Japanese Strawberry Shortcake

July is a month full of celebration :) I get to know my beloved husband during my holidays in Australia back in 2006. Honestly when you met some new friends you probably won't purposely remember when was the date or time you know each other. We can remember this special date is because I was on holidays and now this has become another special day to celebrate .

We met one another through a friend during my trip in Australia. Yes, our story is kind of romantic which not only happen in movie. Occassionaly I do believe movie does reflect real life story. As a believer of Christ we do not think this is by co-incident rather GOD has HIS way in our life.

To celebrate our 6th year annivesary of knowing one another , I got this heart shape mould to want to bake something special for ourself. Often I will bake for other people special moments and not so for myself . I have decided from now onwards I am going to do it for my family too .

Is winter time and strawberry is in season. It has been my thought to want to know how is a Japanses Strawberry Shortcake taste like. Looking through recipe from the net, and search from the my favourite blogger  -> Table for 2 or more so here is the recipe adapt from her site :

Cake:

120 gm. cake flour

1/4 tsp. baking powder

50 gm. sugar

50 gm. melted butter

50 gm. cornoil

4 egg yolks

1/2 tsp. vanilla essence

4 egg whites

65 gm. castor sugar

Decoration:

300 gm. whipped cream

10 strawberries (diced)

10 strawberries - thinly sliced

1 Tbsp. instant strawberry jelly + 2 Tbsp. boiling water - for glazing fruit ( I did not have strawberry jelly and substitute with 1Tbsp of sugar disolve in 1 Tbsp of hot water)

Method:

(1) For cake: Sieve cake flour, baking powder and 50 gm. of sugar into a bowl and mix thoroughly.

(2) Mix egg yolk, butter and cornoil together and then pour into flour mixture and stir till smooth.

(3) Whisk egg white till slightly frothy, then pour in 65 gm. sugar gradually and whisk till medium peak.

(4) Fold egg white with egg yolk mixture and then pour into a 8" Square tray and bake in preheated oven at 175C for about 45 mins. or till cooked.

(5) Leave cake to cool on wire rack and then slice cake into 3 slices.

(6) Whip up the whipping cream and then spread whipped cream onto each layer and sprinkle diced strawberries on top. Repeat till the last layer of sponge cake. Spread the cake on top with whipped cream. Arrange sliced strawberries on top overlapping one another.

(7) Mix instant strawberry jelly with boiling water then brush it over the sliced strawberries.

(8) Chill before slicing and serve.

 

Note : The mould I am using is 2 small heart shape mould, I actually used another square mould to bake the reminder of the cake mixture  for other baking 

 

 

 

The cake is soft and I love the combination of cream and strawberry. My hubby love it so much he ate it slowly just to enjoy it . The original plan was to get a bigger heart shape mould , well isnt it always happen in such a way when you look for it you cant find it but when you do not need it , it will always right infront of you. I am happy with the small cake so we can finished it at one serve and not overeating.

Tiramisu

When I first started baking, one of the cake catches my eyes I would like to try is Tiramisu cake. Afterall is quite a fancy cake in cafe. Going through the recipes to get the right one, I realised this cake can be made without baking and some actually put in a glass to consume as a sweet dessert not totally a cake.

So I knew Tiramisu cake is can be present in different way, however the main ingredients for this cake is not only cheese but coffee and raw egg. Well I am not a coffee person at all. As coffee just make me way too happy and my heart will pump a lot usual than I would enjoy it ( too excited is not a good thing at time ).I pretty much told myself nah this is not a cake for me. Since I cant eat it  I wont think I will make it.

However , this is the cake I have make. So never said never and one really cant tell her own future right :)


Yup was my friend Elva birthday on end of June. She is a coffee lover, coffee bring live and smile to her. If she has not has her first coffee in the day , you probably will not want to talk to her. As she will be completely in her world and cant hear you. It was a suprise birthday party for her. We celebrate the rice dumpling festival together and at the end of the meal , light was off and cake was presented with loud birthday song sang. The look on her face worth all the effort in preparing this cake and bring smile to me each time I think of it

So here is the recipe link I adapt the recipe from ->Table for 2 or more. I used a normal square mould for the sponge cake and did not used piping to shape the cake in her way. As this is my first time I would say I would go for the simple way I know and slice the cake in half to assemble the layer of it.

