Souffle Roll Sponge (from my kitchen)

Souffle Roll Sponge (from my kitchen)

I have always wanted to make my very own green tea swiss roll but I just cannot find a proper recipe, resulting in many failed attempts. Common problems such as inability to roll, cracked sponge, failed sponge with weird texture. The number of failures are just as many as when making macaron shells. Since the chiffon recipe (from Okashi (sweet treats made with love)) works pretty well, we have decided to give Okashi's souffle roll a shot.

Ingredients needed:
1 Egg
3 Egg Yolks
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
35g Unsalted Butter
60g Cake Flour
60g Fresh Whole Milk

For the meringue,
3 Egg Whites
85g Fine sugar

For whipping cream,
100g Whipping Cream
2 tsp Fine Sugar

28 x 28-cm flat square cake pan

Steps:
1. Preheat oven to 180°C
2. Line cake pan with parchment paper
3. Sift flour twice
4. Mix egg, egg yolks and vanilla extract and beat lightly
5. Place butter in a suacepan and heat gently until melted
6. Add sifted flour and cook through
7. Transfer butter-flour mixture into a bowl and add egg mixture a little at a time
8. Mix into a smooth batter using a spatula
9. Add milk and mix
10. Strain batter and set aside
11. In another bowl, whisk the egg whites till it is foamy
12. Add half the sugar and continue beating for a few mintues.
13. Add the remaining sugar and beat until stiff and shiny peak
14. Add one-third of the meringue into egg mixture and fold in lightly
15. Add the remaining meringue and continue folding
16. Pour in the batter into the cake pan and spread evenly with a spatula
17. Bake for 20 min
18. Allow it to cool before loosening the cake
19. Whip cream and castor sugar in a chilled mixing bowl until stiff peaks form
20. Turn the cooled souffle sponge onto a clean work surface
21. Peel off the parchment paper from the bottom of the sponge
22. Spread whipped cream in an even layer over the sponge and gently roll up sponge
23. Place in freezer to chill and set before serving

Some things to note



Note:
The gluten content of the flour makes the sponge hard. Cooking flour with butter weakens the gluten content in the flour, resulting in a light, bouncy and fluffy cake (Ishida K., 2009)



Note:
The meringue is essential for the souffle roll sponge to rise, so it must be stiff and stable (Ishida K., 2009)



Possible Error:
Folding seems to be easy but for first timers or non-bakers like me, leaving the bottom bit at the bowl not mixed is quite common. To avoid, try to scrap the bowl to ensure every single bit is nicely incorporated, if not the sponge will have a starchy layer at the base.
The size of the baking pan does matter, if it is too small, the sponge will be too thick to roll. If it is too big, it will result in an easily overcooked sponge. Should the pan used differs from what are stated in recipes, oven temperature needs to adjust abit. If you are observant, the pan we used is not squarish but surface area is the same as a 28 x 28-cm pan.



Note:
Apart from egg whites, cream is another petty ingredient and the bowl has to be extremely clean, no water, no oil or any possible contaminants.
Also, it is essential to whip cream over a bowl of ice water to keep it cold, otherwise the cream will become warm and curdle easily (Ishida K., 2009)
Use fresh (single) whipping cream and not the long-life variety of whipping cream. The whipping cream must also have at least 35% fat (Ishida K., 2009)



I always thought I can never bake and I don't seems to know what are my mistakes made after each attempt. It was only through patience of daddy and some of the training my sister has received in school that makes me realize what are some of the things to note when beating the meringue, the tricks to fold in the dry ingredients, etc.

And for those who are wondering why there is a recent surge in baking entries. Just bear with me for one more entry. Don't wish to elaborate much on what has happened over the span of 5 weeks but the good news is that I am ready to indulge and explore all the sweets I have been missing out. I just need some time to sort out the photos and write these entries, everything will be back on track.

Lastly, how do I find the taste of this souffle roll then? Indeed happy that this sponge can be rolled easily. Happy with the cream, light and refreshing but the sponge is too firm when compared to a regular swiss roll and to a certain extent tasted like a 鸡蛋糕. Now will some kind souls provide some tips to get a roll-able and soft sponge?

[ ... ]

Sakura yoghurt mousse

Sakura yoghurt mousse

Popped by Maxwell market for a quick lunch and instantly Kki, The Patissier, Once upon a milkshake and Patisserie Glace instantly ring my radar.

