Wednesday 29 March 2017

PJ Masks Brown Sugar Cookies II

I was not too enthusiastic about making PJ Masks themed cookies again but when I was given the reference pictures by my friend, I did the job with much more enthusiasm because this version is a lot cuter :)

I made brown sugar cookies with simple mask designs earlier this year and you may see it here.

Those of you who have followed my blog posts will know that I make my own cookie templates. I use the same templates for cutting out the dough and for icing the cookies. You may refer to this blog post for making and using homemade templates. I also use the same cookie recipe over and over again because I have always received rave reviews for the taste. Please refer to this post for the cookie and royal icing recipe.

Just to share some pictures of the process...

Cutting out cookie dough using homemade templates

The darker brown spots on the dough is due to the type of brown sugar that I used, Masarang Arenga forest brown sugar.

A lower glycemic index sugar that tastes awesome and has vitamins and minerals!

Halfway done with icing!

All packed and ready to party!

These cookies can keep for 1.5-2 months so they serve very well as door gifts!

With love,
Phay Shing
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Sunday 26 March 2017

'Nyonya Kueh' Pandan Gula Melaka Chiffon Cake


My humble attempt to recreate various nyonya kueh such as ang ku kueh and the pretty rainbow kueh lapis sagu from chiffon cake. It was for my friend's grandma who's a nyonya kueh specialist =p. So you can imagine it was both a rather stressful but fun experiment.

Gula Melaka is trending, so I tried a yummy Pandan Gula melaka chiffon version that is really fragrant for the base cake!

As I wasn't quite sure how to layout the various kueh on the cake, I did a trial layout on a cutting board. I thought they were looking quite cute!


And here's my final cake!


The brown layers are Pandan Gula Melaka with pandan juice. The green layers are Pandan Gula Melaka with added pandan paste. In my opinion, the green layers with added pandan paste tastes even better as the combination is so right! One thing to note is that browning can't be avoided due to the brown sugar, so you get an earthy tone for both the brown and green layers. But fits the rustic theme in this case =).

I've scaled down the recipe below so that it won't be so daunting for you to try a 10 egg recipe. Here goes!

Pandan Gula Melaka Chiffon Cake (7-inch to 8-inch chiffon tube pan)
5 egg yolks (69g)
127g gula melaka (1 block)
70g coconut milk
6 pandan leaves, knotted
10g pandan juice
3g vanilla extract
75g coconut/vegetable oil
100g Prima cake flour, sifted
1/3 tsp baking powder
1/3 tsp salt
½ tsp pandan paste

7 egg whites
39g castor sugar
1/4 tsp cream of tartar

1. Melt 1 block of gula melaka (127g) in coconut milk (70g) with pandan leaves under low heat until it dissolves. Sieve out the pandan leaves and leave to cool. Yields approximately 173g gula melaka syrup.




2. Sift cake flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

3. Whisk egg yolks with coconut/vegetable oil till well-mixed. Add in gula melaka syrup from (1), pandan juice and vanilla extract, and whisk till well-combined.

4. Whisk in the sifted cake flour mixture in 2 additions. Mix well ensuring there are no lumps.

Optional step for 2-tone pandan gula melaka: Divide the batter into two. To one batter, add ½ tsp pandan paste.

*If you are not doing the 2-tone, you can add the pandan paste to all the batter.

5. Meringue: Beat the egg whites with ¼ tsp cream of tartar till foamy. Add in caster sugar in 2-3 additions and beat till firm peaks form.

Optional step for 2-tone pandan gula melaka: Divide the meringue into two for each egg yolk batter.

6. Gently fold meringue into egg yolk batters 1/3 at a time.

7. Fill the final batter into tube pan leaving 2-cm from the brim.

Optional step for 2-tone pandan gula melaka: Spoon brown batter into the base of the pan and alternate with layers of pandan batter.

