Friday 30 March 2012

Chiffon Cakes Using Happy Call Double-sided Pressure Pan


It has being long since I last baked a chiffon cake for my family. Although previously I have baked a few Chiffon Cakes(recipes HERE) but I still have in mind that chiffon cake is rather complicated and not easy to achieve it's unique light and fluffy texture. And moreover, sometime I find chiffon cake batter is quite difficult to handle due to the whisking of egg white(to stiff peak), mixing of yolk batter with whites and even after baking the cake itself might collapse or have wet texture due to oven temperature of baking time.

Here with my amazing Happy Call Pan(韩国双面锅), I decided to challenge to another level by using it to make Chiffon Cake. Although most of the Happy Call Pan (HCP) members used Prima Flour - Pandan Chiffon Cake Mix (available in most supermarkets) to make chiffon cake but I find the amount eggs required are too much for my liking and also since I have most of the ingredients in my pantry I decided to make it from scratch instead of using pre-mix flour.


CHOCOLATE CHIFFON CAKE


So far I have made two chiffon cakes using HCP and as you can see from the photo, even though the cake might now raise as tall as in height compared to the usual chiffon cake but we simply loves it's light and fluffy texture which how amazing it could be done by HCP. For your information this lovely chiffon is ready within 30 minutes of baking time too.


Chinese version of this recipe available HERE.

(Serves: 30 x 25cm(Basic Red Pan) | Preparation: 10 minutes | Cooking: 30 minutes)

Ingredients:
3 Egg Yolks
75g Cake Flour
15g Valrhona Cocoa Powder
1 Teaspoon Baking Powder
25g Caster Sugar
65ml Coconut Milk
2 Tablespoons Water
1.5 Tablespoons Vegetable Oil
4 Egg Whites
60g Caster Sugar
1/4 Teaspoon Cream of Tartar
50g Mini Chocolate Chips, optional


Method:-
1. Beat egg yolks and 25g caster sugar using an electric beater till pale and creamy (about 3 minutes on medium speed).

2. Stir in oil, coconut milk and sifted flours(cake flour, cocoa powder and baking powder) till combined before mixing in the water and chocolate chips. Set aside.

3. Next using a clean beater, whisk egg whites and cream of tartar in another bowl till foamy before adding in the sugar in 2 - 3 batches and continue to whisk till stiff peak(when the bowl turns over the whites remains without falling off).

4. Divide the whites into 3 portions and slowly mix in one batch at a time to the yolk mixture till combine. (carefully not to mix too much and knock out the air in the batter)

5. Pour batter into the lightly grease Happy Call Pan, bake on low heat for 12 minutes, slowly shift the pan towards right side so that left side (1/2 of the HCP) of the pan is on the heat, bake for another 6 minutes. Next shift the pan back towards the left side so that right side(1/2 of the HCP) of the pan is on the heat. (the purpose of doing this is to even out the baking as well as give the cake a nice brown colour on the surface when flip over)

6. Lastly, flip the HCP over and bake for another 6 minutes(3 minutes left, 3 minutes right) to have a nice brown top.

7. Leave the cake to cool in the pan before running a small rubber spatula around the sides and underneath the cake to remove it from the pan. (since chiffon cake tends to stick to the pan, just be extra careful and gentle when removing it from the base)

Note:-
For baking using Jumbo Pan, you can use x 1.5 of the above recipe.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
FOR OVEN METHOD:-
1. Follow steps 1 - 4, pour cake batter into a 14cm (7") chiffon pan.

2. Bake in preheated 160° Celsius oven for about 40 minutes or when a skewer inserted in the center and comes out clean.

3. Remove pan from oven and invert the pan immediately to let it rest on top of a cup. Make sure it cool completely before unmould.

4. To remove the cake from the pan, run a thin-bladed knife(i use a small rubber spatula) around the inside of the pan and the center core then follow by the base of the pan before removing the whole cake.



PANDAN CHIFFON CAKE


This is the 1st Chiffon Cake I experiment using HCP and I am happy with the result as compared to the usual chiffon cake that I used to bake. For this recipe it required 3 Egg Yolks and 4 Whites from eggs that weight 60g each.  And from the photo above you can also see that although this Pandan Chiffon Cake is bake using HCP but it still has it's unique brown crust like those usual one that we bought off self or bake from the oven.


