Chiffon Cake Iced Gems

Iced gems, the stuff of our childhood! I actually made these Chiffon Cake Iced Gems a couple of months back requested by a friend. It was such a unique request it took me a while to figure out how to make the shape. Can you guess how I made the icing on top?

The recipe, with a yummy Peanut butter base is in Creative baking: Deco Chiffon Cakes launching in Sept! Hope you will enjoy the yummy creation!

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Piano Keyboard Macarons (template provided)

My cousin requested for music themed macarons for her mum who is a piano teacher. My aunt used to teach me piano when I was young. Ideas such as a quaver note or a grand piano macaron were considered. But I think nothing is as cool as a piano keyboard with a macaron as each key! Thank God for the inspiration that came out of nowhere!

You may not realise these are macarons at first glance!

You may refer to this post for video tutorials or my Creative Baking: Macarons book for the techniques for piping simple angular shapes.

Template for one octave worth of keys on an A4 sheet. Arrows indicate how you should pipe. The thickness of the arrows indicate how much pressure you should apply on the piping bag. The thicker the line, the more pressure you should apply.

Please acknowledge the source here if you use the template as I have taken time to make it.

As quite a lot of batter movement with a toothpick is involved in creating sharp corners, I chose to use the regular macaron shell recipe instead of the reduced sugar version as I find the traditional recipe more amenable to manipulation without being "overfolded".

I actually made these piano keys along with some woodland creature, Charlie Brown and Snoopy macarons (will post in the future!) but I will write down the full recipe here which would be enough for a few octaves of keys :p.

Macaron shell recipe
Ingredients:
Mass
100g almond superfine meal/powder
100g icing sugar
40g egg whites
1/4 tsp Dutch processed cocoa powder*
1/3 tsp charcoal powder*
Black gel food colouring
1/2 tsp white powder food colouring*
White gel food colouring*
A pinch of salt (optional)

Italian meringue
100g caster sugar
37g water
40g egg whites
1/8 tsp cream of tartar (optional)

* use whatever powder or gel form of food colouring you have to obtain the desired colour. You may omit white colouring if you prefer.

Steps:
1. Prepare baking tray with template on it and baking sheet over it. Use Italian meringue to stick the baking sheet down when you have made it. Please cut the portion of black keys out and place on another baking tray as black and white keys have different baking times.

2. Make the mass. Sift almond, salt and icing sugar together in a large mixing bowl. Add egg whites and mix well to form a thick paste.

3. Divide mass into ratio of 1:4 for black:white. Add sifted powder food colouring (if using) and/or gel food colouring to the masses. Mix well.

4. Prepare Italian meringue. Heat caster sugar and water in a small saucepan until 115°C. While the syrup is heated up, beat egg whites with cream of tartar (if using) until soft peaks form at medium low speed. Reduce mixer speed if syrup temperature is not reached. Once syrup is ready, turn mixer speed to medium high. Carefully pour syrup into egg whites in a thin stream avoiding the beaters. Continue beating at high speed for another 10 minutes until stiff, glossy and cool. Divide the meringue into 1:4 for black :white.

5. Fold meringue into mass. Please refer to my video tutorials for the macaron basics on how to fold and test batter consistency. For these keys, underfold slightly as the batter will continue to be "folded" as you nudge it with a toothpick. Fold meringue into mass in two additions until batter falls off spatula in a slightly discontinuous manner.

6. Transfer batter into piping bags fitted with #8 Wilton tip (about 4mm diameter).

7. Pipe the black keys as "narrow rectangles". Using the same principle, pipe the white keys by tracing the outline of the keys and using a toothpick to nudge the batter into the corners. Bang the tray on the table after piping to release trapped air bubbles and flatten any peaks.

Notes on piping: follow the arrows indicated on the template and the pressure you should apply on your piping bag. In order to get straight lines, try to keep the pressure constant as you trace the lines and keep the piping tip at a constant distance away from the baking tray. I know this may not be easy for those of you not used to piping. I can't get the lines perfectly straight either. You may use the toothpick to nudge any obvious "bumps" and mistakes in tracing.

8. Dry the shells in aircon room and/or under a fan for 1-2h or until you are able to run a finger across without it sticking to your finger. The black keys dry faster as they are smaller.