8. Bake at 160°C for 15 min, then 150°C for 10 min, 140°C for 30 min, or until skewer into centre of cake comes clean. *I used steam baking with a thin layer of water in a tray at the lowest rack. But it is optional.

9. Invert the chiffon cake immediately once out of the oven to cool

10. Unmould by hand after the cake is cool. (see 'Hand Unmoulding Chiffon Cakes for a Smooth Finishing' video tutorial). 





Chiffon 'Nyonya Kueh'

Kueh Lapis sagu or 九层糕:
Bake different colours sheet cake. Cut out squares and stack them up, using melted marshmallow as glue. Then slice into two.

Kueh salat
Bake green (pandan) and blue (blue pea flowers) chiffon batter in square cupcake liners. Stack them up, using melted marshmallow as glue. Slice into two.

Ondeh ondeh
Bake green pandan chiffon batter in cake pop molds (I used the same pandan gula melaka recipe above). Roll in dessicated coconut.

Kueh dadar: 
From green pandan chiffon swissrolls. Make sure you trim the ‘V’ at the edge before rolling.

Ang ku kueh: 
Bake red (strawberry) and orange (orange) chiffon batter in 5-cm cake pop molds. Unmould before cooled and gently place/press into similar sized ang ku kueh molds while the cake is still warm. 
For the shine, I mixed the batter with some broken down meringue before baking =p. A crazy experiment that worked. Leaves below are from pandan sheet cake.

Kueh tray: 
Chiffon sheet cake


With lots of love,
Susanne



More creative chiffon cakes ideas here:




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Friday 24 March 2017

Chocolate French Macarons

The response for my previous culinary arts session for Matcha Azuki bean macarons was overwhelming and I was told to prepare for another session perhaps later this year. I thought, why not try another simple and yummy flavour -- chocolate!

Chocolate macaron shells with whipped dark chocolate ganache

I have provided a detailed explanation in my Matcha Azuki bean macaron post so I will not repeat some of the details like why I chose to demo French method instead of Italian and explaining the basic ingredients. What's different here is of course the addition of cocoa powder to make the shells chocolate flavour. If you are new to making macarons, I strongly suggest that you read my Matcha Azuki bean post to have a better understanding of the basics.

Choice of cocoa powder
A quick Google search will show you that you may use either natural or Dutch processed (alkalized) cocoa powder for making macarons. I have chosen the latter as it has a more mellow flavour and because of something I observed​ in my bakes. I have always used Dutch processed cocoa powder for baking chiffon cakes and macarons (both use meringues as leavening method) as I find that the natural ones tend to deflate the batter/ meringue. In the case of macarons, it will cause the batter to be runnier and the baked shell denser.

Recipe for chocolate macaron shells
Ingredients (makes 12-13 macarons, 24-26 shells):
40g egg whites, aged (about one large egg)
36g caster sugar
1/8 tsp cream of tartar (optional)
43g superfine ground almond
49g icing sugar
1 tbs (8g) Dutch processed or natural cocoa powder
1/8 tsp fine sea salt (optional)

Steps:
1. Prepare a baking tray with an array of 4cm-circle template. This template is optional if you are able to pipe shells of roughly the same size. Line the tray with baking paper.

2. Sift almond, icing sugar, cocoa powder and salt (if using) together into a bowl.

3. Place egg whites in a clean, grease-free metal bowl with cream of tartar (if using). Use an elextric mixer and beat on medium speed until frothy. Gradually add caster sugar while beating. Continue to beat until stiff peaks are formed. When stiff peaks just start to form, you will be able to turn the bowl upside down without the meringue slipping out. You may be tempted to stop beating at this point for fear of over-beating the egg whites. Don't be shy, continue to beat for about several seconds more until the meringue is really stiff.

Stiff glossy peaks!

4. Scatter about 2tbs of almond mixture over the meringue and fold in gently with a spatula in one direction.

5. Continue by repeating step 4 until all the almond mixture is incorporated. As more and more almond mix is added in, you may fold a little less gently to make sure everything is homogeneous.