Since it is Monday, Kki is closed and there aren't many tarts sold at The Patissier, my instinct was to drop by OUAM, then Patisserie Glace to pick up Strawberry Hills or Mango Rhapsody for my family.

Though the shelf is filled with sweet delights, what caught my attention was Glace's new creation, Sakura Azi among the whole cakes collection (Choco Renga, Maison Half, Rare Cheese Mango and Strawberry Decor).


Serving generously for 6 (15cm in diameter), it cost $36 and ice packs are available at $0.50 per piece. 2 ice packs are more than enough for a 1.5hour journey home.


Layered with cherry blossom flavored yogurt mousse and soft vanilla sponge, the tangy yogurt serves as a good alternative to the regular chantilly cream. The sakura flavouring is very mild and the choice of using yogurt makes the overall combination refreshing.

Though this is nice, my favourites of Patisserie Glace incline more towards their tarts and I am looking forward to laying my hands on the newly introduced Mango Rhapsody.

Pâtisserie Glacé
12 Gopeng Street,
#01-33/34 Icon Village
Singapore 078877.
Tel: 6400 0247

Operating hours: 11am to 7pm (Mon to Fri)
11am to 6pm (Weekends and P.H)
Website

[ ... ]

101 failures with macarons

101 failures with macarons

Pardon for not blogging lately, I was having some problems after hemorrhoidectomy and am on a controlled diet. Since I have not been traveling around for desserts, daddy, Yuan and I have been trying to make successful macaron shells.

In most blogs or forums, macarons have been labeled to be one of the most difficult items to make in pastries. Though it has the simplest recipe in terms of ingredients, there are too many factors to be considered in making of a successful macaron.

Consecutively 7 attempts, we have come across errors and hiccups, making us change one parameter at a time. The recipe we followed is obtained from Syrup and Tang, involving the use of Italian meringue. And to all first timers, it is important to understand the basics of folding and whisking since the success of macarons depend greatly on the meringue and folding.

Ingredients needed:
Egg white (Please weigh, in this case let's assume to be 100gm)
1.35x Almond Flour Extra Fine (1.35 x 100 = 135gm)
1.35x Icing Sugar (1.35 x 100 = 135gm)
1.35x Caster Sugar (1.35 x 100 = 135gm)
0.297x Water (0.297 x 100 = 30gm)

3 egg whites would yield about 50 shells with a diameter of 40mm.

Steps
1. Mark grease proof paper with 40mm x 40mm squares, spaced 30mm apart
2. Sift icing sugar and almond flour separately
3. Use a spatula and mix the icing sugar and almond flour thoroughly
4. Beat the egg whites until soft peak
5. Fold in HALF the beaten egg whites into the icing sugar / almond flour mixture
6. Add colouring or flavourings during mixing
7. Place caster sugar and water in a saucepan, bring it to simmer over low heat
8. Beat the other HALF of the egg whites to firm peak
9. Set the beater to low speed and slowly pour the hot syrup into the beaten egg whites
10. As soon as all the syrup is in the egg whites, increase the beating speed to maximum until stiff peak
11. Fold in the icing sugar / almond flour mixture / egg whites paste in the meringue (in thirds)
12. Dab some batter under each corner of the baking paper to anchor it
13. Pipe the batter into small domes (i.e. keep nozzle vertical, dip nozzle in and make a small twist)
14. Give the baking pan a good whack on the counter
14. Leave the piped batter to dry for 30min to 1 hour
15. Preheat oven to 150°C
16. Bake the shells for 18 to 20min
17. Sufficiently-baked shells should be easy to peel off from the baking paper

Some things to note:


Note:
Most recipes would suggest processing the almond flour and icing sugar at high speed to achieve a fine mixture but often processors generate lots of heat, causing the almond powder to release oil
Therefore, we decided to sieve almond flour (extra fine) to get fine almond powder before mixing in the sieved icing sugar

Possible Error:
Using a spoon to speed up the process of sifting almond flour will lead to clogging of the sieve due to the released oil. Patience is the trick
I have tried sieving icing sugar and almond flour together but I often get almond flour stuck at the sieve with the icing sugar sieved into the bowl. In the end, we found it more convenient to sieve them separately.