9.  Preheat oven to 135°C, set rack to lowest position. Bake black keys for 10 min, rotate tray and bake for another 3 min. Bake white keys for 10 min, rotate tray and bake for another 7-8 min at 130°C. Bake until feet no longer appears wet. Note that baking time may vary as each oven is different. Cool completely before removing from baking sheet.

Freshly baked!

I filled the black shells with dark chocolate ganache and the white shells with Earl grey white chocolate ganache.

I made a customized cakeboard out of cardboard, black craft paper and cling wrap to fit the keys nicely into a box.

My aunt loved the fact that the macarons are less sweet than commercially sold ones! This is so even though I used my regular shell recipe without sugar reduction. Choosing the right filling is the key to making macarons less cloyingly sweet.

With lots of love,
Phay Shing

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Pompompurin Mango Yoghurt Chiffon Cakes

I made this Pompompurin Mango Yoghurt Chiffon Cakes a while ago for a Pompompurin lover friend! Do they look like there are talking to each other? =) I heard there's a new Pompompurin cafe open in SG too. Hope these cute cakes brighten up your day! I am a lover of yoghurt chiffon cake and this mango yoghurt is so fragrant and delicious!

No special Pompompurin moulds are needed! I baked them in a 15-cm Wilton ball cake pan and a 11-cm Iwaki glass bowl. The recipe below can also be used for a 17-cm chiffon tube pan, if you prefer to simply enjoy delicious and yummy mango yoghurt chiffon cake!

Mango Yoghurt 'Pom Pom Purin' Chiffon Cakes (makes one 15-cm ball pan and one 11-cm bowl; or one 17-cm tube pan)
Egg yolk batter
3 egg yolks
20g caster sugar
40g vegetable/corn oil
80g mango yoghurt
1 tsp lemon juice
80g prima cake flour

Meringue
4 egg whites
55g caster sugar

1/4 tsp cream of tartar

1. Preheat oven to 160°C. Prepare a one 15-cm ball cake pan, one 11-cm glass bowl and one 15-cm baking pan lined with baking paper.

3. Prepare egg yolk batter:

a. Whisk egg yolk with sugar until pale, light and well-mixed.
b. Add in oil, mango yoghurt and lemon juice and mix well.
c. Whisk in sifted cake flour. Mix well and ensure no lumps are formed.

4. Prepare meringue.

a. In a grease-free, dry bowl, using electric mixer, whisk egg whites with cream of tartar till frothy (left).
b. Add in ½ castor sugar for meringue and whisk at high speed till soft peaks form - peaks slope downwards forming a hook (middle).
c. Add in rest of the castor sugar for meringue and whisk till firm peaks form - peaks point up but slightly hooked at the tip (right).

5. Transfer 1/3 meringue into egg yolk batter and fold in anti-clockwise direction till well-incorporated. Then gently fold in the rest of the meringue into egg yolk batter in another 2 additions.

6. Pour the batter into the ball cake pan and glass bowl, leaving 1.5+ cm from the brim. Gently tap on counter top to remove air bubbles.

7. Bake the ball pan at 160°C for 15 min then 140°C for 25 min, or until skewer inserted into centre of the cakes come out clean. Bake the glass bowl at 160°C for 15 min then 140°C for 15-20 min similarly.

8. Pour the remaining batter into the prepared 15-cm baking pan. Bake at 160°C for 15 min, or until skewer comes clean.

9. Invert pan and bowls on a wire rack with good circulation to cool completely. Flip the sheet cake onto a new piece of baking papaer and cover with another baking paper to cool completely.

10. Unmould the cakes by hand by peeling off the chiffon cakes gently from the pan surface, and then inverting the cakes to release cake like in tube pans.


Vanilla-chocolate chiffon sheet cake (for decor)
Egg yolk batter
1 egg yolk
7g castor sugar
13g vegetable/corn oil
14g water
½ tsp vanilla extract
½ tsp chocolate cream paste
Pinch of charcoal powder
20g prima cake flour

Meringue
1.5 egg white
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
15g castor sugar

1. Preheat oven to 160°C. Line one 20-cm baking pan lined with baking paper.

2. Prepare egg yolk batter: Whisk egg yolks with sugar like pale colour. Add oil, water, vanilla extract and chocolate paste and mix well. Whisk in sifted flour and mix well.

3. Prepare meringue: Whisk egg whites with cream of tartar till frothy. Add in castor sugar in 2 additions, whisking the meringue at high speed till firm peaks form.