6. Test the consistency of the batter at this point by scooping up a generous amount of batter and letting it fall back into the bowl. If the batter flows smoothly and slowly in a continuous ribbon, it is ready. But if it breaks off at a few points or doesn't flow well, continue to fold a couple of times and check again. This is perhaps the trickiest part of macaron making as newbies may find it hard to gauge when is the batter ready. You may refer to my video tutorials for macaron basics over here to have an idea of the consistency. Do not overfold the batter. If it is very runny (like thick sauce or some cake batter), chances are you have overfolded and you have to start over. The French method is less forgiving than Italian method when it comes to overfolded batter.

7. Transfer the batter into a piping bag fitted with a 6-7mm diameter round piping tip. If you don't bake often and don't have such baking supplies lying around, simply use a ziplock bag with a hole cut at one corner. Your macarons won't turn out nice and round but will still taste the same.

8. Stick the 4 corners of the baking sheet to the tray with a little batter. Pipe circles on the prepared baking tray. To do so, place piping tip at the center of the circle, perpendicular to the tray and about 5mm away from the surface. Squeeze the bag and release pressure when the edge of the batter is about 3mm away from the edge of the circle. Give the tip a little twirl as you lift off.

9. Bang the tray on the table to release trapped air bubbles as well as flatten the peaks in the middle.


10. Preheat oven to 160°C. Set oven rack to lowest position. Note: use top and bottom heating elements only. Do not use the fan mode in the oven. Some people get good results with the oven fan on but I see more cases of uneven feet, warped shells, cracked shells and browning when the fan is on. Always use an oven thermometer! Actual oven temperature may be 10-20°C off from the temperature you set.

11. Dry the shells by leaving them under the fan or in an air-conditioned room until the surface is dry to touch. The shells must not feel sticky at all before going into the oven or they will crack. This may take 1-2h. I found that using the hairdryer works really well to speed up the drying.

12. Put tray of macaron shells in oven. Turn the temperature down to 140°C. Bake for 17-20 minutes or until the feet no longer appear wet. Let the shells cool completely on the tray before gently peeling the baking sheet away from the shells. Do not peel the macaron away from the sheet as parts of the shells may remain stuck on the sheet. If the shells are really stuck, chances are they are underbaked. Dry them out in the oven for another 5 minutes and try again. Repeat if necessary.

Freshly baked shells!

Perfectly baked shells should have no hollows, not stuck to baking sheet, have crisp outer shell and soft chewy interior. It's ok if the freshly baked shells are a little more on the crispy side. Simply store assembled macarons for a couple more days before consuming.

Don't be discouraged if you don't get it right the first time. Practice makes perfect!

The dark chocolate ganache recipe that I am sharing doesn't have to be followed to the letter as it depends on your personal preference. I am catering to Singapore's hot climate and prefer something that won't turn too runny when being stored at aircon temperature for 2-3 days. Some prefer to use ganache as it is but I prefer to whip it for a lighter texture so the whipping step is optional. A basic ganache recipe just includes two ingredients -- chocolate and heavy cream. I include things like a little salt and vanilla bean paste (and sometimes coffee and liqueur) to enhance the flavour. A typical ratio of 2:1 for dark chocolate : cream is usually used but I find this ratio too runny for Singapore's climate. I use 3:1 with some addition of unsalted butter for a firmer ganache.

Recipe for dark chocolate ganache
Ingredients:
90g dark chocolate, chopped
9g unsalted butter
30g heavy cream
1/8 tsp fine sea salt
1/2 tsp vanilla bean paste

Steps:
1. Place chopped chocolate and butter in a microwave-safe bowl. Heat at medium power for 20 seconds. Use a spatula to mix well. Repeat until mixture is smooth and melted.

2. Place cream in small saucepan. Heat until it starts to bubble. Pour over melted chocolate mixture and stir in one direction with a spatula until smooth.