Note:
Most recipes also emphasize on the importance of aging egg whites, since we are always making macarons in an impromptu manner, we left the egg whites in the warm oven (37-40°C) to evaporate the water (i.e. we warm up the oven 4x over a span of 5-6 hours)


Note:
I made a mistake in interpreting Duncan's recipe. The recipe states mixing half the unbeaten egg whites into the dry ingredients, in my 1st to 6th attempts, I used beaten egg whites (soft peak) instead of the unbeaten ones.
The main difference is beaten egg whites (soft peaks) seems to allow the macaron shells to rise higher with more distinctive feet while overbeaten egg whites or unbeaten egg whites appears to generate thinner shells.

Possible Error:
Improper folding may lead to a watery batter
Meringue powder are NOT advisable to replace egg whites, upon mixing in the dry ingredients, the batter collapse into a liquid state



Note:
For preparation of the sugar syrup (to be added to the beaten egg whites), we reduced the amount of water by 10% (we use 0.297x instead of 0.33x).




Note:
Use good baking paper such as Glad Bake (Non-stick baking and cooking paper. When the wrong baking paper is used, you will get the formation of Mt. Fuji instead of a proper macaron.


Note:
The purpose of drying is to form a skin, this will facilitate the formation of a good macaron "cap".

Baking temperature is important. I kept my baking time fixed at 15min while trying to find an optimum temperature.
130°C to 140°C - Shells are undercooked, wet core with soft and flimsy crust
150°C to 160°C - Crisp crust with meaty core (Optimum temperature for my home oven)
170°C - Shells are overcooked and burnt on its crust, chewy core


Note:
Macaron shells should be easy to peel off. If you experience sticky macarons with their bellies behind, you can try to bake it awhile longer.
Alternatively (as suggested by Duncan and Tartelette), you can try to moisten the underside of the baking paper to facilitate the peeling of the shells.


With a shorter baking time (i.e. 16min @ 150°C), the wet bellies get stuck onto the baking paper, making it hard to peel; but the shells are meatier and moist, thereby contrast well with the crisp shells

With a slightly longer baking time (i.e. 20min @ 150°C), the macarons are much easier to peel off and are chewier. I prefer my shells to be softer so I kept my baking time at about 17-18min, upon refrigeration, the shells are still chewy to my liking.

I haven't been adventurous with the flavours and for convenience, I used rose extract and cherry red colour extract, surprisingly the rose fragrance is very distinctive and compliments pretty well with the unflavoured buttercream. I tried using bakeable green tea powder and the taste turns out to be decent. Between the two, most of my guinea pigs prefer the rose flavoured ones.

Despite the amount of sugar and icing sugar used, sweetness is acceptable and is neutralized when filled with (salted) buttercream. All in all, the macarons have no air pockets and we are satisfied with the results. Happy to get it right after a few days of troubleshooting.

And to all my dear readers, I am now left with tonnes of egg yolks, any easy recipes to recommend or share?

[ ... ]

Vanilla Chiffon Cake (from my kitchen)

Vanilla Chiffon Cake (from my kitchen)

As I mentioned in my recent chiffon posts, daddy and my sister have been attempting to make a proper chiffon cake. Thought of sharing with everybody the recipe in a step-by-step format. Personally, I thought such information are useful, at least, it makes me appreciate what I have been eating so far.

The recipe they follow is from a book written by Keiko Ishida, Okashi (sweet treats made with love. As I am writing from a 3rd party point-of-view, I will just give a pictorial of the steps involved.

Ingredients needed:
5 Egg Yolks
20g Fine Sugar
60g Water
60g Canola Oil
1 tsp Vanilla Essence
80g Cake Flour

For the meringue,
110g Fine Sugar
10g Corn flour
5 Egg Whites

Steps:
1. Preheat oven to 160°C
2. Sift flour twice
3. Mix egg yolks and sugar (20g)
4. Add water, canola oil, vanilla essence and continute mixing
5. Add sifted flour and mix well to achieve a sticky and smooth batter
6. Combine corn flour and sugar (110g)
7. In another bowl, whisk the egg whites till it is foamy
8. Add half the sugar-cornflour mixture and continue beating for a few mintues.
9. Add the remaining sugar-cornflour mixture and beat until stiff and shiny peak
10. Add one-third of the meringue into egg yolk mixture and fold in lightly
11. Add the remaining meringue and continue folding
12. Pour in the batter into an ungreased chiffon tube pan
13. Bake for 40min to 50 min
14. Turn it over, allowing it to cool
15. Use a spatula or knife to loosen the cake before inverting onto a cooling rack

Some things to note:


Note:
All recipes refers to large eggs (minimally 60gm)
Eggs must be at room temperature, so equilibrate the eggs for about 30 min before starting baking.

