BT21 Marshmallow-Macaron Music Box

 My friend wanted to surprise his girlfriend again with a BT21 themed birthday creation so he requested for a music box with RJ as the standing figurine.

I also made a BT21 themed bake last year for her and you can see it over here.

This year's bake involves quite a bit of precision since I needed to make a box with a working mechanism that can rotate the figurine.

It's also my first attempt at making a tall marshmallow figurine that can be viewed from all angles. 

The smaller 3D seated figures were also rather challenging especially Mang whom I didn't really nail in terms of looks 🤭.

I replaced the water in the gelatin bloom, sugar syrup and for rehydrating meringue powder with cold brewed rose tea for a light floral scent. Check out my Deco Marshmallows book for the basic recipe and techniques. I also show you how to replace fresh egg whites with meringue powder in this reel.

See the process of making this epic project in my reel over here:

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DBLk6U6yR3t/?igsh=cGRoYWd0eHdrenhi

with love,

Phay Shing

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Hotpot Chiffon Cake

 

Too cute to eat?

I made these cakes for my dear DG mates birthday celebrations. The soup was made from apple jelly. 

 Watch the reel video here for more details. Thank God the cake was well-received. I may try planning a class for this in future. Hope you liked it too! 

With love, 
Susanne 

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Capybara in Orangeland Yuzu Orange Swiss Roll

 I have been eyeing the U-shaped cake mold from Qeleg for the longest time. I finally have the chance to try it out! 

I adapted the "Capybara in Orangeland" design from the orange template on Qeleg's store. I forgot to position all the important elements such that they are visible from one angle when rolled 😅. Here are more views from different angles so you have a better view.

I have been making patterned swiss rolls on and off for almost 11 years and finally settled on a recipe and method that I am satisfied with. I prefer using a pattern that has a similar texture to the base sponge, has fine pores and most importantly, stable enough because I work slowly 😅.

Using the U-shaped mold means that the roll cake is made of a U-shaped patterned piece and a flat rectangular piece for the base. Both pieces are cut from a 12x12" sponge:

I used cake paint from Sweet Sticks for painting in the details.

The U-shaped mold was really handy for assembling the yuzu whipped cream and fresh sweet mandarins! There's no worry about the sponge cracking since this is a "cheat" method of making roll cakes 🤭

Here's the video of the process:

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DA0m442ylQS/?igsh=MXY4aW84eWpwd2lkcg==

Capybara in Orangeland roll cake recipe

Feel free to use any patterning method/ recipe you like. I developed my own for a more stable patterning batter that doesn't crack at the boundaries, produces sponge with fine pores suitable as a painting canvas & has a similar soft texture as the base sponge. I am not ready to share the method and recipe for the pattern I developed at the moment.

Sponge:
(Makes one 12x12" thin layer of sponge)
Egg yolk batter
3 egg yolks*
30g oil in
45g yuzu jam tea**
54g cake flour, sifted
Pinches of salt
1/16tsp orange emulsion (optional)

Meringue
3 egg whites*
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
45g sugar 
Cake Filling:
25g yuzu jam, blended
100g whipping cream of choice
4 small sweet mandarins, halved
Extra yuzu jam tea

* Large eggs at least 65g with shell on
** Blend 40g of yuzu jam with rind in 40g hot water. Sieve through fine sieve. Use the liquid for making sponge & brushing sponge before filling

Method: 
1. Preheat oven to 170C. Make cake pattern using your preferred method & recipe

2. Make egg yolk batter. Whisk egg yolks, orange emulsion, salt & oil together. Add flour & yuzu jam tea in alternating additions, whisking until well combined each time

3. Make meringue. Beat egg whites with cream of tartar until firm peaks, gradually add sugar once egg whites are foamy

4. Fold meringue into yolk batter. Pour over pattern. Bake for 15 min or until done

5. Cut the patterned U shaped piece & rectangular piece for the base. Paint the sponge as desired

6. Whip whipping cream until firm peaks, fold in blended yuzu jam. Transfer into piping bag

7. Place sponge pattern side down on parchment paper. Brush sponge with some yuzu jam tea. Put in U-shaped mold from Qeleg