3. Add fine sea salt and vanilla paste. Mix well.

4. I like to whip up my ganache so it's lighter in texture but this is optional. You may let the mixture stand at room temperature until it firms up to toothpaste consistency. Alternatively, refrigerate for several minutes before beating mixture with spatula. Return to fridge for another 3-4 min and beat the mixture again. If it's not as light and fluffy as you prefer it to be, return to the fridge one last time for another 3-4 min and beat again.

5. Transfer to piping bag and fill the shells.


Refrigerate the assembled macarons for at least 24h in airtight container before serving. Let the macarons sit out at room temperature for 15-20 minutes before eating. If you are patient enough, let the macarons mature in the fridge for 3-5 days before consuming. The taste and texture will be way more awesome than when freshly assembled.

Here's hubby's critique of the macaron and mind you, he has a golden palate!

"The richness of the chocolate was a party in my mouth. Bitter yet not too bitter, a touch of sweetness, no cloying stickiness that ganache sometimes has, and offset by a slightly chewy, crunchy shell."

Enjoy!

with love,
Phay Shing

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Tuesday 21 March 2017

Giraffe Vanilla-Pandan Chiffon Cake


This cake has been sitting in my computer for the longest time. I made this chiffon giraffe I think during mid-autumn last year. We had an epic miscommunication for this cake LOL. My friend wanted a giraffe chiffon cake, referring to my giraffe-patterned chiffon cake, but I made a chiffon giraffe instead! Thankful it was all ok in the end =)

The giraffe is orange-chocolate in flavour, made from chiffon baked in egg shell (for head), in bowl (for body), and swissrolls for the neck and limbs, requiring dowel support. It was modelled after a cute giraffe stuffed toy we have! The base cake is two tone, made from pandan and vanilla chiffon cake.

Hope this cute giraffe brings a smile to your face!

With lots of love,
Susanne






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Monday 20 March 2017

Rilakkuma & Kiiroitori Earl Grey Lavender Macaron Carousel

My dear friend who has been a loving sister in Christ and have always so encouraging requested this for her daughter's birthday. Presenting my sweet girly Rilakkuma and Kiiroitori macaron carousel!


I filled the carousel with Earl Grey lavender filling as requested. I added both dried lavender and Earl Grey together in the mix.

I used the reduced-sugar macaron shell recipe. Both regular and reduced sugar recipes can be found here. You may refer to my Creative Baking: Macarons book for a systematic presentation of the basics and complex shaped macarons. You may refer to my video tutorials for macaron basics and piping of complex shapes on the blog too. You may refer to this post for the dimensions of the shells required to make the carousel and the respective baking times. I piped a scalloped roof like the one similar to the sheep macaron carousel as I think it's really pretty and it is very helpful for positioning the paper straws during the assembly. Checkout the sheep carousel post for detailed steps of assembly.

Just to share some photos of the process...

Piping Kiiroitori

Piping Rilakkuma

I had extra batter so I made some Rilakkuma heads

Shells were decorated with edible marker

Partially assembled carousel. Don't they look like they are pole-dancing? :p

So glad that the overall girly and sweet effect was carried across :)

With love,
Phay Shing


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Wednesday 15 March 2017

Mermaid, Seashell & Starfish Cookies N Cream Macarons

This is a very girly set of sea themed macarons, complete with sweet girly colours and a pretty mermaids :).

Mermaids, seashells and starfish!

The starfish and seashell macarons can be found in my Creative Baking: Macarons book so you may refer to it if you need the templates and piping instructions. I was given a picture of the mermaid and made a template out of it.

I used the reduced sugar recipe for the macaron shells here. Both regular and reduced sugar recipes can be found here. You may refer to my Creative Baking: Macarons book for a systematic presentation of the basics and complex shaped macarons. You may refer to my video tutorials for macaron basics and piping of complex shapes on the blog too.

Piping the mermaids

Freshly baked shells. I baked this batch together with the pirate themed batch

Just to share some photos of the decorated shells. I decorated the shells with royal icing and edible marker. The rosy cheeks on the mermaids were added on using peach coloured lustre dust and a small soft brush.