Possible error:
While separating eggs, ensure the bowls are free from water, oil, egg yolks and any possible contaminants. Egg whites are very petty ingredients. In fact, after all the mistakes, daddy decides to have separate metallic bowls for the eggs.



Note:
Oil, water, egg yolk and flour must be well blended in order to build up the gluten structure. This allows the cake to be "bouncy".


Note:
Cake flour is made of soft wheat and contain less than 9% protein (lowest in protein); hence is suitable for making soft and light-textured cakes.

Possible error:
Daddy used to assume that plain flour and cake flour are the same but alas, they give very different texture.


Note:
Sugar and corn flour are mixed before adding to the egg white.

Possible error:
Corn flour tends to clump, the moment these clumps end up in the whites, these clumps will stay in the cake batter.
When making a meringue, it is important not to add sugar to the egg whites. This will take a long time to whip as egg whites will become very heavy. Whip egg whites first to create some volume before adding sugar.


Note:
Once the egg whites have some volume, add the sugar little at a time.


Note:
To check the meringue, dip the whisk into the mixture, twist it and point it 90°. As shown in the picture on the left, when the peak droops, it is a soft peak. Any further whisking will lead to a stiff peak (as shown on the right).

Possible error:
Overwhisking of egg whites will make the meringue lose its shine or attain a curd-like texture. It takes less than a minute to get a stiff peak from a soft peak.


Note:
For easy mixing, adding only one-third of the meringue in the beginning is essential (mixing is made tricky as the meringue and the egg yolk mixture have different densities).
Folding is done in alternating steps of folding (and turning the bowl at the same time) and chopping action.


Note:
Make shallow slits on the top crust just before baking and make some after the crust is formed. The small slits enable the inner mositure to evaporate and to bake the centre of the sponge (Do the second sets of silts quick as oven temperature will fluctuate).

Possible error:
Do not grease the pan and a chiffon cake pan or tube pan is a must.
Size of the pan is important, 22-cm pan is big for this recipe.


Note:
Baked chiffon cake must be turned over for cooling. Failure to do so will result in sinking of the cake.

Possible error:
Underbaking results in insufficient cringing of the cake to the tin, causing the cake to drop onto the cooling rack. This cause the cake to sink.


Personally, I prefer an underbaked chiffon as it is more moist and surprisingly it has a similar texture like Glace's tofu chiffon, denser but retains its softness and moistness. Previously, daddy has tried 45min and 50min but the cake fails to cling. This was delibrately baked for 55min so that it will cling onto the tin. Though soft, it is alittle dry to my liking.

We didn't slice off the top crust so Yuan feels that it tasted like kuih bahulu. A little dry with slight burnt on the other layers.

[ ... ]

Almond Frangipane Tart with Sesaonal Red Berries‏

Almond Frangipane Tart with Sesaonal Red Berries‏

When I had the buffet lunch at Greenhouse, one of the desserts that leave a strong impression is the Almond Frangipane Tart.

It was also The Sunday Times' article that prompts me to write an enquiry to Ritz Carlton and I realize the hotel do offer take-aways for cakes, desserts, chocolate truffles & pralines, cookies and even macarons.

Anyway, those who have tried the desserts at Greenhouse will know the standard of their pastries and I believe I do not have to elaborate further why I have been ordering cakes to share with my family. Their service is prompt, personalized and the quality of cakes have never disappoint my family members.


For no special ocassion, one must be wondering why I have ordered a whole tart. Apart from random reading on pâte sucrée (French for Sweet Dough, or more commonly known as "tart" dough), chancing upon a blog that talks about Frangipane (refers a sweetened almond filling used in tarts and pastries) instantly stir my memories for this tart and I simply can't wait to lay my hands on it.