4. Gently fold meringue into egg yolk batter in 3 additions.

5. Pour the batter onto the prepared pan. Gently tap on counter top to remove air bubbles.

6. Bake at 160°C for 15 min, or until skewer comes clean.

7. Flip the sheet cake onto a new piece of baking papaer and cover with another baking paper to cool completely.


Assembly
1. Place mango yoghurt sheet cake onto cutting mat. Cut out pompompurin ears using oval cutters.
2. Place chocolate sheet cake onto cutting mat. Cut out hats using circle cutters.
3. Cut out their eyes and facial features using bento face cutters.


My humble video tutorial is here, posted on TODAY's fb page. Very very thankful for my Creative chiffon to be featured in TODAY newspaper (10/9/2016 issue).

For the demo, I made only the 15-cm (6-inch) Pom pom purin chiffon cake and in vanilla flavour (as I ran out of yoghurt). For vanilla, some yellow coloring needs to be added and I used Queen's natural yellow coloring (pic below). So the alternative 15-cm vanilla recipe is below:

Vanilla 'Pom pom purin' Chiffon Cake (makes one 15-cm ball cake pan)
Egg yolk batter
3 egg yolks
20g caster sugar
40g vegetable/corn oil
42g water
1 tsp vanilla extract
60g prima cake flour
Pinch of charcoal powder
½ tsp chocolate cream paste

Meringue
4 egg whites
45g caster sugar

1/4 tsp cream of tartar

1. Preheat oven to 160°C. Prepare a one 15-cm ball cake pan, one 15-cm baking pan lined with baking paper and one 18-cm baking pan lined with baking paper.

3. Prepare egg yolk batter:

a. Whisk egg yolk with sugar until pale, light and well-mixed.
b. Add in oil, water, vanilla extract and mix well.
c. Whisk in sifted cake flour. Mix well and ensure no lumps are formed.

4. Transfer 10 tsp batter into another bowl and add pinch of charcoal powder and 1/2 tsp of chocolate cream paste.

5. Prepare meringue.

a. In a grease-free, dry 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 - peaks slope downwards forming a hook.
c. Add in rest of the castor sugar for meringue and whisk till firm peaks form - peaks point up but slightly hooked at the tip.

6. Transfer out 20 tbsp meringue for the brown batter. Gently fold the rest of the meringue into the vanilla batter in 3 additions in the same direction. Do likewise for the brown batter.

7. Pour the vanilla batter into the ball cake pan, leaving 1.5+ cm from the brim. Gently tap on counter top to remove air bubbles.

8. Bake the ball pan at 160°C for 15 min then 140°C for 25 min, or until skewer inserted into centre of the cakes come out clean.

9. Pour the remaining batter into the prepared 15-cm baking pan. Bake at 160°C for 15 min, or until skewer comes clean.

10. Pour the brown batter into the prepared 18-cm baking pan. Bake at 160°C for 15 min, or until skewer comes clean.

10. Invert ball pan on a wire rack with good circulation to cool completely. Flip the sheet cakes onto a new piece of baking papaer and cover with another baking paper to cool completely.

11. Unmould the cakes by hand by peeling off the chiffon cake gently from the pan surface, and then inverting the cakes to release cake like in tube pans.

Assembly: Same as above

Thankful it was well-received! 

With lots of love,

Susanne

Read more on Creative chiffon feature in TODAY newspaper (10/9/2016 issue) (I didn't manage to get a print copy). Thankful to God for providing so much on this journey!

New cookbook Deco Chiffon Cakes launching in bookstores around 23rd Sept!

With 3D patterns, cute animals and new trending flavours like salted egg lava chiffon cake!

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'Kenji the Fluffy Dog' Macarons with Vanilla Swiss Meringue Buttercream

My cousin sent me a photo of another cousin's pet dog with the same "breed" of doggie cushion in the background and asked if I could make macarons that look like that cushion. Answer is yes :). Here they are!

My cousin B wanted me to make these for his sister, C's birthday. Vanilla swiss meringue buttercream filling was requested. Matches the colour of the macaron shells too! I have met Kenji the white fluffy Samoyed on a few occasions and was always greeted with a good dose of white floof and an inquisitive lick. So I had quite a bit of fun making macarons of "someone" I know :).

