Dutch Apple Cake (Rachel Allen's recipe)

I first saw this in one of the food blogs and then head over to Rachel Allen's web to check out the recipe. It's a simple and nice cake. I love to arrange the apple slices on top of the cake. Only one thing, if you are baking on the lower rack of the oven you might need to bake ~5min using top heat in the last part of the baking to get the nice brown top :)

Packed these for hubby to share with his colleagues.



Chiffon Cake...again...after a long long time

In case you thought I have not only packed but sold my oven, NO, no, NO,...how could I??? :) The eggs had been staying in the fridge for a long time and it's time to get rid of them. So, what cake to bake if not chiffon since egg is the main ingredient for this cake. Since I still have some coffee powder as well, coffee chiffon it is!

See...my tall and lovely chiffon cake ;p Packed most of it for my MIL to bring back to Sg. Yes, I am still the old me. I love to bake but don't eat much of what I bake.

I am really hoping that I can start baking again...when can I have the next baking session??

Chocolate Sponge Cake with Chocolate Chips

A very simple sponge cake with chocolate chips....taste even better after it's been cooled in the fridge :)

Ingredients:

Optima Flour (250gm)

Eggs (4)

Oil (80gm)

Water (50ml)

Cocoa Powder (3-4tbsp mixed with some water to form paste)

Chocolate Chips

Preheat oven at 180C

Method:

1. Beat flour with eggs till thick.

2. Add cocoa paste and water. Beat till light.

3. Fold in the oil. Mix well.

4. Fold in some chocolate chips (leave some to sprinkle on top).

5. Pour into a lined baking pan, sprinkle some chocolate chips and bake for 30min or until cooked.

Mango Chiffon Cake

This cake is very soft and nice to eat especially after it's cooled in a fridge, but unfortunately the mango taste is not strong. I don't want to put mango essence, so maybe will need to put in some very ripe mango or just add in more mango puree.

Ingredients:

A.

Egg Yolks (6)

Plain Flour (9 tbsp)

Mango Puree (2/3 of a mango - cut into small cubes, blend with 4 tbsp of water)

Sugar (1tbsp)

Oil (1tbsp)

B.

Egg Whites (6)

Sugar (6tbsp)

Corn Flour (1tbsp)

C.

Mango (cut remaining 1/3 of mango into small pieces)

Preheat oven at 170C.

Method:

1. Mix all ingredients in A together and leave aside first.

2. In a clean bowl, beat egg whites till soft peak forms.

3. Add in sugar and beat for 3min or so.

4. Add in corn flour and beat until the mixture becomes quite stiff. When you turn the bowl upside down, the mixture will not drop.

5. Take 1/3 of the egg white mixture and mix evenly with the mixture in A. Continue to mix 2 more times with the other 2 portions of 1/3 of egg whites mixture.

6. Add in C and mix well. Do not overmix.

7. Pour into a chiffon cake pan and bake for 50-55min.

8. Invert the cake once out of oven. Unmould when the cake is cool.

This cake is best eaten after being cooled in the fridge for a few hours.

Raisin and Walnut Cupcakes

This cake is very easy to make and yet the result is excellent. The cake is fluffy, moist and the aroma of the toasted nuts in the cake really makes me want a second piece of it. If you want to bake a simple and nice cake, I would say this is it.

You could bake it as one whole cake in a larger baking pan or in a loaf tin and even in cupcakes form. The baking would be longer though if you bake it as one cake.

Ingredients:

Butter (150gm)

Sugar (130gm)

Eggs (3)

Vanilla Essence (1/2 tsp)

Plain Yoghurt (5tbsp)

Self Raising Flour (190gm)

Milk Powder - you can use soy powder too (2tbsp)

Walnut (chopped coarsely and toasted)

Raisins

*For walnut and raisins, put as much as you like.

Preheat oven at 175C.

