Rainbow Cake.

I swear I'm going to make entretment some day. 
I will do it. 

But I just don't have the courage to do it. 
I read somewhere from a blogger that entretment is very very time consuming. 
But when the final piece is done, It's better then ANYTHING you made. And when I say ANYTHING. I mean ANYTHING. I mean even having to lose your precious sleep, or not having to bath for a few weeks.

I'm just kidding.

Wait for my next post. Or maythe the post after next. Or maybe the post after next post. 

ok. Don't roll your eyes alright?

Unfortunately, 

I'm not able to cut out the cake as this was a order from someone. 
But I'm overall satisfied with my performance this time. 

Do you like this? 
By the way, check out my new page for customized cake 

:D :D :D

Till we see again!

Inside Ombre with Swiss Meringue Buttercream Cake : A Celebration Cake!

FIRSTLY, I would like to wish anybody whose birthday falls on June. 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!


I was overwhelmed, excited, nervous, happy when I'm doing this.
Suddenly everything feeling that you could describe came to me.


I love doing celebration cakes. 
Birthdays cake. Umm..

Chocolate cakes, Strawberry, Vanilla.

And It's for a friend birthday. 
I use 2 days to get this cake done. From baking the cake to frosting and pipping the rosette. 
By the time I'm done with washing and cleaning up, it was about 1am.
(Don't get me wrong I didn't start from morning and ended only at 1am. What do you think I was making? Mount Everest Cake?!)

But it was worth it. I'm super excited about the cake. 
But there's still flaws. And I actually smudged the sides of the cake because of my clumsiness. 
Goodness me. I hope no one hates me.


We had late lunch over at at friend's place. And after that we cut the cake. 
We sang happy birthday and it was awful. 

I mean me.

I didn't manage to take a photo of the insides. This photo was taken from my friend's camera. 

Earl Grey Chocolate cake with Swiss Meringue Buttercream.

Today as I was walking out to get lunch, the rain suddenly came down.
So heavily. I have no choice but to grab something below my office food court. 

And it's not really nice.
Not that it matters you know. 
Not that I wanna mention.
Not that it has to be the top of this post.

Anyway.

This post won't be having a recipe as it isn't improvise yet..

Just..... Photos. 

The lady who requested this actually asked me for a long time but I didn't have the time to do it. 
I'm always afraid of doing piping because my piping skills really sucks.

And the reason I didn't post a recipe for this is because my cake taste weird. 
I don't know, just weird. But if you like to try the cake you may refer to shutterbean blog.

Her photos are so beautiful.


It's my bad actually, It's not the recipe giver's fault.
I might have over fold my batter. It taste dense. 

But those who have tried, a few said that it's quite good. 
But I still feel the need to improvise. 


And of cause, brush up on my piping skills.
But on a happier note, this is my first time piping roses on a whole cake!

OH YAY!

I'm just trying to praise myself. 

For the roses, I am using SMBC and I used colour gel to achieve the type of colours I want.
I just did a crumb coat for the cake and later on pipe on the roses. 

PHEW.

Thank you for viewing and I hope you have a nice day.

Avocado Chiffon.

Avocado. 

Chiffon.

Tell me how does that taste like.

''I was thinking to myself before I started making this.''

To my SURPRISE, this taste light and airy
The chiffon has a hinge of avocado, but not that strong to cover the cake.


Sad to say, I am not the original creator of this chiffon. I just happen to think of it and just search on the net to find out quite a number of bloggers/bakers have already made this chiffon.

 

This cake doesn't keep well. 

It's best to finish within one day. (Which we did)

Oh well, we need cake at times.

Or maybe everytime.

Well.

Try it to see for yourself if you like it.

Avocado Chiffon

For a 7 inch Chiffon Cake Tin.

Ingredients:

80grams avocado, smashed (see notes below)

3 egg yolks

1/4 cup - 50grams castor sugar

A pinch of salt

3 tablespoon - 45ml canola oil

3 tablespoon water

85grams cake flour

4 egg whites

1/4 cup - 50grams castor sugar

1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar

Method:

Please preheat oven to 350F/180C first.

Using a electric beater, beat the egg whites and cream of tartar in a medium bowl till frothy, add in 1/4 cup of sugar in two portion beating until stiff peaks.

In a separate bowl, whisk the egg yolks, sugar, salt water and oil until fully combined.

Add in the smashed avocado and beat again, until blended and smooth. 