I would have the recipe type here for future easy access :

Sponge
5 egg yolks
50gm sugar
5 egg whites
Pinch of cream of tartar
80 gm sugar
165gm all purpose flour

1. Prepare 2 pans (10X10 inch). Line with paper.
2. Preheat oven to 200(fan)/220C
3. Beat egg yolks with 50gm sugar until thick and pale. Set aside.
4. Wash beaters and beat egg whites until frothy. Add in cream of tartar and beat until soft peaks. Add in sugar gradually and beat until medium stiff peaks.
5. Pour beaten egg yolk into whites and sift half the flour over both type of eggs. Fold.
6. Sift remaining flour over batter and fold.
7. Put batter into piping bag with a 1cm round tip. Pipe lines of batter onto both pans.
8. Bake for 6-8 minutes.
9. Leave cake to cool totally before use.


Coffee Solution
1.5 Tbsp Nescafe gold
150ml boiling water
2 tbsp kahlua or more (optional, other other suitable liquors)

Combine both and set aside to cool down. It’ll taste pretty bitter. Mix with liquor.

Cheese Filling
6gm gelatin
30ml water
250gm cream cheese, room temp
3 pasteurized egg yolks, room temp
50gm sugar
300gm whipping cream(dairy), whipped to soft peaks
3 pasteurized egg whites, room temp
¾ tsp cream of tartar
80gm sugar
Cocoa powder for sprinkling

1. Place water into a heatproof bowl and sprinkle gelatin over. Let it sit for a while so that the gelatin granules will bloom. Heat bowl over hot pan of water or in the microwave to melt the gelatin. Refer to this post. Set aside to cool. Freeze a mixing bowl at this point for the cream
2. Beat egg whites in a clean bowl on high (hand mixer) for 1 minute. Put in cream of tartar and beat for another 4-5 minutes. It should have taken on form. Put in 80gm sugar gradually and beat for another 3 minutes. It should form peaks when beaters are lifted. Put in fridge while you do the next step. Take note that pasteurized egg whites needs more acid and more time to beat it up, and it yields lesser than regular egg whites.
3. Rinse the beaters and remove bowl from freezer. With that bowl, beat whipping cream until soft peaks. Transfer cream to a bowl and set aside in fridge.
4. With the same bowl, beat cream cheese until smooth, it’ll take only a minute. Put in 50gm sugar and beat for 1 minute. Put in egg yolks gradually and beat until smooth.
5. Fold the whipped cream into cheese mixture.
6. With your melted cooled gelatin in your left hand (if you’re right handed) and your hand mixer on your right, run the mixer on speed 1 or 2 (if 1 is too slow for ur machine). Drizzle in the gelatin as the mixer is on. Make sure the mixer mixes the gelatin evenly.
7. Pour cheese mixture into egg whites and fold. Use immediately to fill cake.

 Note : I did not used Kahlua instead I used Bailey and the result is fantasic .
           I did not used pasteurized egg as I cant find any here in Australia. With normal egg is still good .I guess just cant keep this cake for long and  must consume on the day it was make .

Interesting way for her to cut the cake as she does not want her name to be "cut off" . As the result I cant take a clear picture on the slice of cake. Not too sure will I bake this cake again. Maybe if someone requested it I will give it another tried. I have a small slice of myself , is not my custome not to eat my own cake . The taste is creamy and rich , full of coffee favour yet not over powering. Verdict is everyone love it :)

Pandan PanCake

What for breakkie on a lovely weekend ?? Breakkie is a short form for breakfast. In this lovely country -Australia, a "cute" habit is to add " ie " at the end in some word to make it sound more neat :)

One of my friend who is a blog baker ->eelmsthebaker, has her pancake pic on FB one day, it attract my attention and would really love to give it a try. Of course as a follower of her blog , I will have an update each time that is any new blog uploaded, that give me the advantage to get the recipe when it happen :)

Pancake is a classic breakfast meal in western country, of course food should not have any boundary limit. And I believe food bring people together. If you ate something you love, you want to share it, if is something awful or disaster , I would say the more you would love to tell about it ,so others can avoid.