You may refer to this post for video tutorials for macaron basics and this post for video tutorials on how to pipe complex shapes. If you are able to, do grab a copy of my Creative Baking: Macarons book as the techniques are presented in a more systematic way.

The basic recipe I use is the same for all macarons, with variation in flavouring and colouring ingredients. I did not make a big batch of these as I was baking other macarons at the same time but will still type out full recipe here. Feel free to use half or three-quarters of the recipe. You may also refer to my reduced sugar macaron shell recipe if you are interested. Briefly, here's the basic recipe.

Basic macaron shell recipe
Ingredients (makes about 40-50 macarons):
200g almond meal (preferably superfine)
200g icing sugar
200g caster sugar
160g egg whites, divide into two equal portions
75ml water
1/2 tsp white powder food colouring or several drops of white gel food colouring. (Optional)

Steps:
1. Prepare mass. Sift almond, icing sugar and white powder together. Add half of egg whites (80g) and mix well with spatula.

2. Prepare Italian meringue. Beat remaining egg whites in a clean metal bowl on medium low speed until soft peaks while boiling caster sugar and water until 115°C without stirring. Increase mixer speed to high and carefully pour syrup into egg whites. Beat for another 10 minutes or until cool and stiff glossy peaks form. Reserve 3-4 tablespoons of meringue and use some of it to stick the baking paper onto the baking tray.

3. Fold Italian meringue into mass in two additions until batter flows in a slow moving lava-like manner. Check the video on how to fold and check consistency.

4. Transfer to piping bag fitted with a 6-7mm diameter round tip and pipe the heads onto baking tray with dog head template under baking sheet. Use smaller tip with 3-4mm diameter to pipe the ears and use a toothpick to pull the batter to make the ears more pointy. Bang the tray hard a few times to release trapped air.

5. Rest the shells until dry to touch (about 1-2 hours). Bake in preheated oven at 130°C on lowest rack for 17-22 minutes or until feet no longer wet, rotating tray halfway. Cool completely before removing shells from baking tray.

Just to share some pictures of the process..

Piping the dog head

I find it helpful to make a template for marking the positions of the facial features. Use cheap clear plastic files for making the template. I use the same plastic for making cookie templates too.

Marking out the facial features with edible marker and ice with charcoal coloured royal icing.

See the macaron template head figure at the top right corner? I used Microsoft Word to trace the outline of the Samoyed head cushion, copy and paste many times to make the macaron template. Here are the shells that are fully decorated!

Let the icing dry completely. In the meantime, make the vanilla swiss meringue buttercream.

Reduced Sugar Vanilla Swiss Meringue Buttercream
Ingredients:
2 egg whites (74g)
52g caster sugar
1/16tsp salt
134g unsalted butter, cool but softened, cut into tablespoon sized cubes
1 tbs vanilla bean paste
2 tsp lemon juice (added to counter the sweetness)

Steps:
1. Place egg whites, sugar and salt in a heatproof mixing bowl. Heat about 1" worth of water in a deep saucepan whereby the mixing bowl is able to sit comfortably over without the base touching the water. Use a hand whisk to whisk the egg whites and sugar over simmering water until all sugar is dissolved and the foamy egg whites are 71.1°C.

2. Remove from heat immediately and use an electric mixer to beat on high speed until cool, firm and glossy. About 10 minutes.

3. Reduce mixer speed and add butter one cube at a time and continue beating. Don't worry if it starts to curdle. Just keep beating and gradually adding butter and it will all come together in the end.

4. Beat on high speed again for a couple of minutes until pale and fluffy (like Kenji haha). Add vanilla and lemon juice and beat until well incorporated.

I use the good stuff!

5. Transfer to piping bag and pipe the cream onto the bottom shells. Sandwich the top shells and refrigerate in airtight container for at least 24h before serving. You may freeze unused buttercream in freezer bags.

Filling the shells!

All packed! 

I couldn't resist putting these photos of Kenji with Kenji macarons here that my cousin sent me. Too cute!!

I was a little apprehensive that the macarons might be too sweet but thank God the sweetness level was just nice according to my cousin!

With love,
Phay Shing

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Rainbow Swirls, Rainbow Paddle pop and Rainbow Tiedye Chiffon Cake

Just sharing some of the experiments I had tried with Rainbow Chiffon over the months, Rainbow Swirls, Rainbow Tiedye and Rainbow Paddlepop Chiffon Cake. Which do you like? =) I was really thankful my friends trusted me enough to let me experiment with their cakes =p.