From the picture, the components of the tart is clearly revealed. Since the tart base (pâte sucrée) uses cold butter in the recipe, one can expect the pastry to be crisp (i.e. melted butter will result in pastry that is not crisp). The textured almond filling, made of butter and ground almond mixture, provides a soft macaron-like filling. Overall, one can expect the combination of fresh berries, mingled with custard cream and almond filling, on a crisp tart to be indsecribably delicious. Lots of sugar, I would say but satisfy a sweet tooth completely.

Yuan is one that prefers chocolate in general and is never a fan of tarts. Surprisingly, this baby kind of impressed him. Not for the tart pastry which he felt was not buttery enough but rather for the almond frangipane. In his words: "If you like the almond fragrance, you will like this tart" Further the glaze on the berries made it sweet thus appeal to those who dislike berries for their sourness.

Note that Greenhouse serve their dessert buffet based on themed (e.g. Apple themed in May, Strawberry themed in June 2010) so I was indeed lucky to have this during the buffet. Also, Ritz Carlton sells their cakes/pastries as a whole and this is not available in sliced. Pre-ordering is required and collection is done at Greenhouse. Lastly, a whole Almond Frangipane Tart (20cm) will cost $60+ (serving 8 pax).

The Ritz-Carlton, Millenia Singapore
7 Raffles Avenue
Singapore 039799
Tel: 6434 5288
Email: rc.sinrz.restaurantreservations@ritzcarlton.com
Website

[ ... ]

Chocolate Pralines from Darcis

Chocolate Pralines from Darcis

In my previous entry, I mentioned how the macarons have stirred my interest in Darcis and having seen Darcis' website, the lovely pastries on the website simply captivate me. I couldn't hide my enthusiasm while communicating with Gery via email and he was very kind to put together a gift pack for me at a special price.


Apart from the macarons I have requested, Gery has packed a variety of chocolates (Pralines, Rocher and Orangette mix and Champagne Truffles) for me and my family to try and it was a delight just by looking at all the flavours.


As I mentioned to Gery, I am not adventurous when it comes to chocolate bonbons. So it was not unusual that Truffle Champagne, Truffe Chocolat and Caraibe have caught my attention.


The flavours available can be found on Darcis website and one will be surprised by a collection of 41 varieties of chocolates ranging from classical to more venturesome and more modern tastes. In short, there is something for everybody.


Pardon me for the condensation, the photos of Darcis chocolate pralines aren't easy to take. Without a cold room, these babies melt so fast at room temperature so you can imagine them melting the moment it hits your mouth.


Those who has tried Darcis' chocolates would have noticed the smooth and rich texture; and the thin and even chocolate coating. To narrow down to the individual flavours, some of the pralines are alitle sweet to my family's liking and the general favourites were Lavande, Cafe, Menthe, Truffe Champagne and the two bonbons with Darcis printed on it.

All in all, like what I have feedback to Gery, I am a fan of dark chocolate and next on my list would be the recommended chocolate tablets which received very good feedback during the recent FHA event. As mentioned, the chocolate pralines are very smooth, and that is the first impression cast by all who have tried. The only problem is that some finds it alittle sweet to their liking. So I would be curious to try the pure dark chocolate pralines.

As the store in Singapore has not opened yet,
Here's the website for Darcis Singapore

[ ... ]

Macarons from Darcis

Macarons from Darcis

Dessert posts often works for me and this time round, David from The Importance of Salt, tempts me with his macaron posts.


The maker of these macarons is Jean-Philippe Darcis, a Belgian pâtissier and I am looking forward to the opening of Darcis in late July/early August at the Marina Bay Sands. I mean Jean-Philippe Darcis has a lifetime title of "ambassador of Belgian chocolate" so we are in for a treat.


These macarons are available in Singapore and are sold in boxes of 5($15), 8 ($24) and 11($30). The best thing is there is no charge for shipping during this time. As the website for Darcis Singapore is ready, the orders will go through this website and that there will be a delivery charge imposed. However, do join Darcis Singapore facebook fan page as there will be promotions which include waiver of delivery charge for a small min order.

The texture of the macarons are definitely better than Canele as the shells are meaty with a nice crisp crust. In terms of flavour, they have a stronger oomph factor than Jewels Artisan Chocolates. Moreover, as what David has described, the macarons aren't overly sweet and hence are easily accepted by my family members. My only complain is the limited floral flavours but nevertheless, Pistache has blown me away and I am aimed for my next order.

