Carrot Cream Cheese Capybara Swiss Roll

 Here's the fourth in my series of five animal Swiss rolls made from baby food puree -- capybaras!

While my previous three Swiss rolls have the option of making it dairy-free, this contains cream cheese and has a more exciting/complex flavour profile as I add spices, brown sugar and a hint of orange in addition to the carrot puree base and cream cheese.

Why use baby food puree? Because it doesn't contain additives and its smoother than what you usually get from homemade (unless you put in extra effort to make it super smooth).

I will list the ingredients here. You may refer to my reel for the video tutorial on how to decorate and shape the swiss roll. See the pinned comment of the reel for the method.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DMH9LOvTHQw/?igsh=MWwxODFxNnpmMWV6aQ==

Egg yolk batter:

3 egg yolks

30g neutral oil of choice

51g reduced carrot puree with spices* 

1/4 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 tsp orange extract or 1/2 tsp orange zest

1/8 tsp salt

48g cake flour

1/8 tsp cinnamon

1/8 + 3/16 tsp cocoa powder (for colour)

Meringue:

110-120g egg whites (about 3 large eggs)

1/4 tsp cream of tartar 

25-30g caster sugar

25-30g light brown sugar

Cream:

50g whipping cream of choice** 

45g cream cheese, softened at room temperature 

5g milk powder 

10g dark brown sugar

25g reduced carrot puree with spices*

Eyes:

1/16 tsp charcoal powder or black cocoa powder

5g butter/oil

5g icing sugar

5g egg whites

5g cake flour

Black edible marker for nostrils and mouth 

*110g carrot puree + 1/2 tsp cinnamon + 1/8 tsp ginger + 1/8 tsp nutmeg. Heat until reduced to 75-80% original puree weight

** Use non-dairy for better stability in hot climate. Use heavy cream with at least 35% fat for better taste but add 2 tsp icing sugar & be careful not to overwhip or it will split. Use a combination of creams if you wish

Stay tuned for the last animal which comes in another exciting flavour!

with love,

Phay Shing

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Vegan Shiba and Bear Mitarashi Dango Macaron Class

Want to learn how to make cute vegan character macarons? Come and join me for this class!

I will be sharing techniques on how to work with aquafaba-based Italian meringue method macarons, which are known to be trickier and less robust than using potato protein isolate. Aquafaba is affordable and easily available, whereas potato protein is expensive and not easily accessible in many parts of the world, therefore it's a more practical option. 

You won't be able to tell the difference between regular  and vegan macaron shells just by looking at them!

I will be sharing a sweet-savoury filling featuring soy sauce as the ingredient giving it an umami kick --- toasted white sesame ganache and soy sauce caramel! The choice of flavour is intentionally selected to match the Mitarashi dango design since Mitarashi dango is a soy sauce based sweet and savoury traditional Japanese snack.

Vegan royal icing will also be taught to show you how you can decorate the macarons with it.

Both studio and online class options are available for registration. Online class has no expiry date. Studio class participants will have access to online class material at no extra charge.

Studio class:

https://www.bakersgym.com/service-page/vegan-shiba-bear-dango-macarons

Online class:

https://www.bakersgym.com/product-page/online-classes-vegan-shiba-bear-dango-macarons-ready-by-31-aug-2025

with love,

Phay Shing 

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Sugar-Free Kirby Cherry Strawberry Marshmallow Coated Chocolate Hazelnut Cakepops

 I had to satisfy my curiosity to see if it works for my sugar-free version of marshmallow as well. So glad it works! Presenting Kirby as sugar-free marshmallow coated cakepops!

Two of the Kirbys in the picture are plastic figurines so don't be fooled 🤭

I used the same sugar-free recipe as my chick marshmallows over here, except that I used fresh chery puree that was reduced instead of passionfruit puree. I also added prebiotic soluble fibres in both cakepop and marshmallow in addition to using a sugar-replacement to further lower the GI of the confection. I added strawberry emulsion to the marshmallow batter to impart some colour in addition to the cherry puree as well as to increase the fruity taste. I adapted the sugar-free chocolate hazelnut cakepop from the one I used for my Christmas bear with present marshmallow class. You may sign up for the online class over here if you are interested! 

You may wonder if taste is compromised. I have various taste testers who love it and can't tell it's sugar-free! Main recipient was my hubby and he's glad to have a treat he can enjoy that's made in one of his favourite game characters!

I am not able to share this sugar-free recipe yet but I will have a studio and online class for a similar content in October so keep a lookout for it on my Instagram! For the time being, you may refer to my book Deco Marshmallows which has sugar-free recipes for both gelatin and agar based marshmallows where I use a different sugar replacement from the current one I am using.

You may refer to this reel for the video tutorial of making these adorable treats:

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DL9p9_Bpx8I/?igsh=MW81dng3OXdidmQzMQ==

Here are some works-in-progress pictures!

A shot of the Kirbys before I sliced one.

with lots of love,

Phay Shing

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Strawberry Cat Swiss Roll

 This is the third in a series of five cute animal Swiss rolls made using baby food puree. Strawberry cats!

See the bear Swiss roll over here and the chick Swiss roll over here.

I made them using strawberry puree from Popote. The puree contains a mix of apple and strawberry but you may make your own pure strawberry puree if you wish.  The great thing about using baby food purees for bakes is it doesn't contain additives and it's super smooth! 

I shared the detailed recipe and video tutorial in my Instagram reel over here:

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DL17i1LJoyb/?igsh=MWw3cHZqNjJ1cWIzMQ==

I will just share the ingredient list for your convenience.

I didn't add any food colouring as the strawberry emulsion already contains some red food coloring.

Strawberry swiss roll

Egg yolk batter:

3 egg yolks

30g oil of choice 

45g reduced puree with strawberry emulsion*

1/8 tsp salt

54g cake flour, sifted 

Meringue:

3 egg whites (110-120g)

1/4 tsp cream of tartar

54g caster sugar

Filling:

25g reduced puree with strawberry emulsion*

75g whipping cream of choice 

Black parts:

5g butter

5g egg whites

5g cake flour

5g icing sugar

1/16 tsp charcoal powder or black cocoa powder

White chocolate chips for white parts of decoration

*Reduce strawberry puree to about 68% original weight. Add 1/2 tsp (5g) strawberry emulsion. Refrigerate until needed

Here are some pictures of the Swiss roll...

These were really fragrant and refreshing!

with love,

Phay Shing

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Easy Red Panda Macarons

 This bake came about because I wanted something simple to use up my leftover salted Dulce De Leche and Earl Grey ganache from my cat macaron bake. The design is simple enough for bakers who can't manage piping characters because you only need to pipe circles for these cute red pandas!

I used my default French method recipe that's in my Creative Baking: Macaron Basics book (but added earl grey tea powder) and one portion is enough to make all the macarons in the picture below.

I used white chocolate, Earl grey tea powder and chocolate Crispearls for decorating the red panda face. No edible markers or royal icing were used! 

Check out the tutorial for making these over here:

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DKwaINgJp1Y/?igsh=MW1kZm5zNWIxMDRpdQ==

Just to share a photo of the real life cutie we saw at the zoo recently!

with love,

Phay Shing

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