Ruben's 2nd Birthday

I was introduced to Debbie Brown website by Thata couple months ago and fall in love with her Dippy Dinosaurs cake. It’s perfect for Ruben’s second birthday since he fond of dinosaurs and Dippy seems quite easy to make. Finally bought her 50 easy party cake book on October 2007 for Rp 200.000, expensive but worth it.

I try Debbie’s Madeira butter cake with a little modification ( plus 1 egg and ½ cup milk), but I’m not satisfied with the result. It came out rather hard and dry. But it had a perfect halfball shape that make the fondant covering is quite easy. The problem arise at shaping Dino’s head, first attempt looks like pig and second attempt rather like alien. Finally third attempt a little bit looks like dinosaurs. I had to use cmc for its head to hold up.

Beside Dino cake I also prepare simple goodie bag for Ben’s friends and his classmates (there are only 3 children in the class!). I made transportation butter cookies and blocks cake for the goodie. Butter cookies already baked one week before birthday and iced with fondant. I used royal icing to stick fondant to cookies.

Block cake is chocolate lapis Surabaya. It takes more time than usual covering since each side of the blocks need to be covered and piled the borders. I was run out of time and only 3 blocks were finished…

Actually no celebration this year for Ben, we only invite 2 boys from next door (who are Ben’s best friends) to come over to our house. After some singing and photo session J I let them play with the Dino. They were amazed by the blue creature and can’t keep their hand picking the fondant and eating them!

Anniversary Cake

October 25, 2007, my 4th anniversary. No special celebration. So at weekend I decide to make a cake to practice my fondant covering, and also practice making fondant roses. I made 4 different color of roses to represent those 4 year of marriage I've been through. I used wilton color petal rose, pink & ivory.

Side angle, not bad... very simple style...

my roses still look odd...:p I think their petals are too thick...

a little accent of cornelli laces...:p

Strawberry White Roll

actually i'm not fond of roll cake since my couple attempts resulted in broken cake or a bald cake when they're rolled up. but this roll cake is fully egg whites and it resulted in a elastic cake that is quite easy to roll. and it's deliciously fruity. the only matter i still can't release myself from a baldy roll cake, although this is far more better than traditional roll cake, it still unevitably baldy at several section (not quite obvious in the picture, right?)...:p

Strawberry White Roll

100 gram cake flour
25 gram corn starch
1 tsp baking powder
70 gram caster sugar
100ml orange juice (from 1 orange)
Grated orange rind from 1 orange
¼ tsp salt

350ml egg whites
100 gram caster sugar
100 gram strawberry, chopped
100 gram canned mandarin orange, chopped

Prepared a 32cmx2cm square pan, grease and line with baking paper.
Spread the chopped strawberry and mandarin over the pan.
Sift flour, corn starch and baking powder, set aside.
Stir together 70 gram sugar, orange juice, orange rind and salt until sugar dissolved.
Fold in flour in 2-3 phase, stir until combined, set aside.
In another bowl, beat egg whites and slowly drizzle in sugar. Beat until forming soft peaks.
Gently fold egg whites into flour mixture in 2-3 phases.
Spoon mixture into prepared pan and smooth the top.
Bake for 25 minutes or until top is golden.
Remove from oven and unmold the cake into a non-stick mat/paper.
Spread butter cream or jam, roll up.

this recipe is taken from Olahan Lezat Telur from Sedap. i think it's quite like angel food cake. at the time i was running out of mandarin orange so i simply skip it. the orange juice alone is enough to give it a fresh orange taste. i spread store bought butter cream over it and roll it up, but it looks like the roll is not tight enough that we can see in this picture the middle of the cake is loosen.

i really dream of a fine sharp knife for cutting all my cake. (or a perfect cutting skill?)...

Cake ala Taiwan

this recipe is taken from Cake Decorating book by Sedap. this is actually a sponge cake but rather plain since the oil take over all butter. the combination of oil and milk make it very moist and the texture is soft and spongy.

Caka ala Taiwan

100 gram vegetable oil
30 ml milk
¼ tsp salt
2 eggs, lightly beaten
5 eggs
150 gram sugar
150 gram all purpose flour
¼ tsp baking powder

Preheat oven to 180c degree and butter and flour a 22cmx6cm square pan
Bring to a boil oil, milk and salt, stir until foamy. Remove from the heat.
Stir in 2 beaten eggs when warm and stir until thicken.
In another bowl, beat eggs and sugar until fluffy and form ribbonlike trail.
Sift in flour and baking powder and fold gently.
Fold in oil mixture until combine, do not overmix.
Oven 40 minutes

i bought a little durian monthong couples day before. i process the durian with a little water and corn starch then boil it until thick. it's quite a combination.

