Hazelnut Coffee Chiffon Cake

I have a bad migraine lately and wasn't in a mood to bake anything though I am craving to have a piece or two slices of cake in the morning or during my tea time break.

I have read the fact that when one has migraine, another option to ease the pain is to have some intake of caffeine to ease down the pain.  Last night itself, right after the dinner, I took two tablets of paracetamol which has some caffeine in it, oh my, the whole night I was tossing and turning, I can't sleep....  grrrr..... till 3am!!

Coffee has caffeine in it so what could be better to bake some cakes with coffee it it, right?

Hazelnut Coffee Chiffon Cake

Ingredients:

(A)

6 egg yolks

2 tubes (80g) of 3in1 Hazelnut Coffee Mix

70g milk

100g corn oil

100g self raising flour

 (B)

6 egg whites

80g caster sugar  (as I cut down the sugar to 80g, I feel the cake is a little bland)

1/4tsp cream of tartar

Method

In a small bowl, mix the Hazelnut Coffee Mix together with the milk until the mixtures dissolves well combined.  Set aside.

In another bowl, light beat the egg yolks, then add in the corn oil and whisk till all well combined.

Add the Hazelnut coffee milk mixture into the yolks/oil mixture.  Mix till all well blended.

With hand whisk, add in the flour and mix till all combined well.  (Do not overmix).

Set aside.

Meanwhile, in another bowl, beat egg whites with medium speed till frothy, add in cream of tartar. Continue to beat until the bubbles become fine soft peak, gradually add in caster sugar and continue to beat until stiff peak.

Gently fold 1／3 of beaten egg white into egg yolk batter, use cut and fold method until well blended. Then pour the batter back to the rest of the egg white and fold until mixture is well blended.

Bake in pre-heated oven on lower rack，150c for 35mins.

Remove from oven, invert cake onto table until completely cooled.

* This recipes ingredients inspired from Helena's Kitchen (Hazelnut Nespresso Chiffon) 

This is the brand of Hazelnut Coffee I used for this chiffon...

Liebster Award ..... A Big Thank You Once Again!!

Liebster Award..... It is with great honour to accept this award and in fact to precisely said it, this is my fourth times I am receiving this Liebster Award.

This Award has been going round and round and I have tried google searching for the original post but I can't find it.

The first time I received this award is from Fern of To Food With Love , second time is from Cosy Bake and third and fourth time simultaneously from Veronica of Minty's Kitchen and Chef and Sommelier.

Thank you once again, my blogger friends for yours award and recognition on my work in Through The Kitchen Door.

 

I know I should pass on this award to other food bloggers who has less than 200 followers, most of the bloggers I know of already received this Liebster Award....and I am sure you all have some fun knowing others food bloggers participating in this too!

Strawberry Mousse Shortcake

Today is my birthday!  

Happy birthday to me, happy birthday to me......hee...hee.....


Eversince I have started this blog I have not made and post my own birthday cake.  Last year, I have injured my shoulder and can't even lift up a cake pan not to say to bake it.  For the past week, I have been flipping my cookbooks, browsing the web though I have bookmarked a list of cakes in my favourite folders, and I still can't decide what cake should I bake.

I don't feel like having a cake with lots of heavy buttercream but just a simple light sponge cake some cream in it.  And as I always loves strawberry (and recently bought the NZ Strawberries which is so good than others) and on offer,  so I made up my mind to bake this Strawberry Mousse Shortcake.

The Shortcake cotton cake is the same from my previous Strawberry Shortcake which I have made more than 3 times already, and it is proven how much I loves this cake texture!

STRAWBERRY MOUSSE SHORTCAKE

Ingredients

Cotton Cake

145g cake flour

15g corn flour

1 egg

5 egg yolks – whisk lightly with a fork

150g unsalted butter

65g fresh milk

5 egg whites

100g caster sugar

¼ tsp salt

Some strawberries for decoration on top

Method

Preheat oven to 160C.  Grease and line a 8” square or round baking pan, and wrap the bottom of the pan with aluminium foil.  

Warm the butter and milk (do not boil).  Turn off heat, and stir in the sifted cake and corn flour using a wooden spatula.  Transfer to a bigger bowl, and add in the eggs and continue to mix till smooth.

In another bowl, whisk the egg whites till frothy.  Add in the salt and add in the sugar in 3 additions.  Whisk till soft peak.

Pour 1/3 of the egg whites into the egg/butter mixture and fold in gently.  Pour in the rest and fold in gently till combined.  Pour batter into the baking pan and bake it at Bain Marie method for about 45 minutes.

For the Strawberry Mousse:

Inspiration from Sweet Sensation

Ingredients

1 1/2 teaspoons  powdered gelatin

2 tablespoons water

200g fresh strawberries, pureed

3 tablespoons sugar

1 tablespoon lemon juice

180ml heavy cream

Directions:

In a small bowl combine gelatin and water and set aside to soften.

