Latest Cakes and Desserts Recipes | Eats - Your Good Food Guide

White Chocolate Almond Cake

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

As part of YTL Corporations Climate Change Week celebration, head chef Leong Chin Onn from Lot 10s rooftop Teeq Brasserie shows SUZANNA PILLAY how to whip up a simple dish

Ingredient

Youll need:
50g fine ground almond
45g sugar
30g all-purpose flour, sieved
5 egg whites
45g white chocolate, melted

Method

1. Add sugar and egg whites into mixing bowl.

2. Then add all the other ingredients.

3. Whisk all the ingredients together in a mixing bowl.

4. Pour mixture into a cream whipper with Nitrogen cream charger.

5. Shake well and rest for about 20 minutes, then pipe into a silicone mould.

6. Bake in a microwave oven for 45 seconds. Unmould cake.

7. Cake is ready to be served.

Note : If you are making this at home and dont have a cream whipper with Nitrogen cream charger, you can use your regular electric mixer to whisk the cake mixture to desired consistency, says Chef Leong. Similarly, if you dont own a silicone mould, use a glass bowl instead. Remember to rub a little butter, then flour along the sides of the bowl so that the cake can be easily removed.

Blood Orange Torte

Wednesday, December 09, 2009

This is an easy recipe using blood oranges in a spectacular torte.

Taken from Sanguine, fleeting flavours, New Straits Times, 24 October 2009.

Ingredient

For the base:

300g digestive biscuits
70g unsalted butter, melted

For the filling:

Three blood orange, thinly-sliced horizontally
450g caster sugar
juice of four lemons
4 eggs
80g flour, sifted
Two blood oranges, for optional topping

Method

1. Line the base of a springform tin with baking parchment.

2. Then crumble biscuits in a food processor or place them in a bag and bash with a rolling pin (very satisfying to release mild annoyances!).

3. Mix the biscuit crumbs with melted butter and transfer to prepared tin.

4. Using the back of a spoon, flatten crumbs onto base until a level base is obtained.

5. Combine together blood orange slices, sugar and lemon juices. Keep aside for at least two hours.

6. Now, heat the oven to 170 Celsius.

7. Blend till orange skin is in small bits.

8. In a mixing bowl, lightly whisk eggs. Stir in processed ingredients and sifted flour.

9. Transfer the batter to the prepared tin and level top with a spatula.

10. If using remaining two oranges, slice horizontally and pinwheel orange slices on top of batter.

11. Place cake in oven and bake for 45-55 minutes, until top of torte is lightly browned and a skewer inserted in the centre comes out just dry.

12. Remove from oven and leave to cool completely. Refrigerate for at least an hour before serving. This torte will keep well in the fridge for up to five days. It tastes better overnight.

My Tips On:

How to prepare orange wedges

1. Just slice off 1cm from the top and bottom of each orange.

2. Standing each orange up on a board, slice off the skin and white pith, following the curves of the orange.

3. Cut each orange wedge leaving the membranes.

4. Squeeze any leftover membranes attached to centre pith, to obtain the delicious juices which can be used for glazes or even just as a drink.

How to make a blood orange glaze

1. Juice three blood oranges and place in pan with three tablespoons of caster sugar and julienne skin from an orange.

2. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to low.

3. Simmer till a syrup consistency is obtained.

Chocolate Chip and Pistachio Nibbles

Monday, September 28, 2009

Well, I call them nibbles. They are in actual fact, cookies. While I chuck in a handful of chocolate chips and pistachio in this recipe, you may want to experiment with chopped dates. Or your favourite nuts, some other dried fruits or anything else you can think of that might taste yummy in a cookie.

This recipe makes about 50 small cookies or about 25 bigger ones.

Ingredient

125g unsalted butter, softened
50g caster sugar
125g brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla essence
1 tbsp milk
250g plain flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
75g chocolate chips
50g pistachio nuts, coarsely chopped

Method

1. First of all, preheat oven to 180C. In a bowl, sift together the dry mix of flour, baking soda and salt.

2. Then, in an electric mixer, using paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar till light and fluffy. To the fluffy butter and sugar mix, add egg. Mix well and scrape sides of bowl with spatula if necessary.