Green Tea Cake

my brother in law brought me a pack of green tea powder (matcha) from Tokyo last month. i was always wondering how it would taste in a cake. then i got this recipe from Jenny SP, a friend from my baking mailist. it quite easy to prepare and little time in oven because of its thin layer.

Green Tea Mousse Cake
200 gr cake flour
2 tbsp matcha powder
3 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
70 gr confectioner's sugar
4 egg yolks
100 gr salad oil
170gr water
2tsp vanilla extract
6 egg whites
80 gr confectioner's sugar
prepare 3 pieces of 20cm square pans and line with parchment. preheat oven to 180c. sift together cake flour, matcha powder, baking powder, salt and confectioner's sugar. in a bowl mix by whisk egg yolks, salad oil, water and vanilla. mix in flour mixture into the bowl and whisk until combine.
in a mixing bowl, beat egg whites and confectioner's sugar until stiff. slowly fold whites into the egg yolk mixture, fold until combine.
pour mixture evenly in 3 pans and bake 6 minutes, rotate the pans and bake another 5 minutes.

Green Tea Mousse
3 egg whites
75 gr caster sugar
2 tsp matcha powder
35 gr butter
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
a pich of salt
place a heatproof bowl over a shimmering water. whisk egg whites, sugar and matcha powder until sugar dissolved and mixture reach 70c about 7 minutes. turn into mixing bowl and beat at high until soft peak, reduce speed to low and beat in butter, a piece at a time. beat in vanilla and salt. beat until glossy about 5 minutes.

actually i subtitute the mouse with whipped cream and sprinkle the top with shredded chocolate and it turn out that green tea is very matched with chocolate.

My First Fondant Cake

On 31 birthday suddenly desire to have myself a birthday cake. and finally have time to do some trial on fondant covering. using small TCCC round cake (dia. 16cm) smooth with apricot jam. TCCC cake recipe is under courtesy of Uceu of NCC, recipe follows later.

frankly speaking it's not easy to cover a fondant cake, the fondant is forming flaps on the side of cake that i have to cut them off and cover them with another piece of fondant. fortunately it still can be covered well. i think i didn't roll big enough to cover the cake. still have to practice more.

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Muffin

From baking911.com i found out that we need a thick batter to have a dome muffin. They suggest to this recipe that is turn out true. The muffins did have dome but due to the thick consistency, the muffin is quite bit hard when they are stayed at room temperature. They should be served warm, right after get out from oven is the best.

Cinnamon Raisin Bran Muffin

Recipeby Sarah Phillips (baking911.com)
Makes 12

Vegetable oil cooking spray

2 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour; spoon into dry measuring cup and level to top

1/2 cup unprocessed (raw) bran flakes; spoon into dry measuring cup and level to top - do not substitute with flour - just omit if do not have

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup buttermilk; well shaken; measure in liquid measuring cup

3/4 cup vegetable oil; measure in liquid measuring cup

2/3 cup sugar

2 large eggs
1/2 cup raisins or dried cranberries

1. Position rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 400 degrees F. Spray the muffin tin cups, not the top of the pan, with vegetable oil spray. Optionally line with muffin cups and lightly spray, again.
2. Combine the flour, bran flakes, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt in a medium bowl. Make a well in the center and set aside. In another medium bowl, mix the buttermilk, oil, sugar and eggs. Beat with a wire whisk or handheld electric mixer on low speed until frothy. Pour into the well into the well in the dry ingredients and fold lightly with a rubber spatula until almost combined. Add the raisins and fold until the batter is just combined. Divide evenly among the muffin tin cups.
3. Place the muffin pan in the oven. Immediately turn the heat down to 350 degrees F. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until the tops are browned and the middle springs back when touched lightly. Let the muffin pan rest on a wire cake rack for 10 minutes before unmolding the muffins. Turn the muffins upright on the rack to cool. Serve warm.

I subtitute the bran with oatmeal and the raisin with chocolate chip. It's good.