Method:

1. Beat butter and sugar till light and fluffy.

2. Add in egg one by one and beat till combined.

3. Add in vanilla essence and yoghurt. Beat till combined.

4. In another bowl, mix self raising flour and milk powder evenly.

5. Pour in the flour mixture into the wet mixture.

6. Mix evenly.

7. Add in raisins and walnuts.

8. Pour mixture into baking pan.

9. Bake for 30-35min (for loaf tin and cupcakes). You might need to bake longer if you bake it in a large pan.

Birthday Cake

I baked this cake for our monthly birthday celebration in the church. So, this is for March birthday babies :)
There is nothing special about this cake. It's made of 2 layers of cakes - vanilla and chocolate sponge, with chocolate frosting and some simple decoration (you can see I am quite hopeless when it comes to decorating a cake).

A friend called this a porcupine cake....with all the chocolate chips at the sides of the cakes. ;p

Coffee Walnut Butter Cake with Coffee Chips

The whole cake

Yum....this is great with a cup of hot coffee

Ingredients:
Butter (250gm)
Plain Flour (230gm)
Sugar (230gm)
Baking Powder (1tsp)
Coffee Paste (1.5 tbsp)
Eggs (5)
Walnut
Coffee Chips

Preheat oven at 180C

Method:
1. Cream butter and sugar till fluffy.
2. Add in eggs one by one and beat until it's mixed evenly.
3. Add in coffee paste and beat till it's mixed.
4. In another bowl, mix flour and baking powder evenly. Pour this into the wet mixture and mix till combined.
5. Add in some walnut and mix.
6. Pour into a lined baking pan.
7. Sprinkle coffee chips and walnut on top.
8. Bake for 45-50min or until cooked.

Variations of Chiffon Cakes

I've always love this cottony soft cake. It's light and fluffy and doesn't make you feel guilty even when you're on your way to the 2nd piece :)

Here are different 'flavors' which I have experimented recently.

Pandan Chiffon Cake with Sunflower Seeds

Hubby thinks the cake is better without the sunflower seeds because it seems the sunflower seeds had overpowered the pandan taste and he thinks it's a bit complicated. LOL....

Lemony Almond Chiffon Cake with Almond Flakes

This one smelled real good while baking!!! The almond and lemon combination is pretty good.

Bailey's Coffee Irish Cream Chiffon Cake with Coffee Chips

This is definitely one of the best especially for coffee lovers! Everyone who tried it just loved it!
If not because I can't take alcohol and coffee now, I would have gobbled one piece right after it's out of the oven ;p

Pandan Chiffon Cake

This must be the best chiffon cake I've ever baked in terms of the texture, aroma and taste! While it's just a normal plain old pandan flavour cake, I love its simplicity. I used real pandan juice, so the cake didn't turn out that green. This time I added some coconut powder too, so the smell alone makes you want to have a piece while the cake was still in the oven.

This cake is for my hubby as we celebrated our 3rd year anniversary (it has been 3 years since the day we 'pak toh'). I wanted to bake him a cake but I don't want to make it something too heavy since his birthday is just a few weeks away, so we can save such cake for the birthday.

Lesson from this bake: if you bake with love, it taste better :) Haha....

Cake Stand

Sometimes God answers our prayer in ways that we can never imagine and here’s a good example :). I have been thinking of buying a cake stand but didn’t see any that I like. They are either made of plastic or not in the design that I want. So, I thought I’ll just wait and see and slowly shop for it until I can find the right one. Well, of course God knows us best and so, it was really a pleasant surprise when a co-worker from US bought me this lovely cake stand for my wedding gift! Don’t get me wrong, I am not the type who go around giving hints to people to buy me things! Never and I do not like this kind of behaviour ;p I’d only do that to one person, that’s my hubby. Hahaha....At work, I’d always like to remain professional. Serious...



Isn’t this lovely? It’s exactly what I was looking for!



So, since I was given a cake stand, I got to bake a cake, right....Here’s the chocolate moist cake I baked as a thank-you to Ken. It’s really nice and thoughtful of him to get me a wedding gift even though my wedding was already 5 months plus ago.

