Monday 28 November 2022

Pandan Vanilla Christmas Tree Marshmallows (Video tutorial)

Busy as I am, I needed to get this out of my system! Presenting my Pandan vanilla Christmas tree marshmallows filled with Meiji's Apollo strawberry chocolate candy!



You may make these without the candy if you wish! 

Pandan vanilla marshmallow
Ingredients (makes about 40 trees):
57g egg whites
150g caster sugar
62g light corn syrup
1/8 tsp salt
3/4 tsp pandan paste
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
45g water
7-8g fish gelatin (200 bloom)
28g ice water

I am not including much details or the steps here as this is likely to be an entry in my upcoming Deco Marshmallows book. 

Please refer to the video below for the tutorial and some tips!

https://www.instagram.com/reel/Clhr9UBADAW/?igshid=NTdlMDg3MTY=


with love,

Phay Shing

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Snowman Yule Log Chiffon Cake Class

 

*New Class* Do you want to build a SNOWMAN with me?⛄️🥰 
Make a log cake with a cute twist this year!😃 


Techniques you will learn:  
White cake recipe 
Patterning chiffon cake into Snowman 
Chiffon swiss roll 
2 fillings: Cream cheese & non-dairy Chantilly cream filling 
Fruits filling and assembling Snowman with cute winter hat 

Sign up here

Happening on Dec 10th, 9-11am GMT+8 (Dec 9th, 8-10pm EST), with unlimited streaming after the class, workbook and private FB group! =) 

With lots of love, 
Susanne  

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Thursday 24 November 2022

Pineapple Bunny Choux Pastry in Macaron Teacup Class

 Let's welcome the Year of the Rabbit in 2023 with these cute Choux Pastry Bunnies in Macaron Teacups!



Filled with sweet and tangy pineapple jam and pineapple diplomat cream!



This class for learning two genres of bakes, macarons and choux pastries, will happen in January 2023. Please click on this link for more information on class details or to register .



with love,

Phay Shing

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Tuesday 22 November 2022

Egg Chiffon Cakes Tutorial


 
Eggshell Chiffon Cake Baking Tutorial!🥰 

Watch the tutorial here

I often get questions on these cute chiffon cake egg characters, so I thought to share some tips: 

- Drain the egg contents by making a small hole on the tip of the egg. 
- Fill to 2/3 of the height is enough. 

Egg chiffon cakes are super bouncy because of their high surface to volume ratio☺️ Hope you liked it! =)❤️ 

With love, 

Susanne


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Tuesday 15 November 2022

Sugar-Free Lemon Butter Cake with Mascarpone Whipped Cream and Lemon Curd

This is a baby Yoda- lemony- (partially), sugar free part 2 bake for hubby's birthday! 


Please see my previous post for part 1 for sugar-free lemon bar with baby Yoda grapes.

Baby Yoda is made out of kiwi this time!

Please visit Melly's Instagram page for the tutorial on how to make baby Yoda out of kiwi @mellyeatsworld.

Here's a peek at a slice of the cake!

This lemon cake is made of a dense and rich tasting lemon butter sponge that is full of lemon flavour but has a melt in your mouth texture, sugar-free lemon curd, and mascarpone whipped cream. I brushed the sponge with mixture of honey and lemon juice to add moisture and more lemon flavour.

I adapted Hanbit Cho's lemon cake recipe for this bake.  You may find his detailed recipe and video tutorial on youtube over here. I tweaked it by including egg separation method to include a meringue component in the batter, as well as adding a little more lemon juice. I replaced half of the sugar with erythritol. You may use Hanbit's recipe as it is too but I was going for something like Mrs SK Ng's butter cake where both creaming method and meringues are used, but with the weight of eggs similar to Hanbit's recipe.

Lemon butter sponge
Ingredients (makes two thick 6" layers):
152g unsalted butter, softened (around 20-22C)
50g castor sugar (I used erythritol)
A pinch of salt
24g honey
4 egg yolks* (large, room temperature)
34g finely ground almond powder
136g cake flour
3/4-1 tsp baking powder
8g lemon zest
35g lemon juice
1 tsp vanilla extract

Meringue
2 egg whites* (large)
60g castor sugar (I replaced 15g with erythritol, may replace all with sugar replacements for totally sugar-free version)
1/8 tsp cream of tartar (optional)

* Total weight of egg yolks plus egg whites used about 152g.

