Loving Creations for You: May 2023

I decided to make a simple cake that is assembled in a container for mum's birthday because this bake happened towards the tail end of my preparation for Deco Marshmallows' photoshoot.

The cake is a coffee chiffon sponge with thin layers of maple dark chocolate ganache and chopped toasted hazelnut, pumpkin spice diplomat cream and coffee jelly. I tried to make the components as diabetic-friendly as possible but had to use some maple syrup and Maltitol as Allulose alone doesn't taste as good. Maltitol is a sugar replacement often used as a sweetener for sugar-free chocolate but still contributes to glycemic index. Maple syrup is a tasty refined sugar-free syrup substitute that has a low GI. Why this choice of flavour combination? Because I have leftover pumpkin puree from making an entry in my marshmallow book 😆.

The florals are made of agar-based marshmallows. I used apple or pumpkin puree for them. The yellow roses are naturally coloured from pumpkin and are made sugar-free. The other florals and leaves were extras I kept from making for the book.

I will share the detailed recipe for the four components of the cake. Feel free to vary the ratio of components during assembly according to taste. You may assemble in smaller cups too for individual sized treats! Freeze the whole thing and it's an ice-cream cake! Diplomat cream frozen is like ice-cream 😋

Sugar-free coffee chiffon sponge

(10 x12" sheet cake)

Egg yolk batter

3 egg yolks

10g maple syrup (replace with zero calorie sugar replacements for totally sugar-free sponge)

30g vegetable oil

20g fresh milk, warmed (increase to 30g if using dry sugar replacements)

6g instant coffee
1tsp vanilla extract

Pinch of salt

45g cake flour

Meringue

3 egg whites

20g Inulin or Alchemy fibre

50g Allulose

1/4 tsp cream of tartar

Steps:

1. Line 10 x 12 tray with Teflon sheet or parchment paper. Preheat oven to 170C (top and bottom heat only). Dissolve instant coffee in warm milk. Add vanilla and salt to the mixture and set aside.

2. Make egg yolk batter. Whisk egg yolks with maple syrup until thick and pale. Add oil and whisk until well combined. Add coffee milk and whish until well combined. Gradually sift in flour and whisk until no trace of flour is seen.

3. Make the meringue. In a small bowl, whisk together Allulose and Inulin. Set aside. In a clean metal bowl, beat egg whites with cream of tartar until foamy. Gradually add sugar and beat until firm peaks. Use medium speed to beat to build up the meringue slowly for a more stable meringue and finer air bubbles. Make sure you are able to consistently get firm peaks before you stop beating to ensure meringue is sufficiently firm.

4. Gently but quickly fold meringue into egg yolk batter in three additions until no trace of meringue is seen. Pour into prepared tray.

5. Bake for 12-13 minutes or until skewer comes out clean. Immediately flip onto fresh parchment paper and cool completely covered with another parchment.

Sugar-free pumpkin spice diplomat cream

1 egg yolk

20g Allulose (or sugar of choice, quantity according to taste)

Pinch of salt

9g cornstarch

100g milk

150g pumpkin puree, sieved*

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

3/4 tsp Pumpkin spice**

100g whipping cream of choice***

* Bake pumpkin until softened and press through a fine sieve to get the puree. If your puree is very wet, you may reduce it over low heat if you wish. I didn't want to be too heavy handed with the spice component so adjust quantity according to taste.

** I didn't have pumpkin spice mix so I used what I have at home, which was 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1/8 tsp ginger and 1/8 tsp Allspice

*** You may use dairy or non dairy, add sugar or omit it according to taste and type of cream. Pumpkin is naturally sweet. I used a pre-sweetened non-dairy whipping cream. You may use Everwhip for a sugar-free dairy-free whipping cream that is pre-sweetened with sugar replacements.

Steps:

1. Heat pumpkin puree, milk, pumpkin spice and vanilla in saucepan until steaming hot (not boiling).

2. In the meantime, whisk together egg yolk, Allulose, salt and cornstarch until smooth in a heatproof heavy bowl or glass jug.

