Dreamy Unicorn Macaron Class

I am finally conducting a unicorn macaron class!

You probably find this design familiar as I have used it on my unicorn macaron carousels and they also appear in my Creative Baking: Macaron Basics book.

You will learn the basics of Italian meringue method of making macarons, how to work with a few colours within a batch of batter, how to pipe the unicorn shape and how to make whipped strawberry white chocolate buttercream to fill the shells. Although some experience with making macarons is preferable due to the more complex piping, it is not necessary.

The registration link is here.

With love,
Phay Shing

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Fat Unicorn Rainbow Chiffon Cake

So happy to have finally made a FAT unicorn chiffon cake!! =D

The hardest part in making the cake for me was digging a hole into the pretty rainbow chiffon cake lol! I stared at it for the longest time as I couldn't bear to do it =p.

While the concept is unique, this cake actually is a combination of elements from my 3 cookbooks! I have shared the recipes in the cookbooks.

Recipe for Rainbow chiffon cake is in my 1st book Creative baking: Chiffon Cakes (book cover on the right).

The chiffon lollipops decorating the cake on top are from my 2nd book Deco Chiffon Cakes (book cover in the middle). I have also made a video tutorial for Chiffon Lollipops on youtube! Check it out =).

Lastly, recipe for Chiffon unicorn pops have been shared in my 3rd book Deco Chiffon Cake Basics (book cover on the left).

Next time I will get my daughter to make the hole instead as it was really different for me lol.

Does my unicorn look satisfied! Burp! =p

With lots of love,

Susanne

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Acorn Macaron Ferris Wheel

It's been almost a year since I made a macaron ferris wheel. This is my third Ferris Wheel but the first one that is mounted on top of a giant macaron!

Don't the squirrels look like they wish they had the bigger acorns? 😆

Here is a view of the Ferris Wheel in action!

This Ferris Wheel is also smaller than my first two. My first two were mounted on an 8" cakeboard. This one could fit on a 6" cakeboard.

You may use your favourite macaron recipe or any recipe in our blog. You may refer to my macaron books Creative Baking: Macarons and Creative Baking: Macaron Basics for a more systematic review of the basics and piping techniques, as well as the macaron shell recipes I used here. I baked the shells for two other requests concurrently with this one so I used the Italian method to cope with the many colours involved.

I decorated the shells with royal icing and black edible marker.

Works in progress

As macaron structures with moving parts need to be structurally stable, I filled the macarons with filling that does not contain milk, dairy cream or butter but the flavours are "safe" flavours that will be tasty even without those ingredients. Choose good quality chocolate for best taste.


Cookies n cream filling
Ingredients:
90g white chocolate
20g vegetable shortening
25g Oreo cookies (without cream and crushed)
1/4 tsp vanilla bean paste
1/8 tsp salt

Dark chocolate filling
Ingredients:
80g dark chocolate couverture chips
20g shortening
1/8 tsp salt
1/4 tsp vanilla bean paste

Steps:
1. Place all ingredients (except Oreo cookies) in microwave safe bowl. Heat on medium power for 20 seconds and mix well with a spatula. Repeat heating and stirring until all ingredients are melted.

2. For the cookies n cream filling, stir in crushed cookies. Let the melted mixture stand at room temperature until it firms up until toothpaste consistency.

3. Transfer to piping bag and pipe on the shells.

I piped a ring of cookies n cream on the outside and filled the middle with dark chocolate for the giant macaron base shell.

Here's a peek at the Ferris Wheel frame being filled.

I can't reveal what I did to make a fragile confectionery item like macarons to support the weight of a Ferris wheel frame yet but I can reveal that I did add reinforcements to bear the load.

Ferris wheels can be fairly tall so I made my own customized cakebox that is more than double the height of one box.

I used two regular cakeboxes, four long and thick wooden skewers, flexible plastic cake ring and sticky tape to assemble this.

To remove the baked item from the box, simply lift the lid, open up the flaps of the base box and slide the bake out.

