mango mouuse cake 2

Same cake, different sponge

Sponge cake by Alex Goh (from Crummb)
4 eggs, separated (each egg to weigh 60g without shells)
120g castor sugar
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
110g plain flour
70g melted butter (must be hot when added to batter)

1. Using a hand-held mixer, whisk egg yolks till smooth. Add 20g of the sugar and vanilla and continue whisking until yolks puff up and the colour turns very pale - like the lightest shade of peach – and doesn’t turn any paler (about 2 mins).
2. In another bowl, whisk egg whites until soft peaks form. Add the remaining 100g of sugar and whisk until stiff peaks form.
3. Fold egg whites into egg yolks until just combined. Just use a rubber spatula.
4. Sieve in flour and fold in gently. Add in hot melted butter (to be safe, pour down the side of the bowl so it won’t agitate too many air bubbles) and fold in gently and quickly.
5. Pour into 8-inch round pan and bake at 190 deg C for 30 minutes. When done, cake will shrink by a few mm but still stand at a beautiful 2 inches.

Mango mousse (re-invented)
750ml mango puree / puree 2 large sweet mangoes in blender
2 tbsp orange liqueur
1 tsp lime juice
5 tsp unflavoured gelatin
50ml water
500ml of whipping cream

In bowl, combine mango puree, sugar, orange liqueur and lime juice; set aside.
In small saucepan, sprinkle gelatin over water. Let stand for 5 minutes and dissolve over medium-low heat.Stir gelatin into puree mixture.Refrigerate for about 30 minutes.
Whip cream till soft peaks and fold one-third into remaining puree.
Fold in remaining whipped cream.

Mango Gelee
150g mango puree
1 tsp lemon juice
1 Tbsp gelatin
4 Tbsp water

Dissolve gelatin and mix it in mango puree.
Pour over set mousse in cake ring and allow it to set in the fridge. (takes aound 1-2hr)

Tasting notes and learning points: I love the texture of the gelee and the lemon helps cut thru the sweetness of the cake and keeps the mango from being oxidised. The mousse turned out better than before, full of mango flavor and yet light on the palate. Adding mango cubes in the mousse helped with the flavor and texture. However, the sponge was a denser and drier than the genoise. (I'm not sure if it's because I overbaked it.) I still suck at estimating proportions, ended up with a lot of extra mousse.

Chocolate surprise (lemon) cake

Made this for E's birthday today. It turned out surprisingly well except for the glaze. I say surprisingly because I came up with this myself. Hee ;-)

So the layers are as follows: (from the base)

1. German chocolate cake (1cm) made from Rose's heavenly cake with 200g instead of 300g of sugar and 1 extra egg as the eggs I have are rather small

2. Chocolate praline layer (0.5cm) adapted from Pierre Herme using 50g dark chocolate, 200g nutella, 15g butter and 1 +1/3 cup feuilletine

3. Thin layer of chocolate mousse using 70% valrhona, cream, milk, 1 tbsp each of rum & Cointreau

4. Frozen lemon cream (0.5cm) courtesy of Pierre Herme

5. Thin layer of chocolate mousse

6. Cake 1cm

7. Remaining mouse 1cm

8. Chocolate lacquer glaze from RHC

Next time, I'll use valrhona 64% for the mousse instead or maybe try the mousse recipe from either Pierrre Herme or Hidemi Sugino.

Moist chocolate raspberry genoise

Finally got around making this. It turned out much heavier than expected.

The taste was moist and chocolatly with a hint of raspberry, somewhat similar to the sacher torte I made the last time since they are made of essentially the same elements. Will I make this again? Most likely not. I'll much rather make the sacher torte.

I

Classic genoise with strawberries and chocolate whipped cream

Made this over the weekend as I wanted to try out my new 6 inch cake pans. So I made the classic genoise batter for a 9 inch cake and divided into two 6 inch pans. The pans managed ffto fit into the tiny oven together. I was planning to make one cake at first but the two small cakes turned out taller than the usual 9 inch one. Hence, I ended but filling & frosting both cakes in the end, after slicing the cake into 3 layers each. It was filled with chocolate whipped cream and strawberries, covered with chocolate ganache. It turned out rather yummy actually.

Fiesta cheesecake & strawberry shortcake

I was planning to re-create the strawberry souffle from Flor since strawberries were on sale. But alas, the Japanese cheesecake was not to be. I overbeat the egg whites to stiff peak and the cake rose spectacularly like a souffle and fell just as spectacularly too. Ha ha. But it still tasted great though! Reminded me of fiesta cheesecake which used to be quite popular.