8. Fill the sponge with cream & mandarins. Cover base with rectangular sponge. Freeze for 30-40min. Flip the cake over onto serving plate/cakeboard. Keep chilled in airtight condition. Consume within 3 days

Additional notes:

1. If it's too intensive to complete the whole project in a day, you may bake the sponge on day 1 & paint/assemble on day 2. To do so, store U shaped patterned sponge in the U shape mold lined with parchment paper overnight. Cling wrap the whole assembly & store at cool room temperature to prevent the cake from drying out

2. Keep sections of sponge that you are not painting covered with parchment or cling wrap to prevent drying out. You may also dab sections of sponge with drinking safe water if exposed for a long time as some designs may take a long time to decorate 

3. Use dairy, non-dairy or a combination of whipping creams according to your preference and serving ambient conditions. Be careful not to overwhip if using only dairy cream. Use stabilizers if using dairy and serving in a fairly warm place

4. Adjust baking temperature and time according to your oven 

You may use this link to browse Qeleg's website with the discounts already in-built or use my promo code: Phay_Shing. They have a wide range of silicone molds, metal trays, cookie cutters, fondant molds and more!

with love,

Phay Shing

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Optimus Prime and Bumblebee Rose Tea Marshmallows

 My friend requested for some Bumblebee and Optimus Prime bakes. Since I have already made the macaron versions earlier this year, I thought why not challenge myself with the marshmallow version since I was concurrently working on another epic marshmallow project.

I couldn't find references I like because marshmallow subjects need to be on the softer side compared with using cookie or macaron as the medium. I ended up having to design Bumblebee. As there are lots of details, I could only manage 3 for each design 🤭.

I used cold brewed concentrated rose bud tea for the sugar syrup, gelatin bloom and a little to replace the water for rehydrating meringue powder. I have decided to switch to using meringue powder instead of egg whites from now on because of the convenience 🤭. You may refer to this reel for the ratio and visuals on how to do the replacement to be used with my basic marshmallow recipe from my book Deco Marshmallows.

Watch the squish and piping reel for these Autobots over here:

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DAnt-Wlyhjt/?igsh=bzByNnZyNmdsaWhq

with love,

Phay Shing

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'Knight Z Travels Around the World' Macaron Carousel

 This is the fourth consecutive year I am making a macaron carousel for a young knight! Knight Z has taken a liking to travelling around the world so this is this year's macaron carousel for him!

This was an epic bake that needed a lot of time and planning so it was broken up into several sessions. The great thing about macarons is they shells filled or unfilled can be frozen so it gives me the freedom to take it at a more relaxed pace.

You may want to check out my reel for creating the large macaron base over here and the carousel roof over here.

Here's a picture of the partial assembly which I leave to set overnight:

I filled the large macaron pieces with a ring of vanilla bean white chocolate, dairy-free dark chocolate ganache and crunchy chocolate crisp pearls.

The globe spheres are actually hemispherical macaron shells filled with the same dairy-free dark chocolate ganache and Ferrero Rocher.

Smaller macaron pieces are just filled with the white chocolate and dark chocolate ganache.

Here's the reel of the assembly:

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DAbBrwFyP87/?igsh=YjUzeW16ZnU0YXEw

with love,

Phay Shing

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Succulents & Cacti Marshmallows in Butter Cake Pot

 I made this for my dad's birthday this year!

Made another simpler cake for my uncle's birthday too!

Both my dad and uncle love a little bit of gardening so I thought this theme is just right for them. The old school butter cake recipe can be found in this blog post. I included some prebiotic soluble fibres to make it healthier.

The succulents and cacti are made out of zephyrs, an agar-based marshmallow. Instead of using fresh egg whites, I used meringue powder. Those of you who bought my Deco Marshmallows book may be pleased to know using meringue powder works just as well! Please refer to this reel for the substitution and some visuals:

https://www.instagram.com/reel/C_ttcPrBzRa/?igsh=M2NycjdyNGRzYjgz

The zephyrs are coloured with a combination of matcha powder and gel food colouring.

Here are some pictures to share...

Piped marshmallows 

Butter cake pot with chopped toasted almond slices as the "soil"

A slice of the cake!

Dad posing with a cactus!