Thank God that the Ferris Wheel was delivered safely by a very conscientious courier! I had to lock the Ferris Wheel to prevent it from turning during transport. The recipient was very happy to receive this 😊

Update: the recipient sent me a photo of the Ferris Wheel on top of the cake she bought and allowed me to share it here. She fedback that the Ferris Wheel tasted yummy too!

You can tell that the birthday girl was really happy 😀

With love,
Phay Shing

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Tuxedo Sam Chiffon Cake

Tuxedo Sam chiffon cake for my dear hubby's birthday (actually requested by my kids 🙊).

Very thankful for his friendship, love and support all these years 💖💖 Does this look like a plush or cake?

Recipe for blue pea flower chiffon cake here.

Have a blessed week!

With lots of love,
Susanne

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Winnie and Friends Osmanthus and Lavender Earl Grey Macarons

I made these Winnie the Pooh and friends macarons for a friend's birthday. Her daughter who is also a friend of mine, requested for some tea flavours so I chose Osmanthus and Lavender Earl Grey :)

Those who know me will know that I don't like to repeat designs. Even if they are of the same characters. I have made the Tsum Tsum and Ufufy versions of Winnie and Friends macarons so I decided to do a "plush toy" version this time round.

I actually baked this set concurrently with two other separate requests. The bake was so massive and intricate that I decided to spread it over two days to make it more manageable because I have other commitments as well.  I used the French method for the smaller batch and Italian method for the larger batch. You may use your favourite macaron recipe or any recipe in our blog. You may refer to my macaron books Creative Baking: Macarons and Creative Baking: Macaron Basics for a more systematic review of the basics and piping techniques, as well as the macaron shell recipes I used here.

What I really want to share in this blog post is the awesome, mellow and not so sweet filling that is full of tea flavour. I tweaked my standard whipped white chocolate ganache filling base to make a firm enough for Singapore's tropical climate but less sweet ganache. Here are a couple of pictures of the macaron shells...

Freshly baked! The amount of details makes the whole bake tedious! The mushrooms and squirrels are for another request so stay tuned!

I drew the facial features with black edible marker. Check out the feet on the shells!

Tea flavoured macaron filling
Honestly, I am not sure whether to call this a ganache or buttercream, or put "cream cheese" in the name somewhere because the filling contains all of these but not in huge proportions. Heavy cream (or whipping cream) makes up about one-eighth of the total weight as it is the liquid that will cause the whole filling to be really soft. I added some vegetable shortening and cream cheese as it is firmer at room temperature than butter. The amount is also about one-eighth each to add stability but not alter the taste too much.  White chocolate is the ingredient that will make the filling most firm but it is also really sweet. So over here white chocolate is only about three-eighths the total weight.

I also make sure that the tea flavours are strong enough by both infusing the dried flowers in melted butter, shortening and cream, and adding tea powder to the mixture.

Feel free to upsize the recipe. This works well for both small and large quantities.

Ingredients (fills about 12-18 macarons):
Tea Infusion mixture
15g whipping cream/ heavy cream
15g vegetable shortening
30g unsalted butter
1tbs dried lavender flowers or 2tbs dried osmanthus flowers

Tea flavoured cream
30g white chocolate (chips or finely chopped)
40g tea infusion mixture
1/2-3/4 tsp Earl Grey powder or ground osmanthus flowers
1/8 tsp salt
1/4 tsp vanilla extract (optional)
12g cream cheese, at room temperature

Steps:
1. Make the tea infusion mixture for your choice of tea flavour. Place dried flowers in a small bowl. Set aside. Heat whipping cream, shortening and butter over medium-low heat in a small saucepan until it starts to bubble, stirring the mixture to ensure even melting of the butter and shortening. Pour hot mixture into bowl of dried flowers. Let it steep for 15 minutes. Strain out 40g of the mixture, squeezing as much of the liquid out from the flowers as possible.

2. Add salt and sifted tea powder (and vanilla extract if using) to the tea infusion mixture and mix well. Add white chocolate to the mixture. Microwave over medium power for 10 seconds and mix well. Repeat heating and stirring until white chocolate is melted. Alternatively, you may double-boil the mixture. Be careful not to overheat.