Chiffon Ketan Hitam

karena aku gak tau ketan hitam inggrisnya apa, utk posting kali ini pake bahasa indonesia saja, daripada makin ngaco...:p


belakangan aku sedang keranjingan dg cake chiffon, metodenya gak ribet dan kuenya enak dan lembut. dulu suka ngumpulin guntingan resep Philip dari Kompas, ada 3 jenis resep chiffon yg aku dapat dan aku mutusin nyoba yg paling simple dulu. seperti biasa, gak bisa kalo cuma ngikutin resep plek, kali ini jg aku modif sendiri resep chiffon pandan, dg mengganti tepung terigu dg tepung ketan hitam dan tidak memakai air daun suji & pewarna.



CHIFFON PANDAN

Bahan A

7 putih telur
½ tsp cream of tartar
75 gram gula

Bahan B

125 gram gula pasir
100 ml santan (kara)
80 gram minyak
7 kuning telur
¼ sdt garam
150 gram tepung
25 ml air daun suji
4 tetes pewarna hijau

Aduk bahan B sampai rata. Sisihkan. (kalo aku aduk gula, telur, santan, minyak & garam dulu, baru masukin tepung).
bahan A: kocok putih telur dan cream of tartar sampai setengah mengembang. Tambahkan gula pasir lalu kocok mengembang.
tuang bahan A ke dalam bahan B sedikit demi sedikit sambil diaduk balik.
masukkan adonan ke dalam loyang chiffon tanpa dioles. Oven 45menit dengan suhu 170 derajat celcius.
setelah matang, telungkupkan loyang di botol. Diamkan sampai kue dingin.
keluarkan kue dengan bantuan pisau. Kerat adonan yang menempel di pinggir loyang. Dorong alas cetakan keatas untuk melepaskan kue dari sisinya. Selipkan pisau di dasar cetakan untuk melepaskan kue dari dasar loyang.

cake ini mengembang dg bagus, menggembung sampai melebihi tinggi loyang tapi setelah ditelungkupkan di luar oven permukaannya akan menjadi rata.

satu2nya kesulitan adalah mematangkan permukaan cake, aku menambah sekitar 20 menit lagi dari waktu yang ditentukan. mungkin ini tdk terjadi jika memiliki oven yg bisa nyala api bawah dan atasnya berbarengan.
walaupun penampakan cake pori2nya besar tapi teksturnya lembut, dan rasanya jelas enak...

Chunky Oat & Chocolate Cookies

After a long time searching for dream cookies, one day came along this recipe posted by Fenny (NCC). These cookies contain my fav, chocolate and oatmeal, added almond pieces makes it perfect, chunky yet chewy. I use my fav chocolate bar (Silverqueen dark). For more chewy cookies try to take out the cookies from oven soon after the edge is firm.

Ingredients:

1 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
3 cups oats, blended in blender
1 3/4 cup flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
8 oz chocolate bar with almonds, chopped
1 cup milk chocolate chips

Methods:

Preheat oven to 375. Cream butter and sugars. Add eggs and vanilla. Mix together. Mix in oats, flour, baking soda, salt and baking powder. Add chocolate bar and chips. Combine by hand. Place 2" apart on an ungreased baking dish. Bake 10 minutes. Cool for 2. Makes 6 dozen.

Recipe source: Recipes Galore

Nescafe Chocolate Moist Cupcakes

this recipe is posted by a member of NCC mailing list (Love Liana) which is a courtesy of puan Rodziah, her friend in Kuala Lumpur. a lot of member already give it a compliment that make me want to try it also. so, here it is. i subtitute Nescafe with our (me & hubby) instant coffee but i still think it's not too subtle, maybe the coffee was covered by the chocolate taste. but it's a good cake and easy to make. next time i will add more coffee and pass the chocolate emulco.

Nescafe Chocolate Moist Cake

A
3 eggs
200 gram unsalted butter 1 cup castor sugar

B combine all:
2 cups cake flour (superfine)

1/4 tsp baking soda

1 1/2 tsp baking powder (double action is ok)

C combine all:
1/2 cup cocoa powder (van houten)

1 cup water

1 tsp coffee emulco

1 tsp nescafe

1 tsp chocolate emulco

2 tsp vanilla essence

Direction:
1. beat butter and sugar on medium until pale & fluffy, beat in eggs one at a time.
2. beat in B and C alternately, ending with B.
3. spoon into papercup half full.
4. oven on 160C in 25 minutes.

i top some cupcakes with simple chocolate ganache and the other with glazur.