Gradually, sift in flour and mix until fully combined but do not overmix.

Take 1/3 of the egg whites and fold into the egg yolk batter

(first fold is to lighten the batter, but be careful not to over fold!)

Spilt into another two portion and fold the egg whites into the batter. 

Fold steadily and fast. Do not over fold otherwise your cake will turn dense.

Before pouring into cake pan, knock batter over counter top a few times to release the air bubbles.

Pour into the ungreased cake pan.

Bake for 30 minutes until cake surface is golden brown.

Remove cake from oven and revert cake pan upside down on top of cooling rack to finish cooling.

When cake is completely cool, gently run the back of a knife around the rim of the cake and remove from cake pan.

Notes:

Avocado must be smashed till lumpy. No traces of avacado bits should left. You may place in blender to puree them instead. 

Cool the cake completely before removing the cake from cake pan. This, is the secret of chiffon cake!

Lemon Buttermilk Cake.

It's not a baking week for me. Because I'm so tired and I just went to Batam for a short trip over the weekends.

Weekends is the only time for me to bake because 

1. I have the whole day to myself
2. There's plenty of light for me to take photos of my bake stuff
3. I have a job so I am not able to bake in the weekdays.


ok.. Anyway I shall just stop grumbling and write this cake. 

Have you guys ever tried baking with buttermilk??
I can tell you.. It makes the cake super moist and fluffy.. 
In case you guys don't know what is buttermilk , 

The term buttermilk also refers to a range of fermented milk drinks, common in warm climates (e.g., the Balkans, the Middle East, Turkey, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka and the Southern United States) where unrefrigerated fresh milk sours quickly,^[1] as well as in colder climates, such as Scandinavia, Finland, Netherlands, Germany, Poland, Slovakia and Czech Republic. This fermented dairy product known as cultured buttermilk is produced from cow's milk and has a characteristically sour taste caused by lactic acid bacteria. This variant is made using one of two species of bacteria—either Lactococcus lactis or Lactobacillus bulgaricus, which creates more tartness.

It taste like yogurt for me.
Is It? Well to me it is. 

I started baking once I reached home but by the time I finish baking It was sunset..
SIGH.

This cake suppose to be glazed.

But I skipped that as I think It's nice eating like that. 

You may want to glaze it if you like to. 

Ingredients:

3 large eggs

1 cup - 200grams castor sugar

160ml canola oil

2 tablespoon lemon zest

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 cups - 250grams all plain/all purpose flour

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 cup - 240grams buttermilk

1 cup sliced almonds (optional)

Glaze:

1/2 cup - 60ml lemon juice

1/2 cup - 63grams sugar

1 teaspoon lemon zest

Method:

Preheat oven to 350F/180C

Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Sift once, set aside.

In a large bowl, combine egg, sugar, canola oil and lemon zest using whisk or wooden spoon till evenly mixed.

You may want to use the electric mixer to mix the wet ingredients, but make sure it is evenly mixed.

Slowly, add the dry ingredients and buttermilk alternating each until fully combined, don't over mixed.

Fold in sliced almond and mix thoroughly.

Place batter in oven and bake for 30 to 35 minutes until golden brown or when cake tester inserted comes out clean. 

While waiting, prepare your glaze. 

Combine the lemon juice, sugar and lemon zest in a pot over medium heat.

Let sugar melt and stir for about one minute. Remove from heat and let cool.

When cake comes out let it cool slightly before pouring glaze over. 

Enjoy your moist buttermilk cake!

Flourless Chocolate Cake.

It's not been raining this few days. 

It's good, and it's bad. 


Life is short. Enjoy while you can. Do whatever you want, whatever you can. 
Sometimes it's really hard to regret over whatever you have not done and blame yourself. 

I love baking. And I love singing. 
Seriously singing. 
I hope I can express myself through singing. 
Because I don't really know how to express myself through speaking. 

Of course, baking is in my top list. 

This cake, is flourless, chocolatey and beautiful.
It's gluten free. 
Every bite is filled with chocolate lingering in your mouth. It's solid, full of love.

Flourless Chocolate Cake

Ingredients:

7oz - 200grams dark chocolate (55% or more)
1 tablespoon dark espresso coffee
1 tablepoon rum 
11 tablespoon - 150grams butter cut into cubes
15 tablespoon - 150grams caster sugar
100grams almond flour 
5 eggs, separated 

Icing sugar for dusting


Method:

Preheat oven to 180C/350F.
Place chocolate, coffee, rum, butter and sugar in a large heatproof bowl over a pot of boiling water.
Stir together till all the ingredients are combined and melted. 
Once combined remove from heat and add in ground almond, stir again till combined.
Slowly add in egg yolks one by one till fully mixed. 
Leave it aside. 