Slight changes to the recipe: used 120g of sugar instead and omitted the lemon. Also, as the eggs were small, I used 6 egg yolks and 7 whites. That resulted in a more pronounced cheese flavor. Will probably attempt again when my poor ego recovers.

Because of this "failure", I ended up making a strawberry shortcake using the genoise. There wasn't much problems with the baking but the I tried to use the mascarpone whipped cream recipe by Tish Boyle which didn't work so well for the cake. Only thing I learned was "sweetening" the tart strawberries by mixing the sliced strawberries with 2 tbsp of sugar and letting it sit for 2hours to macerate.

Flourless chocolate almond cake

Read about this on Times online and Little Teochew and felt that I need to try it. This is also known as Queen of Sheba cake although I'm not sure why.


Flourless chocolate almond cake

200g dark, bitter chocolate (I used Valrhona 66 %)
1 tbsp strong espresso coffee (omitted)
1 tbsp rum or brandy
120g caster sugar
150g butter
100g ground almonds
5 eggs, separated (used 6 small eggs instead)
Icing sugar for dusting

Melt the chocolate, coffee, rum or brandy, half the sugar and butter in a bowl sitting in a pot of barely simmering water. Remove from the heat and stir until well mixed.

Add the ground almonds and mix well. Beat in the egg yolks, one by one.

Beat the egg whites until soft peak, add sugar and beat till stiff and glossy. Stir a couple of spoonfuls into the chocolate mixture to lighten it, before gently folding in the rest.

Turn into a buttered and floured 20cm (8in) round or square cake tin and bake at 180C for 40 to 50 minutes (less if you like it fudgey, more if you like it cakey) at the lowest rack.

The cake will rise almost to the top of the tin before cracking and falling. Leave to cool before removing gently from the tin, and dust with icing sugar to serve.

Tasting notes & learning points: The cake was intensely chocolaty with a mousse-like texture. The ground almond gives it a slight nutty texture. I might cut the sugar to 100g the next time as I like dark bitter chocolate more and maybe try a cake without the almond for a pure chocolate indulgence.

Pierre Herme's Black Forest Cake

Finally made this cake with Elaine's help today. Thank goodness for Mingtze's optimism and faith in the recipe. It was actually quite yummy. No need to cut the sugar as the sweet cake balances the sourish cherries and cream very well.

Tasting notes & learning points: I only used 2-3tbsp of syrup per cake layer and trimmed the cake to fit a 8 inch ring. I will probably use more cherries next time as I used 200g of cherries but I don't think it is enough. Also, need to fold the meringue properly into the batter. A topping of chocolate shavings will be perfect and I think more whipped cream is not necc. And perhaps to make it less stressful, prepare the chocolate whipped cream, cherries, syrup and cocoa cake the day before. Assemble the cake and chill it for at least 3 hours.

Tiramisu layer cake 2

Made this again yesterday for tonight's dinner party.

Some changes to the recipe.

1. Added 4tsp of coffee extract to the chocolate genoise while melting the cocoa powder

2. For the cream: Whisk 8 egg yolks, 1/3 cup +1 tbsp sugar + 1/2 cup rum over double boiler to make zabagloine. Whip 500g mascarpone cheese briefly and add zabagloine followed by gelatine mixture and 1tbsp rum to it. Used 300ml of cream instead.

3. Syrup = 120ml coffee + 3tbsp kahlua + 3 tbsp bailey's. Use 6tbsp per layer (12tbsp per cake)

Tasting notes & learning points: yummy, moist & flavourful with a punch. May use less cream next time, maybe 240ml instead of 300

sacher torte

I was planning to try Rose's moist chocolate genoise and came across a post on sacher torte by Chubby Hubby. In the post, S used the same genoise to create the cake. Hence, I decided to try to do the same. There's just one tiny problem, how do you create a cake you've never tried before? Hmm...


Sacher torte

Make the parts

1/2 recipe of moist chocolate genoise gives a 9-inch cake which is sliced into 2 after removing top, sides and bottom - takes 25-35mins (30minutes) to bake

syrup = 80ml cocoa syrup (p189 of Rose's heavenly cake) + 1 tbsp each of dark rum, kirsch and orange liquor

1.5cup of bittersweet chocolate glaze (p306 of Tish Boyle's The Cake Book)

Apricot filling made by heating 1 bottle (250ml) of St Dalfour apricot jam and 3 tbsp of water in saucepan at medium heat till it bubbles. Pour mixture through a fine-mesh sieve.