I had a good laugh with the Rainbow Swirls (top left), as it was so straight! I was hoping to get something more 'fancy', but I'm so used to making straight lines, the result was quite funny. I made the Rainbow swirls by first making a Rainbow Chiffon Cake (now in Creative baking: Chiffon Cakes), then using chopsticks to run from inner tube across and then up at 3 sides, then from outer tube, down and inwards at 3 sides (alternating).

The Rainbow paddle pop (below) is easy. Just randomly plonk the Rainbow batter in spots. I used an oval mould here to make 'Paddle pop' ice cream chiffon pops. But I have also made a big chiffon cake Paddle pop version for another friend (not yet posted). Here I used the paddle pop ice cream chiffon pops as toppers for the Rainbow swirls chiffon cake. I filled the tube hole with a Rainbow marshmallow surprise and then covered it with the Paddle pop ice cream.

Tada! Rainbow Swirls Chiffon with Rainbow Paddlepop Chiffon Pops!

The Rainbow tiedye (on the right) was targeted at swirls at the base of the tin. First I piped concentric Rainbow colored circles as per Chiffon cake Rainbows, then dragged a chopstick from inner tube outwards at 3 sides, and outside in at 3 sides (alternating). I was happier with this one =). The sides I just did a Paddlepop Rainbow design as I was too tired by then =p. This was for a mummy and was pretty enough on it's own without a topper.

Thankful all the Rainbow Chiffon Cake variants were well-received! Hope you all had a wonderful Mother's day!

With lots of love,
Susanne

The Rainbow Chiffon Cake is now the cover of Creative baking: Chiffon Cakes. And the Chiffon Cake Rainbows (bottom right) are in the book too!

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Lychee Rose and Yuzu Chiffon Cake Longevity Peaches

I have a request for chiffon longevity peaches in two different sizes and flavours for a 66-year old lady!

I have shared how these peaches are made here and here so I will mainly share the cake recipe in this post. Please refer to the older posts for shaping and assembly instructions. I baked the green and red layer cakes separately from the peaches.

I use Daiso big heart silicone moulds for the big peach and Tovolo silicone mould for the smaller peaches. As the Tovolo ones were much thicker walled, I stacked the Daiso one with another big heart mould to provide more insulation as I bake both big and small hearts together.

Yuzu reduced yolk chiffon peaches (makes about eight 5cm hearts and one 10cm heart. Adapted from Susanne's post)
Ingredients:
1 egg yolk
7g caster sugar
32g canola/vegetable oil
40g yuzu tea*
1/4 tsp orange essence (optional)
44g cake flour
A pinch of salt
A few drops of white gel food colouring

3 egg whites
32g caster sugar
1/5 tsp cream of tartar

*Dissolve 3tbs yuzu marmalade in 108ml of hot water. I know this is way more than what is used but I chose to work with this amount because of what I do next. Blend the yuzu tea to break down the big citrus peel into smaller bits. This releases more flavour into the tea. Let the blended tea sit in the fridge overnight to let the citrus peel goodness seep into the tea. Strain the tea before use. Most bakers would just dissolve the marmalade and strain out the peel straight away but I prefer to work this way so it's optional to follow :). If you are not blending the tea, dissolve 1.5tbs of marmalade in 54ml of hot water and sieve out the peel straightaway.

Blended yuzu tea

Steps:

1. Preheat oven to 160°C. Place rack at second lowest position. Put a tray of water at base of oven (optional).

2. Prepare egg yolk batter. Whisk sugar and egg yolk until pale and thick. Add oil and whisk until well combined. Add yuzu tea and essence (if using) and mix well. Gradually add in flour and salt and whisk until no trace of flour is seen. Add a few drops of white gel food colouring if you wish to have a whiter peach base. Mix well.

3. Prepare meringue. In a clean metal bowl, use electric mixer to beat egg whites with cream of tartar until firm peaks form or about to reach stiff peak, gradually adding in sugar once the egg whites are foamy.

4. Fold the meringue into the egg yolk batter in three batch's quickly but gently with a spatula. Spoon the batter into the heart moulds until almost full. Gently tap the moulds on the table.

