Christmas 2010 Bakings

Well, I know I'm late. These are the baking for 2010's (aka last year's) Christmas but I only managed to put them up in this space on the 3rd day of 2011. Well, late is better than never, right? :)



My 1st Christmas Log Cake



Roast Chicken with Veggies



My First Log Cake

This is my very 1st log cake that I've ever created. Though simple and it does look like a log cake, right? :P The little Santa Claus is compliment from my younger girl, who dig out from her toy box when I said I needed some Christmas ornaments to decorate my log cake.

One down side for this log cake is its fillings. I chosen plain yogurt with fresh mango puree as the filling but the plain yogurt which tasted sourish and plain (cos it's plain yogurt loh, LOL) doesn't seem to go well with the log cake. Other than that, the cake is soft and spongy and the chocolate cream are nice to the taste :) Hubby and the kids are impressed with my creation and Elder Daughter loves it so much that she was still asking for it after the 3rd day of making it.


Swiss Roll Cake:
(adapted from dessertfirst)
5 large eggs, separated
2/3 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp almond extract (I didn't use)
1 cup cake flour
1/2 tsp salt

1. Preheat oven to 200 degree C. Oil a Swiss roll baking pan with butter and line with baking paper. Oil the baking paper with butter too.

2. Whip egg whites in a stand mixer bowl until they hold soft peaks.

3. Add 1/3 cup of the sugar in a steady stream and whip until white hold medium firm peaks.

4. In a clean mixer bowl, whip the egg yolks, vanilla extract, and remaining 1/3 cup sugar on high until mixture is thick and pale, about 5 minutes, scraping sides of bowl down as needed.

5. Add in flour and salt and whip on low speed just until incorporated.

6. Using a spatula, carefully fold one-third of the egg whites into egg yolk mixture to lighten it. Then fold in the rest of the egg whites until combined.

7. Turn out mixture into prepared pan and spread out evenly with an offset spatula.

8. Bake in oven for about 8 minutes, until the top is pale golden and the center springs back when you touch lightly. It should not get very dark.

9. Remove from oven and place on wire rack. Place a tea towel over the top and let rest for 10 minutes.

10. Run a thin knife around the border of the cake to loosen it. Using a strainer, dust the top lightly with confectioners' sugar.

11. Re-cover the cake with the towel, and place a  baking paper on top. Invert the pans together so the cake turns out onto the towel, on top of the baking sheet. Peel off the baking paper and let the cake finish cooling.

Mango yogurt filling:
(adapted from pengskitchen)
200gm unsweetened plain yogurt
1/2 cup mango puree
4 tsp gelatin
2 tbsp water
some diced mango

1. Dissolve gelatin with water. Mix yogurt, mango puree and gelatin together. Chill in fridge until needed.

2. Spread the filling evenly over the surface of the cake, leaving an inch border on the long sides and a narrower one on the short sides. Spread the diced mango over the fillings.

3. Starting with the long side closest to you, use the tea towel to roll up the cake. Fold the edge of the cake over the filling, and keep rolling, pulling the towel out of the way as you go.

4. Wrap the roll with a plastic wrap tightly, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours to let the cream set a bit.

Mocha buttercream frosting :
(adapted from allrecipes)
1/3 cup butter, softened
1/3 cup baking cocoa
1.5 cups icing sugar
1 tbsp brewed coffee
2 tbsp milk

1. Beat all frosting ingredients together until smooth.

2. Remove the plastic wrap from the Swiss roll, cut a portion of the roll out, and further cut it diagonally to attached it above the bigger piece of the roll, to form the log cake shape. I used tooth pick to ensure the 2 pieces are attached to each other firmly.

3. Frost the Swiss roll with the buttercream all over the log cake.

4. Use a fork to scratch the surface of the frosting to create the tree bark effect. Decorate with Christmas ornament.

5. Sprinkle some icing sugar to form the snowy effect before serving.

Roast Chicken with Veggie
(Adapted from noobcook)
For this roast chicken, I used kampong chicken for it more tender meat. Simply rubbed a mix of butter, dried herb and sea salt all over the patted dry chicken, stuffed onion and garlic in the cavity of the chicken. And, there you go, it is oven-ready!

I also seasoned some cut potatoes and carrot with olive oil and dried herb mixture, laid them at the bottom of the foiled roasting pan before placing the chicken in the roasting pan. Roasted it (grill mode) at 220 degree C for 20 mins, lowered the temperate to 200 degree C and continue to roast for another 40 mins. (Total abt 1 hr)