Happy 4th Birthday to Zhe Lei - Home Celebration

My hb ask me to make fruit tart for my son to celebration his birthday at home. First time making such big tart with chocolate custard cream, cake, fruit and whip cream in between.

For the Pastry
175g Plain Flour
30g Icing sugar
115g Butter
75g chopped walnut
1 egg yolk
1 tsp vanilla essence
2 tsp chilled water

For the filling
1 tsp vanilla essence
30g ground coffee (I replace with coco powder)
300g single cream (I use non dairy whip cream)
150g fresh milk
2eggs plus 2 egg yolks
50g sugar

Method:

1) Sift the flour and sugar together. Rub in the butter, stir in the walnut. Mix together the yolk, essence and water in a bowl. Add into the dry ingredient and mix to a smooth dough. Wrap in plastic bag and chilled for 20min. Preheat oven 200 degree.

2) Roll out the pastry and use to line a 8inch pan then chill for 20 min. Prick the base with a fork, fill with foil and beans and bake for 10 min.

3) Remove the foil and beans. Bake for 10 min more. Reduce oven temp to 150 degree.

4) Put in pan the Coco powder, cream, vanilla essence and milk. Heat until almost boiling, remove from the heat, cover and infuse for 10min. Whisk the egg, egg yolks and sugar together in a bowl. Bring the cream mixture to the boil and pour into the egg mixture, stiring. Strain into the pastry case. Bake for 45 min. Cool it.

5) Apply some whip cream on top, then with some fruits. Then top with a layer of cake then some whip cream. Top with more fruits to cover the whole tart.

Happy 4th Birthday for Zhe Lei - Celebration in School

This year my son Zhe Lei request to have a 3D Thomas The Train Cake for his 4th Birthday. So with the help of my hb, here is the cake Thomas and the Friends.

2 Tiers Fresh Cream Cake

Oct is a busy month as so many people birthday, hehe! Another niece birthday on Oct and make black forest cake again but try to make a 2 tiers cake. Over beat the whip cream so the cream become very watery and difficult to handle.

Happy birthday to Violet!


Recipe of Blackforest Cake from my creative culinaire Judy Koh but I modify a bit:

Cake Ingredient: (2 x 7 inch or 1 x 10 inch)
10 g Cocoa Powder
130g Cake Flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
70g Corn oil
5 Egg yolk
85g Water
1/2 tsp Chocolate paste
5 Egg white
1/8 tsp cream of tartar
120g sugar

Method: (Preheat oven at 180c)
1. Mix the yolk, oil, water and paste together well.
2. Sift the flour, cocoa powder and baking powder and mix into the yolk mixture till smooth.
3. Whisk the whites, cream of tartar till bubble foam then add in the sugar and whisk till stiff.
4. Fold in some white into the yolk mixture then pour it into the white mixture.
5. Bake at 180c for about 25 to 30 min.

Fillings Ingredient
Non dairy Whipping cream
50ml dark pitted cherries juice
10g sugar
1 tbsp of cornflour
2 tbsp of extra juice
Melted Chocolate

Method:
1. Dissolve the cornflour into the 2 tbsp of extra juice.
2. Boil sugar and juice.
3. Add cornflour mixture. Cool. Add 1/2 tsp kirsh if desired.
4. Melted some chocolate.
5. Whisk some whip cream.

Assembly:
1. Slice the cake into 3 layers. Apply thin layer of whip cream over layer of cake. Then spreading cooled dark cherry fillings.
2. Arrange dark cherries on top.
3. Place a layer of cake, apply thin layer of whip cream then spread the melted chocolate.
4. Place a layer of cake on top then cream the whole cake with whip cream. Decorated it with shaved chocolate and strawberry.

Mahjong Fresh Cream Cake

Make this black forest cake for my niece birthday and decorate it with mahjong make of chocolate. As she likes to eat black forest cake and to play mahjong, haha! Happy Birthday to Ping!

