes, Teatime Treats
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Kue Lapis Legit / Spekkoek
Lapis Legit, or Spekkoek (a Dutch word meaning lard cake or wafer) is an Indonesian cake associated with the Dutch colonization of the country.
Kue Lapis Legit (‘kue’ is Indonesian for ‘kuih’, ‘lapis’ meaning layer, ‘legit’ meaning sweet or nice and sticky of cake) is the more commonly known name for the cake in Indonesia, but the name Spekkoek or Spekuk is still being used also. In Malaysia or Singapore, it is called Kuih Lapis Batavia (Batavia was the Capital of Dutch East Indies, now the site of Jakarta), in order to differentiate it from another pudding of the region also commonly known as Kuih Lapis (or Kuih Lapis Beras) which is steamed and made with rice flour.
I have been wanting to try making this cake for a long time. However with about 30 egg yolks needed for a normal sized cake, I have never been brave enough to try. With the frenzy of cake orders from last week, I was left with over 20 egg yolks in my fridge, so the time has come for me to try this cake finally. I chose to use a recipe posted by a boardmate from Sarawak at 克萊兒的點心小棧 when we were discussing the cake about 2 or 3 years ago, as her family recipe uses only egg yolks, no egg whites at all. I was not too keen to use any recipes with some egg whites in them because apparently egg whites will make the cake firmer, not as soft as it should be. I halved the recipe using about 15 egg yolks and used a small loaf tin to bake it.
My ancient oven has a separate grill and oven. The grill does not have any temperature indicator, so I have to put a thermometer under the grill to control the temperature. Well, it was not too bad for a first attempt, the cake was very soft and moist, however I have to admit I actually burnt the first layer… and had to throw away that first layer and start all over again! Therefore be warned if you want to attempt making this cake – do not move away from the grill during the baking period, you have to watch it diligently at all time!
Adapted from the recipe '印尼千層糕' (posted by yy on February 16, 2003) at 克萊兒的點心小棧 (留言版), Canada.
Makes one small loaf tin.
[Ingredients]
Lapis Legit:
300g (about 15) egg yolks
125g caster sugar
50g sweetened condensed milk
50g plain flour
1 – 2 teaspoon(s) Lapis Legit Spice, depending on your taste
250g butter, softened at room temperature
Lapis Legit Spice (Bumbu Lapis Legit):
5cm length cinnamon quill (1 teaspoon ground cinnamon)
10 cloves (1/2 teaspoon ground clove)
5 green cardamoms (1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom)
1 segment of star anise (1/4 teaspoon ground star anise)
http://cafeoftheeast.blogspot.com/
[Preparation]
Lapis Legit Spice:
Toast the spices in a dry frying pan over medium to low heat for about 5 minutes. Remove and let cool. Split green cardamom pods by crushing lightly in a pestle and mortar, then remove seeds and discard pods. Put cardamom seeds, cinnamon quill, cloves and star anise segment in the pestle and mortar and grind into powder. Sift the mixed spice through a fine sieve before using, you should get about 2 teaspoons of the mixed spice.
Lapis Legit:
1. Whisk egg yolks and sugar until it is like a thick, mousse-like mixture and when you lift the whisk, leaves a trail like a piece of ribbon.
2. Add condensed milk and beat in to combine. Fold in sifted flour and Lapis Legit Spice.
3. Cream butter until light and fluffy. Little by little, mix the egg mixture into the creamed butter (see image 1 below, batter of Lapis Legit).
4. Preheat grill (or the top element of your oven) to about 120°C. Grease a loaf tin well and line bottom with a piece of baking paper, grease the paper as well. Put the empty prepared loaf tin under the grill to heat up for a couple of minutes.
5. Remove the loaf tin from the heat and use a ladle to scoop about 1/3 cup of batter into the tin. Use the back of a spoon to distribute the batter evenly and level the surface, the bottom part of the batter will start to melt from the heat, but do not worry about it. Put the tin back under the grill and grill for about 3-5 minutes, or until the top is golden brown in colour, you have to watch it carefully to prevent it from burning into charcoal (see image 2 above, golden brown layer of Lapis Legit)! Remove the loaf tin from the grill, prick the surface with a toothpick or bamboo skewer, then ladle another layer of batter on top, repeat as above making the layers until all batter is used up.
6. When the final layer is done, put the cake into a preheated oven (or turn off top element and turn on bottom element of your oven), 150°C, for about 15 minutes to finish baking.
