Black Forest Cake

I took half-day leave yesterday as my girls' student care centre was closed for Easter Day. After fetching the girls from school and had our lunch, we came home immediately as I have a project to accomplish within the remaining day. That is, to bake a Black Forest Cake for a good pal's surprise birthday celebration in the office today.

I have chosen Black Forest Cake as she has been wanting me to bake her a black forest cake for very long. So, this is the best occasion to fulfil her wish :P

I started to search in the Internet for various Black Forest Cake recipes few weeks ago but did not manage to find a perfect fit for I am looking for one that is alcohol free, fuss free to assemble (I am super-bad in frosting), and one with moist cake texture as the birthday girl does not take cheese and cake which are too creamy / buttery. Furthermore, most of the traditional Black Forest Cake recipes require kirsch or other fruity flavored liqueur but I do not have any at home.

Finally, I settled on a devil's chocolate cake recipe for the cake which was passed to me by another colleague. She herself does not bake but have tasted the cake baked by her sister when they celebrated their mother's birthday back in Perth recently. For the filling and whipping cream, I modified the recipe from this Black Forest Cake by Fooddiary .

I was very nervous when it was time to assemble the cake as I am totally no good when it comes to frosting with cream. I baked the cakes in the afternoon and left them to cool down while we went out for dinner. After dinner, I spent about 2 hours to prepare the cherry fillings, the whipping cream and of course the most scary part of the project - assemble the cake from two pieces of plain chocolate cake to a fully assembled Black Forest Cake as you see in the photos here. Phew!

In my own opinion, the appearance of the cake is a bit messy due to my stingy use of whipping cream spreads on the side and top of the cake. I tried to spread as thin a lay as possible as I figured out that eventually I would cover up the whole cake with shredded chocolate. But as the cream layer was so thin, the shredded chocolate do not really stick well to the cake. Worst is, I did not buy enough milk chocolate and hence, while most part of the cake was covered with brown shredded chocolate, some part was covered with white chocolate. :( My elder daughter commented that the cake looked like half shaved head. LOL. I sprinkle some almond flake on top, to try to balance out the amount of brown and white color and further decorated the cake with bright red strawberry (instead of Cherries since they are not available at this period of time).

How does the cake look like after the full dress up? Daughter said "WOW" :), and my colleagues commented that it is like store-bought Black Forest Cake. Hee Hee. The birthday girl was very touch to see that I really baked her a Black Forest Cake.

 



 

And how does it taste like? I love it after my first bite. It is very soft and flavorful. All my colleagues also sing praise of it. All these positive feedback leave my on cloud nine :)). My hard work yesterday are well paid off !

Chocolate Madeleines

It's my first attempt in baking Madeleine. ;)

Though Madeleines are relatively fuss free to bake as compared to many other bakeries, I have never bake them despite keeping a handful (more than 10, I guess) of Madeleine recipes of different flavors. Instead, I always bought Delifrance butter Madeleines from Shell petrol kiosk on my way home from work for our next day's breakfast. And they are not cheap.

Finally, the urge of baking Madeleines attacked me late last night when I'm rummaging through my KIV baking list in my ipad for easy recipe that I can bake in the night for the next morning's breakfast table.

I looked through several Madeleine recipes and finally picked this Chocolate Madeleines since there is only 2 eggs in my fridge, and this recipe calls for 2 eggs. Perfect!

This recipe does not call for the batter to be kept in the fridge for several hours or overnight. But I recalled this tip from some other Madeleine recipes - leaving the batter in the fridge for at least 3 hours will help to create the puffy 'belly' on the Madeleine. The belly is the unique characteristic that differentiates a Madeleine from small individual sponge cake. Since the Madeleines require only 10 minutes of baking time and my girls will only wake up for their breakfast around 8.30am (Good Friday holiday), I decided to leave the pre-mixed batterin the fridge overnight and bake them the next morning.

So how did my Madeleines turn out? Perfect! Each of them really comes out from the oven with the characteristic belly right on the centre :D I'm not sure if this is really the result of keeping the batter overnight but I'm really delighted to see all the bellies. :) My daughters exclaimed that they are very yummy. A good way to start their days. And, mine too :)

Happy holiday and long weekend!