3. Chill the white chocolate mixture in freezer for two minutes. Use a spatula to mix well. Repeat freezing and mixing until you are able to whip the mixture to buttercream texture.

Whipped Lavender Earl Grey and Osmanthus white chocolate cream cheese buttercream

4. Use a spatula to whip the cream cheese in a mixing bowl to loosen up the cream cheese. Gradually add the tea flavoured white chocolate buttercream mixture into the cream cheese. Mix well after each addition.

Transfer to piping bag and pipe onto the bottom shells.

Filling up Tigger and Pooh with Osmanthus white chocolate cream cheese buttercream

Filling up Piglet and Eeyore with Lavender Earl Grey white chocolate cream cheese buttercream.

Refrigerate for at least 24h before consuming. Let the macarons sit at room temperature for 10 min before eating.

With love,
Phay Shing

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We Bare Bears Ice Bear Chiffon Cake

Free Bears! Who would like to take him home? 😛

Ice Bear from We Bare Bears, made from chiffon cake! I am loving my square chiffon pan from Japan, which I used to make the "box". It's a 6-inch square tube pan. And I baked the chocolate chiffon recipe at 160°C for 15 min, followed by 140°C for 30 min. I baked the bear in a ball pan, similar to my Reindeer cake from Deco Chiffon Cake Basics. I used this recipe.

Hope this creation made you smile!

With lots of love,
Susanne

*Edited 19/9 to include recipes links, baking size and condition of square pan since there was interest in it from the comments =).

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Ombre Pink Swirl Macaronpops

Would you like some pink ombre swirl macaron pops? 😊

I filled them with dark chocolate ganache.

I actually made these a few months ago when I was really excited when I managed to successfully create swirl macarons with two colours of batter. I was curious to know how a three coloured one would turn out so I made these :)

These swirl patterned macaron lollipops also appear in Christmasy colours in my second macaron book, Creative Baking: Macaron Basics. I made a video tutorial on how to pipe the swirls.

You may use any of your favourite macaron recipes to create three different coloured batters and fill the piping bag with all three.

Piped swirl macaron shells!

Freshly baked shells! I love them in pretty pink!

I filled the shells with dark chocolate ganache as requested.

Have fun piping!

With love,
Phay Shing

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Refreshing Mango and Milk Jelly

Besides making a Pandan Kaya Gula Melaka chiffon sponge and pudding cake topped with sweet potato Ondeh-Ondeh again for my dad's birthday this year, I also made a simple dessert. The cake was for dad to celebrate his birthday with other extended family members on another day so we had this refreshing mango jelly for dessert after a buffet lunch!

The mint leaves complimented the jelly in terms of looks and taste as well!

Here is another close-up view of this dessert just before we were about to eat it but a day after I made it.

Hubby bought some really nice mangoes so I couldn't resist making this dessert. I had to keep mum who has diabetes in mind so I didn't add too much sugar. Feel free to add more according to taste.

In order to create the layered stripe effect, I I made my own tall squarish jelly mould using plastic cake rings. I taped two pieces side by side to create a taller wall so that I can make a jelly with many layers without using too much ingredients.

Size is about 5x5 cm at the base

This plastic cake ring is sold in huge rolls with many pieces at Phoon Huat. I use it for moulding sponge and pudding cakes and as homemade cookie cutters too. Extremely versatile 😊.

I should have used cling wrap instead of aluminium foil to cover the base of the plastic walls as a little jelly leaked from below but it's not a major leak. Chill the whole mould on a small baking tray or plate in the fridge before filling with jelly.

I will share the recipe for the three types of jelly I made for this dessert, namely clear jelly, milk jelly and mango jelly. Feel free to layer your dessert any way you want it. I chose to use gelatin sheets this time as it doesn't have as strong a smell as powdered gelatin but feel free to use powder if you wish.

The striped jelly pieces are made rather firm so that it can withstand handling without disintegrating. If you aren't creating this stripe pattern like I did, feel free to use less gelatin for those layers for a softer texture.

I used Ann Low's recipe as a reference.

