Strawberry Cheese Cake

Mothers Day Cakes

Butterfly fairy cakes

butterfly fairy cake. Chocolate cake iced in buttercream
The doll's dress and shoes are in icing too.

Mariposa Doll Cake

birthday girl in fairy attire, slicing her cake

New Year Cake

New Year cake - Chiffon cake iced in buttercream.   Embroidery scrolls, balls, vines, flowers, mistle toe, candy cane made with buttercream.  All decorations are edible except for the christmas ball at the center of the cake. Cake border is dar-to-faded colors of red, green and yellow.

Mothers Day Special

Mothers’ Day Special

I’ve been wanting to make these cakes long time back, but it was just a project in my mind waiting for an occasion. Mothers’ Day seems to be perfect for this project. 

Originally the project was mini cakes covered in fondant, but I personally don’t like the taste of fondant icing, however they really look neat and majestic.  I’m more considering of the consumption of the icing rather than seeing the icing on the side of the plate uneaten. That would break my heart to see that.  Of all the effort you’ve spent making the cake beautiful, they are not eaten in most cases.  This is why I prefer tasty icing on my cakes and try to make them look beautiful as I can. But for this project, I have put myself up to the test of making my own fondant flowers. This took so much of the time making individual flowers but it was worth the effort when I saw them on the cake!  I searched high and low on how-to videos how to do them, some are really great instructional videos in YouTube.  Thanks for that.  I really plan to make my own how-to videos one of these days as some of what I’m doing I’ve learned from other crafts in other medium like soap moulding and most of the time playing with play-dough with my daughter.

The idea of small baskets is inspired by the theme, mothers day.. I just think a bouquet of flowers is just wonderful for every woman, hence I made these little basket filled with fondant flowers of carnation of different shades, roses, drop flowers and calla lilly.

The cake is made of madeira cake, as it last long without the need of chilling, iced in butter cream.  The handles are in fondant.

Where do these cakes ended up? Nope I didn’t eat all of them.  I gathered some mommy friends around, had tea at home and gave each one edible bouquet of flowers in a basket.  We had one of the cakes to go with the tea, I kept the pink rose basket for my daughter and gave them the rest.  I can't be happy enough for this project.

Tiramisu

TIRAMISU

make the swiss roll and leave it in the oven
until it cools down to room temp. Do not roll it up

Tiramisu is a famous Italian dessert made of layers of coffee soaked savoiardi biscuit (popularly known as Lady Fingers)or sponge cake and eggs mixed in whipped cream with mascarpone cheese. 

Warning:  This Contains Alcohol.  Not suitable for minors! however, alcohol can be omitted if desired.

Hundreds of tiramisu recipe are around the internet to choose from, but I personally prefer the one that doesn’t contain raw eggs.  As part of the tiramisu evolution, hence this is my home made version.

Making this tiramisu is a result of a frustration from what I bought from a cake shop, which I thought tastes heavenly as it looks.  Actually I bought it for Hubby hoping it would make him feel better as he wasn’t in good shape that day, but was so disappointed with that heavenly looking tiramisu.  That challenged me to make tiramisu on the weekend. There’s nothing better than making something the way you like it.

SWISS ROLL, which is never rolled. Cut into the same
width of the pan.

line the pan with aluminum foil for easy removal of the cake

I’ve searched a lot of tiramisu recipe but most of them have raw eggs, which I wasn’t keen to eat raw eggs on the cake.  I have got a good recipe from a friend with egg too but cooked, so I was supposed to give it a go but couldn’t find mascarpone.  Anyhow, I have found an easy recipe in epicurean.com but the portion is in goblets; which is not the kind of serving I have in mind.  I like that perfectly rectangle or square slice which you can see layers of goodness in it, topped with dark cocoa powder.  That is exactly the picture of tiramisu I have in mind.  The one I was addicted to in Rennaissance Hotel – Mumbai.  They serve a real slice of heaven for me.

Most of the home made tiramisu are placed in a dish. Though it tastes good, it lacks the element of presentation when you serve a slice.  It just gets disintegrated specially for left-over.  You don’t see the beauty of it unless you have that slice on your plate which is somehow deformed by the time you like to take a bite. My point is, even if things are home-made, you can make it look as appetizing as the commercial ones. And why not? “The Eyes eat first” according to a friend.