Chocolate Madeleines
(Adapted from Cuisine Paradise, with slight adjustments)

Ingredients:
2 Eggs at room temperature
75g Caster Sugar (I replaced with 50g raw sugar)
50g Plain Flour
1 Tsp Baking Powder
2 Tbsp Dutch Process Cocoa Powder
60g Unsalted Butter, melted
30g Mini Chocolate Chips for Toppings, optional (I skipped this)

Baking Steps:

1. Whisk eggs and raw sugar in a bowl with a hand whisk until combined
2. Sift flour, baking powder and cocoa powder together twice to combine well
3. Fold the dry ingredients into the egg mixture, add in the melted butter. Fold with a spatula to turn the mixture into a smooth batter
4. Wrap the bowl with a cling film and leave it in the fridge for overnight
5. On the next morning, grease the Madeleine molds well with butter. Preheat the oven to 175 degree C
6. Spoon the batter into greased molds until almost to the rim. (Sprinkle a few mini chocolate chips on each individual Madeleine, if using)
7. Bake for 10 minutes or until Madeleine spring back when lightly press (I tested with a tooth pick inserted into the cake)

Joy of Baking Black Bottom Cupcakes

I came across this recipe from Joy of Baking’s email update on Monday evening before leaving the office and immediately decided that I want to bake this at night.

 

 

 

This cupcake has creamy cheesecake as topping and rich (yet light as there is no butter, no egg) chocolate cake at the bottom. Hence, the name, Black Bottom Cupcake. By the way, the name for the chocolate cake is called Wacky Cake. What a wacky name, isn't it?

 

The recipe did not disappoint me, except that mine are not as pretty as those featured in Joy of Baking and my batter only yielded 9 instead of 12 cupcakes as mentioned in the recipes :).

  

 

The cheese topping is cheesy, creamy but not over rich. The black bottom is moist and rich yet not heavy. I will definitely use this recipe often from now on. It is good itself as a simple chocolate cupcake even if without the cheese topping.

 

I shared 4 of them with my colleagues in the office this morning and they liked them too. One of them even requested me to bake some for her kids. :) I told her why not? It is always a joy to bake for friends and family who enjoy my bakes.

 

 

 

Recipe for Black Bottom Cupcakes

 

(Adapted from Joy of Baking with minor adjustments) 

 

 

Ingredients

 

For Cream Cheese Filling:

• 200g cream cheese, room temperature
• 30g granulated white sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 

 

For Chocolate Cupcakes:

• 195g all purpose flour
• 150g raw sugar
• 30g unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 cup (240 ml) water
• 1/3 cup (80 ml) canola oil
• 1 tbsp white vinegar
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract

 

Baking Steps

1. Preheat oven to 175 degrees C and line muffin cups with paper liners.
2. Cream Cheese Filling: With an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese until smooth. Add the sugar, egg, and vanilla extract and beat until creamy and smooth. Set aside.
3. In a large bowl sift together the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt.
4. In a separate bowl, mix the water, oil, vinegar, and vanilla extract.
5. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and stir in the wet ingredients until nice and smooth.
6. Fill the chocolate batter into the muffin cups (3/4 full). Then spoon 1 to 2 tablespoons of the cream cheese filling into the center of each cupcake.
7. Bake in the preheated oven for about 20 minutes, until the cream cheese filling has set and when a toothpick come out clean after inserted into the chocolate part of the cupcake. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool.

This is my submission for Aspiring Bakers #6 "Say Cheese" (April 2011).

 

 

Radish and Pork Belly Stew With Miso （日式萝卜焖猪小腩）

I like radish. Especially the Japanese-style stewed radish with simple soy sauce that is a common food item in most  buffet's Japanese food section. It gives me a homely feel each time I eat it. In my recent last trip to Bintan Club Med, this dish was a daily item in their lunch (some time breakfast and dinner too) buffet spread. And, I offered a generous serving to myself daily throughout the 4-day stay :)

Just when I was craving for it, I saw Wokking Mum posted her Radish and Ribs Stews which prompted me to cook this for our Sunday dinner - Radish and Pork Belly Stew with Miso.