(Serves: 30 x 25cm | Preparation: 10 minutes | Cooking: 30 minutes)

Ingredients:
3 Egg Yolks
90g Cake Flour
1 Teaspoon Baking Powder
25g Caster Sugar
65ml Coconut Milk
1.5 Teaspoons Pandan Paste
2 Tablespoons Water
1.5 Tablespoons Vegetable Oil
4 Egg Whites
60g Caster Sugar
1/4 Teaspoon Cream of Tartar

Method:-
1. Follow the same steps as above shown in the Chocolate Chiffon Cake.

2. Mix pandan paste with 2 tablespoons of water and add it into steps 2 shown above.

OR

3. You can blend about 20 pieces of Pandan leaves(Screwpine) and extract fresh juice from it. Recipe HERE.

This recipe is pretty simple and straight forward to follow so you can even bake it with your kids during weekend like what I did with my boy. I am sure this would be a good family activities to add extra bonding and fun time before tea-snack.

Feel free to explore this recipe with your own preference by adding or different ingredients such as dried fruits, sweet potato, corns and etc to make different flavour of your family favourite chiffon cakes. Till then have a great weekend, everyone!

Thursday 29 March 2012

Soy Milk Beancurd Pudding


Lately there is a soy milk beancurd craze in Munch Ministry facebook page where some of the members shared and upload their homemade beancurd pudding. I really admired those ladies with innovative ideas in creating different types of flavour from the original recipes. And you just can't imagine how easy it is to make your own soy milk pudding with just 3 ingredients.

This type of Soy Milk Beancurd Pudding is different from the traditional soy milk beancurd that we used to purchase from the hawker center, foodcourt or Mr Bean. The recipe below is quite close to the popular "Lao Ban (老伴豆花)" beancurd pudding which has branches located at Old Airport Road and Maxwell Market.


SOY MILK BEANCURD PUDDING


Although there are quite a few version of this beancurd pudding recipes when you do a Google search. But if you want to read up for some information and try out different methods to suit your taste buds, you can read up more details over at Anncoo's "Soya Bean Beancurd Pudding" and  Misstamchiak's "Best Chilled Beancurd Pudding Recipe" where they used instant jelly powder instead of gelatine stated in the recipe shown below.

I have tried a a few combination on this recipe by either omitting the creamer or reduce the amount of gelatine used in order to find a perfect texture that suits our liking. So after a few experiment, we preferred those that is without creamer as we find the taste is already good enough even without the additional creamer. Whereas I also reduce the amount of gelatine from the original 2.5 teaspoons to 2 teaspoons as we prefer a wobbly and melt in mouth texture type of beancurd pudding. So it's all up to individual to twist and swap with the ingredients to make something that suits their preference.


Recipe adapted from Munch Ministry, Soft and Tender Chilled Beancurd, HERE.

(Serves: 2 | Preparation: 5 minutes | Chilling Time: 3 - 4 Hours)

Ingredients:
500ml Vitasoy/Soy Bean Milk
2 Teaspoons of Gelatine Powder
15g of Creamer, optional

Method:-
1. Heat up Vitasoy/Soy bean milk in a saucepan over low heat(do not let it boil).

2. Put gelatine powder in a small bowl, ladle about 50ml of the warm soy milk in it and stir till gelatine powder melt and well mixed.

3. Next pour the gelatine mixture into the remaining warm soy milk, stir stir in creamer if using and let it simmer for another 30 seconds(careful not to let it boil).

4. Off the heat. Let mixture cool off slightly before sieving it into prepared containers to cool completely.

5. Chilled mixture for at least 3 - 4 hours in the fridge before serving.

For other flavour such as:-

Almond ~ Use 15g of Almond Powder - 杏仁粉 (those instant almond powder that used to make almond drink) instead of creamer



BLACK SOY MILK BEANCURD PUDDING
(using YEO's Black Soy Milk)


When compared the above Vitasoy version with this Black Soy Milk Pudding, I personally prefer the taste and texture of the latest as I felt 2 teaspoons of gelatine work well with 500ml of soy milk to give that wobbly and smooth texture that I am looking for.


