Birthdays and Durian Layer Cake

May is the month when suddenly there’s a lot of cakes to bake for birthdays. Two nephews, a sister, mum, brother-in-law and my partner all turn a year older in May. I do not know why the universe made May a very hectic month for me, but thankfully, I only have to bake two cakes since two years ago – mum’s and the partner’s.

Since venturing into baking properly (read: not Eid goodies only), I have played with the idea of playing with piping, frosting and fresh cream. Though I often chicken out the moment I’m in the baking supplies shop standing in front of the refrigerated goods section. This year, after three whole weeks of research, watching videos and swooning over Jamie Oliver making his Chantilly cream, I told myself, “Heck I’m making one awesome cake for my mum this year!” I reached out for the whipping cream, paid and left the store. In twitterverse, I did it #likeaboss!

That angel-devil conflict was not the only one – I wanted to make a non-chocolate cake but I knew vanilla or using plain jam would be boring. I wanted something decadent, expensive and my mother would very much enjoy. What better fruit to bring in but durian, the king of fruits. I enjoy eating durian as much as I enjoy baking and cooking with them. I realised I already have 3 other durian based recipes from my tumblr, but this is epic. A durian layer cake. A durian layer cake made by someone who has never touched whipping cream or layered cakes in the kitchen. I was prepared for the worse.

Thankfully, the disaster came only when I made the sponge base. I initially used a chiffon cake recipe which I thought was too difficult, and yes. It was difficult. The cake collapse, burst my confidence for a bit and went into oblivion. Okay not really. I packed the cake away in containers and put it on display. I knew my mum would find them a treat during tea, but to me, that was disaster in the making a failed baking attempt.

So I went on twitter and asked Ovenhaven what recipe is fool proof for a sponge cake and she recommended I use Tish Boyle’s hot milk sponge cake. And voila! My confidence came back and I was so eager to finish decorating the cake. This is by far the most time consuming cake I have ever made. Would I do it again? Of course! My sister had two slices while asking me what recipe I used for each part of the cake.

For a first timer, I think I did fairly well. The sponge cake was a bit dense, and I thought the height of the cake would be better, but hey, everyone enjoyed it and that was more important.

Durian Layer Cake

Tish Boyle Hot Milk Sponge Cake

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cup(133g) Sifted cake flour
• 1 1/4 tsp Baking powder
• 1/4 tsp Salt
• 1/2cup (120ml) whole milk (I used 130ml)
• 4tbsp (57g) Unsalted butter
• 3 Large eggs
• 3/4 cup (150g) Granulated sugar (I used 75g)
• 1 tsp Vanilla extract

Instructions

1. Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat oven to 180C
2. Sift together cake flour, baking powder and slat 2 times and set aside.
3. In a small saucepan, combine milk and butter and heat over medium heat just until butter is melted. Set aside.
4. In a mixing bowl, beat eggs with bubble whisk attachment until well combined and frothy (1mins).
5. Granually add in sugar and vanilla extract and continue beating at high speed for 6 mins until pale and tripled in volume.
6. Sift one-third of flour mixture over egg foam and gently fold it with a rubber spatula. Repeat with remaining flour mixture in 2 more additions.
7. Heat up milk mixture to just under a boil. Add it all at once to the egg mixture and gently fold it in to combine.
8. Pour batter into a 9 inch cake tin
9. Bake the cake for 20 to 25mins until it springs back when lightly touched and a cake tester inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Cool the cake in the pan for 10mins.
10. Run a paring knife around the edge of the pan and invert the cake into the wire rack and let it cool completely.

Durian Cream

1 and a half cups durian flesh (pureed)

half cup whipping cream

1 tablespoon caster sugar (optional – my durian flesh was not as creamy and sweet)

Whip whipping cream using a hand whisk for about 5 minutes, until soft peaks are formed. Ensure that the whisk and bowl are really cold before whisking. Add in sugar and durian puree, and mix till well combined.

Chantilly Cream

1 and a half cups whipping cream

1 tablespoon caster sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla essence

Whip whipping cream using the wire whisk attachment of your electric mixer. Whip for about 5-6 minutes, until soft peaks and formed. Add in sugar and vanilla, and mix till shiny and well combined.

To decorate:

Cut the cake into two. Spread the durian cream on the first layer and top off with the other half of the cake. Crumb coat the cake using the durian cream, then spread the Chantilly cream all over the cake, and pipe as desired.

Sources:

http://www.atkokken.com/2012/04/21/tish-boyles-hot-milk-sponge-cake/

http://www.maameemoomoo.com

The End of Exams and First Foray into Chiffon Cakes!

