Strawberry Swiss Roll

Even though I have not been leaving comments at your blog, rest assured that I'm religiously catching up on the wonderful entries all of you have been posting! Been seeing a surge of beautiful swiss rolls posts from you talented ladies!

After my previous Sahara-Dessert-dry swiss roll, I took a dive for one of the popular swiss roll books that was sitting patiently in my shelf waiting to serve its purpose. The result was great, I only saw the swiss roll in the morning for photo taking and it vanished.

The rolling isn't ideal, but it's still so pretty to look at.

Will be leaving for Bangkok in a bit. Happy long weekend to me! hehehe

Am submitting this entry to Aspiring Bakers # 9 - Swiss Rolling Good Times! hosted by {L}.

Strawberry Swiss Roll (adapted from 孟老师的美味蛋糕卷)

Ingredients:

Separated eggs method sponge cake:
35g unsalted butter, melted
100g egg yolks (about 5)
25g caster sugar
160g egg whites (about 4)
75g caster sugar
55g cake flour
1 tsp red powder (I use 1/2 tsp strawberry emulco)

Filling:
180g dairy whipping cream
20g sugar
10 fresh strawberries

Method:
Sponge Cake:
1. Whisk egg yolks with 25g caster sugar over a pot of simmering water. Beat till all sugar dissolves and mixture become thick and pale.
2. Place egg whites and 75g caster sugar in a medium bowl and beat on high speed. Once reached stiff peak, beat on low speed for 1 minute.
3. Add one third of meringue into egg yolk mixture and fold in with a spatula.
4. Add in the remaining meringue into the egg yolk mixture and fold in gently.
5. Sift in cake flour into the mixture in 3 batches, each time folding in gently.
6. Add a scoop of batter into the bowl with melted butter and stir vigorously until the mixture is smooth. Add the batter and butter mixture back into the rest of the batter and fold in gently.
7. Retrieve 100g of the batter into a small bowl and add in the red powder (or emulco) and fold in under well mixed. Pour the pink batter back into the mixing bowl and create marbled swirl patterns.
8. Pour the batter into a lined 14" x 11" tray and smoothen it out with a scraper
9. Bake for 180°C for 12 mins until the cake is golden brown and springs back to touch.
10. Remove cake from oven and peel off the parchment paper from the 4 edges to let it cool.
11. Let it cool for 2 - 3 mins then cover the cake up with a bigger piece of parchment paper and slowly invert it and peel off the parchment on the other side. Place another piece of parchment paper on the peeled side and invert the cake again, so that the golden brown side faces up.

Filling:
1. Put whipping cream in a bowl and place over another big bowl filled with ice cubes. Beat cream until thick.
2. Add in sugar and beat until stiff.

Rolling the cake:
1. Spread filling on cake and line strawberries at the edge.
2. Roll the swiss roll and use parchment paper to secure its shape and chill for 30 to 60 mins. Trim the edges off and you're done.

Strawberry Roll

Took a quick snap of this recipe off one of BakerTan's recipe books while we were baking together some time ago. No idea what's the name of the book, so I'm going to leave it blank.

Made some adjustments to the recipe according to my pan size. Method is pretty straight forward, but the roll did not turn out as awesome. It was kinda dry for me. But I had fun rolling it hahah. Got greedy on the cream filling and they started vomitting out. Oops.

Anyway I got started on my Masters this weekend. Already starting to feel the stress with the group assignment due next week. Gaahhhh.

Am submitting this entry to Aspiring Bakers # 9 - Swiss Rolling Good Times! hosted by {L}.

Strawberry Roll

Ingredients:

Cake:
3 eggs
65g caster sugar
1/2 tsp strawberry emulco
65g plan flour, sifted

Strawberry Cream:
200g whipped cream
200g strawberries, chopped

Method:

1. Whisk eggs until frothy, add sugar slowly and whisk until very thick. Add strawberry emulco and whisk until even. Flour in flour in 3 batches. Divide and pour into a 11" x 11" lined swiss roll tin. Bake in a preheated oven at 220°C for 10 mins till cooked and springy. Remove, turn onto a big piece of greased proof paper sprinkled with 1 tbsp of caster sugar. Trim the crusty edges. Firmly roll up the sponge from one side, with paper inside. Leave to cool before spreading the filling.
2. Unroll the sponge and remove the paper. Spread cream over the sponge and sprinkle with chopped strawberries. Cover strawberries with some whipped cream. Carefully roll up the cake.
3. Chill in fridge for at least 2 hours before serving.