Steps:
1. Preheat oven to 165C. Line two 6" round pans with parchment paper at the base. I didn't have two identical pans that size so I used the paper cases for panettone.

2. Sift together almond, cake flour and baking powder, set aside.

3. Beat softened butter with electric mixer until loosened. Add sugar and salt and beat until light and fluffy. Add honey and beat until well combined.

4. Add one egg yolk and beat with electric mixer until well combined. Add a third of the sifted dry ingredients and beat until well combined.

5. Add the rest of the egg yolks one at a time, beating until well combined before adding more. Add in rest of dry ingredients and beat until just combined.

6. Add lemon juice, zest and vanilla and beat until well combined. 

7. Divide batter between two pans and bake for 25-30 min or until skewer comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before unmolding from pan.

For the cake assembly, I sliced each layer horizontally into two.

Lemon curd
Ingredients:
3 egg yolks
100g lemon juice (about 2 large lemons)
80g sugar of choice (I used erythritol for sugar-free option)
100g unsalted butter, cut into small cubes at room temperature
Zest of 1 lemon

Steps:
1. In a heatproof bowl, whisk together sugar and egg yolks until smooth. Add lemon juice and mix well.

2. Double-boil egg mixture and whisk until temperature reaches 80C. 

3.Sieve mixture if you wish. Add softened butter one cube at a time, mixing until well combined after each addition with a spatula.

4. Add lemon zest and mix well. Use it immediately or to store, keep in airtight container with cling wrap touching the surface in the fridge for up to a week or freezer for up to a month. 

Mascarpone whipped cream
Note that conventional mascarpone whipped cream has sugar added and non-dairy whipped cream is not used. I use some non-dairy whipping cream for added stability in tropical Singapore. It is also pre-sweetened and has stabilizer added so I didn't add sugar. I used double cream instead of regular dairy whipping cream for a milkier taste and better stability.

Ingredients:
100g Whip topping (non-dairy whipping cream)
50g Mascarpone cheese
150g double cream (45% fat)
1.5 tsp vanilla extract

Steps:
1. Whip non-dairy cream until stiff peaks. Set aside.

2. Whisk Mascarpone cheese until loosened.

3. Add double cream and vanilla to loosened cheese and whisk until well combined. Do not overmix. Once the mixture is smooth and creamy, stop whisking in with the hand whisk.

4. Fold in non-dairy whipped cream in 3 additions with a spatula. 

5. Keep refrigerated airtight until use or transfer to piping bag and use straight away.

I folded in lemon curd into some of the mascarpone whipped cream and added a little yellow gel colouring for piping the dots around the cake.


Assembly

Get ready all the above and prepare a syrup made from honey and lemon juice with 1:1 ratio for brushing the sponge. You may refer to the reel on how I assemble the cake. Feel free to pipe it and decorate anyway you like! Hubby loves a mouth puckering lemon bake so adjust the ratio of mascarpone whipped cream and lemon curd on the cake to your preference. The sponge is sweet (but not overly so), mascarpone whipped cream mildly sweet and the curd is really sour. I kept the piping bags that are not in use in the fridge, and chill the cake in the fridge whenever necessary while working as Singapore is warm.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cksz3KsAV82/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

Refrigerate cake and best consumed within a week.


with lots of love,

Phay Shing


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Monday 14 November 2022

Bubble Tea Cheesecake Push Pops

 


Made these bubble tea cheesecake push pops, following my previous Rainbow cheesecake push pops

Watch the making here

Hope they made you smile! 

With love, 

Susanne 


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Monday 7 November 2022

Sugar-Free Lemon Bars with Baby Yoda Grapes

Hubby was craving for something lemony so I made sugar-free lemon bars for a simple birthday bake for him! A super early birthday bake because year-end schedule looks set to be really busy!