5. Turn the temperature to 150°C once the moulds are in the oven. Bake for 5 minutes before reducing temperature to 135°C and bake for 30 minutes. Check for doneness. If skewer doesn't come out clean, reduce temperature to 125°C and bake for another 10 minutes or so. Cool completely before gently unmoulding by hand. 

**please use baking temperature and time as a guide as each oven is different. If you are using a different mould the baking temperature and time would be different too.

Lychee rose reduced yolk chiffon peaches (makes about eight 5cm hearts and one 10cm heart)
Ingredients:
1 egg yolk
7g caster sugar
32g vegetable oil
38g lychee puree (blend canned lychee and sieve to remove woody bits)
1/4 tsp lychee flavouring (optional)
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp rose water
44g cake flour
A pinch of salt
White gel food colouring

3 egg whites
1/5 tsp cream of tartar
30g caster sugar

Steps:
Same as yuzu chiffon peaches.

Here are some freshly baked and shaped peaches...

Don't fret if your peach is a little browned on the outside. It is safer to bake longer than to have the cake collapse. Simply use a small serrated knife dipped in water to carefully shave off the browned bits.

After assembly, remember to brush the lychee peaches with some of the canned lychee syrup and the yuzu peaches with some yuzu tea to keep the cakes moist and impart more flavour.

All packed!

With love,
Phay Shing

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Cheery Bear and Panda Macarons (Mother's Day Special, reduced-sugar shells and filling!)

When I was approached to bake something for Mother's Day for the mums in my church, I was hesitant at first but thought that it would be possible with God's help and the help of others where logistics are concerned. So here is my first mass bake of 750 cheery bear macarons!

Some pandas sneaked in too!

The pandas were unplanned but since I had excess black batter from another bake, I thought why not make use of it! I must confess that the original design was simple pink heart shaped macarons. But after doing one round of baking, I realised it isn't as easy as it seems to make them all pretty. ALL 750 of them! As hearts are symmetrical shapes, any loss of symmetry would make the end product look odd. I needed to pace myself and pipe hundreds of them beautifully, which I realised after the third or fourth tray, that it isn't going to happen without a silicone mat with raised heart shaped imprints. And so I decided to ditch the idea and stuck with the all-too-familiar cheery bears. They can be piped out of shape and still appear cute. That's why you see two heart macarons in the picture.

I am aware that nowadays people are health conscious and prefer less sugar in their diet so I have taken pains to reduce sugar in both macaron shells and filling for this Mother's Day bake even though feedback for my macarons have consistently been "yummy and not too sweet". You may revert to the traditional recipe for the shells if you are a macaron purist or don't want the hassle of having to buy more flours to store at home. For the traditional shell version you may use the following and scale accordingly to the number of macarons you intend to make. This recipe has always worked for me and has been used by many bakers.

Mass
200g superfine almond meal/powder
200g icing sugar
80g egg whites
A pinch of salt (optional)
Any powder or gel food colouring

Italian meringue
200g caster sugar
75ml water
80g egg whites
1/4 tsp cream of tartar (optional)

Follow the steps below for macaron shells. The reduced sugar and non-reduced sugar version of the filling is also highlighted in the section for filling.

Please refer to my video tutorials for macaron basics, how to pipe fancy shapes and my Creative Baking: Macarons book for more technical details, troubleshooting guide, template and step by step instructions for making these bear macarons. You may refer to this post for some notes on reduced-sugar macaron shell recipe. Feel free to half the recipe as I was making a huge batch.

Reduced-sugar macaron shell recipe
Ingredients (makes about 100-110 macarons, 200-220 shells):
Mass
300g superfine almond powder
280g icing sugar
5g (2 tsp) cornflour
15g (2 tbs) rice flour
1/8 tsp fine sea salt
1 tsp white powder food colouring (optional)
117g egg whites

Italian meringue
280g caster sugar
112g egg whites
104g water
1/4 tsp cream of tartar (optional)

Steps:
1. Prepare baking tray with template and baking sheet. Make the mass. Sift together all dry ingredients into a large mixing bowl. Add egg whites and mix well to form a thick paste.

