Capybara Strawberry Ice-Cream Roll Cake

 I made a capybara strawberry ice-cream roll cake for my younger kid's birthday, in time for this sudden hot spell! 

It was really delicious and full of berry flavour! I filled the middle with a strawberry-pandan-matcha chiffon cake surprise instead of using whole fresh strawberries as this cake is consumed frozen. Vanilla chiffon sponge is used for the patterned outer sponge.

Making patterned swiss rolls need not be a nightmare with this type of "cheat" roll when you have a U-shaped cake mold! Cracked sponges during rolling will be a thing of the past. You may purchase this mold from Qeleg at a discount over here:

https://qeleg.com/products/u-shaped-adjustable-cake-mold?fbclid=PAZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAaYgBP6eDjrtx_FQH69wIC4yR9m0hKnD70DFbvH6uMwako_AA_cQvLmUvvU_aem_3sSiuDMoas-oUm_u6AfrFQ

You may also use my discount code: Phay_Shing to purchase any of the wide range of baking tools that Qeleg has in their store or browse their site using this link with all the discounts in-built:

https://qeleg.com/?ref=tan_phay_shing_&fbclid=PAZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAaYR-6wAY8qt16D1X5gQ-qumOFIeXXd4sFkdF2nxsWFzqE-nTAZfEUvKoVg_aem_6EgjYfSjZ49pcYU-Swv9cA

This is my second capybara themed patterned roll cake made using the U-shaped mold. You may refer to this post to see the orange themed one. I adapted both orange and strawberry designs from the ones on Qeleg's store so you may purchase the patterns from there too.

Strawberry ice cream

2 egg yolks

20-25g caster sugar

50g white chocolate

200g whipping cream of choice*

30g strawberry jam*

1 tsp freeze dried strawberry powder 

1/2-3/4 tsp strawberry emulsion 

*Strawberry jam: You may use store bought ones but I made my own from scratch without pectin added. I cooked down strawberry puree with 15% sugar until 60% original weight

*Whipping cream: Use dairy, non-dairy or a mix. I used a mixture to get a good balance of stability & taste

Steps:

1. Melt white chocolate, keep warm

2. Heat up jam with emulsion & freeze dried powder mixed together till warm to touch, set aside & keep warm. I keep both melted chocolate and warm jam mix in the oven with light on but heat off.

3. Whip whipping cream to soft peaks, set aside

4. Whisk sugar & yolks over double boiler until sugar is dissolved & 60C

5. Add chocolate, jam mix & 1-2tbs of whipped cream. Emulsify with blender

6. Gradually add 5. to remaining whipped cream. Transfer to a piping bag & refrigerate until ready to assemble. Freeze for 8h in serving cups if consuming as ice-cream straight away. You may prepare this a day or two ahead of time if making ice-cream cake.

Strawberry & Matcha Pandan Chiffon Sponge**

( Two 7x7" sheets)

2 yolks 

20g oil

30g milk/water

1/2 tsp strawberry emulsion

1/4 tsp matcha powder

1/8 tsp pandan paste

40g cake flour

2 egg whites 

1/4 tsp cream of tartar

30g caster sugar

Vanilla roll cake chiffon sponge**

(12x12" sheet)

3 yolks 

30g oil

45g milk/water

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/8 tsp salt

54g cake flour

3 egg whites

1/4 tsp cream of tartar

45g caster sugar

** Steps for chiffon sponges: 

1. Line baking trays with teflon sheet. Preheat oven to 170C

2. Make egg yolk batter. Whisk yolks, oil, salt flour, milk/water together. Divide batter for making 🍓in half & add respective flavourings

3. Make meringue. Beat egg whites with cream of tartar until firm peaks, gradually adding sugar once egg whites are foamy.

4. Fold meringue into yolk batter. Pour into tray. Bake for 15 min or until done. 

Strawberry cutouts from red and green chiffon sheet cakes

Painted vanilla sponge 

I am not able to share my patterning method and recipe at the moment but what I share is enough for you to make a beautiful and delicious strawberry ice-cream swiss roll. You may watch this video tutorial for the process of making this cake:

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DBdmdP2zhYr/?igsh=MTJhaWxzOGc5dzExOQ==

Just some tips on managing a project like this as it can be pretty intensive. Store baked patterned sponge in U-shaped mold overnight & paint the next day if it's too intensive to finish everything in one day. Keep the sponge in mold wrapped overnight at cool room temperature to prevent drying out. Periodically brush the sponge with drinking safe water if you paint slowly like me to prevent it from drying out. Keep sections you are not painting covered to prevent excessive drying.

Everyone in my family is a capybara fan so stay tuned for more capybara birthday bake coming up!

with lots of love,

Phay Shing

BT21 Marshmallow-Macaron Music Box

 My friend wanted to surprise his girlfriend again with a BT21 themed birthday creation so he requested for a music box with RJ as the standing figurine.

I also made a BT21 themed bake last year for her and you can see it over here.

This year's bake involves quite a bit of precision since I needed to make a box with a working mechanism that can rotate the figurine.

It's also my first attempt at making a tall marshmallow figurine that can be viewed from all angles. 

The smaller 3D seated figures were also rather challenging especially Mang whom I didn't really nail in terms of looks 🤭.

I replaced the water in the gelatin bloom, sugar syrup and for rehydrating meringue powder with cold brewed rose tea for a light floral scent. Check out my Deco Marshmallows book for the basic recipe and techniques. I also show you how to replace fresh egg whites with meringue powder in this reel.

