Cherry Coconut Pistachio Roll Cake

 This was the birthday cake I planned to make for my dad's birthday! 

But....This was the cake that was actually served!

I had leftover filling and only realised halfway through packing up after taking videos that I could use it up by slapping them onto the cake 🤭.

Cake composition:

- Coconut vanilla chiffon sponge

- Pistachio feuilletine crunch 

- Cherry coconut diplomat cream

- Cherry compote jelly

- Cherry Luk Chup as cake decorations 

Here's a slice of the cake after having a nice meal at the restaurant 

Bite cross-section of a cherry Luk Chup which I forgot to take along with the video.

You may refer to this reel for the recipe and process of putting the cake together:

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DdXhj94S3au/?stkn=dmMxcGJtN3ZpeXpu

You may refer to my earlier blog post for the making of the cherry Luk Chup which look so much like real cherries you will have a hard time telling them apart from real ones!

Coconut vanilla chiffon sponge (12x12" tray):
2 egg yolks
25g oil
65g coconut milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/8 tsp salt
65g cake flour
4 egg whites (150-160g)
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
50g caster sugar
10g prebiotic soluble fibres (may omit or replace with sugar)

1.  Whisk together oil, coconut milk, vanilla, salt, sifted flour & egg yolk

2. Beat egg whites with cream of tartar in another bowl till firm peaks, adding sugar gradually once egg whites are foamy

3. Fold 2. into 1. Pour into lined 12x12" tray

4. Bake in preheated oven at 170C/160C fan for 15-16 min or until done. Temperature & time varies from oven to oven so adjust accordingly 

5. Cut the sponge into two rectangles for fitting into U-shaped mold for roll cake

Pistachio feuilletine crunch:
100g white chocolate
50g roasted pistachio butter
50g feuilletine 
2-3 drops pandan paste (optional, to boost flavour & add a tinge of green)

1. Melt white chocolate with pistachio butter & pandan paste (if using)

2. Add feuilletine crunch & mix well

3. Immediately spread in a thin layer on sponge before it hardens

Cherry compote jelly:
150g fresh cherries (without pits)
15-25g honey/sugar
1 tsp cornstarch in 1 tbs water to form slurry
2g gelatin bloomed in 10g cold water

1. Blend cherries briefly, it doesn't have to be very smooth if you want some bite. Cook over medium -low heat until reduced to about 100g

2. Add honey or sugar & stir until dissolved

3. Add cornstarch slurry & continue stirring & cooking until thickened. Remove from heat 

4. Add bloomed gelatin to compote & mix until gelatin is fully melted & incorporated. 

5. Pour into homemade cylindrical mold made using acetate sheet, cling wrap & tape. Refrigerate until firm, at least 4 h or overnight

Cherry coconut diplomat cream:
2 egg yolks
16g sugar
1/16 tsp salt
14g cornstarch 
100g reduced sieved cherry puree*
120g coconut milk
110g whipping cream of choice**

Lightened cherry coconut diplomat cream:
35g cherry coconut diplomat cream
50g whipping cream of choice**

1. Whisk together egg yolks, sugar, salt & cornstarch until smooth. Set aside

2. In a saucepan, heat cherry puree & coconut milk until steaming hot but not boiling. Pour in a thin stream into 1. while whisking the egg yolk mixture. Pour everything back to saucepan 

3. Whisk the custard & cook over medium -low heat until it starts to bubble. Continue whisking & cooking for another minute before removing from heat

4. Transfer into a bowl & press cling wrap on surface. Chill overnight or at least for a few hours

5. Whip whipping cream of choice until firm peaks. Whip chilled cherry coconut pastry cream until loosened. Gradually add whipped cream into pastry cream by mixing well with electric mixer or by folding in with spatula. For the lightened version, fold more whipped cream into the cherry coconut diplomat cream

* Cherry puree reduced to about 70-75% original weight to intensify flavour
** You may use non-dairy, full dairy or a mixture. Non-dairy is the most stable & there's no danger of overwhipping but dairy cream tastes the best. Use stabilizers if using dairy only. A mix of both types give you good taste & stability 

with lots of love,
Phay Shing

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Grogu Yuzu Chiffon Cake with Nutella Pudding

 My friend requested for a Grogu cake for her daughter's birthday with yuzu chiffon filled with Nutella pudding as the choice of flavour because she loved the cake I made for her last year so much she wanted the same flavour again this year!