Marble Cake with Raisins for my in laws

This is a cake I baked yesterday for my in laws in SG as hubby is going back for the weekend. Some aunties said they didn’t get to try my cakes, so this time I thought I’d get hubby to bring back the whole cake! Haha…sure enough kua.

As usual, to be on the safe side, better bake the reliable marble cake. I just added some raisins into the cake this time. Hope it’s not too sweet!

Birthday Cake - Moist Chocolate Cake with Ganache

Today is Jac’s birthday, a friend at work in my department so her team mates wanted me to bake her a birthday cake. I was considering between carrot cheese cake or moist chocolate cake, and in the end settled for moist chocolate cake. I guess we can’t go wrong with chocolate cake! This one has a layer of ganache in between the 2 layers of cake and covered with chocolate ganache as well (yummy…but fattening for sure).

Initially I wanted to decorate it with some fresh strawberries but this didn’t work out because I stored the strawberries in the freezer and when they were out, all the berries turned soft. It was already 9+pm at night and even if I can make it to the nearest supermarket, I don’t think I’d have the energy to continue decorating the cake afterwards. So, what you see here is a last minute idea ;p Not too bad, I guess??

I’m glad all of them loved the cake and they even thought the deco was cute. Haha…. :)

Chocolate Rum & Raisin Cake.....Sold :)

Wow...can't believe it that I've been away so long. Was out of country for my honeymoon for 2.5 weeks and after I am back, there's of course the work to clear in the office and right before the quarter ended.
Anyway, it's nice to be back where I can find noodles soup and nasi lemak easily ;p


Have not been baking for a long time too; 1 month+. This week, CF ordered 2 chocolate rum and raisin cakes for her friends, which is also why I tried my best to make the cakes look more colourful with the strawberries. Haha...I am just not a cream person when it comes to decorating cakes because I don't like thick layers of cream in my cake. At least that goes for cakes that I bake for own consumption or for family members/friends. It's good to try to be healthy ma...at least try...;p


I am happy with how the cakes turned out. Most importantly, CF liked them.
They smelled good too as I soaked the raisins in rum overnight. :)

Marble Cake for Mum's Birthday

Ever since the successful bake last year my sis and I made for my mum, I'd decided to bake mum a cake for her birthday this year. When it comes to my mum, there is no need to crack my mind and spend sleepless nights thinking about what cake to bake because plain butter cake or marble cake are the only approved ones. So, I did a reduced sugar butter marble cake for mum. The only decoration are the walnuts on top of the cake. No cream pls....cos she dislikes cream. I'm glad she loved it! My dad enjoyed it too. He ate 2 big pieces at one go!

Sesame Chiffon Cake

Open sesame....unveiling another out of the world flavour for a chiffon cake :)

Ingredients:
(A)
Egg Yolks (6)
Plain Flour (7 tbsp)
Ground Black Sesame (4 tbsp)
Oil (1 tbsp)
Water (5 tbsp)
Sugar (1 tbsp)

(B)
Egg Whites (6)
Sugar (5 ½ tbsp)
Corn Flour (1 tbsp)

White Sesame Seeds

Preheat oven at 180C
(As usual, I reduced temperature to 170C during the last 15min of baking.)

Method:
1. Mix (A) in a bowl and beat till combined.
2. In another bowl, beat egg whites till soft peak forms.
3. Add sugar and beat till shiny and glossy.
4. Add corn flour and beat till it’s almost stiff (turn the bowl upside down and the egg whites should not fall).
5. Fold in 1/3 of egg whites into the (A) mixture.
6. Repeat 2 more times adding 1/3 each time.
7. Pour into a chiffon cake mould and sprinkle some white sesame seeds on top.
8. Bake for 45-50min or till cooked.9. Invert the cake to cool. Un-mould using a thin knife by loosening the sides.

Coffee Chiffon with Chocolate Chips

I am experimenting with different flavours of chiffon cake. Here’s a coffee version bursting with chocolate chips!