In a medium saucepan combine strawberry puree, sugar and lemon juice. Cook on low heat until hot but not boiling, stirring constantly. Add gelatin and stir until it is completely melted, making sure it doesn't start boiling. Transfer to a medium-sized bowl and cool to room temperature. Refrigerate for two hours.

Fold the whipped cream into the strawberry base and refrigerate until spreadable (it should be firm enough to hold its shape).

Stabilised Whipped Cream (for topping)

2 tsp gelatin powder

8 tsp cold water

2 cups whipping cream, cold

½ cup icing sugar

1 tsp vanilla essence

Method

1.  Chill mixing bowl and beaters in the freezer for 10 minutes.

2.  Pour cold water in the small saucepan.  Sprinkle the gelatin powder over the surface

     of the water and let stand for 5 minutes.  Place saucepan over the low heat and stir

     constantly with a wooden spoon just until gelatin dissolves.  Removes saucepan from

     heat and cool to room temperature.

3.  Remove the mixing bowl and beaters from the freezer.  In the mixing bowl, combine

    the whipping cream, icing sugar and vanilla and whipped until slightly thickened. 

    Then, while slowly beating, gradually pour in the gelatin into the whipped cream

    mixture.  Then, whip the mixture at high speed until slightly stiff.

 

To assemble the cake:

Slice the sponge cake horizontally into 2 or 3 layers.

Place one sponge layer cut-side up on a cake board or serving plate.

Pour and spread over the strawberry mousse.

Place the cut-side up of the second layer cake and place it over the strawberry mousse and return to fridge to chill for 30 minutes.  

Once the mousse is set, spread the stabilized whipped cream all over covering the cake.

You may use some leftover cream to pipe out the cream as decoration.   

Chill in fridge for cream to set for an hour or so.   Decorate as desired and garnish with the strawberries.

Well, since I thought Christmas is just 4 days away, so I have invited little Santa to celebrate my birthday this year!

I know, my Sister S's santa strawberries are much nicer than me....

Oh, I am cutting the cake later on.....will post again the slice cake...
because I'm excited to let my mum and Sister S to view my birthday cake....hee..hee..
 

Here is a photo of me.... Mel...

     These are my favourite photos....my beloved mum and me.................  and my favourite animal, giraffe!

   Merry Christmas everyone!    Ho..ho..ho..ho....

Kumquat Madeleines

I was doing my grocery shopping in Tesco hypermarket  few weeks back and suddenly my eyes caught on some punnets stacked up on the fruits shelf....... OMG!!! It is Kumquats!!  My favourite fruits... and it is available now.... and without any further thoughts I just grab two punnets!

You won't know and believe how much I love Kumquats!  It is so delicious when you use this in your bakes and trust me, it is heavenly delicious!  Earlier this year, I have made this Kumquat Almond Teacakes and it is so yummy and delicious that how I wish I could get kumquats all year round.  

I have made one batch of Kumquat Almond Teacakes and gave to my relatives last week and now using some of the kumquat puree, I made Kumquat Madeleines!

Kumquat Madeleines 

Recipe adapted from @kokken

Ingredients 
100g unsalted butter
4 large eggs
65g castor sugar
78g all purpose flour
37g ground almond
3g baking powder
40g kumquat puree

Method
Sift flour, ground almond and baking powder together. 

Add sugar to the sifted powder and mix well.
In a mixing bowl, whisk eggs till foamy, add dry ingredients to eggs to blend well. 

Add kumquat puree.
In the mean time, heat butter until butter boils and brown.
Add hot butter slowly into batter and mix well.

Spoon batter in a greased and floured madeleine mold. 

Bake for 7 minutes at 220C.

  

See the slight humps, and according to some recipes that called for with or without baking powder,  Chef David Lebovitz quotes "The question of baking powder is up to you. If you use it, there's a greater likelihood they'll be a hump and the cakes will be fuller and plump. But some say baking powder shouldn't even be in the same room with madeleines, so I'll leave that decision up to you."

This is the Kumquats and if you like to try and use this in your bakes, I highly recommend you to try the Kumquat Almond Teacakes first.

Madeleines just reminded me of when I was working in KL, there is a new lady boss join in the company and she got all mixed up and confused of the 100 over staff's name who is who...and called me "Madeleine"..... !!

Steamed Fruit Cake

My family and I loves to eat fruit cake;  (not the fresh fruit cake) but the type of fruit cake more on the dried mixed fruits and usually the mixed dried fruits we will soaked in brandy overnight and thereafter used it to baked.    This type of fruit cake is my mother's favourite!  Just last week my Sister S baked it and I wonder how many slices my mom had eaten!