I make this lovely pancake on last 2 weekend. Of course being me, as a pandan lover. I modify the pancake by adding some pandan essence in the mixture and have this lovely Pandan PanCake as our lovely breakfast to start off our weekend. The texture is fluffy soft , crisppy and not too sweet. Is a healthy yet satisfiying meal to start off a weekend .

To have the original recipe do follow the link ->Clinton Street baking company pancake

I will have the recipe (with pandan flavour) as below as well :

Make 12 -3 inch size pancake

Ingredients :

128g All Purpose Flour ( 1cup)
1 tsp Baking  Powder
35g caster sugar
1/4 tsp salt
2 eggs ( seperate yolk and white)
180ml whole milk
43g unsalted butter (melted)
5g unmelted for the pan
1/2 tsp pandan essence

Method :




1. Mixed all purpose flour, baking powder together.
2. In a mixing bowl, combine sugar, salt , egg yolk , whole milk mix well.
3. Sift in the all purpose flour , pour in the melted butter and pandand essence.
4. Beat the egg white till soft peak, fold in the egg white to the all combine mixture.
5. Oil the pan with butter, scoop a laddle of pancake batter into the pan and cook till well.
6. Enjoy it with some cream or honey . I like mine plain with a cuppa :)

Voila!!

Green Tea Chiffon Cake

Another night of chiffon cake craving. I just not too sure what is going on in this winter season. It seem every night I just need some sweet with a cup of hot chocolate as a comfort before I being tuck in bed by my love one hahaha.

We do not want to have too big a cake and also would love to try out my 15cm chiffon cake mould so I bake this little Green Tea Chiffon Cake. As I can not really find a recipe that with such little ingredient to fit in the mould I come out with my own recipe and the result is just what I want . So happy to have this little cake for a night and enjoy the fragrant of tea with a cup of hot chocolate in a cold winter night.

So here is the recipe , you might want to try out if you looking for just a cake for a night ;

Ingredients

Part A:

2 Eggs yollks
35g Cake flour
15g Castor Sugar
40g hot milk
30g Oil
1/4 tsp of Baking powder
1 tsp of Green Tea powder
A pinch of salt

Part B :

2 Eggs White
25g Castor Sugar
1/4 tsp Cream of Tartar

Method :
Preheat oven 165C
1. Mixed green tea powder in the hot milk and let it cool down slightly.
2. Mixed cake flour, baking powder and a pinch of salt well.
3. Add mixed flour into warm milk and stir well as it form a soft dough
4. Whisk the egg yolk and sugar until completely dissolved
5. Add in the egg yolk and oil to the flour mixture combine till well
6. Beat egg white with cream of tartar and gradually add in sugar till soft peak form.
7. Fold the egg white into the flour mixture as above.
8. Pour the mixture in the mould and baked in the oven for 30min or till cook
9. When the cake is cook, invert cake leave it cool

We enjoy the cake in 2 night. Well at least you do not feel guilt having a light chiffon cake before bed time. Is just so right for a cold winter night .

Palm Sugar Souffle Cake

My love for Palm Sugar, Pandan and Coconut Milk will always be a motivation for me to bake any cake relate to this 3 beautiful ingredient GOD has given to people in Southeast Asia. :)

Yup I love cake that is moist and soft in texture. Come across this Palm Sugar Souffle Cake. Which has an interesting chinese name 相思海棉疍糕。The name itself indicate the cake should be soft and moist. Yup the cake is beating egg white sperate till form a soft peak and fold in the other mixture.

I got this recipe from this wonderful blog that is full of easy follow recipe and I have tried some of her recipe is easy to  follow through and result is great ->SiewHwei blog .

