Orange "Korilakkumma" Ogura Cake

Doesn't it look so comfy snuggling in bed? I fell in love with these cute Japanese Rilakumma bears ever since I saw them. Those huge eyes! My family loves the melt-in-the-mouth, soft ogura cakes, so I was inspired to make these cute orange ogura "bears" for them :)

I adapted the recipe from my turtle matcha ogura cakes with reference to Anncoo Journal's orange ogura recipe, using freshly squeezed orange juice :)

Ingredients (makes one 4" round bowl and a 6" tray)
2 egg yolks + 1/3 whole egg
22g corn oil
37 ml orange juice
1/8 tsp salt

2 egg whites
25g castor sugar
1/6 tsp cream of tartar

Method:
1. Preheat oven to 150^oC. Prepare a tray of water at the bottom of the oven (I used the lowest rack to bake the cake).
2. Whisk egg yolks, whole egg, corn oil, orange juice and salt until well combined.
3. Sift in flour and stir till smooth batter formed.
4. Aliquot out 6 tsp of batter for patterning and divide batter into 3. To 2 of the portions, add charcoal powder till desired colour and a tiny dip of wilton pink coloring for the pink batter. Add 1/3 tsp cake flour to each batter and mix well.
5. Beat egg whites and cream of tartar until foamy using an electric whisk. Add in sugar in 2 additions and beat until firm peaks are formed (or just reach stiff peaks). The peak formed doesn't flop over but it's not overly stiff either. Scoop over meringue over into patterning batter (2 tbsp per 1 tsp batter) and fold gently.
6. Fold in the rest of the meringue into the rest of the batter gently in 2 additions.
7. Pipe the black and pink batter onto the bowl and tray (for the eyes and ear) and bake for 1.5 min, then pipe the plain batter (for the mouth patch) and bake for 1 min.
*Steps 5-7 must work very quickly. If take long to pipe, then best to make meringue with 1 egg white first specially for piping. After that then make meringue for the main cake batter.
8. Pour the cake batter into the glass bowl till 2/3 full and the rest into the tray. Bang the bowls/tray on the counter top 3 times each side to get rid of big air bubbles.
9. Steam bake at 150^oC for 40 min or when skewer comes out clean.
10. Remove from oven and invert immediately on cooling rack.

That's how it looks fresh out of the oven (top), and inverted on the cooling rack (bottom) ^_^

11. Unmould gently with hand and peel off baking sheet when the cakes have cooled completely.

12. Cut out and shape the ears using a combination of cookie cutters and knife carving. “Glue” the parts onto the cake using melted white chocolate.

It was a healthy, loving creation for my family! Hope those big eyes bring a smile to your faces too! ^_^

This post is linked to the event, Little Thumbs up organised by Bake For Happy Kids, and My Little Favourite DIY, hosted by Ann of Anncoo Journal.

With love,

Susanne