Assemble the cake.

Brush 2 tbsp of syrup on each side of the cake slice. (total 8tbsp needed for the whole cake)
Once the syrup is absorbed, spread 1/3 of jam over the cake layer. Top with remaining cake layer. Spread top and sides of cake with remaining jam. Refrigerate the cake for at least 30mnutes.

While waiting for cake to chill, make the glaze. Pour glaze over cake once cake is chilled.

Allow cake to stand for at least 1hour before serving.

Learning points and tasting notes.
The cake was moist and soft. Not overly sweet and the apricot gave a nice tangy-ness. However, the glaze was a little disappointing looks-wise as it did not look as glossy and dark as I thought it should. Maybe I'll try the version on Chubby Hubby next time. Everyone liked the cake but could not discern the apricot flavor, might have to try another brand of jam or make my own the next time. Also, the sponge needs more time to absorb the syrup before putting the jam.

Tiramisu layer cake

I wanted to try the chocolate genoise from Rose's Cake Bible. Hence, decided to make it into a tiramisu layer cake.


Tiramisu layer cake

First, bake the chocolate genoise (recipe from The Cake Bible). I did not change anything from this recipe and the chocolate genoise turned out perfectly moist and soft.

Then, make the coffee soaking syrup by adding 1tbsp of kahlua to 6tbsp of cooled espresso coffee (2x nespresso espresso).

Followed by the mascarpone whipped cream
6 egg yolks
1/3 cup castor sugar
½ cup brandy/rum
250g mascarpone cheese
400ml heavy whipping cream
1.5tsp gelatine melted in 3tbsp water

Whisk (5-10mins) egg yolk, sugar & rum in bowl over simmering water until thick to make zabaglione. Keep whisking even when removed from water till it cools down. (to avoid making sweet scrambled egg)

Add gelatine mixture to zabaglione. Whisk well to combine. Whisk mascarpone in standmixer for 30sec, add zabaglione (room temperature) and whisk till combined. Keep in fridge.

In separate bowl, whip cream to stiff peaks. Gently fold into above mixture.

Finally, assemble the cake.

Torte the cake and slice it into 2 layers to fit into 8inch cake ring. Place 1 cake layer into cake ring and sprinkle 3 tbsp of coffee syrup. Put 1/2 of mascarpone whipped cream on the cake layer. Repeat with the 2nd cake layer. It will come up to almost the top of the 3 inch high cake ring. Seal the top with cling wrap and place cake in fridge for 24hours for the flavours to meld.

To serve, remove cake ring and dust a layer of cocoa powder on the top.

Tasting notes & learning points: The cake turned out nice and soft and light. However, there seems to be lacking the oomph flavour. Will consider putting 4tbsp of syrup per layer instead the next time and maybe add some rum in the whipped cream. The flavour of rum was very strong initially but seemed to disappear by the second day. Or, maybe add some baileys to the coffee syrup.

chocolate cake for a dear friend

My friend Alex is finally getting married. Hence, I decided to make a small cake for him and his wife and our dear friend, Jianying who came back to sg for the wedding.

This is a smaller 6-inch version of the chocolate mousse layer cake I made previously, using 2/3 of the recipe. The cake was covered with whipped cream as I used 70% dark chocolate for the mousse this time and hence the whipped cream helped to temper the bitterness of the chocolate.

I did however, 1/2 the coffee used in the chocolate mousse which helped accentuate the taste of the chocolate and yet no coffee flavour. I'll probably 1/2 the rum the next time round.

Mango cream & mousse cake for my brother

My little (ok, not so little) brother is leaving for the states to do his phD. I was thinking of getting him a going away present and decided to make him his favorite mango cake. Since KK has a family gathering on sunday, it gave me the perfect excuse to bake a cake, which turned out to be his aunt's birthday cake.


Mango Cream & Mousse Cake

This cake is a combination of the two previous mango cakes I made. It turned out better than I've expected as the mangoes were ripe and sweet.

Cake base - 3 halves of classic genoise

Mango mouuse - refer to previous recipe. The key to success is 2 large ripe mangoes. The amount was more than enough for 2 9inch layers and sides of the cake.