From now on I would also cut and paste the recipe in my blog , this is just easy for myself to retrieve all this lovely recipe I would bake again. However I will always attached the original link where this recipes I got it from. Respect those who bake and share recipe is always a must. So do browse to their blog and learn more.  This will make the food journey more interesting and fun loving in sharing :)

Method

Ingredients A:
Corn oil 65g
Palm Sugar 40g (can increase 10-15g if you prefer heavier taste) - I increase it to 55g it taste the best !
milk 80ml (combine gula melaka and milk in a small boiler, bring to a boil)
Salt 1/4t
Egg yolk  100g
Egg 1pc
Superfine flour 65g ( I used cake flour)

Ingredients B:
Egg white 200g
Castor sugar 75g
Cream of Tartar 1/2t

Method A:
1. Combine Corn oil, Gula Melaka milk, egg yolk and egg in a bowl. Whisk well till has little bubble.
2. Add in the Flour, mix well, set aside.( cover well do not let air get in )

Method B:
1. Combine egg white and Cream of tartar, beat in medium speed, slowly add in sugar, beat till soft peak form.
2. Mix A & B, pour the mixture into 7" loose base square baking pan. Steam bake ~ 150 degree, 55 minutes.
3. Inverted the cake pan, till it is cool completely.

 

The cake is so soft and moist. The Palm Sugar frangant is in each bite of the cake. I actually have the cake mostly by myself :) Keep in a an air tight container keep in the fridge , each tea time is just another sweet moment for the baker. 

 

Avocado Chiffon Cake

My heart always have a chiffon in me. :) I love fluffy moist soft texture cake. Yup out of the craziness for avocado, also I still have some avocado paste left after I bake the Avocado Milk Pound Cake. I decide to try out something I have yet to see others baking this - Avocado Chiffon Cake . Checking through chiffon cake recipe I gather some idea and bake this Avocado Chiffon Cake.

Recipe adapted and modified from Wen's Delight
Ingredients:
80g Avocado paste ( mix 1/4 tsp of lemon juice)
3 nos Egg yolks
50g Castor sugar
50ml Sunflower oil (any vegetable oil)
80g Cake flour
1/4 tsp Baking powder


4 nos Egg whites
20g Castor Sugar
1/4tsp Cream of Tartar

Method:
Preheat oven at 180 deg C. Chiffon mould - 17 cm
1. Place egg yolks, sugar, milk & oil in a mixing bowl. Whisk till well blended, add in avocado to mix well. Fold in sifted flour & baking powder, set aside.
2. Whisk egg white & sugar at max speed till stiff peak.
3. Fold in 1/3 egg yolk mixture into whisked egg white, then pour this mixture into the the balance egg white, fold till well incorporated.
4. Pour batter into chiffon mould and bake for 30 mins.
5. When baked, turn upside down to cool. Unmould when completely cool.

 

The cake has a light yellowish green color. It taste light. As avocado does not has a strong taste so is a moist light avocado lemon chiffon cake taste. Not sure will you like it or not. However am happy for the result and I have done it. Well you wont know until you try it so I knew how is an avocado chiffon cake taste like :)

 

Avocado Milk Pound Cake

Well it seem to be Avocado season now. At least I see more in the market in the shop. I never tasted avocado till my early 20. This is not a common fruit in Asia. Normally people serve with chicken salad. It cost quite a fair bit in Asia. Research said avocado is good for heart and antioxidant fruit that prevent cancer. However it is the most fatty fruit among the rest. In Australia avocado is relatively cheap when in season and it has different variety.Aussie like to spread it on toast bread for breakfast. I enjoy it lot and only consume during morning so I can utilised the fat throughout the day.

One of my friend have tried to bake an avocado pound cake . It make me curious how it taste like. Not too sure how a pound cake should taste like. Am not a fan of heavy cake taste , I love fluffy soft moist cake. Looking that my avocado is going to spoil soon if I did not consume on time. I decided to give this recipe a try and bake this lovely cake.

The recipe is by a lovely lady which is from Malaysia. In searching for receipe I found her blog , I would say she is talented and I have been trying some of her recipe , is easy to follow and the result is great . so enjoy baking and try this out ->Table for 2 or more.The taste is yum given the amount of flour in . However the cake is moist and now I have another recipe for avocado as not only spreading on the toast.

Ok am still trying to improve my SLR picture taking skill . Is a bit of fail especially using potrait lens. Well I believe I will get there soon .