3. Pour hot pumpkin milk in a thin stream into the egg yolk mixture while whisking the egg yolk mixture continuously. Pour everything back into saucepan. Cook over medium-low heat while whisking continuously. Once mixture starts to thicken and bubble, whisk for another 1 minute before removing from heat.

4. Transfer into a bowl and press cling wrap on the surface. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight.

5. When ready to assemble the cake, whip whipping cream of choice to firm peaks. Briefly whisk pumpkin spice pastry cream to loosen it. Fold whipped cream into pastry cream in a few batches. Transfer into piping bag with a hole cut.

Sugar-free coffee jelly
(set in lined 7x7" tray)

16g gelatin sheets

120g ice water

4g instant coffee

120g hot water

20g Maltitol (or sugar of choice, according to taste)

Steps:

1. Soak gelatin sheets in ice water in a microwave-safe bowl. Set aside.

2. Dissolve Maltitol and instant coffee in hot water.

3. Microwave bloomed gelatin to melt it using medium power for 10 seconds. Stir and repeat heating if necessary.

4. Add coffee to melted gelatin and stir until well mixed. Pour into prepared tray. Refrigerate until firmly set. Cut into squares or small pieces, place on a lined tray and refrigerate.

Maple dark chocolate ganache with toasted hazelnuts

90-100g chopped toasted hazelnuts

50g no sugar added chocolate (I used the ones from Pascha)

60g heavy cream

30-40g Maltitol

25g maple syrup

Pinch of salt

20g unsalted butter, softened

Note: If you are using pre-sweetened chocolate, omit the Maltitol. Use dark chocolate if possible so it doesn't end up too sweet. You may use more chocolate as well if not using unsweetened chocolate due to the difference in fat content.

1. Place chocolate, finely chopped or use chips in a heatproof bowl.

2. Heat cream, maple syrup, Maltitol and salt in a saucepan. Stir until sugar and salt dissolves and mixture just starts to bubble a little at the edges.

3. Pour hot cream mixture over chocolate and let it sit for a minute. Stir in one direction gently until chocolate is melted and smooth.

4. Add softened butter and mix well. Add hazelnuts and mix well.

Assembly

1. Line base container with sponge (cut to size of container). Brush with diluted maple syrup (hot water : maple syrup, 1:1)

2. Cover with thin layer of diplomat cream before coating with a thin layer of chocolate hazelnut. Coat with another thin layer of diplomat cream.

3. Line the sides of the container with coffee jelly.

4. Fill up the middle of the cake with more cream and coffee jelly.

Refrigerate for 5 minutes.

5. Spread a thin layer of chocolate hazelnut. Top of with some diplomat cream.

6. Brush another layer of cut sponge with diluted maple syrup and place the sponge syrup down on the cake. Brush the top of the sponge with more maple syrup if you wish. Decorate the top circumference with some coffee bean shaped chocolates.

Here's a peek at a cut slice! Pardon the messy cut!

My family enjoyed the cake even though it was after a buffet meal and it was a flavour that is not commonly found here❤️.

with lots of love,
Phay Shing

As the dates for photoshoot draws closer, I am getting really busy with marshmallow making madness so there isn't time for new content for blogging. But I simply have to share these florals that I made for the photoshoot of Deco Marshmallows!

The blue and purple hydrangeas were made using raspberry and green apple puree. The yellow one was made from pumpkin puree but using passionfruit or mango puree along with apple puree will yield similar colour. The yellow one is sugar-free too! Ferrero Rocher makes for a very good filling!

Here's another floral arrangement that I made and hastily took a photo of. I forgot to line the plate with a doily or paper before arranging the flowers on 🙈.

The roses and tulips were made using green apple puree.

All the leaves are coloured with matcha powder.

Marshmallow florals are best made using agar-based recipes. Such marshmallows are known as zephyrs/zefirs, originate from Eastern Europe and can be piped like buttercream flowers. Agar based marshmallow batter is much stiffer than gelatin based batter so it holds up any ridges very well, giving whatever you pipe a sharp definition. My upcoming book will cover such marshmallows too! You can look forward to more agar-based entries, not just florals 😉.

Blessed Mother's Day to all moms out there!

with love,

Phay Shing