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 

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Giant Bubble Tea Jelly Chiffon Cake

 

Giant Bubble Tea chiffon cake with jelly that I made for collab with Tastemade. Reel of the making on my IG here. Hope this made you smile! 

With lots of love, 
Susanne 

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Princess Mermaid Chiffon Cake

Princess Mermaid Chiffon Cake, filled with a jelly surprise!

The beautiful photo above is taken by the talented @mmlittlee. I wish I could take photos like her!

The backdrop was also beautifully done by her. The cake was modeled after Ufufy Princess Ariel and entirely decorated with chiffon cake. The tricky part was baking a huge sheet cake big enough for the hair!

I managed to find a picture of the jelly inside. There was more jelly in the top side. Thank God cake was very well-received, especially the jelly surprise, and this always brings me so much joy! =)

Still school holidays so not much time to blog. Hope all of you are having a great time with the family too!

With lots of love,
Susanne

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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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'Merlion' National Day Flag Chiffon Cake

Haha suddenly so many National day bakes.. cos today is a special day! Happy National day to all! <3 I have been wanting to make the Merlion for a long time! Finally get to make this year, albeit a cartoon version inspired by Naiise =).

I am glad that the square chiffon tube pan I got from Japan finally got to good use!! I can finally make a true National day chiffon cake! The colour is from Raspberry Jello. For full recipe and video tutorial, click here.

Happy holiday and National day to all! #wearesingapore #ndp2018

With love of love,
Susanne

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#OneNationTogether 'Singapore Flag' Raspberry Jello-Milk Chiffon Cake (with Video tutorial!)

*Video tutorial up! (1/8/17):

Last year, I shared an easy and yummy way to transform our humble chiffon cake into a Singapore flag! I really liked the theme of ‘Togetherness’ this year, so this is my humble take at the interweaving arms inspired by this year’s ‘One Nation Together’ theme! As the logo was 2D, this is my interpretation of how it looks like with overlapping interweaving arms.

I used Raspberry Jello to impart yummy flavour and colour to the chiffon cake and a special reduced egg yolk recipe to obtain whiter cake naturally without needing to add extra icing colorings for the chiffon cake.

Here’s my creation from last year using a smaller 6-inch tube pan. I heard it was forwarded around on whatsapp as a National day greeting when I had people coming to ask me if I had made it =p.

There are different jello flavours that are pinkish in colour, eg Strawberry and Cherry in addition to Raspberry. Many people have asked me if they can replace the flavour. Yes you can, however, I have tried all the different flavours and I like the Raspberry’s tangy flavour the best! Another finding I had was that if I passed the jello powder through a sieve before mixing into the egg yolk mixture, I had more uniform pinkish red batter without any red specks, hence the nice uniform colour. And again, thanks Michelle for first introducing the idea of jello/jelly powder into cakes. 1 whole egg is used instead of egg yolks to get a whiter base cake. The recipe is for a 7-inch tube pan with excess sheet cake for cutting out the arms and the Singapore shape. This year's recipe is also modified with added vanilla extract for even more fragrance =).

This chiffon cake is also made using my new love, LG's award winning NeoChef Smart Inverter Microwave Oven! Many people have asked me what oven I use to bake my chiffon cakes =). Good news is you don’t need a huge built-in oven to make pretty cakes! The LG NeoChef is an all-in-one microwave oven, with Smart Inverter technology for even oven heat that is really important for chiffon cakes not to deflate. I also love the minimalist, glossy tampered glass front that is so pretty I can’t help peer into my oven while it is baking. Another feature I really like is its Anti-Bacterial EasyClean coating which makes cleaning the microwave interior simple and straightforward. Those who bake know that cleaning the oven can be quite a hassle! 

Hope you will like my humble #OneNationTogether ‘Singapore Flag’ Raspberry Jello-Milk Chiffon Cake creation!

‘Singapore flag’ Raspberry Jello-Milk Chiffon Cake (7-inch tube pan + 6-inch sheet cake)
1 whole egg
33g castor sugar
65g vegetable/corn oil
80g milk

3g vanilla extract
100g Prima cake flour
Pinch of salt
26 g sifted raspberry jello (for ½ cake batter) + ¼ tsp baking powder

7 egg whites
70g castor sugar
¼ tsp cream of tartar

1. Preheat oven to 160°C. *Optional: I used steam baking, i.e. I placed a pan of water under the lowest rack before preheating – to control oven temperature, prevent cracks and for moister texture.