I finished my final exam for my major yesterday, and I must say it was a bittersweet feeling. Though I have to do summer school to complete two more cross-faculty modules, it will feel different now that I no longer need to study for any political science modules. I love my major, but sometimes I feel that examinations makes me lose sight of what I’m learning.

I’ll be starting work hopefully in late July, which I am very much excited about. Though it means I have about three months to do what I really want. And what I really want to do is bake, gym and get my hands on decorating the home. Well, I’ve started baking something I’ve set my eyes on to for quite some time – pandan chiffon cake. I was looking at Rima’s blog and Pickyin just now as I nursed my flu bug, and got inspired by their attempts at making a good pandan recipe. I usually make seri muka or putri salad to finish the pandan leaves my mum always end up buying a lot.

I must say this recipe from Kak Rima is an excellent recipe, especially for a first timer like me. I had a chiffon cake tin lying around somewhere in my baking cabinet, and I have no idea why. It looks really clean and I doubt my mum or my sisters ever used it before. Being the youngest, I inherited 30 years of baking utensil from my mum and sisters. My sisters preferred new utensils when they married and moved out, so whatever they left behind was mine! Hehe. Downside is that I do not know how to use some of the things they left behind. Haha.

To tell you frankly, I was afraid of making this chiffon cake. I have a fear of ruining the recipe especially when I use egg whites. You have to be really delicate with egg whites – super clean and dry bowls and utensils, not even a drop of water, and you really need to be careful when breaking and separating the eggs. Though I must admit, I have become an expert at separating eggs using the egg shells – those months of gym and egg white scrambles for breakfast paid off

The only ingredient I substituted in this recipe was the coconut milk. My mum finished off the last box of santan for her ayam lemak chilli api (yum yum) yesterday, so I used milk instead. I must say, this is one recipe off my bucket list. No more cupcakes and brownies for me. Hehe

Oh and yes. My mum loved the cake. She told me to give some to our neighbours because she doesn’t want to eat all of it since she was tempted to! hehe

Ingredients
100 g plain flour
1 tsp Baking Powder
1 tbsp Pandan Juice
100 ml Coconut Milk
4 Egg Yolks
50 ml Corn Oil
1/4 tsp Green Colouring
5 Egg Whites
1/4 tsp Cream of Tartar
100 g Castor Sugar
Pinch of SaltMethod

1. Preheat oven to 170°
2. Extract pandan juice from finely pounded pandan leaves and add to coconut milk.
3. Add egg yolk, 50 g sugar, oil, colouring and salt to the coconut mixture. Mix well using hand whisk.
4. Sift PrimaFlour Top Flour and baking powder and fold into mixture. Mix until smooth. Set aside.
5. Beat egg whites and tartar at high speed until foamy. Add remaining 50 g sugar and
6. beat until stiff.
7. Add 1/3 beaten egg white to the yolk mixture and mix using a hand whisk.
8. Slowly fold in this mixture to the remaining 2/3 of beaten egg whites.
9. Pour mixture into an ungreased 18cm chiffon tin and bake for about 50mins.
10. Turn tin over on a cake rack to cool before loosening cake.

Girls and Spicy Baked Pasta

I celebrated my semi freedom by making a simple baked pasta for my girls since we had a mini post exams celebration with an arts and craft session. We’ve been friends for so long (nearly a decade!) but our hidden talents only surfaced as of late when we’re more relaxed and not so consumed with studying for exams. Our talents are such a surprise to each of us – painting, sewing, scrapbooking, and glass painting. We couldn’t take much pictures, though. Well, considering that we stayed up till 1am talking and crafting our handiwork.

I have always loved baked pasta, and upon discovering how easy it is to make it yourself, I stopped ordering baked pasta whenever I’m at restaurants. Hmm. Actually, I stopped ordering a lot of things when I learned how to cook. Knowing that I can replicate a dish so much better than a purchased one makes me think twice about my food orders. This baked pasta, as with my other béchamel sauced dishes, is a special one. I add a little secret ingredient that offsets the creaminess and richness of the cheese sauce.

Garlic. That’s my secret ingredient. My mum loves cheese, but too much cheese makes her puke. She can never finish an entire piece of baked pasta or lasagna if she bought them outside. Since I started adding garlic to my white sauce, she took second helpings. And I truly enjoy seeing her eat. She a strong Malay taste for things. Making her eat Italian food took some coaxing, but I’m glad she’s loving it now.

I saw my friend posting a picture of her baked pasta on Instagram, and suddenly I got a huge craving for it. Googled some recipe check and settled for a combination of recipes. Pardon my instructions, cooking is a difficult skill to teach because some things cannot be conveyed in words. I’d rather teach you all to make this live, or over the telephone, but hey, this will do.