The hole in the chiffon cake in makes for a convenient pocket to fill with pudding!

Pudding is totally concealed in this design...

Even the party hat is filled with pudding!

A look at Grogu before being filled...

You may refer to the reel below for the detailed recipe and process of putting this creation together:

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DdIEvvPSdEe/?stkn=MTJpNWFnZHEwaTBzeQ==

Scale the recipe up according to your preference/parts. I provided the smallest unit

Yuzu chiffon (with yolks):
1 large egg, separated 
1/8 tsp cream of tartar
15-20g sugar (according to preference)
18g cake flour, sifted
15g yuzu tea*
10g oil
1/16 tsp salt

Yuzu chiffon (without yolks for less colouring in blue & white sponges):
1 large egg white
1/8 tsp cream of tartar
15-20g sugar
17g cake flour, sifted
20g yuzu tea*
10g oil
1/16 tsp salt

Colouring:
Cocoa powder
Pandan paste
Blue, white gel colouring 

* Blend equal parts by weight of yuzu jam & hot water.

 Let it sit for 15 min. Include as much rind as possible for stronger flavour. Sieve through fine sieve. I didn't use a fine enough sieve at first as I wanted to impart a stronger flavour with a little bite. The yuzu rind bits end up being stained darker green than the batter so you can see dark green specks of it on Grogu's head 🙈

Method for chiffon sponges:
1. Whisk together oil, yuzu tea, salt, flour & egg yolk (if using). Add colouring as desired
2. Beat egg whites with cream of tartar in another bowl till firm peaks, adding sugar gradually once egg whites are foamy
3. Fold 2. into 1. Pour/pipe into tin/lined tray/silicone mold
4. Bake in preheated oven until done. Temperature & time varies from oven to oven & depending on whether you are baking a thin sheet cake, in silicone molds or tall chiffon tin so use whatever works for yours. As a reference, 130-150C is what I use

Notes: You may brush sponge surface with a little yuzu tea for an extra boost in flavour & to keep it moist

Nutella pudding:
80g Milk (60g + 20g reserved as cold)
1g Agar
50g Nutella

Method for Nutella pudding: 

1. Whisk agar into 60g room temperature or cold milk in small saucepan. Let it sit for at least 5 min

2. Add Nutella & whisk until well combined. Heat mixture while whisking constantly until it boils. Continue boiling & whisking for another minute.

3. Remove from heat. Add remaining 20g cold milk & whisk until well combined. Skim off scum on surface if any. Cool slightly to about 65C before pouring into cavities.

4. Cool to room temperature before refrigerating for at least 30min.

Notes: You may use any fat content of milk, or even replace the cold milk added at the end with heavy cream. The higher the fat content, the creamier the texture. 

Black & pink parts:
5g neutral oil
5g icing sugar
5g cake flour
5g egg whites
Charcoal powder 
Pink gel colouring 

Method for black and pink parts:

1. Whisk all ingredients together till smooth. Add colouring as desired

2. Spread in a very thin layer on lined baking tray.

3. Bake at 140C for 6 min or till cooked through. Don't overbake

Notes: You may do this for the white flat parts as well if you don't want the hassle of baking a white chiffon sponge. I needed the white chiffon sponge for the hat bobble so I didn't use this method for the thin white dots for hat & eyes. You may also flavour this if you wish but it's not necessary if the parts are really small &/or thin

Glue:
Melted bloomed gelatin. Use 1:6 gelatin : water by weight

Thank God the birthday girl loved the cake this year too, both in terms of looks and taste!


with love,
Phay Shing

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Hyper-Realistic Cherry Luk Chup

 I was fascinated with Luk Chup since a few years ago but didn't have the motivation to try it out as I didn't manage to find a subject or purpose for it. With my dad's birthday coming up, I decided to give it a try because there were very good and cheap Turkish cherries on sale.