See the process of making this epic project in my reel over here:

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DBLk6U6yR3t/?igsh=cGRoYWd0eHdrenhi

with love,

Phay Shing

Hotpot Chiffon Cake

 

Too cute to eat?

I made these cakes for my dear DG mates birthday celebrations. The soup was made from apple jelly. 

 Watch the reel video here for more details. Thank God the cake was well-received. I may try planning a class for this in future. Hope you liked it too! 

With love, 
Susanne 

Capybara in Orangeland Yuzu Orange Swiss Roll

 I have been eyeing the U-shaped cake mold from Qeleg for the longest time. I finally have the chance to try it out! 

I adapted the "Capybara in Orangeland" design from the orange template on Qeleg's store. I forgot to position all the important elements such that they are visible from one angle when rolled 😅. Here are more views from different angles so you have a better view.

I have been making patterned swiss rolls on and off for almost 11 years and finally settled on a recipe and method that I am satisfied with. I prefer using a pattern that has a similar texture to the base sponge, has fine pores and most importantly, stable enough because I work slowly 😅.

Using the U-shaped mold means that the roll cake is made of a U-shaped patterned piece and a flat rectangular piece for the base. Both pieces are cut from a 12x12" sponge:

I used cake paint from Sweet Sticks for painting in the details.

The U-shaped mold was really handy for assembling the yuzu whipped cream and fresh sweet mandarins! There's no worry about the sponge cracking since this is a "cheat" method of making roll cakes 🤭

Here's the video of the process:

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DA0m442ylQS/?igsh=MXY4aW84eWpwd2lkcg==

Capybara in Orangeland roll cake recipe

Feel free to use any patterning method/ recipe you like. I developed my own for a more stable patterning batter that doesn't crack at the boundaries, produces sponge with fine pores suitable as a painting canvas & has a similar soft texture as the base sponge. I am not ready to share the method and recipe for the pattern I developed at the moment.

Sponge:
(Makes one 12x12" thin layer of sponge)
Egg yolk batter
3 egg yolks*
30g oil in
45g yuzu jam tea**
54g cake flour, sifted
Pinches of salt
1/16tsp orange emulsion (optional)

Meringue
3 egg whites*
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
45g sugar 
Cake Filling:
25g yuzu jam, blended
100g whipping cream of choice
4 small sweet mandarins, halved
Extra yuzu jam tea

* Large eggs at least 65g with shell on
** Blend 40g of yuzu jam with rind in 40g hot water. Sieve through fine sieve. Use the liquid for making sponge & brushing sponge before filling

Method: 
1. Preheat oven to 170C. Make cake pattern using your preferred method & recipe

2. Make egg yolk batter. Whisk egg yolks, orange emulsion, salt & oil together. Add flour & yuzu jam tea in alternating additions, whisking until well combined each time

3. Make meringue. Beat egg whites with cream of tartar until firm peaks, gradually add sugar once egg whites are foamy

4. Fold meringue into yolk batter. Pour over pattern. Bake for 15 min or until done

5. Cut the patterned U shaped piece & rectangular piece for the base. Paint the sponge as desired

6. Whip whipping cream until firm peaks, fold in blended yuzu jam. Transfer into piping bag

7. Place sponge pattern side down on parchment paper. Brush sponge with some yuzu jam tea. Put in U-shaped mold from Qeleg

8. Fill the sponge with cream & mandarins. Cover base with rectangular sponge. Freeze for 30-40min. Flip the cake over onto serving plate/cakeboard. Keep chilled in airtight condition. Consume within 3 days

Additional notes:

1. If it's too intensive to complete the whole project in a day, you may bake the sponge on day 1 & paint/assemble on day 2. To do so, store U shaped patterned sponge in the U shape mold lined with parchment paper overnight. Cling wrap the whole assembly & store at cool room temperature to prevent the cake from drying out

2. Keep sections of sponge that you are not painting covered with parchment or cling wrap to prevent drying out. You may also dab sections of sponge with drinking safe water if exposed for a long time as some designs may take a long time to decorate 

3. Use dairy, non-dairy or a combination of whipping creams according to your preference and serving ambient conditions. Be careful not to overwhip if using only dairy cream. Use stabilizers if using dairy and serving in a fairly warm place

4. Adjust baking temperature and time according to your oven 

You may use this link to browse Qeleg's website with the discounts already in-built or use my promo code: Phay_Shing. They have a wide range of silicone molds, metal trays, cookie cutters, fondant molds and more!

with love,

Phay Shing

Optimus Prime and Bumblebee Rose Tea Marshmallows

 My friend requested for some Bumblebee and Optimus Prime bakes. Since I have already made the macaron versions earlier this year, I thought why not challenge myself with the marshmallow version since I was concurrently working on another epic marshmallow project.

I couldn't find references I like because marshmallow subjects need to be on the softer side compared with using cookie or macaron as the medium. I ended up having to design Bumblebee. As there are lots of details, I could only manage 3 for each design 🤭.

I used cold brewed concentrated rose bud tea for the sugar syrup, gelatin bloom and a little to replace the water for rehydrating meringue powder. I have decided to switch to using meringue powder instead of egg whites from now on because of the convenience 🤭. You may refer to this reel for the ratio and visuals on how to do the replacement to be used with my basic marshmallow recipe from my book Deco Marshmallows.

Watch the squish and piping reel for these Autobots over here:

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DAnt-Wlyhjt/?igsh=bzByNnZyNmdsaWhq

with love,

Phay Shing