Mistaken identity

I only watched half an episode of spongebob squarepants before (still don’t quite understand why a piece of sponge is living under the sea). Somehow, I had the impression that Patrick Star is a sweet potato (with hands and legs) Perhaps because it was rotund and pink. I convinced Elvis that Patrick Star was indeed a sweet potato and she embarrassed herself when her colleagues corrected her and said it was actually a starfish………. Damn, I was close.

Anyhoos, today’s chiffon cake flavour is sweet potato. I didn’t manage to get the malaysian sweet potato which is orange in color and have a sweeter flavour. Had to settle for these indonesian ones. Also I used a mixture of brown sugar and white sugar for a richer taste. The coconut milk adds abit asian feel to this cake and it goes really well with the sweet potato too.

Sweet Potato Chiffon Cake
6 egg yolk
7 egg whites
Medium size sweet potato
200g cake flour, sifted
1 cup packed brown sugar & 4 tbsp white caster sugar
1 tbsp baking powder
100 ml vegetable oil or safflower oil
¾ cup coconut milk
20ml water 
3/4 tsp cream of tartar

1. Steam the sweet potato until soft. Peel away the skin and roughly mash it up. Preheat the oven to 175C (350F), with the rack in the center. Have a 10 inch (25 cm) two piece tube pan (ungreased) ready.

2. In the bowl of your electric mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, whisk the flour, brown sugar and baking powder.  Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and add the egg yolks, sweet potato and liquid ingredients. Beat about two minutes or until smooth.

3. Pour the batter into a large bowl. In a separate mixing bowl, with the mixer on 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 4 tablespoons of sugar and beat until stiff peaks form.  With a large rubber spatula, stir 1/3 of the egg whites into the batter. Fold in the remaining egg whites (half portion at a time) into the batter (being careful not to deflate the batter). 

4. Pour the batter into the ungreased tube pan and bake for about 60 – 65 minutes, or until a wooden skewer inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.  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). Serves 6 – 8.

Ode to Jumper

My darling hamster Jumper passed away  yesterday at a ripe old age of 2 yrs and 11 months. In hamster years, that would be equivalent to about 90 yrs. She is a real fighter. She outlived the rest of my hamster brood who were much younger than her. When we went on holiday in July, we were so worried that she wouldn’t survive till we come back. She proved us wrong. She was there to welcome me when I came back from Shanghai too. In fact, she saw my brother before she passed away peacefully. For the past few months, we have fed her soft foods as she could no longer munch on seeds. I stroke her every now and then, tickling her tummy as she snooze. I like to believe that she had a happy life at our house. God bless ya in hamster heaven.

This cake is similar to a chiffon cake except there is no oil added and flour is added last. It is called a french style cake though I am not quite sure what is so french about it. Stack two cakes together and slather some buttercream on it for deceptively impressive double layer birthday cake. Cut a slice and eat it with ice cream or fruit confit. Drizzle some honey on top and have it as a simple after meal dessert. The choice is yours.

French style cake
(Adapted from 100 cake recipes by Teacher Meng)

6 eggs, separated
90g + 45g sugar
1½ tsp vanilla extract
90g cake flour
60g corn flour
¼ tsp cream of tartar
 
1. Preheat oven to 180C with the rack in the center. Lightly grease 2 8-inch round pans and line with parchment paper. Mix both flours together.

2. With the stand mixer on whisk attachment, beat the egg yolks, vanilla extract and 90g sugar until it is thick and creamy. The batter will be pale yellow. Leave the batter aside.3. In a clean bowl, beat the egg whites until foamy. Add in cream of tartar and continue to beat until soft peaks form. Add in the remaining 45g of sugar, beating the egg whites until firm peaks are formed. 
4. Mix ¼ of the egg whites into the egg yolk batter. Fold in the remaining half of the egg white and sift in all the flours. Fold in the rest of the egg white quickly to prevent the batter from deflating.5. Pour the batter evenly into the cake pans, smoothing the tops. Bake for about 40 minutes, or until the cakes turn a golden brown. Cool on the rack for 5 minutes before removing cake from the pan. Serves 10.

Chiffon everything!

I think that today’s post probably won’t be of much use to many of the readers out there. Reason being, the main ingredient used is durian. This fruit is not easily available in the west and probably quite expensive (if available). Named the King of Fruit, this spiky delicacy is something you either love or hate. The durians available this season are very good, sweet and rich in flavour. We have an overload of durians in our house the past few days so I decided to use some in a cake. Frankly, there is only this much durian you can eat before you fall sick. I put in a bit of thought as to the proportions of flour and liquid to use since this fruit is has a very strong and distinctive character of its own. I also used more egg white this time round so as to ensure that the cake remains light and airy. Sugar amount can be adjusted according to the sweetness of the durians. One word of warning, the smell of durians will permeate your whole house after baking. Hopefully, your neighbours are fine with that

Durian Chiffon Cake

6 egg yolk
8 egg whites
225g durian flesh, mashed
215g cake flour, sifted
2/3 cup & 3 tbsp caster sugar
1 tbsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla extract
80 ml vegetable oil or safflower oil
80ml milk
50ml water 
3/4 tsp cream of tartar

1. Mix together durian and the liquid ingredients. Preheat the oven to 175C (350F), with the rack in the center. Have a 10 inch (25 cm) two piece tube pan (ungreased) ready.

2. In the bowl of your electric mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, whisk the flour, sugar (minus 3 tablespoons), baking powder, and salt.  Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and add the egg yolks, vanilla and the durian mixture. Beat about one minute or until smooth. Make sure there are no lumps of flour left unmixed.

3. Pour the batter into a large bowl. In a separate mixing bowl, with the mixer on 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 4 tablespoons of sugar and beat until stiff peaks form.  With a large rubber spatula,  stir in 1/3 of the egg whites to lighten the batten. Fold in the remaining egg whites (half portion at a time) into the batter (being careful not to deflate the batter). 

4. Pour the batter into the ungreased tube pan and bake for about 60 – 65 minutes, or until a wooden skewer inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.  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). Serves 6 – 8.