Striped jelly layers
Ingredients:
Clear jelly:
90g water
2 tsp sugar (or more if prefer sweeter)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
5g gelatin sheet* (about 2.5 sheets)
Some water to soak the gelatin sheets

Milk jelly:
90g fresh milk
1 tsp sugar (or to taste)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
5g gelatin sheet*
Some water to soak gelatin sheet

*You may use gelatin powder but soak in cold water for a few minutes before melting it in microwave or by double boiling. Ratio should be 1 tsp of gelatin powder to 1 tbs of water.

Steps:
1. Soak the gelatin sheets in water until softened.

2. Place water/milk in small saucepan with sugar and vanilla extract. Heat until just beginning to boil.

3. Remove from heat and add softened gelatin sheets. Stir until gelatin is dissolved. Cool to room temperature.

4. Gently pour about 1 tbs of milk jelly into the mould. Chill in fridge for about 5-6 min or until set. Repeat with about 1 tbs of clear jelly. Keep repeating until all jelly liquid is used up. Remember to layer on gently to prevent air bubbles from forming. If there are bubbles, use a toothpick to nudge it to the edge of the mould and try to pop it with a corner of kitchen paper towel.

5. Chill whole thing for at least 2h or overnight before slicing into strips. This is not difficult to make. Just requires patience to layer 😆.

The jelly is firm enough to be handled easily with your hands.

Mango jelly
Ingredients (Fills 6-7 small cups)
1 large to 2 mangoes (350g mango puree)
2 tbs sugar (or to taste)
1 tbs lemon juice
1/2 tsp vanilla extract (optional)
A pinch of salt
8g gelatin sheet (about 4 sheets)
Some water for soaking gelatin sheets

Steps:
1. Combine sieved mango puree, salt, sugar, lemon juice and vanilla in a mixing bowl. Whisk until sugar dissolve.

2. Microwave om medium power for 10 seconds or double boil soaked gelatin until melted.

3. Gradually add melted gelatin to mango puree and whisk after each addition. Pour into jelly cup and refrigerate for 10 minutes or until set before layering on.

Here is a peek at how I assembled the jelly. I added a small dollop of mango puree in the middle.

I ended off the layering with a mix of milk and mango jelly (pale yellow layer) and finally more milk jelly on top.

If you want to make a refreshing and easy dessert, why not try this especially when mangoes are in season.

With lots of love,
Phay Shing

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Sumikko Gurashi Steamed Japanese Cupcakes

I first made Mushipan, or Steamed Japanese Cupcakes almost 4 years back, before I started blogging. They are really simple and quick to make for a snack! Recently I was inspired to make them again after seeing some cute strawberry ones made by my lovely neighbour! <3 I thought they would be great for children's day too! =) I love Sumikko Gurashi, so I decided to make the cupcakes based on my favorite characters from there =). The base recipe I used was from Ari kitchen, a pretty youtuber =). I used soufflé cupcake liners.

Sumikko Gurashi Mushipan (makes 5 cupcakes)
150g Morinaga Pancake mix
82g egg
30g butter
45g castor sugar
45g plain yoghurt
45g milk
cocoa paste, charcoal powder, pandan paste, strawberry paste, food coloring of your choice
1 tsp cake flour

1. Whisk egg and sugar in a mixing bowl.

2. Add in yoghurt and milk until well mixed.

3. Sift in pancake mix powder and fold till well blended.

4. Stir in melted butter.

5. Divide the batter into the following: 3 tbsp (add few drops pandan paste), 6 tbsp (add few drops strawberry paste, 3 tbsp (a drop of blue food coloring), 1 tbsp (cocoa paste with ¼ tsp charcoal powder + 1 tsp cake flour), leave the rest plain. Spoon all into piping bags.

6. Spoon the batter into the cupcake liners (2 pink, 1 green, 1 blue and 1 plain) to around 2/3 full and tap to remove all bubbles.

7. Pipe the respective designs, eg the white polka dots over the pink, and the round patch over the blue batter. Lastly pipe on the facial features using the dark brown batter.

8. Steam the cupcake over preheated steamer for 15 mins. *Important: either wrap the lid with a cloth or tilt it with a chopstick so that the water does not ruin the cupcakes.