In another bowl, using a electric mixer beat the egg whites till stiff peaks. 
Scoop few tablespoon of whites into chocolate mixture to lighten it first, after which separate into two to three additions and the whites into chocolate mixture. 
Pour it into a greased 8 inch cake pan.
Bake for 40 to 50 minutes. 
Remove from oven and let cool, dust with icing sugar. 

Ultimate Creamy- Fudgy Chocolate Cake

It's the weekend.


And weekend means, It's baking time!! I always get excited to bake something whenever weekends is here. 

It means I get to practise on my photography.. (Yes)

I still have so much to learn. 


I 've been wanting to do this chocolate cake for a long time because of the leftover egg whites in my freezer.


But since I always have something else to bake so I keep skipping over and over until I finally have the chance to do this. 


I'm quite a big fan for chocolate. Especially fudgy chocolate cake.
This cake is chocolatey.. I think one slice should be enough for everyone. 

It's sinfully..... CHOCOLATEY.

Yes. I have to type in BOLD because it's really CHOCOLATEY. 

It's looks like brownie, taste like one but it's a cake!

I don't know how to describe this cake you see... you will have to try it yourself.

I topped it off with some fresh strawberries. 

Absolutely delicious. 

Ultimately Creamy-Fudgy Chocolate Cake

Ingredients:

150grams of butter (unsalted)

200grams of chocolate (55 - 70% preferably)

200grams super fine sugar 

40grams unsweetend cocoa powder

1/2 tsp sea salt

5 egg whites at room temperature

130grams all purpose flour

Method:

Preheat oven to 180 degrees celcius.

Butter a loaf pan and leave it aside. 

In a saucepan, melt the butter over low heat.

Remove the pan from heat and add the chocolate and salt, stirring until chocolate is completely melted.

Set aside and let the mixture cool.

In another bowl, mix together sugar and cocoa powder.

Add the egg whites one by one gradually and mix at medium speed for about 5 minutes.

Add the butter and chocolate mixture and mix well. 

Sift the flour and stir until it is completely incorporated.

Distribute the mixture evenly into prepared pan and bake for 30 to 40 minutes.

Let the cake cool on a wire rack and let cool to room temperature. 

You can top this cake off with some chocolate ganache and top it off with some fresh strawberries. 

Triple Chocolate Mousse Cake; A beautiful mess!

This was for a friend of mine.. For her birthday as well as for Valentine. She loves chocolate so I decided to make this triple chocolate mousse for her. Dark chocolate base with chocolate mousse and white chocolate mousse as the top. The combination is ... almost to perfect. Not too sweet because of the dark chocolate. This is quite a ugly cake (it's my fault definitely, not the recipe) because when I remove the cake from the cake pan, some of the mousse was smudged all over, so I thought of an idea to use chocolate biscuit sticks to cover the sides of the mousse cake.. But definitely, it still taste nice.

Makes a 8 inch cake 

Serve 10

Bottom:

85g unsalted butter, plus extra for greasing pan

198g bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped

3/4 tsp instant coffee granules 

1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

4 eggs, separated

Pinch of salt

60g light brown sugar

Middle: 

2 tbsp cocoa powder, preferably dutch processed

5 tbsp hot water

198g bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped 

350g heavy cream (cold)

1 tbsp granulated sugar

1/8 tsp salt

Top:

3/4 tsp gelatin powder

1 tbsp water

170g white chocolate chips

350g heavy cream (cold)

Garnish: (Optional)

Chocolate Curls

Biscuit sticks

Method for bottom layer:

Preheat oven to 165C. Butter bottom and side of 8 inch springform pan that is at least 3 inch high.

Melt butter, chocolate and coffee granules in a large heatproof bowl over a saucepan filled with 1 inch of barely simmering water stirring occasionally until smooth.

Remove from heat and let cool for 5 minutes. Whisk in vanilla and egg yolks. Set aside.

Beat egg whites with stand mixer till frothy, about 30 seconds. Add half of brown sugar and beat till combined, about 15 seconds. Add remaining brown sugar and beat at high speed until soft peaks form. 