7. Stand cake in tin for about 5 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool (see image 3 above).
[Tip]
You may replace the Lapis Legit Spice with just 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon if you have problems getting the other spices.
[Variation]
Lapis Prune
(Note: I have not try this myself!)
Add about 200 - 250g seedless prunes. Cut each prune open and flatten. Then arrange a layer of the flattened prune after every 3 layers of batter.
[Note]
1. Please note this recipe uses 1 standard cup of 250ml, 1 tablespoon of 20ml and 1 teaspoon of 5ml.
2. The size of egg used is about 60g (includes shell) unless otherwise stated.Labels: Asian Cakes, Festives
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Japanese Soufflé Cheesecake
I like to eat both the traditional baked cheesecake and the Japanese-style soufflé cheesecake. The former is denser and heavier with an intense cheesy
flavour, whilst the latter is lighter, fluffier, less intense and makes you feel like eating clouds, well, that’s what I would imaging how clouds would taste like… So sometimes I would alternate between making either one or the other.
As it was this past week, I found myself with half a tub of cream in my fridge which was one day from expiring, and a block of cream cheese which was going to expire very very soon too. Well, what should I do with them, throw them away? No! Not yet but I needed to use them up immediately to make something… So could I use them to make the Japanese cheesecake since one block of 250g cream cheese is really not enough to make the traditional cheesecake?
The recipe I use often to make the Japanese cheesecake does not include cream at all. But I thought I might just experiment by substitute some ingredients in the recipe with cream… Why ever not? So here it is, my new version of Japanese cheesecake and I am also rid of the two nearly expiring items in my fridge without any wastage! The result was quite successful, very creamy and real yummy in terms of the texture… I don’t know whether it was my imagination or not, but I thought this new version is also sturdier and creamier than the original. Will definitely make it again! The only problem again was appearance-wise with the cracks on top of the cheesecake. I have never been able to bake a Japanese cheesecake without some sort of cracks on the surface. I tried all the tricks, like using water-bath, and not beating egg whites until stiff peaks… but nothing works for me. Grrrrrrrr… I think the problem may lies in the oven temperature used. Of course this time I could not stop my meddling hands and experimented by playing around with the oven temperature once again, using higher temperature than normal (200°C) at the beginning then lower temperature (150°C) to finish baking. Well, it didn’t help as the cracks still appear. Maybe I should just bake it by using low temperature all the way and bake longer…
Final thoughts, this cheesecake will rise up during baking, but upon cooling it will sink back to its original level, so don’t worry too much about it. The thing to remember is to let the cheesecake cool completely in its tin before turning out. Oh, and make sure when you melt the cream cheese and the cream, whisk them thoroughly until smooth before adding to the other ingredients – as any lumps will sink to the bottom after baking making the cheesecake quite dense on the bottom! Oh, another thing – always use the cream cheese in blocks, not THOSE that say ‘spreadable’ in tubs which are not suitable for baking!
Adapted from the recipe ‘中乳酪蛋糕’ at 克萊兒的點心小棧, Canada.
Makes one 20cm cheesecake.
[Ingredients]
250g cream cheese
200ml thickened cream (35% milkfat)
40g (1/3 cup) cornflour
4 egg yolks
75g (1/3 cup) caster sugar (A)
finely grated zest from 1 lemon
40ml (2 tablespoons) lemon juice
4 egg whites
75g (1/3 cup) caster sugar (B)
Apricot Glaze:
Heat 1 tablespoon Apricot Jam with 1 tablespoon water, then sieve to get a smooth glaze
http://cafeoftheeast.blogspot.com/
[Preparation]
1. Preheat oven to 200°C. Grease a 20cm round cake tin and line bottom with baking paper.
2. Dissolve cream cheese with thickened cream in a bowl placed over simmering water (or in a double-boiler). Remove from heat. Whisk until smooth. Cool slightly.
3. Beat egg yolks with caster sugar (A), lemon zest and juice. Gradually whisk the warm cheese mixture into the yolk mixture. Fold in cornflour.
4. Beat egg whites until foamy with uniform tiny bubbles. Gradually beat in caster sugar (B), spoonful by spoonful, until firm but not to stiff peaks stage.
5. Fold 1/3 of the meringue into the cheese mixture. Repeat two more times with the rest of the meringue.
5. Pour batter into the prepared tin. Place the cake tin in a deep roasting tray and fill the tray with hot water to halfway up the sides of the cake tin.