Can you tell which two cherries in the picture below are the real ones? 

A close up view of the cut cross-section!

I happened to have some homemade frozen lotus seed puree at home, in preparation for my Mooncaron class. Luk Chup is traditionally made from mung beans but other substitutes are possible too, such as lotus seeds which I had on hand. My recipe is adapted from Catherine Zhang's Luk Chup recipe. Feel free to upsize it as it's a small batch.

Ingredients:

(makes about 12-14)

Dough:

100g lotus seed puree*

50g cherry juice*

40g heavy cream/ coconut cream*

1/16 tsp salt

35g sugar*

1 tsp tapioca starch 

Coating:

125g water (room temperature)

1/2 tsp agar (1.6g)

1 tsp sugar (6g)

1/32 tsp salt (pinch)

Finishing:

Red, blue & dark brown colouring + some water

Fresh cherry stems 

* NOTES ON INGREDIENTS

🔸Lotus seed puree: I prepared this by first washing & soaking dried lotus seeds. The green shoots are removed. Rinse & boil soaked seeds until soft & easily mashed between fingers. Press boiled lotus seeds through fine mesh strainer. You may store the puree in the freezer double wrapped until it's needed. You may use the traditional mung beans instead of lotus seeds. I happen to have lotus seed puree in my freezer so I used it. You may use red beans (azuki beans), cannellini beans, or possibly chestnuts, sweet potato/taro as well. Basically anything that can form a smooth paste that's used in pastries all over the world. Just take note that you may need to tweak the sugar content &/or liquid used to form a final dough that tastes good & works well but the technique should work

🔸Cherry juice: I used freshly squeezed cherry juice but you may substitute with other juices or use coconut milk instead

🔸Heavy cream/coconut cream: I used coconut cream for this one and heavy cream for my first attempt. Both are great! If you are omitting the use of juice, replace this with coconut milk which has a lower fat content

🔸 Sugar: It's not only a sweetener but also a binder. Too little & your shaped dough will crack easily. I already reduced sugar from the traditional/original recipe by about half

Watch the reel for the video tutorial of the process:

https://www.instagram.com/reel/Dc4oBGgykXa/?stkn=MXg0Znpyc3I2Y21weA==

Steps:

1. Blend all ingredients except tapioca starch

2. Pour into non-stick saucepan. Add tapioca starch

3. Cook on med-low heat until a soft pliable dough forms. Make sure it's able to hold its shape when you try to mold it. If not cooked till firm enough, the shaped fruit will slide down the skewer & not hold its shape well. Cool completely 

4. Portion out 10-11g of dough for each cherry. Shape using lightly oiled clean hands & ball tool. You may use gloves but I find it causes creases in my shaped cherries😅, much like how bakers who work with fondant prefer to work with bare hands for intricate shaping

5. Paint shaped cherries using a brush. You may use a dish of paint for dipping but I wanted to create subtle shading that real cherries have by making dark red & black cherry colored paints

6. Mount on skewers using an upside down colander to hold them in place to dry. About 15-30 min 

7. Meantime, prepare agar coating. Whisk all ingredients together in a tiny saucepan. Let agar bloom for 5 min. Bring to a boil while gently whisking. Continue boiling for 1 min. Remove from heat & cool to about 65C while stirring gently

8. Dip cherries in agar as shown in reel, waiting for about a few minutes between 1st & 2nd coating. Reheat & stir agar if it starts to thicken/set

9. Attach cherry stem after applying the 2nd coating. Let the coating set fully, about 10 min

10. Remove Luk Chup from skewers. Cut off excess agar at the base & reshape to round out. Store airtight in fridge for up to 5 days

Looks so real you can't tell that they aren't!

Stay tuned for the cake that these cherry wannabes were used to decorate!

with lots of love,

Phay Shing

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