Whisk one third of egg whites into chocolate mixture. Using rubber spatula, fold in the remaining whites until no white streaks remain. 

Carefully transfer batter to prepared pan, gently smoothing the top with an offset spatula.

Bake until cake has risen, is firm around the edges and the center has just set but is still soft. (The center of cake will spring back after pressing gently with your fingers), about 15 to 18 minutes. Transfer pan to wire rack to cool completely about 1 hour. (The cake will collapse as it cools). Do not remove cake from cake pan.

Middle:

Whisk together cocoa powder and hot water in a small bowl and set aside. 

Melt the chocolate in a large heatproof bowl set over a saucepan filled with 1 inch of simmering water, stirring occasionally till smooth.

Remove from heat and cool for 5 minutes.

Whipped heavy cream, granulated sugar and salt on medium speed until mixture begins to thicken, about 30 seconds. Increase speed to high and whip till soft peaks form when whisk is lifted. About 30 to 45 seconds.

Whisk cocoa powder mixture into melted chocolate until smooth.

Whisk one third of chocolate whipped cream into chocolate mixture to lighten.

Using rubber spatula, fold in remaining whipped cream until no white streak remain.

Spoon mousse into springform pan over the cooled cake and gently tap the pan on counter 3 times to remove any large air bubbles. 

Smooth the top with an offset spatula. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes while preparing for top layer.

Top:

In a small bowl, sprinkle gelatin over water and let it stand for 5 minutes.

Place white chocolate in a medium bowl. Bring 150g of heavy cream to a simmer in a small saucepan over medium high heat.

Remove from heat and add gelatin mixture, whisking until fully dissolved.

Pour cream mixture over white chocolate and whisk till chocolate is melted and mixture is completely smooth.

Cool to room temperature, stirring occasionally. (The mixture will thicken slightly)

Whip the remaining heavy cream at medium speed until it begins to thicken, about 30 seconds.

Increase the speed to high and whip till soft peaks form when whisk is lifted, about 30 to 45 seconds.

Whisk one third of whipped cream into white chocolate to lighten. 

Using a rubber spatula, fold the remaining whip cream into white chocolate mixture until no white streaks remain.

Spoon the white chocolate mousse into the pan over the middle layer. 

Smooth the top with an offset spatula. Return cake to refrigerator and chill until set, at least 2 1/2 hours. 

Remove the cake from fridge and let sit and room temperature for 45 minutes before releasing it from the pan.

Garnish the top with chocolate curls or dust or cocoa powder. 

Run a thin knife between the cake and side of springform pan then remove the side of pan.

(**Please be very careful because of my carelessness, the cake was smudge)

Cut into slice and serve.  

For clean slices, dip a sharp knife into hot water and wipe dry between cuts.

Lemon Mousse Cake

Made this birthday cake over the weekend. But wasn't really satisfied with the decorating.. This cake is quite light because of the mousse but it's abit sourish.. don't know is it because my sugar was too less? If you like something sweeter you can add more sugar.. I prefer somewhere there, not too sweet.

Lemon Mousse Cake

8 inch cake pan (serve 10)