This flavourful and easy to prepare homely dish is a good companion with hot steaming white rice. After stewing in the slow-cooker for 3 hours, the pork belly chunks are so soft that they really melt in my mouth. And the main cast of this dish - the radishes are equally soft and sweet that they melt in the mouth too :)

Radish and Pork Belly Stew with Miso Recipe 
Serve 4


Ingredients:

• 1 pack of Australian air-flown pork belly, cut into chunks
• 1/2 quantity of a large Radish, skin peeled and cut into small chunks
• 1 quantity of Carrot, skin peeled and cut into small chunks
• 1 quantity of white Onion, skin peeled and cut into quartered
• 5 cloves of Garlic, chopped
• few pieces of thinly sliced gingers
• Water,  sufficient amount to cover all the ingredients in the pot

Seasonings: 

• 2 tbsp Japanese Miso Paste
• 3 tbsp Japanese Mirin
• 2 tbsp light Soy Sauce
• 1 tbsp raw Sugar

Cooking Steps:

1. Place all ingredients in a slow cooker
2. Mix all seasonings together to combine
3. Pour in the seasonings mix and stir all the contents in the pot to combine 
4. Cook in the slow cooker at high for 3 hours until your desired softness

Enjoy the flavourful and homely dish with hot steaming rice.

Brazilian Cheese Bread (Pão de Queijo)

On Friday night after we came home from dinner, I already thinking of breakfast the next morning :).

The tuition teacher will come to our place by 8.30am every Saturday morning so the elder girl needs to be 'fed' before this time. Our usual breakfast choices are bread with egg/cheese or steamed store bought baos in a variety of fillings. To have a change, I decided to have some easy home-made breakfast that can be prepared in advance on Friday night. Then I recalled this easy Brazilian Cheese Bread that I read about in Simply Recipes. This easy bread has a beautiful name thus leave an impression in me. Its Brazilian name is Pão de Queijo.

This is indeed a easy to prepare recipe with only a few ingredients and a few steps. I just need to put all ingredients into the blender to blend them into a smooth liquid paste (like a cheese smoothie :) ). Next, pour them out into muffin tin/cups. Finally, bake them in the oven.

The unique ingredient used in this recipe is tapioca flour, a flour which I thought is only used in Chinese or other Asian cookings (eg Chinese's kuih bangkit, Thai's red ruby dessert or Japanese's Mochi). I never think that the Brazilians use them too. :)

The recipe from Simply Recipes calls for the bread to be baked using mini muffin tin. However, I used the standard-size muffin tin instead as that is the only muffin tin I have. I kept to the same baking temperature and duration and the bread turns out big, puffy and nicely baked.

The texture of the bread is very chewy due to the tapioca flour. As I have added some dried mixed herb to the mixture, the bread has the nice aroma, besides the salty cheesey taste. Overall, this bread is a nice change from the usual soft white bread or sweet cake which my family usually have on Saturday the morning. 

Easy Brazilian Cheese Bread Recipe

Ingredients

1 egg

1/3 cup olive oil

 2/3 cup milk

170g tapioca flour

70g  grated cheese of your choice

(I used cheddar cheese available in my fridge)

1 tsp of salt

1 tsp of mixed dried herb

Methods:

1. Preheat oven to 200°C. Grease a muffin tin. Put all of the ingredients into a blender and pulse until smooth
2. Pour the mixture into the individual muffin holes, until full (I filled 6 normal-sized muffins holes and 2 individual muffin cups)
3. Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes, until all puffy and just lightly browned. Remove from oven and let cool on a rack for a few minutes

Eat while warm or save to reheat them in the next morning like I did.

Note: if mini muffin tin is used, the batter can yield 16 mini muffin sized cheese breads.

This is my submission for Aspiring Bakers #6 "Say Cheese" (April 2011).

Chicken Shepherd’s Pie

My elder daughter loves potatoes. Top on her yummy-licious potatoes list is the simple roasted potato with sea salt and olive oil. And the second place is Chicken Shepherd’s Pie which was what we had for our Sunday Dinner.

Chicken Shepherd's Pie Recipe

Ingredients: 

For the mashed potatoes

• 3 medium potatoes, skinned removed and cut into small chunks
• 2 tbsp butter
• Salt
• Black Pepper

For the pie fillings

• 1 package minced chicken
• 1/2 white onion, diced
• 1/2 carrot, diced
• Some button mushroom, sliced
• 2 tbsp all purpose flour

Seasonings

• 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp tomato sauce
• Black pepper to taste

Preparation Steps:

1. Steam the potatoes until soft, about 20 minutes
2. Mashed the potatoes, add in butter, salt and black pepper. Set aside
3. Next, cook the fillings by first saute the diced onion and carrot for few minutes till soft
4. Add in grounded chicken meat. Stir fiy for few minutes
5. Add in button mushroom
6. Stir fry for a few minutes then add in 1/4 water and the seasonings
7. Add in 2-3 tbsp all purpose flour, continue to fry until thickened
8. Scoop the fillings into a pie dish or individual pie cup, about 70% full
9. Use a spoon to level the content
10. Top with mashed potatoes and level the surface
11. Sprinkle with some butter on top of the potatoes
12. Use the fork to make some pattern
13. Bake in pre-heated oven at 180 degree C for 10-15 minutes, until the top is lightly browned.