6. Bake for 10 - 15 minutes, or until the top of the cake starts to colour. Then turn oven temperature down to 150°C and bake for another 25 - 30 minutes, or until cooked. Let cool completely before turning out. If the cake is hard to turn out, assist it by placing the tin over warm water briefly. Glaze the top of the cheesecake before serving.
[Note]
1. Please note this recipe uses 1 standard cup of 250ml, 1 tablespoon of 20ml and 1 teaspoon of 5ml.
2. The size of egg used is about 60g (includes shell) unless otherwise stated.
Addendum November 1, 2005
Baked another Japanese Soufflé Cheesecake, but this time I used 150°C from beginning to end (thanks Cete!) and baked in water-bath for just over one hour (could try 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 hours next time) - yipee, NO big cracks!Labels: Asian Cakes, Cheesecakes
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Pandan Swiss Roll
Having made a number of Chinese snacks the last few weeks, I was starting to crave for cakes again. Flipping through some of the recipes
I have collected, I decided to try something new I have not made before and preferably with a South East Asian flavour. So, it came down to either a Pandan Kaya Cake or a Pandan Swiss Roll. Both these cakes are pandan flavoured sponge cakes with custard fillings made with mung bean starch. Of the two, Pandan Swiss Roll seemed to be the easier of the two, so Pandan Swiss Roll it was.
I decided to adapt the Raspberry Swiss Roll recipe from Jo’s Deli Bakery since that was the only Swiss roll recipe that I have ever had success with. As for the filling, I decided to just follow the instruction on the back of the mung bean starch (綠豆粉) packet for the ‘Mung Bean Custard Pudding’ (粉粿) but made slight changes to turn it into a pandan flavoured filling for the Swiss roll. Since this is the first time I am attempting this cake, I was not sure how much filling to make, so I used the whole packet of the 90g mung bean starch. As it turned out, that was more than enough for the filling. So remember to adjust it for yourself.
If mung bean starch is unavailable, an alternate filling would be Chantilly Cream (sweetened whipped cream – see note) with a little pandan juice or pandan paste added.
Adapted from the recipe ‘Raspberry Swiss Roll’ at Jo’s Deli Bakery, Malaysia.
[Ingredients]
Sponge Sheet (for 30cm x 25cm x 2cm Swiss Roll pan):
3 egg yolks
30g caster sugar (A)
1/4 teaspoon pandan paste, or adjust for colouring
40ml (2 tablespoons) canola or corn oil
40ml (2 tablespoons) pandan juice (see tip)
30g plain flour
30g cornflour
1 tablespoon coconut milk powder
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
3 egg whites
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
50g caster sugar (B)
Filling:
(This amount will be more than enough for the filling, you can set the leftover filling in a mould to make into a Pandan Coconut Custard Pudding; otherwise just halve the quantity of the ingredients.)
90g (1 packet) mung bean starch (tepung hun kwee)
150g caster sugar
400ml (1 tin) coconut cream
200ml water
1/4 teaspoon pandan paste, or adjust for colouring
http://cafeoftheeast.blogspot.com/
[Preparation]
For the Sponge Sheet:
1. Preheat oven to 180°C. Grease and line (bottom only) a 30cm x 25cm Swiss roll pan. Sift together plain flour, cornflour, coconut milk powder and baking powder, set aside.
2. Put egg yolks, caster sugar (A) and pandan paste in a large mixing bowl and whisk to dissolve sugar. Add oil and pandan juice and whisk to combine well.
3. Whisk egg whites and cream of tartar in another mixing bowl until soft peaks formed. Add caster sugar (B) gradually, spoonful by spoonful, whisking until stiff peaks formed.
4. Sift the flour mixture into the egg yolk mixture, whisking lightly to combine. Fold 1/3 of the meringue into the egg yolk batter lightly and gently. Repeat twice more with the rest of the meringue.
5. Pour the batter into the prepared pan, spread evenly. Tap the pan lightly on the bench a couple of times to get rid of any large air bubbles in the batter.
6. Bake in preheated oven for about 20 minutes, or until the surface feels dry.
7. Remove from oven and stand 5 minutes. Loosen sides of cake from the pan if necessary. Evenly sprinkle a little caster sugar over the surface of the cake, put a sheet of baking paper over the cake, then a cake rack over that. Turn over to release the cake from the pan. Remove the lining paper on the bottom of the cake. Turn the cake, right side up, back into its pan to cool.
