Dark Chocolate Cake with Ganache

29.03.2014 - Nongsa, Batam.  I had ran out of butter at home as i received a call in the afternoon from my hubby requested for a cake for evening to celebrate our 2nd year Anniversary of staying in Batam.  So the only quick cake and no butter cake that came to mind is the chocolate sponge cake.

Im always so lucky to get a great recipe well have to say with some knowledge of baking to do some modification as well on the recipe.  I am so happy that the result of this cake was PERFECT!!! The cake is super moist, soft and spongy!! taste just as good not too sweet and is a perfect cake for any occasion and this is the best chocolate cake i have ever made!!

RECIPE
( I used  8" round cake pan )

For Dark Chocolate Sponge Cake Recipe
4 egg yolks large
25g caster sugar
50ml vegetable oil
70ml water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
85g cake flour
25g rich dark cocoa powder ( Dutch - good quality coco powder )
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
dash of baking soda

4 egg whites large
55g caster sugar
1/4 tp Cream of Tartar

Here i provides you two chocolate ganache recipes, just incase you ran out of heavy cream, you may used the "no heavy cream recipe" for your frosting! Enjoy

For Frosting - Dark Chocolate Ganache: ( used no heavy cream ) 
120ml fresh milk  ( you may add little by little to adjust the amount of liquid for the thickness level )
50g butter
300g good quality dark chocolate, coarsely chopped

or

Dark Chocolate Ganache: ( with heavy cream )
200g Heavy Cream
200g dark chocolate, coarsely chopped

Chocolate Sponge Cake
Method:

- Line base of a 9" round pan with parchment paper. Do not line or grease the sides.

- Sieve cake flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and dash of baking soda. Set aside.

- Beat egg whites till foamy add in cream of tartar, continue beat and add half of the sugar amount and turn to high speed and beat the mixture. Continue to add in the remaining sugar and beat until the egg whites reaches stiff peak, just like how you make chiffon cake.  Most of the recipe probably will advise do not over beat the whites still stiff, it is better to beat the whites still soft peaks for easy folding with the yolk batter. But it doesn't matter for me, if you know the technique of folding, you won't deflate the egg white without over mixed )  Set aside egg whites.

- Pre-heated oven at 170c

- Place egg yolks in a clean mixing bowl. beat the egg yolk with a balloon whisk or electric egg beater and gradually add in sugar in 2 batches, beat till the mixture turns lemony and thicken.  Add in vegetable oil, water and vanilla gradually, whisk till the mixture just combined.  Transfer sieved flour mixture in and mix until just well combined. Do not over mix. Set aside.

- Add the beaten egg whites into batter mixture in 3 batch, 1st 2 times i fold in with the remaining egg whisk from the machine / balloon whisk until just combine and last batch of egg white i fold with a spatula until just well combine do not over mixed the mixture.

- Pour the batter slowly into the prepared round pan to get rid of air bubbles or just in case you are to fast pouring in the batter, you may tap the pan lightly after pouring batter to the pan.

- Bake in pre-heated oven at 170 degC for 45 mins, place the cake in the center of the oven. After cooked, insert a toothpick to the cake, when come out clean, its done.  Invert the pan immediately and let cool completely before unmould.

- To release the cake from the pan, run a thin-bladed knife or a off-set spatula around the inside of the pan.

- Slice the cake horizontally into three layers. Frost cake with chocolate ganache onto the surface. Spread evenly with a spatula. Repeat with the second layer of sponge cake. Place the third layer and spoon the remaining ganache over the top and spread it over to the sides. Smooth the surface evenly with the spatula.

Decorate as desired. Keep chilled in fridge.


Chocolate Ganache:
METHOD

In a double boiler, Place Milk / Cream and chopped chocolates ( or butter ) in a bowl. Set it over a saucepan of simmering water until all melted and combined and smooth.   Remove from saucepan. Set chocolate to cool and transfer to the fridge to set for easy frosting.

Lemon Baked Cheesecake

22.03.2014 - Nongsa, Batam.  Who doesn't like cheesecake, we are cheesecake lovers! Baking this cheesecake consider is my very first time! It turn out perfectly stunning!