I had a hard time trying to source for candy/chocolate balls that are just the right size for the pearls in the shells so I made my own instead. I followed the recipe for modelling white chocolate from here, using a ratio of 2:1 for white chocolate : light corn syrup.

Homemade modelling white chocolate

Let the balls of "pearls" dry and harden in the open a little before adding on a coat of pearlescent lustre dust.

Brushing on pearlescent lustre dust

I filled the shells with cookies n cream swiss meringue buttercream. The recipe can be found here.



Thank God these were very well received at the party both looks and taste wise :).

With love,
Phay Shing



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Sunday 12 March 2017

Shopkins Orange-Strawberry yoghurt Chiffon Cake


I think most of you know I love making cute things by now! So I was very happy when I got this request to make a Shopkins-inspired cake! To be honest, I'm not really familiar with Shopkins (other than buying it for my friend's girls) but I think the characters are really cute! So here's my humble attempt. As with my normal style, all decor is made from chiffon sponge, even the ice cream!

The flavour orange-strawberry yoghurt was requested by my friend, and the two fruity flavours go really well together. The cake was very well-received too! So here goes my sharing of the recipe I used. The recipe is for a 9-inch pan and I prepared the two flavour batter separately. You can also use either one of the flavours for a 7-inch tube pan.


Orange-Strawberry yoghurt Chiffon Cake (9-inch chiffon tube pan)

Strawberry yoghurt chiffon (reduced egg yolk) - recipe by itself can also be used for 7-inch pan
1 egg yolk (13g)
20g caster sugar
40g vegetable/corn oil
48g strawberry yoghurt drink
60g cake flour, sifted (Prima)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp strawberry emulco/paste

Meringue
4 egg whites (160g)
45g caster sugar
¼ tsp cream of tartar

Orange chiffon cake (reduced egg yolk) - recipe by itself can also be used for 7-inch pan
1 egg yolk (13g)
20 g castor sugar
40 ml vegetable/corn oil
48 ml orange juice (freshly squeezed)
Zest from 1.5 orange
60 g cake flour, sifted (Prima)
Few drops orange emulco/paste

4 egg whites (160g)
45 g sugar
¼ tsp cream of tartar


1. Preheat oven to 160°C. Prepare a tray of water at the bottom of the oven (I used the lowest rack to bake the cake). *You may omit steam baking; I like to use it to control my oven temperature rise and for moister ogura-like texture.

2. Prepare orange chiffon and strawberry yoghurt chiffon batter separately.

- Whisk egg yolks with castor sugar until dissolved and light.

- Add in oil, strawberry yoghurt and strawberry emulco/paste and mix well for pink batter. Add oil, orange juice, zest and orange emulco/paste (few drops, optional) and mix well for orange batter.

- Add in sieved flour and whisk swiftly till no trace of flour found (make sure no lumps are formed).

3. Meringue: Beat the egg whites with ¼ tsp cream of tartar till foamy, add in caster sugar in 2 additions and beat till firm peaks form (firm peaks give a finer texture).

4. Divide the meringue into two. Gently fold in the meringue into the respective batter 1/3 at a time.

5. Spoon orange batter into base of the tin, followed with strawberry batter. To make neat waves like this, deposit orange batter in mounds, then fill spaces with strawberry batter (picture tutorials in Creative Baking: Chiffon Cakes). But it’s also ok to be random.

6. Bake the chiffon cake for 160°C for 15 min, then 150°C for 10 min, 140°C for 20 min, then 130°C for 15 min, or until skewer comes clean.
*Temperature control helps to reduce browning.

7. Invert the chiffon cake immediately once out of the oven to cool

8. Unmould by hand after the cake is cool. (see 'Hand Unmoulding Chiffon Cakes for a Smooth Finishing' video tutorial).


Freshly unmoulded Orange-Strawberry yoghurt chiffon cake! Nice and tall!