This is the reel with snippets of piping the succulents:

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DAN_8s2y-Px/?igsh=MW5sbWg5YTZnanllMg==

Both Dad and Uncle loved the cakes!

with lots of love,

Phay Shing

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'Capybara in Teacup' Macaron

 I needed to make some blue hemispherical macaron shells for an epic project so I took the chance to play around with this for fun!

We have a teacup plush toy and one of the capybara plushies we have fit so nicely in it I simply had to make a mini macaron version of it! The capybara is a hand-shapeable filling. I made it gula melaka coconut flavoured with a pandan gula melaka coconut surprise inside. Here's what it looks like when you take a bite of it!

I couldn't bear to do the cut of the capybara so I made a plain round version of it to do the cut scene. Here's a peek at how I piped the hemispherical shell and how I made the capybara filling! 

https://www.instagram.com/reel/C_HIjKlSuhb/?igsh=MTlsanlvamkxbWtkdg==

I shared the coconut filling recipe in the captions of the reel. I can't share this low fat low sugar hand shapeable filling as of yet as I only discovered it recently and am using it as a class material. It's texture is similar to Orh Nee or Mont Blanc dessert and it's relatively neutral tasting so it can take on many flavours. It's temperature stable too so it won't melt in Singapore's tropical heat.

Stay tuned for the epic project that made use of the blue hemispheres! 

with love,

Phay Shing

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Labubu Chiffon Cake

 

Can you guess which is cake and which is plushie.? Who finds Labubu so cute too? 🥰 I was gifted a Labubu and found it so adorable. Here's a short video of the assembly on my IG. 

With love, 

Susanne 

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Chocolate Truffle White Lotus Snowskin Mooncakes (for CAM)

Hi everyone, here is the recipe for Chocolate Truffle White Lotus Snowskin Mooncake Recipe for CAM class. Hope you will enjoy the recipe as well as the talk! 

Chocolate Truffle White Lotus Snowskin Mooncake Recipe (by Susanne Ng) 
Makes 10 50g-truffle mooncakes 

Ingredients 
70g Kou fien, sifted 
10g Wheat starch 
40g Icing Sugar, sifted 
25g Shortening 
40g Cold water 
75g Cold ice cream soda 
250g White Lotus paste 
28g Chocolate biscuit crumb + 32g Chocolate lotus paste 
Chocolate emulco (1/4 tsp) 
Extra 1 tsp koufien for dusting 

1. Mix chocolate biscuit crumb and chocolate lotus paste in a plastic bag. Roll into a log and divide into 10. Roll into balls. 

2. Roll white lotus paste into a log. Divide equally into 10 (~25g each). Wrap white lotus paste around the chocolate balls and roll into a larger ball. 

3. Mix sifted kou fien, wheat starch and icing sugar together till uniform using a spatula. 

4. Add in shortening and quickly mix using gloves until the mixture resembles bread crumbs. 

5. Pour in the cold water and soda and knead the dough until it becomes soft and smooth. Divide the dough into two. 

Plain dough: knead until smooth and cover. 

Brown dough: add ¼ tsp chocolate emulco and knead until smooth. 

6. To the plain and brown dough, roll into log and divide dough into 5 (~26g). 

7. Flatten the prepared dough into an 8-cm circle. Put the filling and pinch to seal. Dust the dough ball. 

8. Place the ball in, press and push out the mooncake. 

9. Store the cakes in an airtight container (label) and refrigerate for about 1-2 hrs for the mooncake to become firm before consuming. The mooncakes stay soft at least for several days. Enjoy! =) 

With lots of love, 

Susanne

 

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' Animals in Bee Suit' Marshmallow-Choux Pastry Delight

 If you want to learn the basics of deco marshmallows and choux pastries in one session, come and join me for this class!

The bee suit is made of patterned choux pastries and the animals are made of honey passionfruit vanilla marshmallows. The inside of the pastry is filled with dark chocolate passionfruit truffle and honey jelly.

I made the filling such that it is safe to leave it out in the hot tropics as it doesn't contain dairy. Great for gifting or party venues where there isn't air conditioning in hot Singapore.

Please click on this link for more information or to register for this class. There are two dates to choose from to suit your schedule. Don't be intimidated by the long hours as I want the participants to enjoy the process and not rush. You may leave early if you are done early 😊.