Im glad my first baking cheesecake didn't disappoint me or discourage me! This encourage me to bake more in the future! Nver expect this cheesecake would turn out perfectly Perfect!! This recipe is simply easy and i will sure make again with another flavour.

I am absolutely into baking and i've been baking for a year now.  I do find that baking cheesecake is more easier and faster than baking a regular cake.

Enjoying every single bite of this cheesecake is a bliss!! i felt like eating a 5 stars alike cheesecake made all by yourself! How wonderful is this eh!! thumbs up!

 Lemon Bake Cheesecake 

250g plain sweet biscuits
150g butter, melted

500g cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup caster sugar ( 169g)
3 teaspoons finely grated lemon rind ( from one whole lemon )
3 eggs
1/4 cup lemon juice ( from one whole lemon juice, about 1/3 cup )

Icing sugar mixture and double cream, to serve

Method

Step 1
Preheat oven to 160°C/140°C fan-forced. Grease a 6cm-deep, 20cm round springform pan. Process biscuits until finely chopped. Add butter. Process until combined. Press mixture over base and side of prepared pan. Refrigerate for 15 minutes. 

Step 2
Meanwhile, beat cream cheese, sugar and lemon rind together until smooth. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating until combined. Add lemon juice. Beat for 1 minute. Pour mixture into prepared pan.

Step 3
Bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour or until filling is just set (mixture may wobble slightly in centre, but will firm on standing). Cool in oven with door slightly ajar. Refrigerate for 4 hours or until cold. Dust with icing sugar and serve with cream. ( no waterbath, i pre-heat at 160c, and bake at 160c for 1 hour in the center of the oven). Cool in the oven with door ajar for 2 hours and Refrigerate for 4 hours or over night.

My cheesecake turn out PERFECTLY! with no sign of crack just after baked and after 2 hours cool down in the oven.  However i noticed a slight shrink just a tiny bit at the side crust.  The whole cake was Super Perfect!!

Pandan Chiffon Cake

15.03.2014 - Batam, Nongsa.  I love Chiffon Cake, have wanted to try making a common Pandan Chiffon Cake for a very long time.  Finally i can make now since ive got my Cream of Tartar stock from my recent trip back to Malaysia, How nice!! Or else i could only dream of making one!!  My pandan chiffon cake smells super pandan and delicious!! Love it! simply soft and airy.

This recipe was adapted from Kitchen Tigress.  (Recipe for one 21 cm pan ) I used 22cm chiffon cake pan.

INGREDIENTS:-

100 g pandan leaves, use only soft and moist young leaves
buy 250 g and use only 100 g of the innermost, light green leaves
70 g freshly squeezed coconut milk, undiluted

180 g egg whites ( around 6-7 eggs small-medium size ) 
½ tsp cream of tartar
50 g sugar

60 g egg yolks
50 g sugar
60 g vegetable oil
¼ tsp salt ( i omit salt )
100 g cake flour, sifted with baking powder
1 tsp baking powder

Image Don't use old, dark green pandan leaves. Not only do these not have any juice, they actually absorb liquid because they're very dry. If you blend old and young leaves together, the juice of the young ones would be absorbed by the old leaves.

Preheat oven to 180°C (355°F). ( I preheated my oven to 190c )

Wash and roughly chop pandan leaves. Blend with coconut milk and 1 tbsp water. Strain, pressing leaves hard. Discard pulp. Set aside green liquid, which should weigh 95 g.  ( blend young cutted pandan leaf, add 1tbsp water and coconut milk to get the juice.  use a spoon to squeeze out juice and with hand.  my blended pandan juice only reach 65g, so i added more coconut milk to reach 95g.  i added a tiny drop of pandan paste to the mixture.  Since the result cake wasn't that green, perhaps next time could add 1tsp of pandan paste for a better color or add more fresh pandan leaves, up to your choice ) 

Whisk egg whites with sugar and cream of tartar till just reaching stiff peaks. Set aside. ( beat until really stiff peak )