9. Use the leftover batter to pipe the limbs and ears on a piece of baking paper. Steam for 3 mins. Peel them off and place them onto the cupcakes.


Here’s the crumb shot! Nice and fluffy!

Hope you like them! <3


With lots of love,
Susanne

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Macaron Ice Castle on Lavender Vanilla Honey Lemon Cream Cheese Chiffon Cake

I was excited as well as apprehensive about embarking on this bake as it's my first time making a castle cake out of macarons! Presenting my version of ice castle macaron cake on top of a lavender vanilla honey lemon cream cheese chiffon cake!

I often get requests for character bakes which are essentially illegal since I don't have the license to bake them. So I turn down those requests (unless they are from my family or friends). But there is a leeway where bakers can exercise their creativity to create a scenario where it is entirely out of their imagination. And it won't be considered copyright infringement anymore. That's why I have a case of Pororo and Petty meet Elsa and Anna, along with a couple of penguins at a castle that is designed entirely from my adaptation of what is feasible for macarons 😆.

It was a challenge to make these macarons as there are 12-13 different colours involved! I had to use the Italian method for an undertaking like this. You may use your favourite macaron recipe or any recipe in our blog. You may refer to my macaron books Creative Baking: Macarons and the upcoming Creative Baking: Macaron Basics for a more systematic review of the basics and piping techniques. I used the reduced sugar Italian method recipe for this batch but scaled down to 220g of almond flour.

Freshly baked shells!

Shells decorated with royal icing and edible markers. I made these along with some doughnut and seashell macarons.

I filled the shells and macaron cake base with vanilla honey lemon cream cheese filling. Recipe can be found here.

The assembly of castle macaron cake begins with layering four layers of large round macaron shells and three layers of cream cheese filling.

It takes some planning and calculations to decide how big to make each piece in the castle structure. Some Math involved which can be an interesting mental challenge 😉.

Assembled castle. I used royal icing to add on some snowflake designs.

Looking really adorable with the inhabitants!

I baked some plain vanilla chiffon sheet cakes for the name and top layer of the chiffon cake.

I love the look of the soft colours and smooth, velvety surface!

What I really want to share in this blog post is the recipe for the chiffon sponge cake and the cake frosting. The various ingredients I used here work harmoniously together to bring about a delicious flavour. It's a mouthful to read out aloud but each ingredient is crucial -- lavender, vanilla, honey, lemon and cream cheese.

Reduced egg yolk lavender milk cream cheese chiffon cake
Ingredients (makes two 9.5" cakes):
Egg yolk batter
2 egg yolks
20g caster sugar
84g canola oil/ vegetable oil
100g lavender milk*
50g cream cheese
1tbs vanilla extract
120g cake flour
1/4 tsp salt
A pinch of lemon zest

Meringue
8 egg whites
1/3 tsp cream of tartar
110g caster sugar

*Boil 150g of milk. Pour hot milk into a bowl with 2tbs of dried lavender flowers. Steep for 10 min. Strain out the lavender flowers and measure out 100g of lavender milk.

Steps:
1. Melt softened cream cheese in hot lavender milk. Heat over low heat if necessary. Set aside to cool.

2. Line bottom of cake tins with parchment paper. Set oven rack to lowest or second lowest position. Place a tray of water at bottom of oven (optional). Preheat oven to 160℃.

3. Prepare egg yolk batter. Whisk egg yolks with caster sugar until pale and thick. Add oil and whisk until well combined. Add cream cheese lavender milk, vanilla and salt and mix until well combined. Gradually add in sifted cake flour and whisk until no trace of flour is seen. Add lemon zest and mix well.

4. Make the meringue. In a clean metal bowl, beat egg whites with cream of tartar until firm peaks form, gradually adding in caster sugar once the egg whites are foamy.

5. Quickly but gently fold the meringue into egg yolk batter in three batches. Divide the batter among the two baking trays. Use a chopstick to swirl the batter gently to pop any trapped air bubbles.