Ingredients for red sauce:

1 packet of large shell pasta (500g)

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

1 big red onion, chopped

4 garlic cloves, chopped

500g ground meat (I substituted with sliced sausages)

2 cans of diced tomatoes (400g)

1 cube of beef/chicken stock (I used beef)

2 teaspoons of dried oregano

2 teaspoons of cayenne pepper

salt and pepper to taste

Ingredients for béchamel sauce:

2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons plain flour

2 garlic cloves

1 litre full cream milk (DO NOT SUBSTITUTE WITH LOW FAT)

200g cheddar cheese, grated

150g mozzarella cheese, grated

salt and pepper to taste

For the topping:

200g grated cheddar

150g grated mozzarella

Bacon or pepperoni slices

50g Parmesan

Method:

1. Heat oven to 200 degrees centigrade.
2. In a medium sized pot, heat olive oil, add chopped onions and saute till fragrant, before adding garlic.
3. Add in meat, and cook till browned. Add in chopped tomatoes, stock, oregano and cayenne pepper. Cover the pot and allow the sauce to thicken for about 20-30 minutes. Add in salt and pepper to taste, then turn off heat. Set aside.
4. Cook pasta according to instructions on package.
5. In another pot, melt butter, and add in garlic, saute till fragrant. Add in flour and quickly whisk the mixture till a thick batter forms.
6. Add in milk, stirring or whisking constantly. Add in both cheese, and stir until the cheese has melted. Once cheese has melted and a thick white sauce is formed, turn off the heat and set aside. (Note: Important that the bechamel sauce is removed from the heat)
7. Drain pasta and put into a casserole dish or pyrex. Stir in red sauce, and coat all of the pasta. Pour bechamel sauce onto the pasta and red sauce mixture. Do not stir in the bechamel sauce. Leave the sauce to seep into the nook and crannies of the pasta.
8. Level the top and spread remaining cheese and pepperoni slices as the topping. Bake in the oven for 40-45 minutes or until cheese on top has melted.
9. Serve!

Fudgy Brownies

It’s the morning of my first exam for my almost final semester in university, and I’m pretty darn excited for it. I just cannot wait to finish the exams and start baking again. I have, over the past two weeks, baked out of stress, out of the need to release the tension. But they have resulted in flat cakes and dry cupcakes. Well, at least I got to spend time in the kitchen.

This is another recipe off my tumblr. I made it sometime in February this year, for fun and decided to give them away to random uni-mates I bumped into in school. Las year, I did a fundraiser with a group of friends and sold close to thirty boxes of these babies. Trust me, they are super delish, and cheap too if you ask me!

I got this recipe from the Joy of Baking. It’s the same brownies recipe I used for the bake fundraiser I had last year. I altered the recipe a bit and trust me, this is the best brownie recipe evaaaa.

Ingredients:

5 ounces (150 grams) Dark Chocolate (I used Cadbury Old Gold cos they were on sale!!)

1/2 cup (113 grams) unsalted butter, cut into pieces

2 tablespoons (15 grams) cocoa powder

1/2 cup (100 grams) brown sugar

1/2 cup (100 grams) caster sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla essence

3 large eggs

3/4 cup (95 grams) all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C) and place the rack in the center of the oven. Butter (or spray with a nonstick cooking spray) an 8 inch (20 cm) square pan, and line the bottom of the pan with parchment or wax paper.
2. Melt the chocolate and butter in a large stainless steel bowl placed over a saucepan of simmering water. Remove from heat and stir in the cocoa powder and sugar . Next, whisk in the vanilla extract and eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Finally, stir in the flour, salt and chocolate chips (if using).
3. Pour into the prepared pan and bake for about 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out witha little batter and a few moist clumps clinging to it. Do not over bake. Remove from oven and let cool on a wire rack. Serve at room temperature or chilled. These freeze very well.

I have to make do with updating this space slowly with old content, but I’m hoping to try out some new recipes and take new photos once the exams are over. And boy, I am so excited! Happy Monday everyone! And for those of you taking your exams, may the odds be ever in your favour!

Banana White Chocolate Chip Muffins

I thought I’d update this space slowly with whatever I have been blogging over at tumblr. I realised the wordpress format is a lot more friendly for sharing recipes. I have been baking and cooking a lot for the past two or three years, and I think my food photography skills has improved fairly well. First up, banana white chocolate chip muffins!