Ingredients:

(A)

Egg Yolks (6)

Flour (6 tbsp)

Instant 3-in-1 coffee powder (3 packets mixed with 4 tbsp of water)
Oil (1 tbsp)

(B)

Egg Whites (6)

Sugar (4 ½ tbsp)

Corn Flour (1 tbsp)

(C)Chocolate Chips

Preheat oven at 180C

Note: I reduced the temperature to 170C during the last 15min of baking

Method:

1. Mix (A) in a bowl and beat till combined.

2. In another bowl, beat egg whites till soft peak forms.

3. Add sugar and beat till shiny and glossy.

4. Add corn flour and beat till it’s almost stiff (turn the bowl upside down and the egg whites should not fall).

5. Fold in 1/3 of egg whites into the (A) mixture.

6. Repeat 2 more times adding 1/3 each time.

7. Lastly, gently fold in the chocolate chips.

8. Pour into a chiffon cake mould and bake for 45-50min or till cooked.
9. Invert the cake to cool. Un-mould using a thin knife by loosening the sides.

Green Tea & Red Bean Chiffon Cake

Ohaiyo-gozaimasu….Konnichiwa….Jap class?
No….but just a very Japanese chiffon cake ^_^

Yay!!! I am so happy with this cake. It’s so lovely with the red beans that I couldn’t help staring at the cake for a minute. “Stop staring at the cake….”. Who’s that? Oh…it’s hubby. Guess he must have thought I was obsessed with it. Hahaha….
Well, I am happy because it’s the first time I made this combination of chiffon cake and the red beans didn’t sink to the bottom of the cake. Phew…what a relief and I felt a sense of achievement.

The only thing I’d change from the recipe is the amount of green tea powder. It can be increased to 3 tsp.


Ingredients:
(A)
Egg Yolks (6)
Flour (6 tbsp)
Water (4 tbsp)
Oil (1 tbsp)
Sugar (1 tbsp)
Green Tea Powder (2 tsp) – add 1 more tsp for stronger green tea taste

(B)
Egg Whites (6)
Sugar (5 ½ tbsp)
Corn Flour (1 tbsp)

(C)
Red Bean (6 tbsp- cooked till soft)


Preheat oven at 180C
Note: I reduced the temperature to 170C during the last 15min of baking


Method:
1. Mix (A) in a bowl and beat till combined.
2. In another bowl, beat egg whites till soft peak forms.
3. Add sugar and beat till shiny and glossy.
4. Add corn flour and beat till it’s almost stiff (turn the bowl upside down and the egg whites should not fall).
5. Fold in 1/3 of egg whites into the (A) mixture.
6. Repeat 2 more times adding 1/3 each time.
7. Lastly, gently fold in red beans.
8. Pour into a chiffon cake mould and bake for 45-50min or till cooked.

9. Invert the cake to cool. Un-mould using a thin knife by loosening the sides.

Orange Poppy Seed Chiffon Cake

Ingredients:
(A)
Egg Yolks (4)
Plain Flour (4 tbsp)
Oil (1 tbsp)
Water (2tbsp)
Sugar (1 tbsp)
Poppy Seeds (1 tbsp)
Grated Orange Rind (1 tbsp + 1 tsp)

(B)
Egg Whites (4)
Sugar (5 tbsp)
Corn Flour (1 tbsp)


Preheat oven at 180C


Method:
1. In a bowl, beat (A) till combined.
2. In another clean and dry bowl, beat egg whites till soft peak forms.
3. Then add in sugar and corn flour. Beat till stiff. (If you turn the bowl upside down, the mixture should not fall).
4. Add 1/3 of egg whites mixture into (A). Mix till combined. Repeat with the remaining egg whites by adding 1/3 each time.
5. Pour mixture into a chiffon cake mould and bake for 40-45min or until cooked.
6. Once cooked, take it out of the oven and invert the baking pan to let the cake cool.
7. Use a thin knife to loosen the edges and the bottom of the cake and turn the cake out onto a flat plate.

