近况 ~ 史上最软蛋糕？Hokkaido Chiffon Cupcake

大家好！感觉离开了好久，其实也差不多一个月而已。有没有人想念我? :P

之前去了趟曼谷小旅行算是冲了电。回来后就开始忙新工作，放下熟悉的领域，重新开始需要莫大的勇气，庆幸在自己还不算太老时给了自己另一个机会。离开comfort zone 像是一场赌局，是赢是输现在还不知道，但是至少踏出了第一步。

Cinnamon Coffee Marble Chiffon Cake 肉桂咖啡戚风蛋糕

第一次做云石戚风蛋糕，做得不是很好。我是在蛋白蛋黄混合后才取出一部份加入肉桂粉和coffee paste，也许是这个原故，面糊有点消泡，烤出来的蛋糕没有平时的高。另一个原因也可能是这回我用了比较小颗的鸡蛋。但是，这并不影响蛋糕的口感，蛋糕还是很松软。

肉桂和咖啡的香气让人无法自拔，至少对于我来说。以云石的方式呈现，比起整个蛋糕做成这个口味更容易让不好这味道的人接受。

Playing with New Mould ~ Cooked Dough (Tang Mian) Pandan Chiffon Cake 烫面班兰戚风蛋糕

How are you doing everyone? Sorry for not being able to update this blog and reply to comments on time due to my work and personal commitment. I am grateful that despite lack of update there are still regular page views on this humble blog of mine. To all my readers, thank you very much for your visit. I foresee I will be getting busier in the near future but I wish to maintain this blog as far as I can.

Today I am sharing a new Pandan chiffon cake recipe which I did last month using my new chiffon tin. I have spotted this tall and slim chiffon tin some time ago in some of my favourite blogs. And yes, I fall in love with it because of its shape. Thanks to D for getting his colleague to get me one from Shanghai. In case you are interested, the brand is 三能 and the model is SN5234.

The size of the chiffon tin is 6”. The base is actually much smaller than the usual 6” chiffon tin but the height is much taller. I think this is the reason I find it more difficult to unmould using bare hand as compared to normal chiffon tin. You really need to press down the cake a lot in order to unmould.

I had some leftover coconut milk from cooking curry so I decided to make a Pandan Chiffon Cake as the “open ceremony” for my new chiffon tin. I adapted a recipe from Alex Goh’s book “Fruity Cakes” which was meant for Swiss roll. Below I am sharing my adapted recipe. The first amount is for 8” chiffon tin whereas the amount in blanket is for 6” chiffon tin. I prepared 8” recipe but baked in 6” tin (filled up till about 70%) and remaining batter baked into cupcakes.

This recipe uses melted butter instead of oil. I find it a bit overwhelming especially I am using store bought pandan paste this time which is not as fragrant as home-made one. However, the texture of this cake is fabulous, very soft and moist. Thanks to the cooked dough (tang mian) method.

Cooked Dough (Tang Mian) Pandan Chiffon Cake

Ingredients:
(A)
60g (45g) butter
(B)
60g (45g) plain flour, sifted
(C)
60g (45g) coconut milk
½ tsp Pandan paste/ extract
(D)
4 (3) egg yolks
(E)
4 (3) egg whites
80g (60g) sugar
Pinch of salt (omit if using salted butter)

Method:
1) Cook (A) till butter melted. Add (B) and mix until well blended with a hand whisk.
2) Add (C) and mix until well blended.
3) Add (D) and mix well.
4) Whip egg whites in (E) until foamy, add sugar and salt. Continue to whip until about 90% stiff peak (9 分发).
5) Fold in 1/3 of the meringue to egg yolk mixture. Continue to fold in balance meringue until just incorporated. Do not over mix.
6) Pour batter into tube pan and tap the pan on tabletop to release any big air bubbles.
7) Bake in preheated oven at 170C for about 40-45 mins until cooked.
8) Invert to cool down completely before unmouding.

Old-Fashioned Curry Bun 老式咖哩面包

（制作于2013年3月24日）

这面包算是无心插柳的成果。好久都没做面包了，翻看了Alex Goh老师早期的面包书，《烘出面包香》，选了里头的cheese bread但揉好面团后才发现家里的cheese不够，瞄到架子上的几颗马铃薯，即想到做马铃薯咖哩面包，趁面团在发酵的时候煮馅料。

Richard Goh’s Cake Deco Class 6: How to Make a Barbie Doll Cake?

14th April 2013

I guess this must be the most popular lesson among all the 8 lessons. Weeks prior to the lesson, some of us had started to discuss what doll to buy, where to buy, what colour to use for the Barbie Doll dress…etc. Personally I have also done some research from the Internet and think about the design of my Barbie doll dress before the class.