Spoon over coffee mixture onto the cake
(this is the middle layer, the layers at the bottom
are cake,cream and cake again, cream will be the
last layer

So, it takes a little cake engineering  (winks J) to achieve that precise layers of cream,coffee,cocoa and cake, I’ve got to make my own cake that would work well with the flavors.  I think swiss roll recipe would go with it because it’s dry, spongy and tastes close to lady fingers which is the authentic ingredient for tiramisu. This time, I didn’t roll it.  I kept it flat and let it stayed a little bit longer in the oven until it cooled down to room temp.  The best thing is, it is so quick and easy to make and I am sure it is at least half the cost of that pack of lady fingers. 3 minutes of mixing and 10 minutes of baking, that’s what it takes.

Sprinkle cocoa powder on top of the cream layer

The proportion of the ingredients of this tiramisu is just by luck, I crossed my fingers at the beginning if it will work or not on actual; because it works in my imagination only.  And luckily it did, that’s why I’m itching to post this for reference before it gets off my mind.  Which is the purpose of this kitchenjournal.

Note, I added cognac because me and hubby loves it, and I didn’t had the time to look for a coffee liquor.  Therefore, this tiramisu contains alcohol.  You may skip this ingredient if you intend to serve to kids. (I just told my 3 daughter that it is spicy and its only for mommy and daddy.  She is not keen on cocoa powder, its bitter for her).

After Chilling for atleast 4 hours,Remove tiramisu
 from the pan and ready to be sliced

For sure I will be visiting this post every now and then because this will be my basic proportion as it has proven its deliciousness.  Honestly, this tiramisu vs. cheese cake is a close call to us couple. It’s tough to judge which one is faved. I voted TIRAMISU, my other-half is still undecided but indeed he admits that the two cakes are rivals as to our taste.

The recipe:
Yields two 4x4x8 loaf pans

Swiss Roll

3 eggs

1/2 cup caster sugar

1 cup plain flour

1 tsp. baking powder

Preheat oven to 180 degrees C. Line a baking tray with baking paper. Whisk the eggs until pale and soft peak forms, continue beating while adding the sugar teaspoon by teaspoon.sift together flour and baking powder and fold-in into the egg mixture using a wooden spoon.  Pour the cake mixture into the prepared tin and then smooth the surface, being careful not to press out any air. Bake in the center of the oven for 12-15 minutes.  To test if cooked,lightly press the center of and if it springs back, it is done.  Turn off the oven and leave it there until the oven cools down.  You must have a crispy crust and pungent spongy texture in the middle.

cover the sides of the remaining tiramisu with plastic
before storing it in the fridge. This will keep the cream
from absorbing odor and bacteria in the fridge.

400 g cream cheese

400 g. whipping cream

1 cup icing sugar (sifted)

cognac (optional)

cocoa powder

1 cup espresso coffee

Make the swiss roll, but don’t roll it up, just let it cool down in the oven until at room temperature.  Cut it according to the size of your dish or pan, in the picture, I’m using 2 loaf pans; so I cut 4 rectangles.

Whip the whipping cream until soft peak, add icing sugar slowly whilst continue beating until stiff.  Do not over-whip the cream; it will turn into lumpy butter! Place the whipped cream in the fridge while preparing the other ingredients.

Beat cream cheese with an electric mixer until soft and creamy; add in cognac (optional) until well blended. Fold-in the cream cheese to the whipped cream until well combined.

To assemble:

Place a foil on the pan contouring the shape of the pan and overlay at least half of the opening of the pan. Place 1 slice of  the cake at the bottom, spoon over coffee mixture evenly on to the cake. (if the coffee is still hot, let it cool down before adding the cream). Add cream mixture and evenly push it gently with the back of a spoon to make a layer of cream. Sift cocoa on top of it. Add another layer of cake soaked in coffee, add another layer of cream and lastly dust the top with cocoa powder. Cover the cake with the foil and Chill for at least 4 hours before serving.  Keep the tiramisu chilled.