Whipped cream cheese frosting (see below) for 1 layer and and to cover the whole cake

Cubed mangoes - 1 for filling and 2 for toppings

Mango flavored simple syrup - 120ml of Fruit Tree mango juice, 3/4 cup of mango puree and 1 tbsp orange liquer mixed well. Use 5-6tbsp per layer of sponge.

The perfect (ok, I may be exaggerating a little) whipped cream cheese frosting

170g cream cheese
3 tbsp icing sugar
1 tsp vanilla paste
240ml cream

Whip cream cheese, sugar and vanilla in stand-mixer till smooth.
Whisk cream to stiff peak.
Fold whipped cream into cream cheese mixture.

Tasting notes and learning points:

The cake was soft and mango-y without being too sweet. The whipped cream cheese frosting held its shape well, likely due to the presence of icing sugar. I might have overdid it with the topping as the soft layers had difficulty supporting the heavy topping. Also, next time I'll use the leftover sponge and cream to make a triffle.

mango mousse cake

I wanted to try Rose's recipe of genoise rich to see if it makes a cake that is more moist. The initial plan was to make a strawberry shortcake but I seem to have a "lack of affinity" with strawberries as it was sold out (again) in the supermarket. Hence, the decision for a mango mousse cake instead.


Mango Mousse Cake

First, bake the genoise

For the sponge, I used the recipe of genoise riche from Rose's The Cake Bible. It is essentially the same as the classic genoise except that this uses twice the amount of butter. I baked it in a 8x3 inch round cake pan, well greased and floured. The cake took about 45minutes to bake compared to 25-35minutes if I've used a 9 inch springform pan. Hence, I had to cover the top of the cake with foil for the first 30minutes to prevent excessive browning. However, it was magnificently 2 inches tall!

While waiting for the cake to cool, make the mango mousse (adapted from Canadian Living)

750ml mango puree / puree 2 large sweet mangoes in blender
2 tbsp orange liqueur
1 tbsp lime juice
5 tsp unflavoured gelatin
50ml water
500ml of whipping cream

In bowl, combine mango puree, sugar, orange liqueur and lime juice; set aside.
In small saucepan, sprinkle gelatin over water. Let stand for 5 minutes and dissolve over medium-low heat.
Stir gelatin into puree mixture.
Refrigerate for about 30 minutes.
Whip cream till soft peaks and fold one-third into remaining puree. Fold in remaining whipped cream.
Use immediately or keep in fridge.

Don't forget the simple syrup

Place 2 onces of sugar and 120ml of water in a saucepan. Heat till it is boiling and sugar has melted in covered saucepan.
Allow to cool and add 2 tbsp of orange liqueur.

Finally, assemble the cake

Slice the cake horizontally into 3 layers.
Place one layer on a cake cardboard in a 8x3inch round cake ring. Sprinkle 3 tbsp of simple syrup on the cake.Put a third of the mousse over the cake layer and smooth it out a much as possible.
Repeat with the other 2 cake layers.
Place in freezer for 2 hours for mousse to set.
Remove the cake ring by using a hairdryer to warm up the sides.
Serve

Tasting notes and learning points: The mousse was smooth and set nicely but the citrus flavor was a little strong. I think it can do with more mangoes and less cream. The genoise was still a little on the dry side. It was soft and light but not as light as the classic genoise, it was also denser likely due to the excess butter. Maybe will try the golden genoise the next time or consider adding more milk/buttermilk to the classic genoise.

mango cream cake

I was planning to make a chocolate cake with strawberry and white chocolate ganache the whole week but alas! Cold Storage ran out of strawberries and the only ones available are like twice the price of the normal ones. I concluded that it was too expensive for my baking experiments and hence decided on a mango cream cake instead.

Now, what's a mango cream cake? Wells, I imagined one to be a wonderfully soft sponge cake filled with cream cheese frosting and fresh sweet mangoes. Mmm...


Mango Cream Cake

Start by baking 2 classic genoise (see recipe in strawberry yoghurt mousse cake)

While waiting for the cakes to cool, cube 3 large mangoes.
I had to add sugar to the mangoes as they were too sour. Thus, I tried to mitigate it by adding 2 tbsp of sugar + 1 tbsp of mango juice (Fruit Tree is way much better than Peel Fresh for the mango juice) and it sit in the fridge for 15 minutes or so.

Prepare the mango syrup

1/2 cup of chopped mangoes
1 tbsp of sugar (to taste, can omit if mangoes are sweet)
1/3 cup (80ml) of water

Put everything in the blender and blend until smooth.
Strain through a sieve.