Pistache, Praline, Orange Chocolate, Passion Chocolat impressed my family members and even my picky sister praised the good combination of chocolate innards and passionfruit shells. Somehow or rather, the bitter chocolate neutralizes the sweetness pretty well. However, Fraise Coquelicot and Framboise seems to be uneven in terms of sweetness, apparently some parts of the macarons are overly sweet while other parts are ok. Yuan picked the wrong flavour, he gave a thumb up to Pistache but shook his head for Nougat as he felt that the fragrance of almond powder is not strong enough to his liking.

If you recall my previous post, between texture and flavours, I am more inclined towards the latter. Ultimately, macarons are just sugar, icing sugar and almond powder so what makes it stands out will be the sweetness, the flavour and a decent texture.

As the store in Singapore has not opened yet,
Here's the website for Darcis Singapore

[ ... ]

Dark Angel @ Gobi

Dark Angel @ Gobi

A chocoholic's must have. Pure chocolate heaven embedded in moist rich dark chocolate cake ($7.30++)
Those that love Ben and Jerry's cookie dough will love the dark angel. Embedded within chocolate fudge is what taste like molten chocolate brownie before it is fully baked. I personally loved the dark angel but Fen does not like the sticky and starchy feeling of the chocolate.

Gobi Desserts (Closed)
Suntec City Mall
3 Temasek Boulevard
#01-029
Tel"6341 9794

Operating hours: 11am to 10pm (Daily)
Website

[ ... ]

Gobi @ Suntec

Gobi @ Suntec

GOBI, known for their petite desserts, have finally opened an outlet in Suntec City. Apart from the regular cakes, macarons and petite creations, this branch has released its very own savoury menu and in-house desserts.


Unlike the white finish in GOBI @ The Central, this place is classy in its layout and the addition of mirrors provide a comtemporary feel. The wooden panels on its wall, the choice of vintage tables and chairs provides a beautiful setting for a nice weekend dinner or a hangout for chill-out. Together with the painted glass decors on the ceiling, the entire set-up of the place somehow conveys the founder's idea of providing something exquisite and visually appealing to her customers.


As mentioned previously, this branch offers in-house desserts and the selection ranges from the regular soufflé, crème brulée, pancake , ice-cream, panna cotta, chocolate lava cake etc. The pricing is reasonable, given its location and presentation. Frankly speaking, this dessert menu is so appealing that I got to resort to eliminating my extra choices.


Recommended by the staff to those who prefer desserts that are light, the white sesame panna cotta ($9++) is very unique. The initial bite is a regular sweet Italian cream but the lingering aftertaste is something very memorable. The fragrance from the white sesame. Served with vanilla ice-cream and profiteroles, the entire combination is light but green syrup may be sweet to some people's liking. Just based on how fast we finish this dessert, I will not hesitate to pop by GOBI for their other in-house desserts, particularly the Chocolate Igloo.


Described to have a perfect blend of hi-soft genoise layered with cream chantilly and fresh strawberries, I have decided to have a slice of strawberry shortcake ($6.80++), given how much I have loved it in the past. Surprisingly, having ate Patisserie Glace's, this indeed disappoint. Apart from the sponge being alittle sweet on the liking, the cream is not fluffy.

Gobi's desserts are generally on the sweet side, and comparing the 2 slices of cakes with the panna cotta we had that evening, I would return for their main courses (some of reviews posted on HGW are quite positive) and their desserts.


P.S. I used to eat cakes blindly, not knowing the difficulty and effort to put up the dessert. Little did I realize, the chantilly cream is equally challenging. Apparently, there are 3 phases while whipping cream, namely soft peak, stiff peak and curd and each is just a difference of a few whisks. Not just that, the bowl has to be chilled and the bowl has to be free from the slightest contamination. I don't know about others, as I put in more entries for the blog, I start to pay attention to the little details placed in a single dessert and I would say, as I eat more, I treasure the ones I really like.

Gobi Desserts (Closed)
Suntec City Mall
3 Temasek Boulevard
#01-029
Tel"6341 9794

Operating hours: 11am to 10pm (Daily)
Website

[ ... ]