Pandan Kaya Cake

Haven't make this cake for so long n so decided to make it for my dad's birthday. Using the cake recipe from AY's blog and the fudge fillings from my cc instructor, Richard Goh. It tastes nice and soft. Deco it with agar agar design I get from the Agar Agar book bought in KL.

Happy birthday to Dad!

 

Happy Children's Day

After 2 days hard work, finally finish making the cookies covered with fondant for my son's school children's day celebration. I seldom make cookies because I don't like to eat but this time quite satisfy with the product, hehe! Oh ya, thank for Happy Home Baking sharing the recipe:

happyhomebaking.blogspot.com/2007/04/smiles-from-100-aker-wood.html

Ingredient:

100g soft butter

80g sugar

1 egg yolk

180g cake flour

20g corn flour

Method:

a) Sift cake flour and corn flour then set aside. Line parchment paper on baking tray.

b) With an electric mixer, add sugar 2 or 3 times to the butter and cream the batter turn pale & fluffy.

c) Add in egg yolk and mix well.

d) Add in sifted flour mixture in 2 or 3 additions, stir with a spatula till form a soft dough.

e) Place the dough in a plastic bag n put in fridge for about half an hour.

f) Take out the dough from fridge and place it on a plastic bag n cover it with plastic bag then roll it.

g) Flour the cutter and cut the dough.

h) Bake for 15 to 20min in a preheated 175 degree oven.

Thousand Layer Flaky Yam mooncake

Get the recipe from AY's blog and found it is nice n my mum also love it very much. But this year the yam not so good so the yam fillings not so smooth. This year I baked it instead of deep fry, more healthy and the skin won't turn soft after a few days.

Thanks Aunty Yochanan for sharing the recipe:

http://auntyyochana.blogspot.com/2006/09/thousand-layer-flaky-yam-mooncake.html

Ingredient for water dough:

200g plain flour

1/2 tsp white vinegar

50g shortening

30g sugar

100g water

Ingredient for oil dough:

180g plain flour

100g shortening

Method:

a) For water dough, mix all the ingredients together into a dough. Rest for 20mins. Dividie into 4 portions.

b) For oil dough, mix all the ingredients. Divide into 4 portions.

c) Take water dough and wrap up the oil dough.

d) Roll into a long rectangle and roll up into a swissroll shape. Roll out again and roll into a swiss roll again.

e) Cut the roll into 4 pcs each. Roll out the cut dough, spiral side facing up and wrap up with the yam fillings.

f) Deep fry in medium hotoil till golden brown.

Fillings:

500g Yam - steam and mached

160g sugar

80g cooking oil

25g wheat starch

5 shallots - slice

Method:

a) Fry the shallots in oil till fragrant. Discard shallots.

b) Add in mashed yam, wheat starch and sugar and fry till almost dry.

c) Cool fillings before wrapping.

d) Divide into 16 portions.

Snowskin Mooncake

Every year I will make snowskin mooncake for my mum n aunt. I learned it from my cc instructor Richard Goh. This recipe is quite simple to make. But I still prefer baked one than snowskin, hehe!

Ingredient:

150ml ice water

150g fried glutinous rice flour

100g icing sugar

100g snow powder

100g shortening or crisco

Method:
a) Place flour, icing sugar, snow powder and shortening in bowl n mix well.
b) Add in the water slowly and mix into a soft dough, mix well will do.
c) Put some fried glutinous rice flour on the table then roll the dough into long roll. Rest for 10min.
d) Cut dough into require size and flatten it, wrap in the paste.
e) Dust the dough with some flour then press it into the mould.

Traditional Baked Moon Cake

I have tried baking traditional mooncake a few times still fail. This yr decided to try again n finally succeed, so happy! I like the skin of the mooncake and the lotus paste from KCT.