Enjoy a slice of tiramisu with a cuppa coffee.

To serve:

Trace the sides with a spatula to separate the cake from the foil. Remove the tiramisu cake by lifting the foil and transfer it on to a cake board. Gently remove the foil. Cut in slices and serve.  When the cake is not consumed in one setting, cover the sides with plastic. This will prevent the cream from absorbing the odors and bacteria from the fridge.

I think a cuppa coffee is a must.

Note, thanks to that cake shop who sells nice looking tiramisu, I made one myself the way I like it.

Doll Cakes and Butterfly Fairy Cakes

A cake marathon

 

My daughter just celebrated her 3^rd Birthday and she’s so thrilled to have doll cakes on her special day.  Since I love making doll cakes,  I intend to make her 3 on her third birthday.  I searched high and low for new designs to make.  I have seen how to make a butterfly cake from  HOWDINI. (video here) and gave it a go. 

Add caption

The first inspiration was Leila’s birthday dress, which I tried to imitate the design but couldn’t really get the right color.  Somehow, its similar to that dress.

Second inspiration was butterfly cakes, like that of Barbie Mariposa as it’s her chosen theme.  So butterfly fairies tickled me.  They turned out good and its something new for me to do as well.  The pleasure of making them was such an adventure.

In total, her birthday cakes were 2 doll cakes, 2 butterfly fairy cakes, 60 cupcakes. 1 Doll cake and 30 cupcakes for school. For home party there were 2 butterfly fairy cakes, 1 doll cake and 30 cupcakes. 

1 dollcake for the school and 30 cupcakes

All were made in two days despite the normal day-to-day activities. I can tell that I have improved my speed!  Sigh!

It was fun to do especially the cupcakes with different flowery designs.  The most detailed one is the embroidery on the doll cake for school.

Cupcakes for take-away.  Guest choose any of the designs
and packed in a plastic box at the lower left photo

The chocolate cake is just perfect for a doll cake as it is stable and firm. I’d like to thank my friends, Gwen & JC and Fritzielou for their generosity in sharing my new favorite chocolate cake.  I just love the moisture at the center and soft texture.

Here is the original recipe, but I prefer to reduce the sugar because I like it slightly bitter than sweet. Instead of 4 cups, I put 3 and it was fine for me.

Cookie Monster

3 1/2 c. flour

4 c. sugar

1 1/2 c. cocoa

3 tsp. baking soda

3 tsp. baking powder

2 tsp. salt

4 eggs

2 c. milk

1 c. oil

4 tsp. vanilla

2 c. boiled water

1. Pre-heat oven 350 F
2. Combine all dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl
3. add remaining ingredients except boiling water, beat at med speed for 2 min.
4. remove from mixer and stir in boiling water
5. pour in baking pan
6. bake at 350 F for 30-35 min.  For cupcakes, 15 minutes per tray, at the middle shelf.

Birthday Girl Doll Cake - A cake the resembles the celebrant's birthday dress.

I used the same recipe for the cupcakes as well. I personally love its texture. I love it with coffee.

For Buttercream, It is based on the recipe of SERIOUSCAKES but I don't like the taste of the shortening that I could find it here in KL. It has a weird odor and aftertaste, so i used buttercup luxury spread and butter.  It turned out good and the crusting as well works great in this proportion. I'm more concerned on the taste and texture.  I use usually use salted butter to cut the sweetness.

Buttercream: 

1 Cup Buttercup Luxury spread

1/2 Cup Salted Butter

4 cups icing sugar

4 Tablespoons corn syrup 


Beat the buttercup luxury spread, add butter and beat 1 minute more, slowly add the icing sugar whilst continue beating. Add the corn syrup. Note that Butter and Luxury spread should be at room temperature before starting. Should be soft but not melted.