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

3. Add in oil and mix well. Then add in milk and whisk till well-combined.

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

5. Divide the batter into two (approx 28 tsp or 9 tbsp). To one portion, add 26 g sifted jello powder and ¼ tsp baking powder. Whisk well till well-combined and uniform. Leave the remaining batter untouched for the creamy white batter.

6. 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.

7. Divide the meringue into two (approximately 56 tbsp). Gently fold in meringue gently into respective red and creamy white egg yolk batter 1/3 at a time.

8. Gently scoop the red batter into an ungreased 7-inch chiffon tube pan, till 40-45%, level the batter and then spoon the creamy white batter over gently, till the tube pan is 80-85% full. Gently tap on counter top to remove air bubbles.

9. Bake at 160°C for 15 min, 140°C for 31+ min, or until skewer inserted into centre of cake comes out clean. **If you use steam baking, you may need to bake for a few more minutes.

10. Invert pan to cool on a wire rack completely.

11. Unmould the chiffon cake by hand (see video tutorial ‘Hand unmoulding Chiffon cakes for a clean finishing’). 

Sheet cake

You may pour the excess red and creamy white batter side-by-side onto a 6-inch baking pan.

Bake at 160°C for 15 min, and then flip onto a new piece of baking paper and cover with another piece to cool completely.

I cut the ‘moon’ for the flag by making two cuts 1-cm apart on the white sheet cake. For the stars, I used a 1-cm star plunger.

The interlocking arms were cut using knife. 

Decoration

To decorate, melt some marshmallows by sprinkling some water onto a few marshmallows in a heat-proof bowl, and then popping in into the microwave for 30 s. This makes the ‘glue’ to stick the cake cut-outs.

Hope you will enjoy this yummy treat for National day!

Made with lots of love,
Susanne

FYI there is the LG Red Fair promotion till 15 Aug, which includes the NeoChef convection oven too - free glass lock container (worth $80) with each purchase :)

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3D Patterned, Surprise Flowers Raspberry Jelly Chiffon Cake

(25/4/17) New class open on June 3rd. Surprise and 3D patterned Flowers Raspberry Jelly Chiffon Cake from Deco Chiffon Cakes. Registration link here.

****

New Creative Chiffon Hands-on class in April: 

Come and learn how to make 3D Flower patterns in chiffon cake with Surprise Flowers in every slice! Using a soft, moist and yummy Raspberry jelly chiffon cake base.

22nd Apr, Sat, 12-5pm.

Registration link (happy to work with Bakerz@work!): https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSciAYXAQRP43L5davgtTcSfVzkQ1846k55z5cB4lmA65iLdMg/viewform

You may also check out their Bakerz@work facebook page.

This 3D Patterned, Surprise Flowers Raspberry Jelly Chiffon Cake is also one of the most popular cakes from Deco Chiffon Cakes which people attempt. It may be perfect for Mother’s day or just as gifts for your loved ones.

Those who prefer hearts, a simpler hidden hearts with patterned hearts is in Creative baking: Chiffon Cakes.

With lots of love,

Susanne

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Snorlax and Pokeball Chiffon Cakes

Pokemon go again! =p I've previously made 3D Snorlax and 3D Pokeball Chiffon Cakes. After chatting with some friends, I realized most were afraid to try the 3D versions. Hence, when I got request to make Snorlax and Pokeball again this week, I decided to try simpler cute 2D versions that may be more popular.

For Snorlax, similar to my 3D version, I used blue pea flowers for the blue, here I further added 1/2 tsp pandan paste to make it teal colour, but you can choose to omit it. Recipe for blue pea flowers chiffon cake is here. Replace pandan batter with vanilla batter by omitting the pandan paste so that you get cream batter. Spoon the cream batter in the U shape before adding the blue batter. Spoon the cream batter upwards as you continue to add blue batter. I did not need to prebake the cream batter here.

For the Pokeball, I used the same recipe as Singapore flag-raspberry jello Chiffon cake (with strawberry jello instead). Instead of spooning upwards, I spoon the red batter on the right and the cream batter on the left.

For the facial features and details, I used chiffon sheet cakes (charcoal and leftover red/cream batter), but you can also pipe on with melted chocolate.

There are more picture tutorials on how to spoon batter to make various patterns in Deco Chiffon Cakes, as well as tips for Deco Chiffon. The focus of the second book is more on patterns, while first book is more Rainbow in nature. Hope you will find it useful!

With lots of love,
Susanne

Kinokuniya book event this Sat, 4pm!