Ice cream and details

This is made by baking orange chiffon cake (above) in a small glass bowl, and then joining it to chocolate chiffon baked in a paper cone (from SKP). The shapes below will help explain how the ice cream is formed.



My ice cream chiffon cake pops with picture tutorials on how to unmould are also in my 1st book Creative baking: Chiffon Cakes. Here, I further used a knife to make cuts on the cone to mimic the real biscuit cone.


The arms and feet are from chiffon cake pops (baked from cake pop molds). Details were cut from charcoal and plain chiffon sheet cakes, i.e. by baking chiffon cakes as sheets in pans-lined with baking paper, and then using circle cutters to cut out the eyes. Alternatively you can pipe on with melted chocolate.

The ice cream is supported by marshmallows which I used to fill the tube hole for a fun surprise when you cut the cake, and held together using melted marshmallows and cake pop stick.

Have a blessed sweet week!

With lots of love,
Susanne

2nd chiffon book


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Friday 10 March 2017

Pirate & Sea Creatures Mango and Strawberry Macarons (New filling recipe!)

I have a request for some cute pirates along with some sea creatures for a birthday party. If you think they look familiar, that's because I have made these designs before and all of them (except the pirates) are featured in my Creative Baking: Macarons book.


What I am excited about sharing in this post is the new recipe for strawberry white chocolate ganache that is stable at Singapore's room temperature and is able to keep in air-conditioned room temperature for 2-3 days, making it perfect as door gifts. I used to flavour the strawberry ganache with strawberry paste only but this new and improved version contains high percentage of fresh fruit puree.

After my discovery of making a creamy mango ganache with high fresh fruit content but yet stable at Singapore's room temperature, someone asked if the same can be done for strawberry. I took this chance to test it out. So glad that it works well for strawberries too! I can now safely say that this recipe/method will work for all types of fruit. Simply adjust the fruit flavouring/essence according to taste.

I used the reduced sugar recipe for the macaron shells here. Both regular and reduced sugar recipes can be found here. You may refer to my Creative Baking: Macarons book for a systematic presentation of the basics and complex shaped macarons. You may refer to my video tutorials for macaron basics and piping of complex shapes on the blog too. Templates and steps for making the sea creatures can be found in Creative Baking: Macarons.

The freshly baked shells were decorated with edible black marker and royal icing. I used silver dragees for the pirate's earings


For the fillings, begin by blending 1-1.5 cups of coarsely chopped fresh fruit with 1/2-1tsp of lemon juice (to prevent browning). Sieve the puree to remove the lumps.

I love the natural vibrant colours of fresh strawberry and mango puree!

Recipe for whipped strawberry white chocolate ganache
Ingredients (fills about 16-20 macarons):
55g white chocolate, chopped
10g vegetable shortening
10g unsalted butter
1/8 tsp fine sea salt
25g strawberry puree
1/2 tsp strawberry emulco/paste

Steps:
1. Place white chocolate, vegetable shortening and butter in a microwave-safe bowl. Heat at medium power for 20 seconds. Mix well with a spatula. Repeat until mixture is smooth. Add salt and mix well.

2. Freeze the bowl for 1-2 minutes and mix well with spatula. Repeat freezing and mixing. As the mixture thickens, start to beat it with the spatula. You will notice that the texture will lighten up and become creamy.

3. Add a teaspoon of puree and whip the mixture with the spatula until well combined. Repeat until all the puree has been added. Add strawberry puree and mix well. The texture should be like buttercream

Adding strawberry puree to plain whipped ganache. Look at how smooth and creamy the whipped ganache is!

Fresh strawberry puree added only. Forgot to take a photo after adding strawberry emulco.

4. Transfer whipped strawberry ganache into piping bag and pipe onto the shells. Store assembled macarons in the fridge in an airtight container for at least 24h before serving. Let the macarons sit at room temperature for 15-20 minutes before consuming.


Filling some with mango ganache!

With love,
Phay Shing

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