A Barrel of Wishes

It's the time of the year again...


To my child, being born at the end of the year has never been a good thing to him. He has to wait, and wait and wait for his birthday...it is an agony for him to watch the rest of his classmates celebrate their birthdays one after another.


To reward him for his patience, I wanted to bake a cake that would really make him feel that it is worth the long wait. I googled with the key words "cake", "chocolates", "candies"and "birthday". We were blown away by this particular image of a cake that is decorated with lots of M&Ms, and covered with sticks of Kit Kats! I was then left with the task of replicating this Candy Barrel cake.


Without any basic baking tools, I could only bake a cake out of a box. A cake mix would be good, but I read the instructions on the box, I would need to use an electric whisk or at least a manual one. I have none of these with me. So I bought a pack of Betty Crockers brownies mix...Supreme Hershey Walnuts Fudge Brownies instead, since all I need is just a spoon.


In order to get a more cake like texture, I followed the instruction, to use 3 eggs instead of 2. The end result was not too bad, it was quite close to a dark, dense chocolate cake.


This is an excellent cake for someone like me, who can't frost or pipe a cake properly. The candies covered up whatever flaws that I made along the way ^_^"

I baked the brownies in a big pan (it's actually a roasting pan!) and cut out two 5" rounds (yes, it is a very small cake), stacked them on top of one another, sandwiched with a layer of chocolate ganache. I then covered the entire surface with the remaining ganache and 'glued' the kit kat all around the sides. I didn't cover the top with heaps of candies as I think it would be just too much (I used 3 small packs). Instead, I filled up the barrel with lots of wishes for my little one.

Here's a tip: if I were to make this again, I would bake a tall sponge cake, so that it would come up almost to the rim of the kit kat barrel. In that way, I won't need to use lots of candies to create the impression that it is holding tonnes of M&Ms ;)


With a ribbon, a tag (which I brought all the way from home) and a numeric candle (guess how much I got this from Carrefour here?? It costs only one yuan, which is equivalent to S$0.20!!!), I thought I have made the most awesome looking birthday cake, ever! and, this is so fool-proof!

The birthday boy was thrilled when he saw the cake, he gave me a warm hug and a sweet kiss ;)


The cake tastes as good as it looks...chocolaty, rich and dense, perfect for any chocolate and candies lovers.

Just a Slice of Cake

The past few weeks have been an emotional roller coaster for me. Too many things have happened...and it was only yesterday that I managed to feel 'settled down'.

My oven was left in the cold for weeks. By right, it would still be sitting inside the dark cabinet for another month or so. I had to take it out to bake a sponge cake just so that I could use up the last tub of mascarpone cheese.


I was a little astounded when I found myself harbouring the dreadful though of baking a sponge cake from scratch! I really would love to use ready-made sponge fingers to make a Tiramisu, but it was almost impossible for me to find time to get a pack from the supermarket. Since I was left with two eggs in the fridge, I forced myself to take out all my baking barang barang (colloquial Malay for personal belongings) to make the sponge layer for a Tiramisu Torte. Fortunately, the joy of baking came back when I went about preparing the batter...half an hour later I received an instant sense of reward when the cake started to emit a nice egg-y, vanilla-y aroma when it started to brown. This great sense of satisfaction propelled me to went on to prepare the cheese filling with a little more zeal ;)


Even though I have rekindled my love for baking, I doubt I shared the same enthusiasm when it comes to blogging. If not for the nice layering of this torte, I wouldn't even be motivated to retrieve my camera from the dry box.

The taste of this homemade cake is simply awesome. Very refreshing and not too rich. The sponge layers are light and airy, and I must say it is way better than ready-made sponge fingers. My effort was not wasted...the three of us finished up half the cake in one setting.


We will be away from home for the rest of the year. I hope I will be able to continue to blog about my cooking and baking in a foreign land.

In the mean time, here's a slice of my cake to share with everyone of you who never fails to stop by to give me your kind words of comments and encouragement. You are the ones to keep me going, thank you!

(After note: I think I wasn't clear in my post, I will only be away for the rest of 2009, will be back before the new year.)


Tiramisu Torte
Ingredients:
(makes one 18cm cake)

Sponge Cake:
2 eggs, room temperature
70g caster sugar
60g cake flour
20g unsalted butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract


Coffee Syrup:
1 tablespoon instant espresso/ strong coffee powder
1/2 tablespoon sugar
1/2 cup (125ml) boiling water
1 tablespoon Baileys Irish Cream

Filling:
250g mascarpone cheese
3 tablespoons icing sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 tablespoons Baileys Irish Cream
3 tablespoons coffee syrup
200 ml non-dairy whipping cream

cocoa powder, to dust

Method:

To make the sponge cake:

1. Sift cake flour, set aside. Line the sides and bottom of a 18cm (7 inches) round pan with parchment paper, set aside. Pre-heat oven to 170degC.
2. With an electric mixer, whisk eggs and sugar on HIGH speed for about 5 to 7 mins, until the batter double in volume and is ribbon-like (the beater should leave a ribbon-like trail when the batter is lifted up). Turn to LOW speed and whisk for another 1 to 2 mins. Whisking at low speed helps to stabilise the air bubbles in the batter.
3. Sift over the cake flour into the batter in 3 separate additions. Gently fold in the flour with a spatula each time the flour is added, taking care there is no trapped flour at the bottom of the batter. Take care not to deflate the batter.
4. Add the melted butter, fold gently with spatula until well blended
5. Add in vanilla extract and fold in gently with spatula.
6. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 25 mins, or until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean. Unmold and invert onto cooling rack, remove parchment paper and let cool completely.
   