For the Filling:
Put the mung bean starch into a large saucepan. Add a little of the water to dissolve the starch, whisk to remove any lumps. Add the remaining ingredients and cook over low to medium heat until thickened, whisking constantly. Remove from heat and let cool for about 5 - 10 minutes.
For the Swiss Roll:
Put a sheet of baking paper on the bench, turn the cold cake onto the paper, crust side down. Trim off the crisp edges and make a couple of parallel shallow cuts along the near edge of the cake (the near side where you will start rolling), this is to assist in the rolling process. Spread the warm filling (use as much or as little of the filling according to your taste) onto the cake, to within 2cm of the edges. Grasp the edge of the paper and roll up the cake using the paper as a guide (just like rolling sushi). Once the cake is rolled up, lightly tightened the paper so that the paper wraps around the cake. Leave for about 30 minutes until the rolled-up cake is stable. Remove the paper and put the cake in a covered container and chill in the refrigerator until ready to serve.
[Tips]
1. To get pandan juice, add a little water to 5 - 6 fresh pandan leaves (frozen is also fine), then pound or blend the leaves to obtain juice. If pandan leaves are unavailable, substitute pandan juice with water but increase the amount of pandan paste to 1/2 or 1 teaspoon depending on how deep you want the colour of your cake to be.
2. To make Chantilly Cream, whip 300ml thickened or whipping cream with about 2 tablespoons icing sugar added.
[Note]
1. Please note this recipe uses 1 standard cup of 250ml, 1 tablespoon of 20ml and 1 teaspoon of 5ml.
2. The size of egg used is about 60g (includes shell) unless otherwise stated.Labels: Asian Cakes, Cakes and Cupcakes
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Mango Chiffon Cake
I love to read cooking, especially baking, articles from different countries. The Indonesian website,
Sedap Sekejap is one that I visit quite regularly. They always have interesting recipes
using local produce like tropical fruits. I have been eyeing this recipe for Chempedak Chiffon Cake for quite a while, but not being able to get chempedak here easily, I have not been able to try it out.
Over the weekend, I was thinking of baking a chiffon cake since I haven’t baked one for quite a while. I was also itching to bake something new other than the same old favourites like pandan or lemon flavoured chiffons. I looked into my cupboard pantry and saw 2 tins of mango sitting prettily there, just waiting to be used. So I finally went and dug out this Chempedak Chiffon Cake recipe and adapted it to use mango instead.
Mango, however, is not one ingredient that has a pronounced fragrance, especially if you bake it. Now because chiffon cake is very light, I am not able to add chunky bits of mango flesh to provide texture, they would all sink to the bottom after baking. Believe me, I have done it before with raspberry and had a disastrous result! So in order to give the cake that special lift, I added mango essence and lime juice! The result is quite good, I must say – the fragrance from the essence is superb and the lime juice give it a tangy flavour!
Adapted from the recipe ‘Chiffon Cempedak’ at Sedap Sekejap, Indonesia.
Makes a 25cm cake
[Ingredients]
A – sift together 3 times, set aside:
120g plain flour
30g cornflour
2 tablespoons (about 20g) coconut milk powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
B:
7 egg yolks
90g caster sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
100g mango puree
1 teaspoon mango essence
40ml mango juice
40ml lime juice
100ml corn oil
C – meringue:
7 egg whites
90g caster sugar
pinch cream of tartar
http://cafeoftheeast.blogspot.com/
[Preparation]
1. Preheat oven to 160°C. Sift ingredients (A) together 3 times, set aside.
2. Put egg yolks, sugar and salt in a large mixing bowl and whisk to dissolve sugar. Add the rest of ingredients (B) and whisk to combine well.
3. Whisk egg whites and cream of tartar in another mixing bowl until soft peaks formed. Add sugar gradually, spoonful by spoonful, whisking until glossy but not quite stiff peaks stage.
4. Sift the flour mixture in 4-5 batches onto the mango mixture, whisking the flour mixture lightly into the batter after each addition. Fold 1/3 of the meringue into the mango batter lightly and gently. Repeat twice more with the rest of the meringue.
5. Pour batter into an ungreased 25cm angel food cake tube pan. Run a knife in the batter around a few times, then tap the pan lightly on the bench a couple of times to rid any large air bubbles in the batter.
6. Bake for about 1 hour. Remove from oven and turn the tube pan upside down immediately and elevate the overturned pan on 3 glasses to cool. When completely cold, run a knife around the edges of the pan to loosen the cake. Take out the tube part of the pan, run the knife around the bottom of the cake to loosen it and turn out onto a cake platter.