I don’t usually buy muffins at cafes or coffee joints because of the floury texture that’s usually filled in them. This muffin recipe promises you a light, banana-filled texture with each bite. I find white chocolate chips more suitable for this recipe, but feel free to substitute or add semi-sweet chocolate chips and nuts to your liking. If you insist on using white chocolate chips, however, use Hershey’s. The chips don’t melt in the oven and they taste oh so good. Also, be sure to use ripened bananas. I buy ripe bananas that are only a dollar per bunch for baking purposes only. Leave them in the fridge to blacken for a day or two, and then you’re ready to use it.

Ingredients:

½ cup softened butter

¾ cup brown sugar

1 egg

1 cup mashed banana

1 cup plain flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon vanilla essence

2 tablespoons milk

½ cup white chocolate chips

Method:

Pre-heat oven to 180 degrees.

Beat butter and sugar together till fluffy, then gradually add the egg. Mix in vanilla essence and milk. Stir in the mashed banana, flour and baking soda till the batter is even.

Divide batter equally into the muffin cases and bake in the oven for 20 minutes, or until the muffins are dry to the touch.

My Kitchen Smells like a Pizzeria

So on Valentine’s Day Chinese New Year, I stayed home and watched Julie and Julia on Macy and practically drooled all over her just looking at the wonderful dishes they cooked through out the entire movie. The movie ended, and my taste buds were tingling for some Italian food. I found tortilla bread, pepperoni and mozzarella in my fridge and voila! My kitchen had the lovely smell of pizzerias.

Very simple, and you can substitute the pepperoni for chicken leftovers or salami. I also had McCormick’s Garlic Bread Spread so I made healthy garlic toasts using wholemeal bread. The meal would have been complete with mushroom soup. Dang. No wonder I felt like I wasn’t ready to wash the dishes.

I would have added more cheese if not for my diet healthy eating campaign to complement my gym routine.

INGREDIENTS

Tortilla bread (you can substitute with pizza base but I wanted a thin crust pizza)

Pizza base:

4 tbspn tomato puree (preferably Hunt’s because that’s the tastiest one)

1 tbspn oregano

1 tspn paprika

Pizza toppings:

Beef pepperoni

Grated mozzarella cheese

Parsley

METHOD

Mix the ingredients for the pizza base together, and spread all over the tortilla bread. Arrange the toppings, pepperoni first, followed by the cheese and then some parsley. Put in the oven for 180 degrees for about 10 mins. The pizza cooks really fast. So watch the oven!

RFTH: Grilled Rosemary Chicken

My futile attempts at food photography and basic editing.

I’ve been watching what I eat since the year started. Well, since it is my new year’s resolution. So I had this just now for dinner. I did add a cup of rice, though, cause I’m Malay and Malays need rice! Haha. It’s a VERY simple recipe. Fool proof and great for amateur cooks!

Ingredients:

1 piece of chicken breast

1 tspn dried rosemary

salt and pepper

Rub the ingredients together with the chicken. Marinate for at least 2 hours to allow the flavour to seep through the chicken. Grill on both sides, each at 8 minutes.

Tip: do not over-grill cause the chicken will be too dry. Also, add oil if you want but I’m going healthy so no oil for me!

Cajun Roasted Chicken

I haven’t been cooking or baking it a while. And when I do, it’s usually a rushed job that I don’t have time to take a beautiful picture. Last weekend, I found some time to roast a chicken – Southern style!

I’ve always been fascinated by roasted chickens. I mean, there’s no oil involved, but when you roast it, all the juice oozes out and the skin is crisp to perfection. Oh don’t get me started on the meat! Roasted chicken, when cooked properly, will have a tender and juicy meat. My first few attempts of roasted chicken ended up with me eating some dry pieces of meat. Over time, you’ll learn the right technique and oven control to roast your chicken to perfection.

Cajun Roasted Chicken

For the cajun rub, you can buy it off the shelves of your favourite supermarket, or make your own. Here’s mine:

2 tbspn of paprika

2 tbspn of cayenne pepper

1 tspn thyme

1 tspn oregano

1 tspn pepper

salt to taste

dried parsley

Heat oven to 180 degrees centidgrade. Mix everything together in a small bowl, or you can put them in a jar and shake it so the ingredients mix well. Cut the whole chicken into two halves, laying the pieces flat on a roasting pan. Rub the chicken with the cajun, especially under the skin – this will make your chicken crisp on the outside, moist and juicy inside. Sprinkle some dried parsley for a bit of colour and taste.

Put it in the oven for 45 minutes, check if the chicken is cooked by piercing the centre with a stick. Make sure the juice is clear and not pink. If it is, leave it for another 15 minutes or so.

This is great with mashed potatoes or butter rice. Speaking of which, I’ll put the recipes up soon.