2. Prepare Italian meringue. Place caster sugar and water in a saucepan and heat it up until syrup reaches 115°C (measure with candy thermometer). In the mean time, beat egg whites with cream of tartar (optional) at medium-low speed until soft peaks are formed. Reduce mixer speed if necessary if syrup temperature has not reached 115°C. Once syrup is ready, increase mixer speed to medium-high and carefully pour the syrup into egg whites in a thin stream, avoiding the beaters. Keep beating for another 10-15 minutes (depending on the volume you are working with) until meringue is stiff, glossy and cool (50°C or less. I bring mine down to about 37°C).

Took this photo of Italian meringue for fun!

3. Fold the meringue into the mass in two or three batches. The first batch is added to lighten up the batter so there's no risk of overfolding. Fold until batter flows in a lava-like manner.

4. Transfer batter into piping bag fitted with 6-7mm tip for base shells and 3mm tip for fine details. Pipe the body on baking tray first and dry for 15-30 minutes until a sticky membrane is formed. Note that actual drying time is not as important as the formation of the sticky membrane. Pipe on the fine features when membrane is formed. Pipe and bang tray on table to release trapped air. If you piped the fine features on too early, the pop-up features will not be clear.

5. Dry the shells in aircon room or under a fan until dry to touch (1-3h depending on humidity. Note that rice flour replacement of icing sugar tends to extend drying time. Cornflour helps the shells to dry faster but may cause the shells to be chewier). Bake at 130°C for 18 minutes and 120°C for another 7 minutes at bottom rack, rotating tray halfway. Cool completely before removing from baking tray. If the feet appear wet, bake for another few minutes. Use the temperature and time as a guide as each oven is different.

Decorate the bears with black edible marker and peach coloured lustre dust.

Both photos are taken by hubby!

Stick on ready-made sugar flowers with some royal icing.

Looking cute! It helps that they look so cheerful when I have to make so many of them!

Here's a tray of them! All so eager to give the flowers!

Whipped tea flavoured white chocolate ganache

I used a ratio of 3:1 for white chocolate : butter + cream, with butter : cream = 1:3. You may play around with the ratio if you want a softer ganache. I am catering for Singapore's hot climate and I find this ratio works for a white chocolate based ganache that is firm enough to withstand storage out of the fridge for 2-3 days at aircon room temperatures. Perfect for gifts. If you are serving the macarons at an indoor party with refrigeration handy, you may use a higher ratio of cream.

Ingredients (fills about 120 macarons):
330g white chocolate, chopped (or white chocolate chips)
30g vegetable shortening*
30g unsalted butter
90g heavy cream
3-4 tbs Matcha or Earl Grey tea powder, sifted
1 tsp vanilla bean paste
1/2 tsp fine sea salt

* you may replace with white chocolate for non-reduced sugar version or pure cocoa butter. I replaced white chocolate with shortening to make it less sweet overall while remaining firm enough to withstand Singapore's hot weather. Pure cocoa butter is expensive and I find it hard to work with although that would be the ideal substitute.

Steps:
1. Place the first 3 ingredients (or just white chocolate and butter if you are not substituting with vegetable shortening) in a microwave-safe bowl and heat at medium power for 20 seconds. Stir and mix well. Repeat until mixture is fully melted and well mixed.

2. Place cream in a small saucepan and heat over low heat until it starts to bubble. Pour into melted white chocolate mixture. Stir in one direction with a spatula or electric mixer on low speed until well combined. If you have difficulty incorporating the two with a spatula, switch to electric mixer.

3. Gradually add in sifted tea powder and mix well. Note that the portions I prescribed here are pretty strong so the filling may taste a little bitter on its own but paired with the macaron shells, it's just nice.

4. Add vanilla and salt and mix well.

5. Chill in fridge for 5-10 minutes. Whip the mixture for 1-2 minutes with electric mixer on low speed. Return to fridge for another 5 minutes. Whip the mixture again at medium-low speed until smooth, creamy and glossy. About 1-2 minutes.

Earl grey white chocolate ganache! Yums!

Matcha white chocolate ganache! Yums too!

6. Transfer filling into piping bags and pipe onto bottom shells. Sandwich with top shells. Refrigerate in airtight container until ready to serve. At least 24h. Let it sit at room temperature for at least 15 minutes before consuming. If you are giving away the macarons as gifts, do make sure that they are consumed within 3 days if not stored in fridge as the filling contains dairy products. If stored in fridge, you may keep up to two weeks.