3. At low speed, add the dry mix into creamed mixture till it all combines together. Do not over-handle the dough. If mixture is still slightly wet, add in a little extra flour.

4. At this point, many different cookies can be created.

5. For this recipe, divide dough evenly into two and keep half of it wrapped, in the fridge or freezer.

6. For the other half, you toss in chocolate chips and pistachio nuts.

7. Mix through and form 2cm round balls or a big cookie of 4cm round balls. For the 2cm balls, slightly flatten top before baking. For the big cookies, place dough between two sheets of parchment paper.

8. Roll to 0.5cm thickness. Then using a desired mould, cut to shape. Place cookies on paper-lined baking tray at least 2.5cm apart.

9. And bake for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Set baking tray on rack to cool completely. When cooled, store in airtight containers.

Marzipan & Fondant

Thursday, September 17, 2009

ANUSHA K. learns how to make decorative icing with marzipan and fondant

IF you have admired those beautiful sculptures on a cake or have wished to learn to create them for your little ones birthday, dont think its beyond you. Its not a tedious process, afterall At a recent class on Art of Cake Decorating, eager students were taught how to make marzipan and plastic icing (fondant) by Maria Danker, an avid baker.

The class is part of an ongoing series of cooking lessons by Foodies n Friends. So, what is marzipan? Its an almond and sugar paste used to ice cakes and other pastries.

It can be sculpted into a variety of shapes, either to be eaten as candy or serve merely as decorations.

Besides almond paste and icing sugar, a moistening agent such as water, corn syrup, glucose, fondant and egg whites are mixed together.

Once the marzipan reaches a consistency of a soft pliable dough and can be rolled, you can start cutting and shaping it.

When used to ice a cake, marzipan is rolled into a thin sheet and draped over the cake, usually with a fruit glaze applied between the cake and marzipan so that the icing sticks more securely.

Once the marzipan has been draped, the sides are carefully smoothed down so that the icing is uniform and free of bubbles and wrinkles.

Now, how do you get certain shapes? It takes creativity and practice.

Because marzipan has a soft, pliable texture, it allows the decorator to shape the marzipan into threedimensional shapes such as flowers, fruits, people or animals. It can then be coloured with food dye or air-brushed, and with the right techniques, a skilled artist can make very realistic shapes.

Using cookie cutters or a sharp knife, marzipan can be cut into shapes, letters and numbers, which are then attached to the sides or top of a cake.

Ingredient

Marzipan
500g sifted icing sugar
250g almonds
2 egg yolks
1/2 tsp lemon juice
2 tbsp Sherry (optional)

Fondant
1 1/2 packets of sifted icing sugar.
2 tbsp cold water.
2 tbsp liquid glucose.
2 tsp powdered gelatine.

Method

Marzipan
1. First, place sifted sugar into a basin and add the ground almonds and mix well.

2. Beat the egg yolks and add the lemon juice and Sherry, if using.

3. Stir this mixture into the icing sugar and almonds and mix to form a dough.

4. Turn out onto a board dusted with icing sugar and knead until dough becomes a smooth paste. This almond paste should be left to rest awhile.

5. Then, roll out to desired size and use accordingly.

Fondant
1. In a saucepan, melt the gelatine and water over low heat until dissolved.

2. Add the glucose, mix well and remove from heat.

3. Place half the icing sugar in a deep bowl and add the warm liquid and mix well.

4. Gradually add the remaining of the icing sugar until it forms a ball.

5. Sprinkle some icing sugar on a board and knead the fondant paste until smooth.

Tip:
Fondant and marzipan can be used together to decorate the cake. Usually, the cake is covered with marzipan and then fondant.

Marzipan gives the cake a nice flavour from the almonds. It is also used to make fruit decorations and you can also add some almond extract for extra flavour.

Fondant is cheaper to make and fun to play with. It has a smoother surface than marzipan and takes colour better.

If you want something made of marzipan to be coloured, usually you have to paint it afterwards with food colours.

You could roll out marzipan and cover a cake with it, but then youd have to add a layer of fondant before you decorate it.

Another option is to add a layer of marzipan, then fondant, and decorate it with some artificial flowers available from the florist.

For more information on cooking workshops or gourmet tours, visit www.foodiesnfriends.com.my.