Prepare the whipped cream cheese frosting

250ml cream cheese
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 tbsp (45g) sugar
360ml heavy cream

Whip heavy cream until firm peaks. Cover and refrigerate.
Whip cream cheese, sugar and vanilla until creamy and smooth.
Fold a third of the whipped cream into cream cheese mixture.
Fold in the remaining cream
Use immediately or cover and refrigerate.

Finally, assemble the cake

Trim the top crust and slice the genoise into 2 horizontally. We will need 3 halves of the genoise.
Place one of the layers with cut side up on a cardboard cake round.
Brush mango syrup on it. (Each layer needs about 5 tbsp)
Spoon the mangoes on top of the layer.
Spread the whipped cream cheese frosting over the mangoes in an even layer.
Repeat with the middle layer.
For the top layer, brush the syrup, then frost the sides and top of the cake.
Garnish the top of the cake with mangoes and sides with toasted almond flakes.
Serve


Tasting notes & learning points:
So Rose was right after all. The genoise does taste so much better with syrup. According to The Cake Bible, the perfect amount of syrup is 3-4 tbsp for every egg used in the batter. I decided on 3 tbsp/egg since I added milk to my batter. This works out to 12 tbsp of syrup per cake and hence 6 tbsp of syrup per half. However, since the mango cubes are a little moist, I decided to use 5 tbsp of syrup per layer of genoise which worked out fine. The cake was moist and soft and not pasty.
Everyone loved the cake but I felt that it would have been much better if the mangoes were ripe. Toasting almonds can be done easily on a dry frying pan over medium heat which takes about 5 minutes.

strawberry yoghurt mousse layer cake

The main reason for baking this cake was to make genoise. I also wanted to make something light and fruity after the chocolate cake last week. Hence, the strawberry mousse layer cake which seems so very apt for the summer.

According to Wikipedia, a génoise cake (Genoese cake or Genovese cake) is an Italian sponge cake named after the city of Genoa and closely associated with Italian and French cuisine that does not use any chemical leavening, instead using air suspended in the batter during mixing to give volume to the cake. Hence, the beating of the eggs is the most important step to ensure that the cake turns out light and fluffy.

Rose gave an excellent recipe of classic genoise in The Cake Bible with detailed instructions. The only advice I can give is FOLLOW the instructions! My genoise failed the first time because I stopped beating the eggs after 3 minutes as the batter did not seem to be rising any more. That ended up with a genoise achieving half the intended height. For the second time, I beat the eggs at high speed for a full 5 minutes as intended and tweaked the recipe slightly to make it more moist. Thankfully it turned out perfectly soft, spongy and moist with a tender crumb (even without the sugar syrup). It is best eaten immediately or once cooled. If not, the frosting will help keep the cake moist and soft.

Strawberry yogurt mousse layer cake

Start by making the genoise (adapted from Rose's The Cake Bible)

2 oz unsalted butter
4 large eggs / 5 small eggs (~200g without shells)
100g caster sugar

50g cake flour

50g corn starch
2 tbsp warm milk
1 tsp vanilla essence

Preheat oven to 350F/175C (non fan)
Start boiling a pot of water in large saucepan.
Grease & flour a 9-inch springform pan.

Clarify butter by melting it in heavy saucepan over medium heat, partially covered to prevent splattering. Cook uncovered when butter looks clear till solids drop and begin to brown. Pour immediately through a fine strainer into medium sized bowl. This forms the beurre noisette which smells wonderfully delicious.
Add vanilla and milk to beurre noisette and keep warm.

Whisk eggs and sugar in large mixing bowl set over pan of simmering water, beat till eggs are lukewarm. Continue whisking at high(est) speed in stand mixer for full 5 minutes. The batter looks like whipped cream at the end of 5 minutes and looks like it's threatening to overflow.

While eggs are beating, sift together the flour and cornstarch.

Remove 1 scant cup of egg mixture and thoroughly whisk it into the beurre noisette.

Sift 1/2 the flour mixture into the remaining egg mixture and fold it gently but rapidly with a large balloon whisk. Repeat with remaining flour mixture until the flour has disappeared completely. Fold in the butter mixture until just incorporated.

Pour immediately into prepared pan and bake in oven for 25-35minutes till cake is golden brown and starts to shrink slightly from sides of pan. Unmold the cake immediately once it's out of the oven and cool on rack with cake right-side-up.