   To make the filling:
7. Dissolve instant coffee powder, sugar in boiling water. Leave to cool. Stir in 1 tablespoon Baileys Irish Cream. Set aside.
8. In a mixing bowl, with a manual whisk, whisk mascarpone cheese with icing sugar. Add in vanilla extract, Baileys Irish Cream and 3 tablespoons of the coffee syrup (Step 7) whisk until blended.
9. With an electric mixer whisk the non-dairy whipping cream until stiff peak. With a spatula, fold in 1/4 of the whipped cream to the mascarpone mixture. Fold in the remaining whipped cream to the mascarpone mixture. Leave the mixture to chill in the fridge if the sponge cake has not been cooled off.
   
   To assemble:
10. Slice off a thin layer (about 1~2mm) around the sides of the sponge cake. (This is to ensure that the sponge layers will be slightly smaller than the cake pan...in order to allow the filling to coat the sides of the cake nicely.) Then slice the cake horizontally into 2 layers. Place one layer of the sponge cake in a 18cm pan (with removable base, or use a cake ring). Brush the surface of the sponge layer with the remaining coffee syrup (Step 7).
11. Spread about 1.5 cups of filling evenly on the sponge layer, ensure all the gaps at the sides are filled. Tap the cake pan lightly on the table to ensure there are no trapped air pockets.
12. Brush both sides of the second layer of sponge cake with the coffee syrup and place it over the filling. Spread with 1.5 cups of the remaining filling. Tap the cake pan lightly on the table to ensure there are no trapped air pockets.
13. Leave the cake (covered) to chill in the fridge for at least 3~4 hours.
14. Remove cake from fridge. Dust with cocoa powder and unmold. Decorate as desired. Keep the cake in the fridge before serving,

Matcha Delight

I had made plans earlier to make a tiramisu torte for a potluck party. However, it was later decided that the gathering would be at a restaurant instead, so I was left with a tub of mascarpone cheese and a pack of sponge fingers.


Just when the expiry date of the cream cheese was up, I managed to use it to make a green tea version of the Tiramisu Charlotte Cake with a new can of matcha powder.


I tweak the recipe a little to incorporate the matcha powder in the filling and the syrup for dipping the sponge fingers. When mixing the mascarpone cheese, I first experimented with one teaspoon of matcha powder. The green tea flavour was not as prominent as I like it to be. So I added in another teaspoon and the taste was just right...at least I know my kids would be able to accept it without any complaints. However, with that extra teaspoon of matcha powder, the mixture turned grainy and I started to get worried.

I guess my 'make-believe' baking fairy has returned from holidays, after mixing the whipped cream to the mascarpone cheese mixture, the resulting filling became very smooth and the colour has changed into a nice pastel green.

Instead of using dairy cream, I made this green tiramisu with non-dairy whipping cream which is lighter and less rich.


I didn't have any idea how to go about decorating the cake. In the end, I took a small piece of baking paper and cut out some simple flowers to use as stencil. I wish I could do better with the decoration...but, with my limited skills and lack of artistic talent, I guess I would not be able to create anything better than this ;')


Although I have not tasted any green tea tiramisu before, I must say this concoction turned out to be a great dessert. So simple to prepare and yet tasted deliciously light and refreshing. All of us like the distinct matcha flavour, including my younger kid who is never a matcha fan ^-^





Matcha Tiramisu

Ingredients:
(makes a 7" cake)

Filling:
250g mascarpone cheese
2 tablespoons icing sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 teaspoons matcha powder
200 ml non-dairy whipping cream



Matcha Syrup:
1 tablespoon matcha powder
1/2 cup (125ml) boiling water


about 24 sponge fingers (savoiardi)
extra matcha powder for dusting


Method:
To make the Matcha Syrup:
Dissolve matcha powder in boiling water. Leave to cool.

To make the Filling:
In a mixing bowl, with a manual whisk, whisk mascarpone cheese with icing sugar and vanilla extract. Add in two teaspoons matcha powder and mix until blended.

With an electric mixer whisk the non-dairy whipping cream until stiff peak. With a spatula, fold in 1/3 of the whipped cream to the mascarpone mixture. Fold in the remaining whipped cream to the mascarpone mixture.

To assemble the cake:
Cut off one end of the sponge fingers so that each one is about 3" in length. Line the sides of a 7" round baking pan* (with a removable base or use a springform pan) with the sponge fingers. You will need about 17 sponge fingers (depending on the type/brand). If the last sponge finger cannot fit in nicely, trim away part of it to fit it in. Save the leftover small pieces.

One at a time, gently dip (do not soak) sponge fingers in the matcha syrup and use them to line the base of the pan. Or you can use a brush to brush the sponge fingers with the matcha syrup. Cut the sponge fingers into shorter lengths if necessary. Use the leftover pieces to fill the gaps.

Spoon over half of the filling. Spread evenly. Repeat with another layer of sponge fingers and spoon over the remaining filling. Spread and smooth the top. Cover with cling wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, best left overnight.

Just before serving, unmold the cake and dust the top with matcha powder.

Note:
*If you do not have a springform pan or a pan with a removable base, you can improvise by lining a normal round pan with a large sheet of aluminium foil. Give allowance of about 1~2 inches for the foil to hang over the rim of the pan. Place a cake board inside the lined pan. Follow the steps above. To unmold, simply lift up the cake from the pan by gripping the foil. Transfer the cake onto a serving plate and carefully remove the foil.