Butterfly Fairy Cake

Butterfly Fairy Cake

Triple Chocolate Ricotta Cheesecake

Hubby and I love cheesecakes, seriously, who doesn’t? We are not having it very often considering our love handles are getting impossible to hide.  Yes, I’m talking about that flabs on the waistline.  This time, I’m blaming it on the magazine that he brought with an irresistible picture and a complicated recipe that is getting myself up to a challenge.  I love to challenge myself in my laboratory-that is my kitchen, using new ingredients that I haven’t used before and imagining its chemical reaction whether it will work or not… that gets my heart beats faster. Perhaps another way of working on my cardio instead of going to the gym. Grin :-),

Anyway, this recipe is taken from “Australian Gourmet Traveller” The latest edition of “Annual Cookbook, Our Favorite Recipes”.  I find the recipe complicated so I made it easier with some modifications and I was happy with the result. That prompted me to blog it otherwise, I’ll completely forget it after few months.

The original recipe is made with chocolate sable pastry as the base and served with hazelnuts in caramel, which I opted to skip.  For the base, I replaced it with Oreo biscuits because I was quite sure it will work, minimizing the time to do the pastry myself. Yes, I love shortcuts when it’s possible.

This is really easy to make, easier than the cheesecakes I’ve made before.  All I did was to bake the base and the rest of the mixture just sets in the fridge. The base, however, I realized there is no need to bake. I realized it too late.

A note to remember when making cheesecake: always start with ingredients at room temperature i.e. cheese, eggs, etc.

Here it goes…

Ingredients:

For the base:

Chocolate Oreo biscuits (without filling)

50 g. butter

For white chocolate ricotta filling:

250 g. white chocolate, finely chopped

500 g. spreadable ricotta cheese

For Dark Chocolate ricotta filling:

250 g. dark chocolate (at least 65% cocoa), finely chopped

500 g. ricotta

20 g. icing sugar

Top layer:

250 g. dark chocolate (at least 65% cocoa) finely chopped

150 pouring cream

2 egg yolks

30ml water

cocoa for dusting

note: original recipe requires 600 g. firm ricotta in each kind of filling, but I only found spreadable ricotta and in 250g/pack so I settled at 500g. each filling, it worked though.

Procedure:

1.     Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C. Grease 9 inch spring form pan.

2.     Make the base. Blitz the Oreo biscuits in a food processor until it becomes fine crumbs. Melt the butter and mix with the crumbs.  Press it onto the prepared pan and bake for 8-10 minutes. Remove from oven and let it cool at room temperature.

3.     Make the white chocolate ricotta filling: melt the white chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water 2-3 minutes until completely melted. Process ricotta cheese in the food processor until smooth, add chocolate, process to combine. Spoon over the prepared base. Refrigerate until firm (about 30 minutes)

4.     Make the dark chocolate ricotta filling: Melt the dark chocolate on a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water 2-3 minutes until completely melted. Process ricotta cheese and icing sugar in the food processor until smooth.  Add melted dark chocolate and process further to combine. Spoon over the white chocolate ricotta filling. Chill in the fridge to firm (about 30 minutes)

5.     Make the topping: Combine dark chocolate and cream in a heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water, stir occasionally until smooth (2-3 minutes).  Whisk yolks and 30 ml water in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water until light and fluffy (2-3 minutes), fold in chocolate mixture and beat with an electric beater until thick and cooled to room temperature (6-8 minutes).  Spoon over the dark chocolate ricotta filling and refrigerate until set (2-3 hours). 

6.     Now take the challenge to remove it from pan.  Trace the sides and loosen the pan.  If you are not using a spring form pan, trace the sides and soak the bottom of the pan quickly hot water just to loosen the bottom, cover the cake with plastic and put a plate on top. Flip it quickly onto the plate (this time it’s the bottom up) use another plate and flip it again to have to right side up.  Remove the plastic. (The plastic is just to prevent the top later from sticking onto the plate when flipping over). Using a sift, dust cocoa over the cake.  Serve chilled.

I think it should this cake should be done the day before you need it or at least the night before so it stays in the fridge overnight.

I highly recommend it with coffee.  Just a small slice goes a long way.

Persian Vanilla Cupcake

Prep: 12 minutes cooking 20 mins

3 eggs

1 Cup butter, softened

1 Cup superfine sugar

½ Cup milk

1 ½ Cups Plain Flour

1 ½ teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 320 degrees F or 160 degrees C.  Line a 12 cupcake tray with cupcake papers.

In a bowl, cream butter and sugar, add eggs one at a time, beat until light and fluffy.