Sponge Cake with Durian Cream Cheese

I had one container of durian and had to think of ways to finish it. Since hubby had sore throat, I am the only one who has been eating the fruit. It’s not much fun eating durian alone so I decided to do some baking with it. Vicky requested a durian cheese cake like those sold in Secret Recipe (apparently, I she was dreaming because my baking skill is definitely not up THAT standard yet and I don’t know when will I ever reach there). Anyway, we can always do an adaptation, so this is my version of ‘durian cheese cake’. Hahaha….her comment “Not enough cheese”. Well, this is my first attempt and I didn’t follow any recipe in making the durian cream cheese mixture, so cannot expect it’ll be perfect loh….;p


Sponge Cake

Ingredients:

Sugar (130gm)

Egg (4)

Plain Flour (120gm)

Butter (80gm) – melted

Preheat oven at 180C

Method:

1. Beat sugar and eggs till it’s light and fluffy, ~2x its original volume.

2. Fold in the flour.

3. Mix in melted butter till combined.

4. Bake for 30min or until cooked.


Durian Cream Cheese

Ingredients:
Durian Flesh
Cream Cheese

Note: I didn’t measure the amount used. Just agak-agak…so, you can add either more durian or more cheese or both in equal amount depending on whether you like cheese or durian more ;p


Method:
1. Blend the durian flesh using a blender.
2. Pour the durian flesh into a mixing bowl.
3. Add in cream cheese and beat till both are well combined.

To assemble:
Once the sponge cake is cool, just cut it into 2 layers. Sandwich the durian cream cheese in between. Best served chilled so you can refrigerate it for a few hours before serving.

Chocolate Chiffon Cake with Raisin and Almond

I have this chocolate and nut chiffon cake recipe sticking on the fridge door for some time and waiting for me to give it a try. To celebrate the coming of Friday tomorrow (don’t we all love Fridays??), I decided to make my oven work for this tonight.
The original recipe is from Kitchen Corner and here’s the link: http://gracekitchencorner.blogspot.com/2008/07/chocolate-nut-chiffon.html

I converted the ingredients but it’s all agak-agak and I didn’t even follow the amount for cocoa powder ;p When I saw the original recipe with its 110gm of egg whites, I thought I really don’t want to be measuring egg whites and yolks each time I make this, so I took the liberty to just dump in 5 egg whites and 4 egg yolks. I am glad the cake turned out fine because instead of adding the corn flour into the egg white mixture, I added it into the egg yolk mixture! I expected some a disaster out of this but hey, it’s OK after all!
It’s not possible to take out the corn flour from the egg yolk mixture, so I just leave it and added some more to the egg whites.

Of course my humble cake here doesn’t look very pretty, but this is a good recipe. I love this cake! The texture is so soft and moist. The almond gave the cake a good aroma and the extra bite while the raisin balances the cocoa powder with its sweetness. Perfect!

Ingredients:
Egg Whites (5)
Caster Sugar (55 gm)
Corn Flour (1 tbsp)
Egg Yolks (4)
Water (1 tbsp)
Oil (1 tbsp)
Cocoa Powder (2-3 tbsp)
Plain Flour (40gm)
Caster Sugar (10gm)
Raisin (handful)
Almond slices (handful)

Preheat oven at 170C

Method:
1. Beat egg yolk, oil, water, cocoa powder, plain flour and caster sugar (10gm) until combined. (I used an electric whisk and beat it for about 2min).
2. In a separate bowl, beat egg white for about 1min or until soft peak forms. Add caster sugar (55gm) and beat till stiff. Add corn flour and beat till combined.
3. Add egg white portion into the egg yolk mixture in no. 1 in 3 portions (1/3 each time). Mix well each time with a spatula.
4. When mixing is done, pour it into a chiffon baking tin.
5. Sprinkle raisins and almond slices on top and bake for 35-40 min or until cooked.

Note: I turned the temperature down to 160C during the last 10min of baking.

Happy Friday everyone!