Durian Cheesecake

OMG I love July - August. We have awesome blueberries, cherries and durians!! Last year, while I was still taking my on sweet time deciding on what to make for a durian bake, the season was already over. No more procrastination this year

Glad to join the durian league this year. This cake is the product of my sheer determination. HAHAH.

The durian aroma filled the kitchen when I removed it from the fridge, got both mom and I excited. Very creamy and smooth. The little durian fibres sticking out of the cheesecake makes it look even irresistible. Not too happy with the amateur cocoa web I did though, not too much of an artist myself, I failed my Art in secondary school you know.

Guaranteed to make your nose bleed (literally) with all the heat waves from the durian and chocolate. I need a glass of liang teh now.

Durian Cheesecake (adapted from Kevin Chai's我和芝士蛋糕的秘密)

Ingredients:

Base:
160g crushed chocolate marie biscuits (I use 210g oreo cookies)
80g melted butter (I use 105g)

Cheese layer:
450g cream cheese (I use 500g)
80g caster sugar
170g durian flesh (I use 220g)
3 eggs
80g milk (I use 85g)
1 tbsp cornstarch

Topping:
1 tsp cocoa powder, 2 tsp water

Method:

1. To make base, stir all ingredients until combined. Press mixture into base of 18cm (7-inches) cake tin. (I use 8")
2. To make filling, beat cream cheese, sugar and durian flesh until smooth. Beat in eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
3. Beat in milk and cornstarch until blended. Reserve 1 tbsp cheese mixture for topping, pour the rest of the mixture into tin.
4. To make topping, mix well cocoa powder with water. Add in 1 tbsp of reserved cheese mixture, stir until well blended. Pipe on top of the surface of cheese mixture and draw net pattern with skewer.
5. Bake in oven at 170°C for 40-45 mins (I use water bath @ 150°C for 50mins) or until light brown. Remove from heat and leave to cool. Chill in fridge.

All-Occasion Downy Yellow Butter Cake with Mousseline Buttercream

I've mentioned that I'll do a layered cake before my school term starts. Mission accomplished! Ding!

Bookmarked this for the longest time. Like how the burnt sugar gave the buttercream a hint of caramel. Though the buttercream was ultra smooth and creamy, I think people around me aren't really crazy about buttercream. My mom and her auntie friends aren't fans, one of my colleagues even said buttercream tastes like 'cheap confectionery cake'. Boooo.

Maybe it was something that I did, but the cake wasn't as moist for me as Rose has described it to be. It was good for the first day, then it started to dry out quickly. By the third day, it was like shrivelled slices of stale bread. The buttercream stayed awesome though. The alcohol was overwhelming at the beginning, but it kinda "evaporated" away after sitting for a day.

Well I had fun assembling the cake and playing with the buttercream though haha.

All-Occasion Downy Yellow Butter Cake with Mousseline Buttercream (adapted from Rose Levy Beranbaum's The Cake Bible)
Makes 2 9-inch cake layers

Ingredients:

Cake:
6 large egg yolks (112g)
242g milk
2 1/4 teaspoons vanilla
300g sifted cake flour
300g cups sugar
1 tablespoon + teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
170g unsalted butter (must be softened)

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C.
2. In a medium bowl lightly combine the yolks, 1/4 cup milk, and vanilla.
3. In a large mixing bowl combine the dry ingredients and mix on low speed for 30 seconds to blend. Add the butter and the remaining 3/4 cup milk. Mix on low speed until the dry ingredients are moistened. Increase to medium speed (high speed if using a hand mixer) and beat for 1 1/2 minutes to aerate and develop the cake's structure. Scrape down the sides.
4. Gradually add the egg mixture in 3 batches, beating for 20 seconds after each addition to incorporate the ingredients and strengthen the structure. Scrape down the sides.
5. Scrape the batter into the prepared pans and smooth the surface with a spatula. The pans will be about 1/2 full. Bake 25 to 35 minutes or until a tester inserted near the center comes out clean and the cake springs back when pressed lightly in the center. The cakes should start to shrink from the sides of the pans only after removal from the oven.
6. Let the cakes cool in the pan on racks for 10 minutes. Loosen the sides with a small metal spatula and invert onto greased wire racks. To prevent splitting, reinvert so that the tops are up and cool completely before wrapping airtight.