Add milk, flour and baking powder. Add vanilla and stir to combine.  Beat with an electric mixer for 2 minutes until light and creamy.

Pour mixture into prepared cupcake papers until 2/3 full.  Bake 18-20 minutes until risen and firm to touch.  Allow to cool for a few minutes and then transfer to a wire rack.  Allow to cool fully before Icing.

Buttercream topping:

½ cup butter

½ cup shortening

1 tsp. vanilla extract

4 cups icing sugar

3 Tablespoons milk

Beat butter and shortening together until light and fluffy.

Slowly add milk in a steady stream

Add vanilla

Stir in icing sugar, beat until well combined

Beat with an electric mixer for 2 minutes.

To get the consistency you like, you may add more milk (for thinner) and icing sugar (for thicker).

Tint butter cream with food coloring you like.


source: " cupcakes for all occasions "

Cupcakes with Butter Cream Flowers

 This is a new adventure for buttercream icing.  I never realized that butter cream is so much fun until I saw pictures and videos of cakes made by the lady in "Seriouscakes".  She is such a talent.  If you  like this post, you may like check the link to all videos of seriouscakes and the stuffs she is doing. 

Now for the cupcakes, I chose to make vanilla flavor and I copied the proportion of the ingredients from "cupcake collection" but i rephrase the method because this method works well for me rather than putting all the ingredients in the bowl altogether and mix. 

 Persian Vanilla Cupcakes

Prep: 12 minutes cooking 20 mins

3 eggs

1 Cup butter, softened

1 Cup superfine sugar

These cupcakes I've made for Janet

½ Cup milk

1 ½ Cups Plain Flour

1 ½ teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 320 degrees F or 160 degrees C.  Line a 12 cupcake tray with cupcake papers.

In a bowl, cream butter and sugar, add eggs one at a time, beat until light and fluffy.

Add milk, flour and baking powder. Add vanilla and stir to combine.  Beat with an electric mixer for 2 minutes until light and creamy.

Pour mixture into prepared cupcake papers until 2/3 full.  Bake 18-20 minutes until risen and firm to touch.  Allow to cool for a few minutes and then transfer to a wire rack.  Allow to cool fully before Icing.

Buttercream topping:

½ cup butter

½ cup shortening

1 tsp. vanilla extract

4 cups icing sugar

3 Tablespoons milk

Beat butter and shortening together until light and fluffy.

Slowly add milk in a steady stream

Add vanilla

Stir in icing sugar, beat until well combined

Beat with an electric mixer for 2 minutes.

To get the consistency you like, you may add more milk (for thinner) and icing sugar (for thicker).

Tint butter cream with food coloring you like.

Birthday Cake : Ben10 and Princess Doll cake

Schenker's and Samantha's Birthday


I haven’t made cakes lately until last week, I got a message from a friend Janet in Kuala Lumpur asking if I’m around to make the birthday cake for her son and daughter to be held in one occasion and she would like to have cupcakes as well. It was a huge celebration as they are celebrating with it their wedding anniversary as well as their parent’s. So there were 2 wedding anniversaries, 2 birthdays and other guests’ birthday. Her son likes Ben10 and her daughter likes Princess. Instead of making 2 cakes she planned to have combined motifs in one cake. This is how it turned out:

The base cake is Madeira Cake, which recipe I got from one of my books. I chose Madeira cake so that it has a solid base for the princess which would be towering above it. The princess cake itself is a plain madeira cake while the base is chocolate marbled madeira cake.


Madeira cake

Good for 12 inch round or 11inch square

Ingredients:

6 cups flour
4tsp. b.powder
2 1/4 Cups Margarine or butter
2 1/2 Cups sugar
10 eggs
4 T. lemon juice



Sift together the flour and baking powder.

Cream margarine/butter and sugar, add eggs one at a time.

Add flour mixture.

add lemon juice.

Beat until mixture is smooth and glossy.

Baking time, approx 2hours 15mins.




This cake is iced in fondant. I will have to make a separate post for fondant recipe that I used and how to dress up the doll. By the way, the doll is not edible. The cake part starts from the waist down.

