Unconvinced

I have never had a pumpkin related baked item before. Be it a cake, a tart or cookie. Hang on, I may have had a bun with pumpkin and sweet potato filling. Not that I have anything against pumpkin, just that for us asians we normally eat pumpkin either in a soup or steamed. Our version of a pumpkin cake would be in a savoury form, steamed and filled with ingredients such as meat and mushrooms. My mom makes a mean pumpkin cake.

A couple of months ago, I bought a can of pumpkin, thinking of making either a pie or a cake after seeing so many pumpkin related recipes on Tastespottin and Food Gawker. I notice that these pumpkin baked goods mostly contain lots of spices, most of which I am not really interested in. I could roughly imagine how they would taste. Therefore, when I tasted my cupcake, I wasn’t quite surprised. Perhaps that is where the disappointment came in. Because tasting the actual thing did not change my mind about not liking spiced pumpkin cake. Don’t get me wrong, they didn’t taste very bad. Just that I don’t like this type of taste. At least I tried. I won’t be including the recipe this time. After all, there are loads on Tastepotting and Food Gawker.  Meanwhile, I will go ask mom for her steamed pumpkin cake recipe.

Awww…. The sky is crying..

And so am I. My mood has not quite lifted this week. Some stuff happened and I am a little afraid that I might be slipping back to depression. I am a person with a lot of issues. Ever since a toxic relationship several years back, I am not quite the same. Or should I say, never quite gotten back to normal. Then again, what is the definition of normal? My shrink told me I had bipolar disorder. I think I am just mad. Every day I just act out a role as a normal person, living and breathing normally. Once in a while, when I get tired of this front I am putting on, I slip back. With stress at work getting into me, as well as some other issues popping up, I am losing grip. There are probably 101 things through my head now. I can picture that little hamster on a wheel running at backbreaking speed inside.  A little part of me is hoping that I will get better soon. A larger part just can’t be bothered. I wish I can hide under my blanket and lie there forever. Pretending I don’t exist.

On a lighter note, I got this cute image on Pon and Zi. They have the cutest (and sometimes saddest) stuff! So do check it out. This is another sponge cake recipe that I found off the net. I promised mom that I will get it right this time after the kueh bahulu. Thank god I stayed true to my promise. I was flipping some asian cook books at Kinokuniya and took note of some tips in making sponge cake so I decided to try again. I got some sponge cake stabiliser from Sun Lik which worked like a dream. I guess this must be the reason why the cakes turned out really fluffy and light. I am not sure what it is though. For those peeps staying in the States or Europe, not too sure if you have something like this. Maybe you can try Chinatown? Or try replacing it with baking powder or baking soda. Let me know the results ya.

Unlike western style cakes that require eggs to be separately beaten and folding in of egg whites, asian style sponge cakes beat whole eggs. Another tip is to warm those eggs in some hot (not boiling) water for several minutes. If using a hand mixer, you can also beat the mixture over some simmering water. This will help to improve the sponge cake’s texture. This is a very classic asian spongecake recipe. I reckon you make different varieties such as chopping in some lemon zest, half a vanilla bean or some cocoa powder…. Let your imagination run wild. Gonna be clearing out my pantry and fridge abit so next up will be some pumpkin/cream cheese/chocolate baked goods. Stay tuned.

Asian style cupcakes

6 eggs

150g cake flour

125g sugar

55ml milk (or water)

20g sponge cake stabilizer

120g margarine or butter, melted

 

1. Preheat the oven to 180C (365F). Line your muffin trays with paper liners. Warm the eggs in hot water for 10 to 15 minutes.

 

2. Sift the cake flour into the mixing bowl. Add sugar. Whisk the dry ingredients until they are evenly combined.

 

3. Add milk, stabilizer and eggs. With the whisk attachment on your stand mixer, mix the ingredients at high speed for about 5 to 7 minutes until the batter turns to ribbon stage. The batter will be a pale yellow. To ascertain whether the batter is ready, lift your whisk attachment and observe the batter following back into the bowl. The batter should be stiff enough to sit for a few seconds before sinking back. Now, add in the melted margarine / butter and give it a quick stir until just combined.

 

4. Fill the muffin liners ¾ full. Bake on centre rack in the oven for 18 – 25 minutes, or until it is lightly browned and the toothpick comes out clean. Makes 6 jumbo muffin size cakes and 12 regular cupcake sizes cakes.

Happy Birthday Mom!

For mom’s birthday this year, she requested for me to bake her an orange chiffon cake as she isn’t one for cakes with lots of cream or mousse. She is a pure cake person. Meaning she likes a cake with no frills. No glaze, no topping, nothing. Since it is her birthday, I will give her exactly what she wants. 

I wouldn’t say that I am particularly close to my mom. Although she used to bring me out shopping every weekend when I was young. We have our fair share of arguments over everything from boyfriends to my (extremely lousy) exam results. I guess that is pretty normal for every mother daughter relationship out there. Not particularly vocal with our feelings, we try to love each other in our own way. So here is to mom, happy birthday. xxx HL~

Orange Chiffon Cake

(Adapated from Joy of Baking)

6 large eggs, separated

2 1/4 cups (225 grams) sifted cake flour

1 cup + 3 tbsp (300 grams) castor sugar

1 tbsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

100 ml vegetable oil or safflower oil

200ml freshly squeezed orange juice 

2 tbsp orange zest

2 tsp pure orange extract

3/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

1. Separate the eggs and place the whites in one bowl and the yolks in another.  Cover with plastic wrap and bring them to room temperature. (It is easier to separate cold eggs)  

2. Preheat the oven to 170C (325F) and have ready a 10 inch (25 cm) two piece tube pan (ungreased). Place a baking mat into the oven.

3. In the bowl of your electric mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, place the flour, sugar (minus 3 tablespoons (42 grams)), baking powder, and salt.  Beat until combined.  Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and add the egg yolks, oil, orange juice, orange zest, and orange extract.  Beat about one minute or until smooth. 

4. In a separate bowl, with the whisk attachment, beat the egg whites until foamy.  Add the cream of tartar and continue to beat until soft peaks form.  Gradually beat in the remaining 3 tablespoons (42 grams) of sugar and beat until stiff peaks form.  With a large rubber spatula or wire whisk, gently fold the egg whites into the batter just until blended (being careful not to deflate the batter). 

5. Pour the batter into the ungreased tube pan and bake (on the baking mat) for about 55 to 60 minutes, or until a wooden skewer inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.  (When lightly pressed the cake will spring back).  Immediately upon removing the cake from the oven invert the pan and place on a bottle or flat surface so it is suspended over the counter.  Let the cake cool completely before removing from pan (about 1 1/2 – 2 hours).