Loving Creations for You: Super Mario Mushroom Neopolitan Chiffon Cake

This is a Super Mario Mushroom cake created specially for my jc friend's son and wife's birthday as mummy. He told me she really loves mushrooms so he really wanted to give her a special surprise (so super sweet ;)). The Mushroom cake is made completely out of chiffon cake and tri-flavoured (Neopolitan): strawberry (head), chocolate (base) and vanilla (patches).

I didn't have a round cake mold big enough for the head of the mushroom so guess what I baked the mushroom head in... a stainless steel mixing bowl! LOL. I'm serious, and it worked! The base was chocolate chiffon cake baked in a 15 cm chiffon tin, and the patches were cut-out from layer vanilla chiffon cake and glued on with melted marshmallows.

Strawberry-Vanilla Chiffon Cake (in 21 cm mixing bowl) – For head

4 egg yolks

27g sugar

53g vegetable/corn oil
47 ml boiled water
8 ml vanilla extract
72g cake flour
8g red yeast powder
1 tsp strawberry paste

drop of red food coloring (optional)

5 egg whites
56g sugar
1/4 tsp cream of tartar

1. Preheat oven to 160°C.
2. Beat egg yolks with sugar with whisk till pale yellow before stirring in oil, water, vanilla extract and strawberry paste.
3. Add in sieved flour and red yeast powder and whisk till no trace of flour found.
4. Meringue: Beat the egg whites with ¼ tsp cream of tartar till stiff peak, mixing in caster sugar in 2 additions.
5. Fold in the meringue gently into the batter 1/3 at a time.
6. Scoop the batter into the bowl and gently tap the bowl on table to remove air bubbles.
7. Bake the cake for 15 min at 160°C then 30 min at 150°C and then 25 min at 140°C.
8. Leave to cool on cooling rack once out of the oven to cool.
9. Unmould after the cake is cool.

Chocolate Chiffon Cake (15 cm chiffon tin) – For base
2 egg yolks
14g sugar
26g vegetable oil
24 ml boiled water
5 ml vanilla extract
30g cake flour
10g cocoa powder
¼ tsp baking powder

3 egg whites
30g sugar
1/4 tsp cream of tartar

1. Preheat oven to 160°C.
2. Beat egg yolks with sugar with whisk till pale yellow before stirring in oil, water and vanilla extract.
3. Add in sieved flour, cocoa and baking powder and whisk till no trace of flour found.
4. Meringue: Beat the egg whites with ¼ tsp cream of tartar till stiff peak, mixing in caster sugar in 2 additions.
5. Fold in the meringue gently into the batter 1/3 at a time.
6. Scoop the batter into the chiffon tin and gently tap the tin on table to remove air bubbles
7. Bake the cake for 15 min at 160°C then 25 min at 150°C.
8. Invert immediately once out of the oven and leave to cool on cooling rack.
9. Unmould after the cake is cool.

Freshly unmoulded chocolate chiffon, with a colorful surprise!

Join the head and base chiffon cake together, and you get a mushroom! The base will be slightly compressed but it looks more mushroomy! And if you bake a good chiffon cake, the base should spring back once removed.

Vanilla Chiffon Cake (9-inch square tray) – for patches
1 egg yolks
7g sugar
13g vegetable oil
12 ml boiled water
2 ml vanilla extract
20g cake flour

1.5 egg white
10g sugar
1/4 tsp cream of tartar

1. Preheat oven to 160°C.
2. Beat egg yolks with sugar with whisk till pale yellow before stirring in oil, water and vanilla extract.
3. Add in sieved flour and whisk till no trace of flour found.
4. Meringue: Beat the egg whites with ¼ tsp cream of tartar till stiff peak, mixing in caster sugar in 2 additions.
5. Fold in the meringue gently into the batter 1/3 at a time.
6. Gently scoop and level the batter in a baking paper-lined 9-inch tray and gently tap tray on table to remove air bubbles.
7. Bake the cake for 15 min at 160°C.
8. Leave to cool on cooling rack once out of the oven to cool
9. Unmould after the cake is cool.

Decorate with white vanilla patches, and you get a Super Mushroom!

Thank God my friend and his wife shared that the cake was "delicious, yummy, light and spongy, and a dream come true!" (these were their exact words, thank God :)).

And here's the mushroom peeking at you! :D Baking for them was really joyful!