Next, prepare the strawberry yoghurt mousse cloud

140g strawberry yoghurt (Meiji brand)
3 tbsp caster sugar (to taste)
300g fresh strawberries, washed and chopped
450g fresh cream
2 tsp vanilla essence
2.5 tsp gelatine + 3tbsp water

Blend strawberries and yoghurt in electric blender till smooth. This makes about 240g of pureed strawberry yoghurt mixture.Add in sugar to taste.

Soak gelatine in water for 5 minutes, heat & stir to dissolve.
Add gelatine mixture to strawberry mixture. Mix well and strain if neccesary.

Whip fresh cream and vanilla essence to stiff peak.

Fold whipped cream into strawberry mixture in thirds.

Finally, assemble the cake

Torte genoise into half horizontally.

Place 1 layer of sponge into springform cake pan. (Sprinke sugar syrup on genoise if desired)

Pour half of mousse in and smooth it out.
Repeat with the next layer of sponge and mousse.

Cover with cling-wrap and leave in freezer for at least 2 hours

Unmold the cake by warming the sides of the pan with a hairdryer or warm towel.
Sprinkle white and dark chocolate shavings on top of the cake.

Serve.

Chocolate mousse layer cake

Decided to make a mousse cake since KK does not like cakes. Well, took me a while to realise that he only likes the cream and mousse on the cake, and not the actual cake itself. No wonder he is always complaining that my cakes are dry.. tsk tsk.

Found the recipe in The Cake Book by Tish Boyle. It looks easy enough and everything was going fine till the final part where the chocolate glaze separated! My heart sank when I saw the cake once the glaze set as there were patches of fat solids. OMG!

Thankfully I managed to save it by scraping off the glaze and whipping it to make it smooth again. Reapplied the glaze but it was not going to look glossy so decided to grind up some oreos and sprinkle it on top of the cake. It actually looked quite pretty... ha ha.

Everyone loved the cake but there were some comments on the rum being a little strong. O wells, I thought a little bit more booze wouldn't hurt right??? The oreos was salty and kinda help balance out the otherwise very rich cake.


Chocolate mousse layer cake (modified from Tish Boyle's)
First, make the sour cream chocolate cake which is yummy on its own

1 3/4 cups (212g) all purpose flour
1 1/3 cups (332g) granulated sugar
1/3 cup (28g) natural cocoa powder *Hershey's
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
2 large eggs / 3 small eggs (1 large egg in shell ~60-70g)
1/2 cup (121g) sour cream
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup (113g) butter melted and cooled
1/3 cup (80ml) corn oil
3/4 cup (180ml) ice cold water


1. Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat oven to 350F/175C. Line the bottom of a 9x3 inch springform pan with parchment paper. Grease the bottom and sides of the pan, dust with flour and tap out the excess.

2. Sift flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt into a medium bowl. Whisk to combine.

3. Whisk eggs till blended in another bowl. Whisk in the sour cream and vanilla extract till blended.

4. Using a mixer, whisk melted butter and oil together at low speed. Add cold water and mix to blend. Add the dry ingredients at all at once and mix at medium-low speed for 1 minute. Add egg mixture and mix for another minute. Scrape bather into pan.

5. Bake cake for 45-50minutes until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean. Set pan on wire rack and cool cake for 20minutes. Remove cake from pan and cool completely right side up.

Then, make the chocolate mousse filling

255g coarsely chopped bittersweet chocolate *Valrhona Manjari 64%
1/2 cup (120ml) whole milk
1 tsp instant espresso powder
pinch of salt
1 cup (240ml) heavy cream
3 tbsp rum

6. Place chocolate in food process and process until finely ground.

7. Combine milk, espresso powder and salt in small saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat. With the food processor running, pour hot milk through feed tube and process until chocolate is completely melted. Scrap mixture into large bowl and let cool for 10 minutes.

8. Whisk heavy cream at high-speed till soft peak, adding rum during whisking. Fold whipped cream into chocolate in thirds until completely blended.

Finally, assemble the cake

9. Level the cake by trimming off domed top and cut the cake horizontally into 2 layers.

10. Place one of the cake layers in bottom of 9x3 inch springform pan. (Brush 1 tbsp of rum over cake - to omit if too alcoholic) Scrape 1/2 of chocolate mousse over cake layer and spread it evenly. Top with the other cake layer and scrape remaining mousse on top.