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Pikachu and Pokeball Chiffon Cake (Raspberry jello, milk and lemon)

Happy birthday to my dearest mummy, who's always been there for me!

I made this 6-inch big Pokeball and Pikachu (from Pokemon go) using natural coloring from soft chiffon cake for her!

She loves the Raspberry jello-milk chiffon cake that I used for my National day chiffon cake, so the Pokeball uses the same recipe. I baked a reduced egg yolk milk chiffon recipe on one side of a ball cake pan, and raspberry jello chiffon cake, topper with a 1-cm layer of charcoal chiffon batter on the other side. I used a few drops of natural red coloring from PME to darken the shade. I cut out the pokeball circles in front from leftover batter baked as sheet cakes.

For the Pikachu, I baked a lemon chiffon cake, using yellow extract from gardenia yellow for the colours, in 2 bowls (for the face and body), 4 cake pops (for limbs), swissrolls (for ears) and sheet cake (for tail). The tip of the ears were from charcoal chiffon cake swissrolls.

Made with lots of love!
Susanne

 Newest labour of love! 

Coming to you in mid-Sept!

*Thankful for this Pikachu Chiffon Cake to be featured in Today online (Sept 2016)!

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‘Singapore Flag’ Raspberry Jello-Milk Chiffon Cake & Cupcake

Sharing an easy and yummy way to transform our humble chiffon cake into a Singapore flag! Hope you will enjoy this yummy treat for National day! This is a creation for my dear friend’s National day ROM-family photoshoot and also to cheer up her ailing grandpa.

I used Raspberry Jello to impart yummy flavour and red colour to the chiffon cake and a special reduced egg yolk recipe to obtain whiter cake naturally without needing to add extra icing colorings for the chiffon cake. Thanks Michelle for first introducing the idea of jello/jelly powder into cakes!

Tada! My humble 'Singapore flag' chiffon cake that's really yummy! 

The recipe is actually a 5 egg yolk, 7 egg whites recipe, but I substituted 5 egg yolks with 1 whole egg to get a whiter base cake. I used a 6-inch tube pan but had a lot of excess for sheet cake and cupcake, so I would suggest you use a 7-inch tube pan instead, with some excess for sheet cake and perhaps a cupcake. The sheet cake was used to cut out the moon and stars to decorate the flag, as well as the heart with a '51' which is the symbol for this year's National day.

Adding on the heart with 51!

This is the symbol I was referring to :p

Another finding I had was that if I passed the jello powder through a sieve before mixing into the egg yolk mixture, I had more uniform pinkish red batter without any red specks, hence the nice uniform colour.


‘Singapore flag’ Raspberry Jello-Milk Chiffon Cake (7-inch tube pan + sheet cake or cupcake)
1 whole egg
33g castor sugar
65g vegetable/corn oil
80g milk
100g Prima cake flour
Pinch of salt
26 g sifted raspberry jello (for ½ cake batter) + ¼ tsp baking powder
7 egg whites
70g castor sugar
¼ tsp cream of tartar

1. Preheat oven to 160°C. *Optional: I used steam baking, i.e. I placed a pan of water under the lowest rack before preheating – to control oven temperature, prevent cracks and for moister texture.

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

3. Add in oil and mix well. Then add in milk and whisk till well-combined.

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

5. Divide the batter into two (approx 28 tsp or 9 tbsp). To one portion, add 26 g sifted jello powder and ¼ tsp baking powder. Whisk well till well-combined and uniform. Leave the remaining batter untouched for the creamy white batter.

6. 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.

7. Divide the meringue into two (approximately 56 tbsp). Gently fold in meringue gently into respective red and creamy white egg yolk batter 1/3 at a time.

8. Gently scoop the red batter into an ungreased 7-inch chiffon tube pan, till 40-45%, level the batter and then spoon the creamy white batter over gently, till the tube pan is 80-85% full. Gently tap on counter top to remove air bubbles.

9. Bake at 160°C for 15 min, 140°C for 31+ min, or until skewer inserted into centre of cake comes out clean. **If you use steam baking, you may need to bake for a few more minutes.

10. Invert pan to cool on a wire rack completely.

11. Unmould the chiffon cake by hand (see video tutorial ‘Hand unmoulding Chiffon cakes for a clean finishing’).


Sheet cake and Cupcake
You may pour the excess red and creamy white batter side-by-side onto a 6-inch baking pan.
Bake at 160°C for 15 min, and then flip onto a new piece of baking paper and cover with another piece to cool completely.
Cut out heart shape using a heart cutter and then slice off the edges to make jagged edges (to make the jagged heart like this year's symbol).
Use number cutters to cut out ‘51’.
Or you can also spoon the remaining red and white batter side-by-side into a glass bowl to make the National day flag cupcake.