And since Christmas is just around the corner, oh, times pass real fast, right, and still going for the festive mood, I have made this Steamed Fruit Cake.......... instead of baking it for a change!

Steamed Fruit Cake
Recipe source from BitterSweetSpicy with slight changes

Ingredients 

A
250g butter (softened)
80 fine sugar
1 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp orange essence (I didn't add this)
1 tsp vanilla extract

2 large eggs

B (combined & sifted)
250g plain flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cream of tartar

C (combined)
100g mixed dried mixed fruits
150g dried black currants 

50g dried cranberries 
50g walnuts (chopped into small pieces), this is optional but I added
20g plain flour

D
200g castor sugar (to caramelized sugar) 

Method:

Heat a steamer over medium heat.

Combine A, except eggs, mix with a wooden spoon.

Add eggs, one at a time, & blend well. Do not overmix.

Add B & mix well.

Add C & mix well. Do not overmix.

Prepare the caramelized sugar by placing D into a heavy skillet over medium high heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon as sugar melts. When it becomes very dark brown, remove from heat and carefully add to the fruit cake mixture.

(NB: the caramelized sugar will harden almost immediately, the hardened ones can still be added to the batter in the baking pan.)

Pour mixture into a lined & greased baking pan (8x8x4"). Cover the pan with a grease paper & tie the pan with a string and cover with another aluminium foil & tie the pan with a string again. (This is to make sure the pan is water-proof)

Steam the cake for 4 hours. Remove pan from steamer and let stand aside for 10 minutes, remove cake from pan and leave to cool completely before slicing.

Would you want to make this cake that called for 4 long hours of steaming or prefer the bake type?

I know to those who stay in the country where LPG is expensive, I know you will skip this a go..... right?  And rather do the bake one instead.  When I first gone thru the method making this recipe earlier, steaming for 4 hours really got my eye balls nearly drop out!  

Yes Faeez, I am game for it and I have made it!!

Do you know that Steamed Fruit Cake taste even more better after it has aged for a day or two and even better in a week!

The first time I made Steamed Fruit Cake  was last year, and that recipe only called for 2 hours and 45 minutes and that time I thought it was long steaming and I can't imagine myself that I would go for this recipe for 4 hours steaming!! 

I know 4 hours steaming might scare you off...... unless you have tasted the steamed fruit cake before, else you will die die want to make it too!   This is why it prompted me to make this as I have tasted one of the steamed fruit cake previously from a Malay ex-colleague that is soooooo delicious!

Next time, I will post the bake one...... I have to ask my mom or my sister for the recipe first.

 

 

Butter Buns...form in Christmas Tree Mood...

When Jessie of Jessie-CookingMoments posted her last post for 2012 last week, I was so impressed with the little buns that she made and formed it into a Christmas Tree !  It was so impresive and being first time looking at it, I think it is so creative and beautiful.

I loves to make bread and buns though I still need to master the skill more but this Christmas Tree buns keep running into my head that I must make it soon to get into this Christmas mood....

I used another recipe to make the buns because I like to have some buttery filling inside instead.... 

Mini Butter Buns 
Recipe sourced from Small Small Baker 
(from 孟老师的三色土司)   

Dough:
300g bread flour
30g sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/4 tsp instant yeast

180ml water
20g unsalted butter

Filling:
100g butter
20g icing sugar
pinch of salt (optional)

1 egg yolk (Egg Wash)

some sugar  (sprinkle on top)

some dried parsley (sprinkle on top)

Method

1. Mix the ingredients in the filling. Chill in the fridge for 1 hour so that it is easier to wrap later.
2. Mix all ingredients in the dough except butter and knead until the dough is smooth.
3. Add in butter and continue to knead the dough until it becomes smooth and elastic and able to stretch into a thin film without breaking.
4. Place the dough in a lightly greased mixing bowl. Cover with cling wrap and let proof for about 60 minutes.
5. Lightly knead the dough to punch out the air. Divide the dough into small balls of : -

For Big X’mas Tree:

1 x 50g

10 x 30g

For Small X’mas Tree:

1 x 14g

10 x 7g

  

6. To form the Big X’mas Tree, grab the 50g dough ball, wrap in the butter fillings and pinch to seal well. Roll the balls round and place them in a greased baking tray.  Repeat for all the 30g dough balls. Use 50g dough ball to form the tree trunk & the rest to form the tree. Leave enough gap between each dough ball, about 4mm.

7. Repeat Step (6) to make the Small X’mas Tree.  

8. Final proving. It is ready when the dough balls slightly stick together.

9. Brush with some egg wash and sprinkle sugar and dried parsley.

10. Bake in the 170C preheated oven for 13 minutes or until golden for the Big X’mas Tree but less time for the Small X’mas Tree.