See the squish of the marshmallows in this reel!

https://www.instagram.com/reel/C6ORSsXSL5o/?igsh=MWg0eDNrNDg3aDlvdg==

with love,

Phay Shing

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Apple Earl Grey Apple Macarons

Happy Teacher's Day to all teachers! Thank you for your hard work! I didn't have time to make a teacher's day special bake so this unplanned bake came at the right time! This unplanned bake happened because I had leftover batter from an epic project that was sitting in the piping bag for 4 hours. Presenting my apple macarons filled with apple Earl Grey ganache and apple jam filling! The ganache is dairy-free and temperature stable in tropical Singapore's non-airconditioned room temperatures.

I used my default Swiss meringue method recipe where the egg whites are split into whipped and unwhipped portions to give a smoother finish on the surface. Really pleased that despite leaving out the batter for long, the macaron shells are still full, smooth and have even feet!

Even the stems and leaves were made from leftover batter too and of a different color. The stems were made from leftover grey batter with cocoa powder and cornstarch added. I added the cornstarch to thicken the batter some more to give the stems a little texture. The leaves were made from leftover beige batter coloured with green gel colouring.

The apple jam is actually what I use for making zephyrs (agar-based marshmallows). Since this bake was unplanned, I just used the same apple jam for filling the macarons as I am preparing for a marshmallow bake soon.

Proper technique and attention to detail during the process is so important and that's what I teach in my classes. It's not simply about following a recipe as we all work with different equipment and conditions.

See my reel for the filling recipe and video tutorial of the process:

https://www.instagram.com/reel/C_Nl4M-S_cA/?igsh=cWsxbWNrMXRvbmty

with love,

Phay Shing

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Bunny & Elephant Lychee Mixed Berry Rose Choux Pastries

 I had a request for some cute animal choux pastries with bunnies as a must. Here's what I came up with!

If the bunnies look familiar, that's because the requestor saw the choux pastry bunnies I made beginning of last year and wanted something similar. I adapted the choux pastry filling from this cake and it's always been a hit. I used less cornflour in the diplomat cream, agar as the gelling agent and a mix of berries for the choux pastry version.

Here's a peek at the cross-section view of the frozen filling of lychee rose diplomat cream, strawberry raspberry jam and lychee rose agar!

Why freeze them? Because they taste wonderful this way! I prefer eating them like ice-cream creampuffs. Refreshing on a hot day! This flavour combination is really popular for creampuffs and I can understand why! 

Here are some pictures of the process...

Freshly baked choux buns!

In the process of filling up the pastry. Doesn't the lychee rose agar jelly look inviting?

Here's a reel of the process:

https://www.instagram.com/reel/C-oXhQASzmy/?igsh=MWhrOHlkMGN3ZmJlaw==

with love,

Phay Shing

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Capybara Snowskin Mooncakes

 

Capybara Snowskin Mooncakes! 🦫₍ᐢ-(ｪ)-ᐢ₎ Too cute to eat?🥰 
Made with RedMan lotus paste and premium ingredients from @phoonhuat !💕 

Video tutorial reel here: https://www.instagram.com/p/C--SOQ8y8yg/ 

With lots of love, 

Susanne 

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Healthier Old School Butter Cake

 I am planning to make old school butter cakes for my dad's and uncle's birthdays this year but with a healthier twist! Before I make the actual birthday cakes, I decided to to some trial bakes so here's a picture of my second attempt!

In case you are wondering, is the taste compromised? Answer is a no according to my taste testers of various ages!

**This is not a sponsored post. I bought the ingredients because I wanted to.**

How did I make it healthier? 

By choosing a recipe that begins with less sugar and using Alchemy Fibre as well. Alchemy Fibre is a blend of inulin and edible gum. It's a prebiotic soluble fibre blend that has well documented positive effects on cholesterol and blood sugar levels. 

How is this butter cake healthier?

✅ Contains 32% less sugar than Mrs SK Ng's butter cake recipe

✅ Contains prebiotic soluble fibres which are good for gut health 

✅ Fibres reduce bad cholesterol effects of butter

✅ Fibres reduce overall GI of the cake too!