11. Cover top of pan with plastic wrap and freeze for at least 3hours till firm.

12. Prepare glaze by adding 2/3 cup (160ml) of heated heavy cream to 170g of chopped bittersweet chocolate (*Valrhona caraibe 66%) in bowl. Stir till chocolate completely melted and stir in 1 tsp of vanilla extract. Whisk till smooth if needed. Cover surface of glaze with plastic wrap and cool for 10 minutes before using.

13. Remove cake from pan and place on wire rack. Pour warm glaze over the top of the cake and smooth it evenly over top and sides.

14. Refrigerate for at least 1hour (to thaw) before serving. Dust top with grounded oreos if desired.

lychee butter cake again

I am such a klutz. After 2 consecutive (mini) cake disasters, I felt the immense need (and pressure) to bake a proper cake. Hence, I decided to attempt the lychee butter cake again after the last dry, overbaked cake. So, the past few days have been spent poring through websites and cookbooks on how to make the perfect butter cake and ta da! I (almost) succeeded today. Almost because the cake fell apart! *sob*

The day started of great. Work ended early, it was nice and sunny but not too hot. The cake smelt wonderful in the oven, the aroma of butter, eggs, sugar and lychee. Yup! There it was, the distinctive sweet floral smell of lychee amidst the usual suspects. It seems like the stars are finally aligned until the moment I was turning the pan to remove the cake, it fell. Whoops. Or rather, ARGH!!!

So now, my "perfect" cake has a huge crack right in the middle, like the major earthquake that recently happened. And at the same moment, the sky turned dark and threatens to rain, almost on cue to my "misery". (I swear it's true!) Not to mention that the camera battery was running low too.

O wells, looks like it's not a baking day after all.

PS: the cake really really tasted yummy, moist soft butter cake (like sara lee) but not oily or heavy and with a distinctive lychee flavour.


Lychee Butter Cake (changes in red)
1- 14 oz can lychees (about 1 cup lychees, reserve the liquid)
2 cups (240g) cake flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup (160g) unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup (160 g) sugar
2 eggs around 60g each with shells
6 tbsp lychee liquid
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease an 8x8 baking pan.

Drain the lychees and cut into small pieces; set aside. Toss the lychee pieces in the flour mixture to coat (this will help keep them from sinking to the bottom of the batter).

Sift the flour, baking powder, and salt into a bowl and set aside. Mix well

In a stand mixer, cream the butter starting at low speed then to medium (total 2 minutes). Add sugar to butter and continue creaming from low to medium speed and then to low speed again in last minute (total 4-5minutes), until light (almost ivory white) and fluffy. Creaming at low speed helps produce fine crumb.

Add the eggs, 1 tsp at a time with mixer at low speed, and then the vanilla. Mix to combine.

Add flour and lychee mixture to the batter and mix to combine. Start by adding 1/2 of the flour and mix at low speed, stop as soon as it is combined. Then add 1/2 of the lychee with 3 tbsp of lychee liquid, mix at low speed and stop as soon as it is combined. Repeat with remaining 1/2 of flour, followed and lychee/lychee liquid and ending with rest of the flour. Do NOT over mix, stop the mixer once most of it is well mixed.

Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake for 30-45 minutes, until a tester inserted in the center comes out clean. About 4ominutes at 180C without fan. Leave in pan for 10minutes before unmolding. Cool on wire rack before serving.

in search of the perfect sponge 2

Yes, I'm still looking for THE perfect sponge cake. Nope, I haven't given up yet, just taking a break from sponge cake. (There is a limit to how many sponge cake you can give away, ha) So imagine my delight when I saw this recipe on CRUMMB> Is this it?? Is this what I've been searching for? I HAD to try it. But alas, it turned out dry cause I over baked it. Again! But otherwise, in the words of KK, the taste is there but the texture, erm... Looks like I need to try this again. So, how do you salvage a dry sponge? Easy, frosting and trifles.

Perfect sponge from CRUMMB (changes in red)

The only ingredients needed:

4 eggs, separated (each egg to weigh 60g without shells)

120g castor sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

110g plain flour

70g melted butter (must be hot when added to batter)

And all you have to do is:

1. Using a hand-held mixer, whisk egg yolks till smooth. Add 20g of the sugar and vanilla and continue whisking until yolks puff up and the colour turns very pale - like the lightest shade of peach – and doesn’t turn any paler (about 2 mins).

2. In another bowl, whisk egg whites until soft peaks form. Add the remaining 100g of sugar and whisk until stiff peaks form.