He's a Star Wars fan so I took the chance to decorate the plain bars with a healthier but cute topper, baby Yoda grapes!

Aren't they cute?

Many thanks to Melly for sharing her tutorial on how to assemble these. Do check out her Instagram account @mellyeatsworld to see her amazing work!

I adapted the lemon bar recipe from Sally's blog post over here.

I made a few changes to the recipe:
1. Used erythritol instead of white sugar for a sugar-free bake. Note that erythritol tends to leave an "icy" mouth feel so feel free to use other types of sugar if you wish.
2. Added lemon zest in the shortbread and lemon custard.
3. Reduced amount of sugar
4. Replaced plain flour with cake flour for a more tender bite.

I also used half recipe as my glass tray was 10x7".

Sugar-free lemon bars
Ingredients (makes one 10x7"tray):
Shortbread
115g unsalted butter
45g erythritol (or replace with regular castor sugar)
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla bean paste
132g cake flour (or plain flour)
1/2 lemon zest

Lemon filling
180g erythritol (or castor sugar)
3 large eggs (65g or more with shell on)
120g lemon juice (about 2 large lemons)
1.5 lemon zest
23g cake flour

1. Preheat oven to 160C. Line bottom and sides of glass tray with parchment paper large enough to leave an overhang over the edges.
2. Make shortbread crust. Mix melted butter, sugar, vanilla, salt and zest in a bowl. Add flour and stir to combine. Press into pan. Bake 20 min or until edges lightly browned. Poke shallow holes over top of warm crust using fork.


3. Make lemon filling. Sift together zest, sugar and flour. Whisk in warm eggs (around 40C, helps to dissolve sugar), then lemon juice until combined.
4. Pour filling over warm crust. Bake for 18-22min or until center no longer jiggles. Cool completely before refrigerating for 2 hours or overnight. 


5. Once cooled, lift parchment off pan using overhang on the sides. Cut off the uneven edges. Dust with powdered sugar (I used a sugar-free option) and cut into squares before serving.

Hubby couldn't stop snacking on the cut off pieces as I was still working 😆.


If you are a fan of lemon, do give this simple bake a try !


with lots of love,

Phay Shing

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Tuesday 1 November 2022

Angry Bird Hatchling Vanilla Caramel Coconut Plushiemallows

 This was a fun and hilarious birthday bake for my younger kid. Angry Bird hatchling marshmallows!


Here's a peek at the plushiemallows (the name I give my character marshmallows modelled after real plush toys) together with the actual plushies!

You can tell which is my kid's favourite by identifying the scruffiest looking plushie 😆

Here's a fun video I put together to show you how squishy they are!

https://www.instagram.com/reel/CjsYLJBgtRq/?igshid=NjZiMGI4OTY=

Marshmallows taste the best toasted in my opinion, because the caramelization of the exterior and transformation of the interior into moist gooey-ness brings a flavour explosion and textural contrast that non toasted marshmallows cannot achieve.

And so, I made another fun video of before and after toasting!

https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cj0DJspgO6o/?igshid=NjZiMGI4OTY=

I don't have a blowtorch at home so using the grill function of the oven takes some trial and error. A few seconds is all it takes to go from lightly browned to charred 😆.

Here's a side-by-side comparison of toasted and untoasted plushiemallows.


My apologies for not revealing much about the technical aspects of this bake as I am in the process of writing the next book in our Creative Baking series, Deco Marshmallows. These hatchlings are made using two techniques that I will share in the book. Templating technique and assembling various pieces to form a character.

Here's a peek at some of the small marshmallow parts made using templates before assembly:

Really excited about sharing the techniques as it will be really helpful for those of you who are artistically challenged and do better if you don't have to pipe everything by freehand, which is very much the status quo in the character marshmallows arena at the present.


with lots of love,

Phay Shing

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Autumn Fall Penguin Roll Cakes

 


Do these penguins look snuggly? Watch the making video reel here. I am making these adorable Autumn Fall Penguin Chiffon Roll Cakes with a Heart Surprise and Pumpkin hat for hands-on class at Baker's brew! 🥰 

Hope you like them! 

With love, 

Susanne 


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