Ingredients:

187g Syrub

50g peanut oil

1 tsp alkaline water

233g Plain Flour

some sesame oil

Glazing: 1 egg yolk add 1 tbsp of water

Method:

a) Mix syrub, peanut oil, sesaem oil and alkaline water together till smooth. Then add in the flour slowly then rest for 5 hrs. The dough must not hard or too soft, if too soft or sticky need to add some more plain till no sticky.

b) Roll the dough and cut the dough to the sizes needed. Press it and wrap in the fillings.

c) Dust the dough with flour and press it into the mould.

d) Place the mooncake on the grease pan. Preheat oven 200degree and baked for 10min. Brush with egg yolk then bake again for about 10min till golden brown.

Happy Teacher's Day

Prepare 3 cakes for my son to give to his three teachers for Teacher's Day. The cakes I baked all crack so have a hard time to cream the cakes and lucky still can make in time.

Happy 21st Birthday to my niece, Xin Yi

My niece Xin Yi requested me to make a 2 tier birthday cakes for her 21st birthday. Never did tier cake b4 so very worry can't make it nice. Lucky with the help of my hb, finally can finish it. Happy Birthday to Xin Yi!!!

The top tier is Oreo Butter cake and the bottom tier is steam chocolate cake.

Thanks lazymine at KC forum for sharing the recipe and I have make some changes to the recipe:

250g Butter

180g Sugar

4 eggs

250g Plain Flour

2 tsp baking powder

2 tsp vanilla essence

6 tbsp milk

200g Oreo cookies (clear the cream)

Method:

1) In a mixer, beat the butter and sugar till white and fluffy

2) Add in egg one a time, alternate with the sifted flour and baking powder

3) Add vanilla essence, milk and oreo cookies into it and stir slightly

4) Pour into 8 inch baking pan and bake at 180 degree for 45min

Spongebob Cake

Make this spongebob cake for my nephew birthday in last min. Make in a rush so the cake didn't look nice.

Peach Strudel

Missed the apple strudel from perth so try to bake one using peach. The taste is very nice, hehe!

Pastry Fruit Cake

Saw my baking friends baked this cake and it looks so pretty, I also tempted to bake one to try. Thanks FM and cat gave the link for the recipe:

happyhomebaking.blogspot.com/2010/04/fruit-pastry-cake.html

I have made some changes to the recipes.

Ingredients:
100g butter, soften at room temperature
180g caster sugar
50g low fat yogurt
3 eggs, lightly beaten, room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon lemon zest
210g plain flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
Strawberry, blueberry, peach

Method:

Grease the side of a 9" round pan or a 8" square pan and line the base with parchment paper.

1. With an electric mixer, cream butter, sugar and yogurt till light and fluffy.
2. Add in the eggs gradually and beat till incorporated in the batter.
3. Add vanilla extract and zest. Mix to combine.
4. Sieve over flour and baking powder and mix till smooth.
5. Pour batter into prepared pan and smooth out the top with a spatula.
6. Arrange fruits on top, don’t press the fruits down into the batter. Decorate the fruits as desired.
7. Bake in pre-heat oven at 180degC for 60-70 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean when inserted into the cake. Cover the top with foil in the last 15 mins of baking to prevent the top from getting over browned.
8. Leave the cake to cool in the pan for about 5~10 mins. Unmold and transfer to wire rack to let cool completely. Dust the cake with some icing sugar if desired.

Thanks Happy Home Baker for sharing the recipe.

Demo Class by Chef Daniel Tay of Bakerzin

I attended the Demo Class conduct by Chef Daniel Tay of Bakerzin and these are creations done by him and not me. The strawberry tart and Frasier are too complicated for me so I only try to make the Strawberry Short Cake after the class.

This is the strawberry Shortcake I made after attending the class. My niece love the cake so much. But can see my standard is so much lower than the chef, hehe!

My Chocolate

After attending the chocolate demo class at Starnet, I crazy in making chocolate using the chocolate mould. As my decorating skill is poor, so thinking to use chocolate to deco the cake, hehe!