3. Fold egg whites into egg yolks until just combined. Just use a rubber spatula.

4. Sieve in flour and fold in gently. Add in hot melted butter (to be safe, pour down the side of the bowl so it won’t agitate too many air bubbles) and fold in gently and quickly.

5. Pour into 8-inch round pan and bake at 190 deg C for 30 minutes. When done, cake will shrink by a few mm but still stand at a beautiful 2 inches.

6. Then look up Chef Alex Goh, wherever he is, whomever he is, and thank him

lychee martini (rum) cake

Was surfing the other day and came across this wonderful food blog by Pastrygirl called Dessert First. The post on For love of Lychees caught my eye and guess what? It's about lychee butter cake... oooh. Now, I love lychees, especially the luo mi chi, which is the special type with plump juicy sweet meat and puny little seeds. But I never knew that you can make lychee cake! Of course I have to try it, and what's the best thing to go with lychee? Lychee martini, of course. So, here's my attempt in marrying the two together.


Lychee Martini Cake by me! ;-)

1 Lychee butter cake (see below)
300ml cream whipped with 3 tbsp lychee liquid + 1 tbsp rum
Lychee liquid

Slice top of cake to flatten it and slice cake into half vertically. (I wanted a taller cake)
Brush lychee liquid over both cake halves.
Spread thin layer of cream sandwiched between two cake halves
Apply crumb coat. Put in freezer for 15minutes for crumb coat to dry.
Frost cake and decorate with lychee halves.

Cake turned out yummy with flowery scent and sweetness of lychee. However, I overbaked it slightly and hence had to apply syrup to "salvage it". Thank goodness it turned out to be a good idea cos it improved on the lychee flavour of the cake. Will probably add more liquor next time.

Lychee Butter Cake (from Dessert First)

1- 14 oz can lychees (about 1 cup lychees, reserve the liquid)
2 cups (240g) flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup (160g) unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup (160 g) sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease an 8x8 baking pan.

Drain the lychees and cut into small pieces; set aside. Toss the lychee pieces in the flour mixture to coat (this will help keep them from sinking to the bottom of the batter).

Sift the flour, baking powder, and salt into a bowl and set aside.

In a stand mixer, cream the butter and sugar together on medium speed for several minutes until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, and then the vanilla. Mix to combine.

Add in about 4 -6 tablespoons of the reserved lychee liquid slowly. Mix between additions to fully incorporate before adding more.

Add flour and lychee mixture to the batter and mix to combine. (do not overmix)

Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake for 30-45 minutes, until a tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool on wire rack before serving.

Damien Pignolet's Serious Orange Cake

This is a recipe from the book French. I'm not sure why it's so serious but admittedly it's a really simple cake to make, with minimal washing up to do. An excellent recipe for anyone who is baking for the first time. Surprisingly, it turned out well, moist and not too dense. It is full of orange flavour (as expected of a orange cake), sweet with a slight bitter taste to counter the sweetness.

I substituted Cointreau with rum as I did not have Cointreau around. I must admit it is probably not the best alternative, and I must imagine the cake would be much much better with Cointreau.

This orange cake is good on it's own and yet even better when served warm (microwave 15sec) with a dallop of vanilla ice-cream... Mmmm.. absolutely divine.


Damien Pignolet's Serious Orange Cake

1 orange, weighing around 150g, washed well and diced, pips removed
200g sugar
3 eggs
150g self-raising flour, sifted
a small pinch of salt
180g butter, melted and cooled a little

Orange Syrup Ingredients:
60ml orange juice
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon caster sugar
1-2 tablespoons Cointreau

Preheat the oven to 170ºC. Grease and line a 24cm diameter springform cake tin with baking paper. Place the diced orange in the bowl of a food processor with the sugar and process until very smooth. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well between additions. Add the flour and salt and combine for 30 seconds. With the machine running, add the butter all at once. Transfer to the prepared tin and bake for 35-40 minutes; test for doneness by inserting a bamboo skewer--it should emerge clean and dry.

While the cake is cooking, make the orange syrup. In a small saucepan, combine the orange and lemon juices and the sugar. Bring to the boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar, and simmer for 1-2 minutes. Add the Cointreau to taste and simmer for 1 minute more.

When the cake is ready, remove from the oven but leave in the tin to cool for 5-10 minutes. Use a bamboo skewer to pierce the cake all over, then slowly spoon the syrup over the cake and leave until completely cool before turning out. Important to leave it to cool so that the syrup can form a nice sticky "crust" on the cake.