Mousseline Buttercream:
454g unsalted butter, softened but cool
200g sugar
60g water
5 large egg whites (150g)
1/2 + 1/8 tsp cream of tartar
90g liqueur such as Mandarine Napoleon, Grand Marnier, or an eau-de-vie

Method:
1. In a mixing bowl beat the butter until smooth and creamy and set aside in a cool place.
2. Have ready a heatproof glass measure near the range.
3. In a small heavy saucepan (preferably with a nonstick lining) heat 3/4 cup sugar and the 1/4 cup water, stirring constantly, until the sugar dissolves and the mixture is bubbling. Stop stirring and reduce the heat to low.
4. In another mixing bowl beat the egg whites until foamy, add the cream of tartar, and beat until soft peaks form when the beater is raised. Gradually beat in the remaining 1/4 cup sugar until stiff peaks form when the beater is raised slowly. Increase the heat and boil the syrup until the firm ball stage. Immediately transfer the syrup to the glass measure to stop the cooking.
5. If using a hand-held mixer beat the syrup into the whites in a steady stream. Don't allow the syrup to fall on the beaters or they will spin it onto the sides of the bowl. If using a stand mixer, pour a small amount of syrup over the whites with the mixer off. Immediately beat at high speed for 5 seconds. Stop the mixer and add a larger amount of syrup. Beat at high speed for 5 seconds. Continue with the remaining syrup. For the last addition, use a rubber scraper to remove the syrup clinging to the glass measure. Lower speed to medium and continue beating up to 2 minutes or until cool. If not completely cool, continue beating on lowest speed.
6. Beat in the butter at medium speed 1 tablespoon at a time. At first the mixture will seem thinner but will thicken beautifully by the time all the butter is added. If at any time the mixture looks slightly curdled, increase the speed slightly and beat until smooth before continuing to add more butter.
7. Lower the speed slightly and drizzle in the liqueur. Place in an airtight bowl. Rebeat lightly from time to time to maintain silky texture. Buttercream becomes spongy on standing.

Blueberry Muffins II

Sigh. Apologies for the hiatus. I'm afraid this is going to be reoccurring though I hope not. Think it's going to get worse once my school starts next weekend.

Baking fix yeah, you just gotta squeeze time out for this hobby. The crumble topping makes the muffin look like it has a case of skin infection, but trust me, it's good. So crunchy! Provided extra crisp to the tender cake. But taste wise, I still prefer sweet cake-like Martha Stewart style.

Blueberry Muffins (adapted from Keiko Ishida's Okashi)

Ingredients:

Crumble Topping:
20g unsalted butter, softened
20g caster sugar
20g pastry flour, sifted
10g ground almonds

Muffins:
120g pastry flour
1 tsp baking powder
100g fresh blueberries
50g unsalted butter, softened
40g brown sugar
30g caster sugar
1 egg
60g cold fresh milk

Method:

1. To make crumble topping, combine ingredients in a bowl and mix with fingers until mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Chill in fridge until use.
2. Preheat oven to 180°C. Sift flour and baking powder twice. Set aside 18 blueberries.
3. Beat butter with an electric mixer until soft and fluffy. Add both sugars and beat until mixture is light and fluffy. Add egg and beat until well-combined.
4. Add 1/3 of flour mixture and fold in with spatula. Add 1/2 of milk and continue to fold batter gently. Add another 1/3 flour mixture and fold in, followed by the remaining milk. Add remaining flour mixture and fold through, but do not over-mix. Add remaining blueberries and fold in gently.
5. Line muffin tray with muffin paper cases. Spoon batter into cases until about 3/4 full. Divide the 18 blueberries among each muffin, then sprinkle crumble topping over. Bake for about 25-30 mins, or until muffins have a springy texture when pressed gently.
6. Leave muffins to cool on a wire rack. They are best served warm, and consumed the day they are baked or the day after. If not consuming immediately, store in airtight container and refrigerate for up to 4 days, freeze for up to 2 weeks.