11. Dust with some icing sugar before serve.

Please do hop over to Jessie to view more her beautiful Christmas Tree Bread too.

 This butter buns is something similar like the Roti Paun that I made previously.

See the small christmas tree buns on top of the big tree.....I forgot to dust with icing sugar for the snow effect...

The buns still stay soft the next day and taste good too!

What do you think about my Christmas Tree Buns?  

Santa Strawberries .....

Hi everyone, good day to you......

Christmas is just around the corner, and I bet some of you must be busy planning the menu for the Christmas dinner as well as shopping for Christmas presents.  

Today I would like to post something to coincide with the Christmas mood too and I have invited a guest to post in my blog here...  Well unfortunately this guest of mine do not have a blog but I have asked her to forward her photos and post it to my blog here.  She is none other than my beloved sister, Sandy.   She has some friends coming over to her home last Saturday and her friends would be "bringing their own plate" as well....

This Santa Strawberries is one of the desserts she made to welcome her friends....... 

Santa Strawberries

Ingredients

*  Strawberries

*  1 cup Whipped Cream

*  some chocolate sprinkles and silver beads

Method

Wash and clean the strawberries.  Cut the hulls off so the strawberries can stand up evenly;  and then slice the tip out to make as the hat.

Using a spoon or a large icing tip, place a large dollop (about 1-2 tsp) of whipped cream on top of the strawberry base. Plop the little hat on top. Add another small dollop of whipped cream to the tip of the hat to make a pom-pom like.

Place two chocolate sprinkles in the Santas as the eyee and the silver beads as the mouth.

Using a toothpick, place two very small splotches of whipped cream down the front of the strawberry for buttons and stick the silver beads on it if you like.

There....it's done and it is so easy.  Cute, isn't it?

My niece Tiffy loves her Santa Strawberries so much and she has so much fun helping making it!


Thank you Sandy!  
Yummy Santa......

Chwee Kueh

Have you eaten Chwee Kueh before?  If you are in Singapore and the mentioned of Chwee Kueh, everyone know of this steamed rice cake!  And as far as I know the famous Chwee Kueh in Singapore is in Tiong Bahru!  (Anyone from Singapore reading my blog here.... am I right).

Today I have made Chwee Kueh......a recipe from "Cooking for the President" (the President mentioned here is the ex-President of Singapore Mr Wee) and her daughter, Ms Wee Eng Hwa has compiled some delicious recipes in this cookbook.  And Chwee Kueh is one of it.

CHWEE KUEH (Steamed Rice Cakes)

Recipe from  here  

(Wee Eng Hwa's cookbook-cum-biography, Cooking for the President.)

(I made half of the recipe and makes 9 small cups)
 

Toppings
240ml oil
50g garlic, peel and chop 2mm bits
150g chai por (preserved Chinese white radish), chop 3mm bits and soak 5 minutes
160ml water
20g dried red chillies, soften in hot water and chop 2mm bits
½ tsp salt

Mixture A
200g rice flour
40g tapioca flour
480ml water

Mixture B
480ml boiling water
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp oil
20 chwee kueh metal cups

1. Fry the chai por. Fry the garlic in 120ml hot oil in a wok over medium-low heat few seconds. Add the chai por and fry until light brown and aromatic. Add the water and simmer over low heat until tender and almost dry, medium brown and intensely aromatic. Do not over-fry to avoid the chai por becoming tough and garlic becoming bitter. Set aside the fried chai por in its oil.
Fry the dried chillies in 120ml hot oil in a wok with the salt over medium-low to low heat until darker red and aromatic. Set aside the fried chillies in the oil.

2.  Make the rice cakes. Steam the chwee kueh cups very hot in a covered wok. Mix Mixture A ingredients and strain into a saucepan. Boil Mixture B ingredients in another saucepan. Add hot Mixture B to Mixture A. Stir quickly to mix well. Uncover the wok and quickly fill the hot cups up to just below the rim. Wipe dry the inner surface of the lid and cover the wok. Steam 15 minutes over medium-low heat until cooked. Cool to set.

3. Assemble to serve. Re-steam the cakes. Take a cup from the steamer, run a slender spatula along the inside, lift and slide the cake onto a serving plate. Top the cake with 1 teaspoon fried chai por (which may be heated if desired) and ½ teaspoon fried chillies if desired.

4.  Serve the cake hot or at room temperature as a snack. It is particularly suitable for breakfast, but can be served at tea time.

And lastly, I would like to say a big THANK YOU to Sonia of NasiLemakLover for sending this adorable beautiful wooden plate, bowl and spoon when she was holidaying in Bali recently.  When I received this, I have a big smile on my face!  Thank you lots and lots Sonia.  I love this very much!!