Filling and packing hundreds of macarons was a first for me too. I had to find creative ways of stacking them up and storing in airtight conditions with limited resources. I used aluminium foil to place between layers of macarons in rigid cupcake cases so that they stack easily without risk of crushing. Jumbo ziplock bags serve as handy airtight "containers" too. Thankfully I have help for packing them individually so I only needed to pack these in larger batches to be sent off.

We are ready to go!

To all mothers, Happy Mother's Day! Continue to press on in loving the children God has blessed you with! I would also like to thank my hubby and kids for being understanding during this unprecedented baking marathon, and the ladies who have kindly helped to transport, pack and store the macarons in fridges until they are ready to be given away.

Update: thank God that the macarons were very well received! Even people who don't have a sweet tooth don't find it too sweet! Quite a feat for a confectionary item that has a reputation of being too sweet!

With lots of love,
Phay Shing

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“Rainbow in my Heart” Yuzu Chiffon Cake Pops

This is a post dedicated to my mum (and all the wonderful mummies out there). I never understood a mother’s love until I myself became a mum to 3 kids. I don’t think I would be here today without my mum’s love and support. This “Rainbow in my Heart” Yuzu Chiffon Cake Pops is inspired by my mum. The flavor is Yuzu which is our favorite flavor.

I am also very honored to have the privilege to work with Prima to test out their cake flour and other new flours, and to contribute recipes to their website. This is the first recipe I will be contributing and it is for Mother’s day. Hope you will enjoy making this "Rainbow in my Heart" Chiffon Pop for your mummy and loved ones!

“Rainbow in my Heart” Yuzu Chiffon Cake Pops
Makes 6 cake pops (6-cm)

Egg yolk batter
2 egg yolks
11g castor sugar
27g vegetable/corn oil
32g yuzu or honey citron tea (2.3 tbsp yuzu marmalade in 36g hot water, filtered to remove bits)
40g Prima cake flour, sifted
A pinch of salt
Pnk, yellow, blue, green, gel food colouring (tiny toothpick dip)

Meringue
3 egg whites
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
30g castor sugar

1. Make yuzu tea by stirring in 2.3 tbsp of yuzu marmalade in 36g hot water. Allow to dissolve thoroughly. Filter the tea to remove the bits (bits may distort the layers). Measure out 32g for the following step. Yuzu marmalade is also known as Honey citron tea.

2. Preheat oven to 160°C. Prepare a silicone hearts mould (each 6-cm wide).

3. Prepare egg yolk batter:

a. Whisk egg yolk with sugar until pale, light and well-mixed.

b. Add in oil, then yuzu tea, mixing well at each stage.

c. Whisk in sifted cake flour and a pinch of salt. Mix well and ensure no lumps are formed.

4. Spoon out 1 tsp egg yolk batter into 4 bowls each. Add a dip of respective gel food coloring (pink, yellow, blue and green) into each bowl and mix well.

5. Prepare meringue.

a. In a grease-free, dry bowl, using electric mixer, whisk egg whites with cream of tartar till frothy (left).

b. Add in ½ castor sugar for meringue and whisk at high speed till soft peaks form - peaks slope downwards forming a hook (middle).

c. Add in rest of the castor sugar for meringue and whisk till firm peaks form - peaks point up but slightly hooked at the tip (right).

5. Spoon out 2 tbsp meringue into each of the 4 bowls and gently fold in (fold in unidirectional, gentle strokes). Fold in the rest of the meringue into the plain batter 1/3 at a time.

6. Transfer the colored batter into 4 piping bags and cut a 2-mm hole at the tip.

7. Pipe rainbow lines with each colour across the base of the mould.

8. Gently fill the surrounding with plain batter (with a small teaspoon or piping bag).

9. Cover with more plain batter till 2-cm thick.

10. Bake the mould at 160°C for 10 min then 140°C for 10-15 min, or until skewer inserted into centre of the cakes come out clean.

12. Leave to cool completely on wire rack.

13. Unmould when cool by gently pulling cakes from the sides of the silicone mould and then pushing the pops out.

14. Mount onto cake pops sticks or straws.

Here’s a video that really touched me, just thought to share with you too.. Have you said it to your mum too? Or how about making something to say it? =)

Happy Mother's day in advance!!

With lots of love,

Susanne

Here are some sneak peeks of the photoshoots from "All Creatures Great and Small" from the next book, Creative baking: Deco Chiffon Cakes that I'm currently busy with. Hope you will like these cute animals!

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