✅ No sugar replacements so suitable for those sensitive to sugar alcohols 

I chose to adapt from Wen's Delight and she in turn took Cooking Crave's recipe as the reference. Why didn't I use the famous Mrs SK Ng's recipe as a reference then? Because it contains 20% more sugar and a higher proportion of sugar goes into the creaming of butter than the meringue. This will mean a less stable meringue and chances of the meringue collapsing or breaking down during the folding stage are higher, especially with such high fat content in the egg yolk batter.

What if you don't have access to Alchemy Fibre? 

You may just replace with inulin, which you may get from health supplies stores. In Singapore, Alchemy Fibre is easily available at supermarkets like NTUC and Sheng Shiong. Feel free to replace with sugar too.

Why did I think of using Alchemy Fibre? 

Besides the health benefits, I have found that it is a meringue thickener and stabilizer so I substitute part of the sugar when making the meringue. You may see my experiment from this reel that cakes leavened by meringues like chiffon cake can be made using Alchemy fibre and without sugar at all!

Can you replace even more sugar with Alchemy Fibre than the recipe in this post?

You can definitely try although personally I wouldn't substitute much more than what I share here because I find that the fibres cause a tendency for the chiffon cakes to crack at the tops during baking and the change in texture from the familiar old school butter cakes may become noticeable. There's also such a thing as too much of a good thing because overconsumption of soluble fibres may cause bloating too. If you don't mind the change in texture for an even healthier cake and are only having a little cake in each sitting (to avoid side effects of ingesting too much soluble fibres), go ahead and make the substitution 😊

Healthier Old School Butter Cake

125g Golden Churn butter*

34g caster sugar 

6g Alchemy fibre*

Pinch of salt 

2 egg yolks

15g milk

1/2 tsp vanilla extract 

100g cake or plain flour or a combination* 

1/2 tsp baking powder

2 egg whites 

1/4 tsp cream of tartar or 1/2 tsp lemon juice

34g caster sugar

6g Alchemy fibre*

* Golden Churn is the preferred choice of butter for most bakers. It tastes great & you don't have to worry about waiting for it to come to the right room temperature (narrow window sweet spot of 18-20C with other regular butter that needs refrigeration)  before using because it comes in a can at room temperature!

* Alchemy Fibre is a mix of inulin & edible gum. If you can't get this product, you may substitute with inulin or sugar

* Flour choice depends on preference of firm or more tender bite. Cake flour for more tender bite, plain flour for better structure stability/firmer 

Steps:

1. Preheat oven to 170C, oven rack set to second lowest position or lower third of the oven. Line a 6" round or square pan at the base and grease the sides.

2. Cream butter, sugar, salt and fibre until pale & fluffy.

3. Sift together flour & baking powder. Add 2 tbs to step 2. Mix well with electric mixer. Adding flour at this early stage helps to prevent batter from splitting when the wet ingredients are added.

4. Add egg yolk one at a time. Mix well with electric mixer.

5. Add 2 tbs of sifted flour mix. Mix well with spatula or electric mixer on low speed.

6. Add milk & vanilla. Mix well with electric mixer. 

7. Gradually add flour 1 tbs at a time. Mix well with electric mixer on low speed or spatula after each addition until no trace of flour is seen. Set aside.

8. Whisk sugar & alchemy fibre together in a small bowl just before making meringue. Make meringue by beating egg whites with cream of tartar/ lemon juice & sugar mix to firm peaks.

9. Fold meringue into egg yolk batter in three additions, taking care not do deflate the meringue.

10. Pour into prepared pan. Bake for 45min at 170C or until done. Adjust baking conditions according to your oven so watch the brownness during baking. Reduce temperature or tent your cake with foil if it browns too fast.

11. Invert onto wire rack to cool.

See my reel for the video tutorial of making this cake:

https://www.instagram.com/reel/C-z1AfESges/?igsh=cGswaWp5Mjc0YnJo

Enjoy it while freshly baked and warm! Storage in the fridge will make the cake firmer and some people like my dad loves it this way. But if you prefer soft fluffy cake, steam or microwave with steam created from a separate bowl of hot water to reheat until moist and soft again.

with love,
Phay Shing

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