Peach Cheese Cake

Peach Cheese Cake

It’s not me who’s craving this, it’s DH. He was quietly lying in the couch watching movie then he called my attention and said he likes to have some cheesecake and I said; that would be for tomorrow coz it’s a little bit late and I don’t have ingredients. Then he frowned and said, no, now, like tonight.. He looked like having pregnancy cravings!!! I didn’t complain coz he made a great barbecue for lunch without my assistance, so that makes it fair enough. It was 4pm and off I went to buy ingredients.
Had I mentioned in my previous post that my mind had been playing with different cheesecake flavors? Oh, yes I did, and yesterday, I came up with Peach. In relation to my previous post which is Mango Cheesecake, I used the same recipe except that I have some minor changes. Browse that recipe HERE.
I substituted mango to canned peaches and used a light cream cheese which is 80% less fat than normal cream cheese. Indeed it is lighter than normal, still creamy but not heavy on the stomach.

Mango Cheesecake

Mango Cheesecake

This mango cheesecake is so yummy that I can’t pass to post here in my long time sleeping food blog. The ingredients are so simple and it’s darn easy to make. I’’m going to make this recipe a standard and play with other flavors by substituting mango with other fruits. Compared to cheesecakes I’ve done before, this is lighter and less creamy but the right combination of acidity and creaminess makes a mild contrasting flavor, yet it still blends in your palate. I’ll make it simple here because I am following a Chinese cookbook that is quite complicated for first timers. I think the author assumes that the reader of his book had experience of making cheesecakes. If you follow the cookbook exactly, you’re likely to get lost in the middle and fail.

First of all, basic technique for cheese cakes is to use the ingredients at room temperature, as I am in Asia, my kitchen’s temperature would mean around 20 – 30 degrees C to avoid confusion on the term “room temperature”. It is important to make sure that the cream cheese, whipping cream, eggs and mango are at room temperature. The purpose of which is to have a fluffy, smooth and homogenous mixture as we are dealing with acid and cream which usually separates when mixed cold. I have failed my cheesecake before I knew it.
Ingredients:
Digestive biscuit (for cake base)
500 g. cream cheese
120 g. sugar
30 g. corn flour
1 Tbsp. Lemon juice
1 lemon zest, grated
150 g. mango, sliced
3 eggs
150 g. whipping cream
Mango slices (for topping)

Procedure:
1. Crumble the digestive and press it onto the bottom of a greased round 20-cm baking pan and refrigerate for 15 minutes. I recommend not use spring form pan to be sure that no water can get into the mixture during baking as it will be in a water bath.

2. Using an electric beater, beat cream cheese until light and smooth, add sugar and cornflour.

3. In a blender, blend lemon juice, lemon zest and mango until well blended.

4. Add the mango mixture to the cream mixture. Beat until well combined.

5. Add eggs one at a time while beating until smooth. Add whipping cream until well combined.

6. Pour the mixture onto prepared biscuit base. Cover and seal the top with foil.

7. Place the baking pan in a larger baking pan with hot water, assembling a water bath. Bake in a water bath at 160 degrees C. for 60-70 minutes.

8. Remove the cake from the oven and refrigerate. To remove the cake from the tin, trace the sides with a knife or spatula. Submerge the bottom of the pan in hot water for about 2 minutes. Prepare a plate lined with cling film and place it on top of the tin, flip at once, now transfer it to a cake tray by flipping over so that the case base is at the bottom.

9. Arrange mango slices on top of the cake. Chill and serve.

Handy tips: Do not open the oven every now and then to check. To tell when the cake is done, shake a little bit and if the mixture is not moving, meaning it has completely set. It’s done. Do not remove the cake right away from the oven, sudden change in temperature will cause it to crack on top, instead turn off the oven and leave it open for few minutes until it cools down.

Original source: Fantastic Cheesecakes by Alex Goh

Welcome Cake

Basket weaved designed cake for my friend's hubby who is coming home.