6. Bake for 5 min then reduce temperature to 140℃ and bake for another 25 min. Reduce temperature to 130℃ and bake for another 10min. The lower temperature used here is to prevent browning of the cake as the requester prefers have it as pale as possible.

The cake frosting recipe is just the macaron filling with stabilized whipped cream added in order to give it a lighter taste and texture to match the chiffon cake.

Vanilla honey lemon cream cheese frosting recipe
Ingredients:
150g vanilla honey lemon cream cheese filling
125g whipping cream, poured into mixing bowl and chilled in bowl
1 tbs icing sugar
1 tsp gelatin powder
1 tbs water
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Steps:
1. Make the stabilized whipped cream. Sprinkle gelatin over water in a small microwave safe bowl. Let it bloom for a few minutes. Microwave on medium power for 10-20 seconds. Stir until gelatin is dissolved. Set aside to cool for a few minutes.

2. Add icing sugar and vanilla extract to chilled whipping cream. Beat on low speed using electric mixer until it starts to thicken. Gradually add gelatin and whisk the cream by hand. Continue whisking until the cream is able to hold a firm peak. Be careful not to over whip or the cream will separate.

3. Fold the whipped cream into the cream cheese filling in a few additions.

Transfer the frosting into piping bag and fill the bottom layer of cake with frosting.

I drizzled a little more honey on top of the frosting.

Assembled cake!

I inserted 6 jumbo straws into the chiffon cake to act as dowels to support the heavy macaron cake on top.

The requester is kind enough to send me a few photos of the party in school.

Here's a picture of the cake at the party venue

Thank God that it was very well received in terms of looks and taste!

With love,
Phay Shing

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One Piece Chopper Chiffon Cake

Anyone loves One Piece?? I used to chase the anime over nights! That was before I had kids =p Chopper must be the cutest Reindeer ever! Here is my Chopper Chiffon Cake 💖

Anyway for this cake, it was rather stressful as the top (hat) is much bigger than the base, so it wasn't really so stable. I wouldn't want to make this again LOL. Thank God the recipient was still thrilled! =) Ah I miss those One Piece days!

With lots of love,

Susanne =)

Btw Deco Chiffon Cake Basics is finally back in stock in book depository! Those who messaged me, you might want to check it out! =)

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Cute Animals Cream Puffs (class for kids!)

Want to have some fun making a cute and yummy treat with your child on Children's Day? Why not join me for a Choux pastry class making these adorable animal cream puffs!

Click on this link for more details of what you will learn in the class and to register. I can assure you that it will be fun! You will never see the humble cream puff the same way again!

With love,
Phay Shing

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Vanilla Honey Lemon Cream Cheese Doughnut Macarons

I usually don't accept last minute requests but since only a small quantity was requested and the requester was fine with the filling I was making for my major bake, I took on this request. I have made many designs but not made doughnut macarons before. Here's my version :)

I made these along with some seashell macarons and a Frozen cum Pororo themed bake. I usually use the Italian method for bakes like these that involve larger quantities and many colours. You may use your favourite macaron recipe or any recipe in our blog. You may refer to my macaron books Creative Baking: Macarons and the upcoming Creative Baking: Macaron Basics for a more systematic review of the basics and piping techniques.

What I really want to share here is an awesome filling recipe that is flavourful but yet not too sweet.

Just to share some photos of the process of making the shells...

Piping rings of doughnuts. Please select a piping tip that is not too large so that the hole in the doughnut doesn't close up after you pipe the batter. I used Wilton #8.

Freshly baked shells. I love the feet!

Decorate the shells with pink royal icing and some rainbow sprinkles.

I prepared a large batch of filling as it was supposed to be enough to fill many other macaron shells, a macaron cake and a chiffon cake. So feel free to scale down the recipe. For cake frosting/filling I recommend further lightening up the filling with more dairy cream. I will share the recipe in my post for the Frozen and Pororo themed bake.