[Note]
1. Please note this recipe uses 1 standard cup of 250ml, 1 tablespoon of 20ml and 1 teaspoon of 5ml.
2. The size of egg used is about 60g (includes shell) unless otherwise stated.Labels: Asian Cakes, Cakes and Cupcakes
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Steamed Banana Muffins
Huh? You asked, what’s that, steamed muffins? Yes, nothing wrong with your eyes or my typing skill for that matter – that’s correct, I steamed my muffins!
Well, actually the wacky part of my mind sprung that idea and took me by surprise too – I was craving for a Chinese-styled steamed sponge cake, but could not be bothered to do all the egg-whisking. So was thinking of a simple and fast way to steam something that would at least resemble the sponge cake. So what’s the simplest and faster way to whisk, pardon the pun, up something delicious – muffins of course! I thought, why-ever not – I took a Banana Muffins recipe and adapted it. Voila, it actually worked and they were so soft and spongy that I was quite taken aback! Well, well, well, how come nobody has thought of this before! I kept asking myself…… Next up, might even try to steam my favourite blueberry muffins, what do you think?
Makes 6 Chinese teacups.
[Ingredients]
150g self-raising flour
80g caster sugar
1/2 cup (approx. 125g) mashed banana, from 1 large over-ripe banana
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon vanilla essence
1 egg, lightly beaten
50ml corn oil
50ml milk
http://cafeoftheeast.blogspot.com/
[Preparation]
1. Prepare the steamer and boil the water. Put 6 empty Chinese teacups in the steamer and heat them up, at least 10 minutes.
2. Sift flour and sugar into a mixing bowl.
3. Mash the banana, add lemon juice to it.
4. Mix together lightly beaten egg, corn oil, milk and vanilla essence.
5. Add the mashed banana and liquid mixture into the flour mixture. Quickly and lightly fold in as you would muffin batter. Do not over-mix.
6. Divide the batter evenly into the six hot teacups.
7. Steam over rapidly boiling water for about 25 minutes. Serve hot or cold.
[Note]
1. Please note this recipe uses 1 standard cup of 250ml, 1 tablespoon of 20ml and 1 teaspoon of 5ml.
2. The size of egg used is about 60g (includes shell) unless otherwise stated.Labels: Asian Cakes, Quick Breads
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Paper-Lined Sponge Cakes 紙包蛋糕
I made these cupcakes finally after someone asked about them the other day at
Jo’s Deli Bakery Message Board. I originally got the recipe from
‘Cookeasy’ web site from Hong Kong a while ago before that site closed down end of last year. I have meant to try it out long before this as it is one of my favourite sponge cake. But what with one thing or another, I have never got around to it.
So over the weekend, after having dug out the recipe, I finally baked these cupcakes. Well, they turned out quite good, soft and light and airy, although not quite as fine a texture as those sold in Chinese bakeries. I suspect that those bakeries’ ones are made with the inclusion of sponge cake emulsifier which makes the cake’s texture finer and even softer. But I am still quite satisfied with this version. Will definitely make them again!
Adapted from the recipe ‘紙包蛋糕’ (posted by Giulio on June 27, 2001) at ‘Cookeasy’ website, Hong Kong.
Makes approx. 8 cupcakes
[Ingredients]
5 eggs, separated
pinch salt
120g caster sugar
60g cake flour
15g cornflour
60g melted unsalted butter
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
http://cafeoftheeast.blogspot.com/
[Preparation]
1. Prepare 8 dariole moulds. Cut 8 square pieces of baking paper large enough to fit into each mould. Place a piece of paper centred on top of a mould and put another mould on it, press down. Continue stacking the rest of the papers and moulds, set aside.
2. Preheat oven to 180°C. Combine cake flour and cornflour, sift twice.
3. Beat egg whites with pinch of salt until soft peaks. Gradually add the caster sugar and beat until stiff.
4. Beat the egg yolks and vanilla essence lightly and add into the beaten whites, fold in with a spatula. Sift the flour mixture into the egg mixture, fold in lightly and quickly.
5. Add the melted butter, fold in until well combined.
6. Unstack the paper-lined moulds, place the moulds on a baking tray. Divide the batter into the paper-lined moulds to about 80% full.
7. Bake in preheated oven for 20-25 minutes.
[Note]
Please note this recipes uses 1 standard cup of 250ml, 1 tablespoon of 20ml and 1 teaspoon of 5ml.Labels: Asian Cakes, Teatime Treats
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