Decoration
To decorate, melt some marshmallows by sprinkling some water onto a few marshmallows in a heat-proof bowl, and then popping in into the microwave for 30 s. This makes the ‘glue’ to stick the cake cut-outs.
Cut a ‘moon’ by making two cuts 1-cm apart on the white sheet cake.
Use a 1-cm star plunger to cut out small stars.
Use melted marshmallow to stick them onto the side of the chiffon cake in the pattern for the flag.

Hope you will enjoy this yummy treat for National day!

Made with lots of love,
Susanne


Creative Chiffon Cookbooks with Marshall Cavendish:
Creative Baking: Chiffon Cakes

and Deco Chiffon Cakes (photoshoots)
With a special expanded 6-page troubleshooting guide, basic recipe and new, simple 3D patterns. Preorders may open around mid-August!

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'Tinkerbell Pot' Raspberry Jelly Chiffon Cake

Ahh.. this Raspberry jelly chiffon flavour is, according to my mum and friend (who tried a few other flavours), the best of the lot! I was pleasantly surprised/amazed at what they said (I have a savoury tooth so I still prefer salted egg yolk =p)!

I made this 'Tinkerbell pot' Raspberry jelly chiffon cake for a dear friend few months back. Sorry for the delayed posting as I've been really busy with family and book! Thanks to Michelle Marie Mower for first introducing the brilliant idea of using Jello. This is actually my 2nd trial after some optimization which I tweaked according to me (and my family's) preference.

I used about half the jelly powder, so that the jelly candy taste is not overpowering but still strong and fragrant, and for lighter sweeter pink shade/colour, and so that the chiffon was not too sweet for our liking. I also used higher liquid: flour ratio (for more moisture and lighter texture) and higher meringue: yolk ratio (for lighter, melt-in-the-mouth-like texture). The resulting egg yolk mixture was also not so thick so it was easy to fold and incorporate into the egg whites. And of course lastly, temperature control to prevent browning for deco-chiffon cakes. The reviews were really good! So I hope you will like this resulting Raspberry jelly chiffon cake!

My friend loved Tinkerbell, and provided a cute little baby Tinkerbell topper, so I designed the chiffon cake into an Enchanted forest pot for her. I used my 8-inch doll cake tin for this. I had previously shared these cake tins are great for chiffons as they have a centre tube too! I cut the flowers and leaves from layer chiffon cake, and shaped vines from swissrolls. I also used cake pop moulds for the top of the flower and magic mushroom. The recipe below is a 5 egg yolk recipe for the 8-inch doll tin, but you can also use the recipe for a normal 8-inch or 9-inch chiffon tube pan.


Raspberry Jelly Chiffon Cake (doll cake tin or 8- to 9- inch chiffon tube pan)

Egg yolk batter
5 egg yolks
67g vegetable/corn oil
78g milk
108g prima cake flour
44g raspberry jello powder
½ tsp baking powder
pinch of salt

Meringue
7 egg whites
75g castor sugar
¼ tsp cream of tartar


1. Whisk egg yolks with raspberry jello powder, oil and milk with an electric mixer at low speed (I find electric mixer helps to dissolve/incorporate the jelly powder easier).

2. Whisk in sifted cake flour, baking powder and salt, and mix till well-combined.

3. 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.

4. Fold in meringue gently into egg yolk batter 1/3 at a time. *Fold in unidirectional, gentle strokes and do not overfold.

5. Gently pour or scoop the batter into an ungreased 8- to 9-inch chiffon tube pan. Gently tap on counter top to remove air bubbles.

4. Bake at 160°C for 15 min, 150°C for 10 min, 140°C for 20 min, then 130°C for 10-15 min, or until skewer inserted into centre of cake comes out clean.

5. Invert pan to cool on a wire rack completely.

6. Unmould the chiffon cake by hand (see video tutorial ‘Hand unmoulding Chiffon cakes for a clean finishing’).

Just so happens my cake is shaped like a dumpling lol.. happy duan wu jie everyone!!

With lots of love,

Susanne

Ps: You may be interested in 2 recipes I contributed to Mummyfique, it's been an honour chatting with them!

And Creative chiffon book 1:

And book 2, Deco chiffon cakes in the making!

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