Choco Balls

almost 2 months i left my kitchen for office work and last week i have time to continue my experiment. this time i tried one-bowl chocolate cupcake from martha stewart. the recipe result in 24cupcakes. since my stove is only enough for one tray, i decide to add another layer in low line, but the cupcake turned out bad. upper tray sink and lower tray overflow. but the taste is good and i decide to make them choco balls.

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/4 cups Dutch-process cocoa powder

2 1/2 cups sugar

2 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1 1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1 1/4 teaspoons salt

2 large whole eggs plus 1 large egg yolk~i used 4 whole medium eggs

1 1/4 cups milk

1/2 cup plus 2 tbsp vegetable oil

1 1/4 cup warm water

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Line 2 standard 12 cup muffin pans with paper liners. Into the bowl of an electric mixer, sift together flour, cocoa, sugar, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Attact bowl to mixer fitted with the paddle attachment; add the eggs and yolk, the milk, oil, vanilla and warm water. Beat on low speed until smooth and combined, about 3 minutes; scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. Divided batter evently among the muffin cups, filling each about 2/3 full. Bake, rotating pans halfway through, until a cake tester inserted in the center of a cupcake come out clean, 20-25 minutes. Transfer pans to a wire rack to cool slightly. Invert cupcakes onto the rack; then reinvert and let them cool completely, top sides up. Frost cupcakes with buttercream, swirling to cover and garnish with chocolate curls.

i take 10 cupcakes and mashed them, then stir in the ganache (boil 200 gr fresh cream over low heat and pour into 200 gr dark chocolate, stir until combine). measure out 10gr of mixture, shape into balls and roll them in jimnies and sprinkles, refrigerate.

Chinese New Year Cupcakes

I made these cupcakes one week after returning home from my parent’s house. These cupcakes inspired from Chinese New Year color, red and golden, which represents blood/health and gold/prosperity. The chocolate coin on top of each cupcakes I hope will precisely describe the meaning of prosperity… :p

I tested 2 kinds of red velvet cakes recipe, one is from Montclair Martha Stewart red velvet cake for chunjie red velvet cupcakes and the other one is from epicurious.com for valentine red velvet cake, using half recipe each. I used red paste coloring from Wilton for both and they resulted in a bright red color. But personally I prefer epicurious recipe for its softer and moist texture.

Red Velvet Cake

1/4 cups sifted cake flour (sifted, then measured)

2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup buttermilk

1 tablespoon red food coloring

1 teaspoon distilled white vinegar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups sugar

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

2 large eggs

Frosting

2 8-ounce packages cream cheese, room temperature

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

2 1/2 cups powdered sugar

For cake:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter and flour two 9-inch-diameter cake pans with 1 1/2-inch-high sides.

Sift sifted flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into medium bowl.

Whisk buttermilk, food coloring, vinegar, and vanilla in small bowl to blend.

Using electric mixer, beat sugar and butter in large bowl until well blended.

Add eggs 1 at a time, beating until well blended after each addition.

Beat in dry ingredients in 4 additions alternately with buttermilk mixture in 3 additions.
Divide batter between prepared pans. Bake cakes until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 27 minutes. Cool in pans on racks 10 minutes. Turn cakes out onto racks; cool completely.

For frosting:

Beat cream cheese and butter in large bowl until smooth.

Beat in vanilla. Add powdered sugar and beat until smooth.

I’ve planned to make these cupcakes during a week stay at my parent’s house in Pekanbaru, Sumatra. I took my family there to celebrate Chinese New Year. This is the first time I can celebrate it with my parents and brothers since I left home for school years ago. There are many things I do there and I totally forgot about my cupcake plan.

In China, Chinese New Year actually called “chunjie” which is a tradition of Chinese people to welcome spring. It’s counted using lunar calendar which is usually celebrated between January and February every year. The celebration mostly involves family gathering, lots of foods, new clothes and “angpao”. Angpao is a red envelope filled with money given by an elder married folk to younger member in his family.

My grandpa sailed from China when he was young and this tradition also maintain in his home here in Indonesia, until now after he died. At new year eve, we had a family dinner. This time my sister in law prepared a steamboat, contain seafood, beef and pork. Everybody can pick his favorite and boil it and eat it themselves. Free and easy.

The first day of new year, we should wear everything new, new clothes, new shoes, new underwear too. Then people will go to their relatives’ house for a visit, and there’s a rule that younger should visit older for respect. And since I’m married, this year I also have to give away angpao… hoping that the more I gave the more I would get… gong xi fa cai…