What you need?

• One basic round 8” or 9” sponge cake (height 1.5” to 2”)
• One basic round 6” or 7” sponge cake (height 1.5” to 2”)
• Turntable
• Long serrated knife
• Flat spatula
• Piping bag
• Piping tips
• Whipping cream
• Food colour
• Barbie doll (of course it can be any doll)
• Two cake boxes

What I learn from this class?

• Carve and trim cake into the shape of Barbie doll dress and secure the Barbie doll (without legs) on the cake.

How to make a Barbie Doll Cake?

1) Slice and stack the cakes (bigger cake at bottom). Sandwich each layer with whipping cream as usual. Avoid chunky fillings and place your fillings near the centre only because you are going to trim away the side. I used sliced strawberries and mangoes which is ok. Just don’t cut into cubes.

2) Make a small round marking on top (this is where you insert the Barbie doll). You can use a small bowl or a round cookie cutter. Use a serrated knife, hold it 45 degree, use the round marking as a guide to cut and carve the cake into dome shape. Take note that the tip of the knife must touch the base (cake board). 

3) This is how the cake looks like. If you are not satisfied with the shape (eg. the cake is slant), use the excess cake to patch back and trim again.

4) Once you are satisfied with the shape. Cut a small hole based on the round marking and insert the Barbie doll (pull out the legs first) and patch the hole using the excess cake crumbs to secure the Barbie doll. If you are using half body doll bought from baking supply shop, you can skip this step. (Tips: make sure you tie the hair of your Barbie doll before inserting the cake).

5) Remove the doll and crumb coat the cake now. To smoothen the frosting, cut a small piece of baking paper or plastic sheet (about 3cm x 30cm), hold it at both ends horizontally. Glide the paper from bottom to top of the cake. Scrape the cream on paper and repeat this step around the cake until the frosting is smooth.

6) If you going to cover the whole cake with piping you can do so now after the crumb-coat. Insert and secure the Barbie doll first before piping (refer to step 3). If you only intend to pipe some designs (i.e. not cover the whole cake with piping) then you need to apply another layer of whipping cream and make sure the frosting is smooth. Decorate the cake (design your own Barbie doll dress) as desired.

This is the doll I use for my cake. It costs me S$2.00 from Daiso. It is smaller and shorter than the usual Barbie doll.

And here is my Barbie Doll Cake. By the way, the cake didn’t survive till we reached home. It was hit by my little boy when we were on our way home and the doll almost dropped.

There are many ways of making a Barbie doll cake. The method we learnt in class is to pull out the legs of the doll before inserting the cake. I find the biggest problem with this method is the short waistline especially if you are using a small doll because in order to secure the doll you need to push it into the cake, so part of the waistline will be inserted into the cake. As a result, my Barbie doll looks like she is wearing a Hanbok (Korean traditional costume). If I were to try making another Barbie doll cake I am sure I would like to try inserting the doll without pulling out the legs.  

When doing piping it is always good to do some markings before you start. After crumb-coat, I marked the area where I wanted my ruffles to be. Then I used a big rose tip (Wilton # 104) to pipe one round at the bottom. Hold the tip vertically, narrow side facing up. Pipe ruffle by moving the tip in “up down up down” motion (like write “N”). After which, I changed to a smaller rose tip (Wilton # 101) to pipe ruffles at the centre front where I have marked.

Photo taken in class. The colour is closer to the actual colour.

Next, I changed to Wilton # 32 to pipe swirls all over to cover the rest of the gown, starting from bottom. For the top, I just piped lines to form a tube top by using Wilton # 02. Lastly, I piped ruffle using Wilton # 104 at the back of the waist and added some sugar pearls on the swirls and front of waist.

 
For the cake base, I used the same recipe as this Matcha Chiffon Cake.  I scaled down the recipe to 7 eggs, replaced partial flour with cocoa powder and made into one 8” round cake and two 6” round cakes. I must say that I am really happy with the result this time. The cakes did not shrink at all after cooling down and the texture was very good.
 

Cross-section of my cake - with sliced strawberries and mangoes.

Here are some of my classmates' masterpieces.

Mother’s Day 2013 ~ Hidden Heart Cupcake 隐藏的心杯子蛋糕

虽然母亲节已经过了，我还是想在这里祝我的妈咪朋友和读者们“母亲节快乐！”。

今年我收到最好的礼物就是小儿在没有爹地的引导下主动跟我说“Happy Mother’s Day!”，是第一次哦！听到的那瞬间真的很感动，感觉好窝心哦。