In a separate bowl, whisk egg yolks and sugar till pale, thick and creamy (ribbon stage). Add green coconut milk, then vegetable oil, whisking till evenly mixed. Gradually add flour mixture, along with salt, again whisking till just evenly mixed. Add egg whites in 3 batches, whisking gently by hand in electric whisk's direction. Scrape down with spatula before mixing last batch of egg whites. ( beat egg yolk & sugar to ribbon stage, add in oil mix with baloon whisk or egg beater whisk and add in coconut mixture mix just combined.  add sifted flour 3 batch, whisk until even.  Whisk in egg white in to 3 batch and 2nd mix whisk again and last part with a spatula mix till well combine. )  

Bang mixing bowl against worktop 2-3 times to remove air bubbles. Pour batter into 21 cm 2-piece chiffon tin that's not non-stick, slowly so that air bubbles still trapped in the batter are released. Run a chopstick round side of tin to remove more air bubbles. Level and smooth top. ( i did not bang my batter , but i pour in my batter slowly to reduce air bubbles. pour batter into a non grease pan.  until almost the same height and smooth the top.  i did not run a chopstick around the tin. ) 

Bake cake in bottom of oven till risen and almost level with top of tin, about 15 minutes. Cake should now be very slightly brown and not cracked. Place baking tray in top of oven to block top heat. Continue baking till inserted skewer comes out clean, 20 minutes or so. Cake should now be slightly cracked. Remove tray from top of oven. Continue baking till top of cake is dry and medium-brown, another 5-10 minutes. ( i preheat oven at 190c, bake at 180c lower oven for 40 mins until finished without using baking tray to cover the cake )

Remove cake from oven. Invert onto a bottle. Leave till cool, an hour or so. Cut cake out of tin. ( i invert into a small coloring bottle upside town and leave to cool.  Remove cake after 1 hour cooling by using a knife run around the side of the tin when my cake, it shrink just a little at the side and shrink helps to remove cake easily. )

Peanut Makmur Recipe

28.01.2014 - Batam.  It has been a longtime i was looking for Peanut Makmur Recipe  but couldn't find one.  However, i found a kueh Makmur/Momo recipe with the ingredients quite similar to what i am looking, so i used this recipe with a little modification, it turn out really the Makmur that i have been looking for. It would be that melt in your mouth makmur due to the peanuts that i added but i am after this result :)

If you want to stick to the original recipe, you could omit the peanut and any additional that ive used for this peanut makmur.

Ingredients:

250g plain flour or all purpose flour
150g roasted peanut ( i added )
40g icing sugar (if you like a sweeter taste, add up to 75g icing sugar)
75g full cream milk powder*
150g ghee ( i used anchor unsalted butter 200g ) 
1/4 tsp salt
1 egg yolk

about 1/2 cup sifted icing sugar (confectioner sugar)

Method:

Add flour to wok or frying pan. Dry fry at medium low heat for about 5 - 6 minutes. Keep stirring the flour to avoid burning till flour becomes very hot and smells lightly nutty. Remove from heat and leave to cool.

Fry peanuts over low fire until fragrance.  Grind while the peanuts are still warm. Put aside.

Ground salt with 1 tsp of the dry roasted flour using pestle and mortar to a fine powder. Add this to flour.  Add milk powder and icing sugar and roasted peanut.

Mix dry ingredients together then sieve, break up any large lumps with fingers, remove any remaining gritty grains.  Melt ghee/butter in pan for few sec.

Transfer melted butter/ ghee and and 1 egg yolk mixture into the dry ingredients. Mix with a spatula then finish by rubbing with fingers till dough is evenly mixed.  The dough is crumbly but should form a lump when squeeze together.

Take a handful of dough, squeeze into size of the makmur/momo balls is up to you. I like them quite small about 1.5 - 2cm diameter.

Place balls on baking tray (pan) lined with parchment paper, arrange balls with some space for expansion.

Preheat oven to 160deg C. Put the tray of cookies in the oven, lower heat to 140 deg C fan oven (or 150 deg non fan oven), bake for about 12 - 15 minutes till light golden. Makmur/Momo balls will expand slightly after baking. I bake at 180c 20 mins

Leave to cool for few minutes till cool enough to pick up by fingers. Then coat generously with icing powder. They are very fragile, be gentle and don't crowd the bowl.

These kuih makmur/momo will keep fresh for couple of weeks in airtight container.

Happy Baking!!