 Lemon Mousse Cake

Genoise: 100 g sifted cake flour 1/8 teaspoon salt 4 large eggs 100 g granulated sugar 1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 57 g unsalted butter, melted and cooled Ginger Syrup: (I omitted the ginger) 160 ml water 100 g granulated sugar 1/2-inch piece fresh gingerroot, peeled and thinly sliced Lemon Mousse: 60 ml water 2  teaspoons powdered gelatin 1 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice 1 1/2 tablespoons (9 g) finely grated Meyer lemon zest 225 g granulated sugar 6 large egg yolks 30 ml Grand Marnier or Cointreau (optional) 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 360 ml heavy cream Garnish: Candied Lemons Make the genoise: Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 180C. Grease the bottom and sides of a 8-inch round cake pan. Dust the pan with flour and set aside. In a medium bowl, sift together the cake flour and salt. Whisk to combine and set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer, whisk together the eggs and sugar by hand. Set the bowl over a saucepan of simmering water, making sure that the bottom of the bowl does not touch the water. Heat the egg mixture, whisking constantly, until the eggs are warm. Transfer the bowl to the electric mixer stand and, using the whisk attachment, beat on high speed until the mixture has tripled in volume, about 8 minutes. Reduce the speed to low and beat in the lemon zest and vanilla extract. Resift one-third of the flour mixture over the batter and gently fold it in with a rubber spatula. In two more additions, sift in the remaining flour mixture, again folding in gently. Have the melted butter in a small bowl. Scoop about 3/4 cup of the cake batter into the bowl and stir until blended. Fold this mixture into the remaining cake batter. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan. Bake the cake for 18 to 22 minutes, until the top springs back when lightly touched and a tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool the cake in the pan for 15 minutes. Invert the cake onto the wire rack and cool completely. Make the Syrup: In a small saucepan, combine the water and sugar and bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally just to dissolve the sugar. Remove the pan from the heat and add the ginger slices. Let stand at room temperature until ready to use. Make the mousse: Pour the water into a medium saucepan and sprinkle the gelatin over it. Let the gelatin soften for 5 minutes. Whisk in the lemon juice,  zest, sugar, and egg yolks. Place the pan over medium heat and cook, whisking constantly, until the mixture thickens and reaches 82C on an instant-read thermometer. Pour the mixture through a fine-mesh sieve into a medium bowl. Stir in the orange liqueur and vanilla extract. Set the bowl containing the lemon mixture in a large mixing bowl filled one-third of the way with ice water (be careful that the water doesn’t splash into the lemon mixture). Stir the lemon mixture frequently until it is completely cool, about 10 minutes. In the bowl of an electric mixer, using the whisk attachment, whip the heavy cream at medium-high speed to firm peaks. Fold the lemon mixture into the whipped cream. Assemble the cake: Using a long serrated knife or cake cutter, cut the genoise cake horizontally into 2 layers. Arrange a cake layer, cut side up, in the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan, centering it so that the gap between the cake and the side of the pan is even all the way around.  Generously brush the cake with half of the Ginger Syrup. Scrape half of the mousse on top of the cake and, using a small offset metal spatula, spread it into an even layer, letting the mousse fill the gap between the cake and the side of the pan. Arrange the remaining cake layer, cut side up, on top, centering it. Brush the cake with the remaining Ginger Syrup. Scrape the remaining mousse on top and spread it into an even layer as before. Refrigerate the cake for at least 3 hours before serving, until set.

Orange Chiffon

I won't say Chiffon is hard to make.. Neither will I say it is easy.. You have to fold the egg whites very properly otherwise there will be alot of ugly holes.. I tried three times and fail and failed three times. When I really wanted to give up I tried again. And this time it works! You really have to have patience with this simple yet ''not so simple'' cake. hehehe.

Orange Chiffon
For a 21cm chiffon tin.
Adapted from Kitchen Tigress

60 g egg yolks (about 3 yolks)

50 g castor sugar

80 g corn oil

65 g orange juice

100 g cake flour (sift together with baking powder)

¾ tsp double-acting baking powder

¼ tsp salt

15 g finely grated orange zest

180 g egg whites (about 4 whites)

⅓ tsp cream of tartar

50 g castor sugar  Preheat oven to 200°C.  Whisk egg yolks and 50 g castor sugar till thick and pale. Add corn oil. Whisk till thick again, like mayonnaise. Add orange juice. Whisk till evenly mixed.  Re-sift sifted cake flour and baking powder into bowl.  Add salt and orange zest. Mix till just even. Set aside.  Thoroughly wash whisk.

Whisk egg whites till very frothy. Add cream of tartar. Keep whisking till egg whites are thick. Gradually add 50 g castor sugar whilst continuing to whisk.  Keep whisking till egg whites reach firm peak stage.  Add to yolk mixture in 3 batches.  Mix with whisk till almost even after each  addition.  Scrape down thoroughly with spatula. Fold till just evenly mixed.  Bang bowl against  worktop 2-3 times to remove big air bubbles in batter. Pour batter into 21 cm  loose-bottomed chiffon pan that's not non-stick, slowly so that  big air bubbles burst as they flow out of bowl. Level batter with  spatula. Run chopstick around sides of pan and knock pan 2-3 times against worktop to get rid of more big air bubbles. Place cake in bottom of oven. Reduce temperature to 180°C. Bake till cake is level with pan and slightly golden brown, about 20 minutes.  Place baking tray in top of oven to block heat from top of oven. Continue baking till cake is brown and slightly springy when pressed, another 20-25 minutes, rotating as necessary so that cake browns evenly.  Remove cake from oven.  Invert and rest cake elevated from worktop. Leave till cool.   Unmould by cutting cake out of pan.