Vanilla honey lemon cream cheese filling
Ingredients:
140g cream cheese, softened at room temperature
40g honey
120g white chocolate
120g unsalted butter
30g whipping cream/ heavy cream
Zest of 2 lemons
1 tbs vanilla bean paste (or extract)
1/2 tsp sea salt

Steps:
1. Boil some water in a saucepan. Turn off the heat once the water is boiled. Place white chocolate, butter and heavy cream in a heat proof bowl over the saucepan. Melt and stir the contents in the bowl with a spatula. Bring the water to boil again if the contents in the bowl stops melting. Do not overheat as the white chocolate will seize.

2. Place the melted white chocolate mixture in the fridge for 10-15 minutes or until firm but not hard. As long as the mixture doesn't flow when you tilt the bowl, you may start whipping it.

3. In the mean time, beat cream cheese with electric mixer until fluffy. Add honey and continue beating until well mixed. Add lemon zest, salt and vanilla bean paste. Mix well with electric mixer.

4. Take white chocolate mixture out from fridge. Use spatula or electric mixer to beat until light and fluffy.

5. Fold white chocolate mixture into cream cheese mixture in a few additions.

Transfer into piping bag and pipe onto bottom shells. Sandwich with top shell.

Filling doughnuts! You can see a little bit of the seashell macarons that I am filling at the same time.

Store in airtight container in the fridge for at least 24h before consuming. Let the macarons sit at room temperature for 10 minutes before consuming.

With love,
Phay Shing

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Pastel Mooncake Chiffon Cake Minis (Lotus paste chiffon cake)

This is the 3rd year I am making Chiffon Cake Mooncakes!

This year I tried out a new flavour, Lotus paste chiffon cake, as well as making them into Mini Chiffon Mooncakes in pastel colours! While I used a 4-inch tube pan previously for the bigger mooncakes, I used cupcake liners for making the Mooncake Minis. These correspond to the small 50g mooncake plungers in terms of size. I have shared recipe for Lotus paste chiffon cake below.

I made the Lotus paste chiffon cake to be heavier than my usual recipes to correspond to what we would expect of lotus paste. So the egg white to egg yolk ratio here is 1:1. The nutty lotus paste flavour can be tasted though it is mild compared to the real thing. You may like it if you like lotus paste, and is definitely a lighter, less sweet alternative. I also made plain milk vanilla chiffon versions for the kids.

Lotus paste chiffon cake (4-inch tube pan or 7-8 30mm-cupcakes)
1 egg yolk
13g peanut oil/vegetable oil
14g water/milk
1g vanilla extract
20g Prima cake flour, sifted
30g lotus paste
Pinch of baking powder
A pinch of salt

Meringue
1 egg white
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
12 g castor sugar

1. Preheat oven to 140°C.

2. Whisk egg yolks with sugar until light, fluffy and well-mixed.

3. Add in oil, then water or milk, vanilla extract and mix well. Add in lotus paste and whisk till well-combined.

4. Whisk in sifted cake flour, pinch of baking powder, a pinch of salt and mix till well-combined.

5. Prepare meringue:

a. In a grease-free, dry metal bowl, using electric mixer, whisk egg whites with cream of tartar till frothy.

b. Add in ½ castor sugar for meringue and whisk at high speed till soft peaks form.

c. Add in rest of the castor sugar for meringue and whisk till firm peaks form, or just the point of stiff peak. Firm peaks give finer, softer texture.

6. Gently fold in meringue gently into cake batter 1/3 at a time.

7. Pour into an ungreased 4-inch chiffon tube pan (or cupcake liners). Gently tap on counter top to remove air bubbles.

8. Bake at 140°C for 20-25 min for the 4-inch tube pan (or cupcakes), or until skewer inserted into centre of cake comes out clean.

9. Unmould the chiffon cakes by hand after cooling completely.

**If you like to bake a 7-inch chiffon cake, you can multiply the recipe by 4-5 times, and increase baking time to 1 hr.


For instructions on how to assemble the chiffon mooncakes, please see my previous post. I used similar recipe for the sheet cakes but divided the batter into 4 pastel colours (instead of using strawberry paste/jam).


For making real pastel snowskin mooncakes, see here.

Happy mid-autumn in advance!

With lots of love,
Susanne

More creative ideas on Deco Chiffon Cakes here!

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