(Serves: 2 | Preparation: 5 minutes | Chilling Time: 3 - 4 Hours)

Ingredients:
500ml YEO's Black Soy Milk
2 Teaspoons of Gelatine Powder
15g of Creamer

Method:-
~ Refer to the steps above on the "Soy Milk Beancurd Pudding".

So if you are a fan that likes smooth and silky beancurd pudding such as those from "Lao Ban (老伴豆花)" or 51 Soya Bean then perhaps you could gather these easy ingredients to make your own beancurd puddings at home. Cheers!

Thursday 22 March 2012

Blueberry Lemon Butter Cake


Nothing beats a slice of fragrant Butter Cake which is infused with lemon aroma together with bits of bursting blueberries in your mouth. To be honest, among all the different types of tea-cake, I simply adore butter cake especially those that are lightly infused with lemon fragrant.

If you still remember, a few months back I have shared two recipes on these "Lemon Yoghurt Butter Cake" and  "Chocolate Yoghurt Butter Cake" which is a hit for our family and friends. We love both version of the cake despite of either plain or chocolate.

Monday 19 March 2012

The Goodness Of Homemade Yoghurt

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From a glance at the supermarket dairy section you would see many different varieties of Yoghurt from either plain to those with fruit flavour and toppings such as jam, nuts and etc. Yoghurt is so wholesome and yet easy to make without any secret in the recipe. So with a foolproof recipe anyone can start making their own yoghurt at home.

Just for a note, the bacteria used to make yogurt are known as "yogurt cultures" and from fermentation of lactose, these bacteria produces lactic acid which acts on milk protein to give yogurt its creamy texture and characteristic.


HOMEMADE YOGHURT


I used to make yoghurt years back when my boy was around 8 months old during the period when he started mashed food and puree. And I still remember his favourite choice are "Yogurt with Peach and Banana" and "Yogurt with Mashed Avocado".

A few months back after a brunch treat over at Sherie's (maameemoomoo a 1/2 food blog) house where she prepared  her yummy Banana Pancakes and irresistible homemade yoghurt(stay tune for her recipe too) for us, I can't held thinking about it till I started making homemade Yoghurt again.


(Serves: 2-3 | Preparation: 15 minutes | Fermentation: 8 - 10 hours)

Ingredients:
500ml Fresh Full Cream Milk
1 Tablespoon Plain Yoghurt with Live Culture


Method:-
1. Heat the milk over low heat, stirring gently until bubbles and steam begin to appear on the surface (82°C), remove from heat.

2. Cool the milk to lukewarm or until your finger can comfortable dip in the milk for a few seconds. (preferably around 42°C)

3. Scoop about 1 tablespoon of the yoghurt cultures in a bowl, add in about 50ml of the lukewarm milk and mix well. Next pour the mixture back into the remaining milk and stir well.

4. Next pour the cultured milk into a clean sterilized glass jar or any non-reactive container and cover the lid on.

5. Lastly set the jar on the counter top in your kitchen and wait for the culture to convert the natural sugar in milk to lactic acid before it turns into yoghurt. The whole process takes about 8 - 10 hours depends on the weather. (I usually make the yoghurt at night and let is set at the counter top overnight and it would be ready in the morning around 7am)


6. Put the jar in the refrigerator immediately to slow down fermentation and as well as firm the texture of the yoghurt. It will last for about 1 - 2 weeks in the fridge.

Note:-

These are some of the plain yoghurts that are available in major supermarkets.



There are so many ways you can enjoy the wholesome goodness of homemade yoghurt such as eating it plain on it's own or drizzle with of Honey or Gula Melaka Syrup to sweeten its taste. If you want something more cafe style or with bits of crunch, you could also add in cut fruits or Muesli like what I did from the photos shown above.

Important Note(s):-
~ Do not add in the live yoghurt cultures if the warm milk is above 42°C or else the heat will killed the live cultures and effect the texture and overall result of the homemade yoghurt.

~ Different brands of plain yoghurt might produce different results so you have to take note and check the labels to ensure they contain yoghurt making bacteria such as Lactobacillus aci-dophilus, Streptococcus thermophilus.


BLUEBERRY COMPOTE
(Preview)


To make something more impressive for your guests, you could served it with some quick fruit compote on the homemade yoghurt. Here is a quick recipe on 5 minutes Blueberry Compote.

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