Cinnamon Sugar Pull-Apart Bread

Cinnamon Sugar Pull-apart Bread - I finally baked this bread which I've book-marked the recipe immediately when I read it from Joy The Baker. I was so tempted by her post as the bread looks so beautiful and the process of making it seems so fun to me. Instead of the usual structured rectangular loaf bread, this is made by stacking and slotting pieces of cinnamon sugar-coated dough in the loaf pan and baked. What a fun way to bread-making that allows my younger girl to help out in the brushing of butter and sprinkling of cinnamon sugar over the dough.

The dough can be prepared with an electric mixer fixed with dough hook (refer to Annie Eats for the making process) or kneaded by hand. I did it all by hand. Hence, this recipe scored another plus from me, who like to knead dough by hand! :P

Cinnamon Sugar Pull-Apart Bread

(Makes: one 9×5x3-inch loaf)

For the Dough:
2 ¾ cup plain flour
¼ cup caster sugar
2 ¼ tsp active dry yeast
½ tsp salt
2 ounces (about 55g) unsalted butter
1/3 cup milk
¼ cup water
2 eggs, at room temperature
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 tbsp plain flour

For the Filling:
1 cup caster sugar (I reduced to 3/4 cup)
2 tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp fresh ground nutmeg (I skipped this)
2 ounces (about 55g) unsalted butter, melted until browned

Methods:
1. Whisk together flour, sugar, yeast, and salt. Set aside.

2. Whisk the eggs and set aside.

3. In a small saucepan, melt together milk and butter until butter has just melted. Remove from the heat and add water and vanilla extract. Let mixture stand until slightly cooled down, around 50 degree C (about 2 mins, with occasional stirring).

4. Pour the milk mixture into the flour mixture and mix with a spatula. Add the eggs and stir the mixture until the eggs are incorporated into the batter.

5. The dough mixture will be sticky. Place the dough in a large, oiled bowl. Cover with a clean kitchen towel. Place in a warm space and allow to rise until doubled in size, about 1 hour. (Note from Joy the Baker: The dough can be rise until doubled in size, then refrigerated overnight for use in the next day. just let the dough rest on the counter for 30 minutes before following the roll-out directions below).

6. Prepare the filling while the dough is rising. Whisk together the sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg (if using). Set aside.

7. Melt 2 ounces of butter until browned. Set aside. Grease and flour a 9×5x3-inch loaf pan.

8. Take out the risen dough. Deflate and knead the 2 tablespoons of flour into the dough. Cover with a clean kitchen towel and let rest for another 5 minutes.

9. On a lightly floured work surface, roll the dough with a rolling pin till it reaches about 12-inches wide and 20-inches long. Use a pastry brush to spread melted butter all over the surface of the dough that faced up. Sprinkle with the cinnamon sugar all over the buttered surface.

10. Slice the dough vertically, into six equal-sized strips. Stack the strips on top of one another and slice the stack into six equal slices horizontally. You will have six stacks of six squares. Slot the stacks of dough in the loaf pan (just like how you slot your business cards in a card organizer). Place a kitchen towel over the loaf pan and allow it to rest in a warm place for 30 to 45 minutes or until almost doubled in size.

11. Sprinkle some of the remaining cinnamon sugar on the top surface of the load. Bake the loaf in pre-heated oven at 180 degree C for about 30 minutes, until golden brown otherwise the inner bread may not be cooked well. To ensure  the outside is not over browed, I covered the load with Aluminum foil after 15 mins when I saw that the top is already golden in color.

12. Remove from the oven and allow to rest for 20 to 30 minutes. Use a spatula to loosen the bread and invert onto a clean board then carefully invert it again for the right side up.



The dough before it goes into the oven



Please refer to Joy the Baker for detailed pictorial step by step guide on the making of this beautiful bread.

I would like to thank Small Small Baker for passing this Award to me. This is Agnes Bakes' very first award. :)))