Birthday Cake

I guess this blog will get sweeter for the days to come. I'm really into cakes... I have mastered the cakes before but now that I have the time for decorations, I'm getting hooked in cake decorating.

here's another birthday cake last week's order

Doll Cakes

Here are samples of doll cakes I've made, inspired by my friend Joan who makes gorgeous cakes. I really enjoyed decorating this cake. In fact I have dressed the doll twice! It's a detailed work, it can not be rushed but when you order this ahead of time, I can make it for you too!

Chiffon Custard Cake

The other day, I remembered the chiffon cake recipe I once knew by heart way back when I was in High School. It has been a while I haven’t made it and somehow my taste buds are itching for it then I came to realize that it is not in my journal. My sister used to make chiffon custard but I haven’t made it myself. Usually I ice the cake with royal icing for birthdays and other occasions which I sell as my extra income; that was a decade ago when I was still a student. The chiffon cake I knew and my sister’s custard recipe should be fine I thought. I remember how she told me how to do it. Knowing the chiffon cake, I was confident that I wouldn’t go wrong and so happy it turned out good. I was more than glad to indulge myself for a few bites and shared some to our neighbor.

Ingredients: (good for 9 inch x 9 inch x1.5 inch square pan)

For caramel layer:

¼ cup sugar

For Custard Layer

1 cup evaporated milk
½ cup sugar
3 egg yolks
1 Tablespoon custard powder

For Chiffon cake layer:

Mixture 1: (yolk mixture)
2 egg yolks
½ cup sugar
¼ cup oil
½ cup milk
1½ cup self raising flour (sifted)
1 tsp. Vanilla essence

Mixture 2: (egg white mixture)
5 egg whites
½ cup caster sugar (sifted)
¼ tsp cream of tartar

Procedure:

1. Preheat oven to 200 degrees C (gas mark 5)

2. Prepare the caramel layer. With a low heat, caramelize the sugar in the 9 x 9 x 1.5 inch square baking pan until sugar turns dark brown and coats the bottom of the pan. Be careful; this happens so quickly. Tilt the pan from time to time to spread the caramel. Leave the caramel to cool and set.

3. Separate egg white from yolks taking care that the bowl for the egg white is completely clean, dry and free of dust. To save time in preparation, prepare 3 mixing bowls, 1 large bowl for egg white mixture, another for custard mixture and another for yolk mixture. When separating the egg white from yolks, place 3 yolks in one bowl (for custard mixture) and 2 yolks on the other (for cake mixture 1) Set aside the bowl of egg white far from other ingredients.

4. Prepare the custard mixture. In a mixing bowl, mix egg yolk, sugar, milk and custard powder. Mix altogether until all well combined. Set aside.

5. Prepare cake mixture 1(yolk mixture). In a separate mixing bowl, mix egg yolk and sugar, add oil, milk, sifted flour and vanilla essence. Mix well until well combined.

6. Prepare egg white mixture. Before start beating the egg white, make sure the sugar is ready at the side. Add cream of tartar to egg white mixture. Using electric mixer, beat eggs at speed 1, when the egg white is bubbly increase to speed 2 until it forms a very soft peak; increase to speed 3 at this stage, gradually add sugar while beating until the mixture forms a stiff peak. Do not over beat.

7. Using the same beaters, beat the cake mixture 1 to make sure it hasn’t set and all ingredients are well mixed.

8. Fold-in the cake mixture 1 to cake mixture 2 using a rubber spatula until well combined but still airy. Take care not to over mix.

9. Pour the prepared custard mixture into the prepared cake pan with caramel set at the bottom.

10. Carefully pour the cake mixture to the center of the cake pan over the custard mixture. Level the cake mixture by pushing it to the corners and sides of the pan.

The cake now has 3 layers; caramel at the bottom, custard in the middle and the cake mixture at the top.

11. Place the cake in the middle tray of the oven and pour boiling water in the tray until about half inch deep. The tray of water acts like a double boiler.

12. Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour at 200 degrees C. Test the cake pressing the cake lightly. If it springs back, its done, or insert a toothpick and if comes out clean, it is done. Take note not to open the oven when the before 45 minutes had passed, this will alter the rising of the cake.
13. Allow to cool down in a rack and trace the sides of the pan with a spatula or knife to separate the sides of the cake from the pan. Using a cake tray, turn to flip the cake over. The caramel layer becomes the top layer.