Berry Pudding Cake

I think the thing that motivates me most when it comes to baking goodies is when I get to make them for other people and share my love of food with them. If it were just up to cooking for myself, I'd probably just be living off of canned soup and sandwiches... actually, scratch that. It'd probably just be tinned soup and bread... sandwiches would take too much effort :P But anyways, it was because I was scheduled to work on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day (night shifts... so, I still had celebratory time with the family, don't worry) that I was lured back into the kitchen to make treats to share at our staff potluck! So, I decided on something semi-healthy... a berry pudding cake. Nom nom nom.

Berry Pudding Cake

Ingredients:
- 4 cups of mixed berries
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 4 eggs
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp orange peel
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 cup sugar
- Powdered sugar to decorate

Method:
1. In a 9-by-3inch dish, add in the berries in an even layer. Sprinkle evenly with 1/4 cup sugar
2. In a separate mixing bowl, whisk the eggs and add in the olive oil, orange peel, vanilla and 1 cup of sugar.
3. Add in the flour, baking powder and salt. Continue to mix until well encorporated.
4. Pour batter evenly over the berries and bake in a 350degree oven for 35-40minutes.
5. Cool and sprinkle with confectioner's sugar. Slice into squares and serve warm or cold.

This was a big hit! I loved it! It was actually really easy and the presentation was simple, yet a real stunner. Definitely a recipe I'll be keeping in my good-books ^^

Red Velvet Cupcakes

It seems like I'm just always apologizing for stepping away from my food blog for months at a time. I've actually noticed that a lot of the blogs I follow have done the same... I guess it's just that life has taken hold of all of us and we've not had the opportunity to spend as much time in the kitchen as we once did. I'm hoping that soon enough I'll make the kitchen my nesting quarters again, but for now I really have no idea when I'll be posting my baking creations. It's just a spur-of-the-moment kind of thing for me at this point in time. Don't ask me why I decided to wake up this morning and make Red Velvet Cupcakes. Perhaps it was the thought of a future wedding that got me thinking... "I've always wanted Red Velvet Cake for my wedding cake. It's simple, none of that fancy-schmancy custard filling, with multiple layers of cake + fruit preserve + frosting all with a fondant exterior." I just like the plain, the ordinary, the non-showy... that's me. And then I thought to myself how I'd always wanted to bake my own wedding cake or make a cupcake-tree display (as it saves on the messy and awkward hacking up of the cake with a knife). Call me crazy... all my friends have; stating, "You're going to have enough to worry about in terms of the wedding; taking on the task of making the cake... girl, you're insane!" Maybe I am, but I think it'd be cool to say that I made my own wedding cake... either it says "Hey, this girl's really talented" or "Hey, this girl's ridiculously frugal"; honestly, I could live with either remark. Ain't nowt wrong with being frugal.

Anyways... enough with the rambling banter. I'm sure you all just want the recipe. So here it is!

Red Velvet Cupcakes
Yields 8 cupcakes

Ingredients:
1 1/4 cup all purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp Dutch-processed cocoa powder
1/4 cup butter
3/4 cup granulated sugar
Red food coloring (I use Wilton's concentrated coloring paste, as you get a nice deep color without needing to use loads of coloring)
1 egg
1/2 tbsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp white vinegar

Method:
1. Set the oven to 350degrees. Sift together the flour, salt and cocoa powder.
2. In a separate bowl, cream the butter and sugar until fluffy. Add in the egg and vanilla, beating until smooth. Add in enough red food coloring to make a deep red color.
3. Alternately, add in the flour mixture and buttermilk mixture to the butter mixture (In thirds, starting with the milk and ending with the flour). Stir until just combined.
4. Pour batter into prepared muffin tins and bake for ~25minutes, or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
5. Remove from oven, place on cooling rack and then ice with your favorite cream cheese frosting.

My Cream Cheese Frosting Recipe

Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup cream cheese
- 3 tbsp butter
- 1 1/2 cups of confectioner's sugar

Method:
1. Cream the butter and cream cheese together.
2. 1/2 cup at a time, add in the sugar.
3. Place in piping bag and use to decorate.

It actually felt really good to get back into the kitchen after such a long hiatus. Well, I have actually been "in the kitchen" a lot but y'know what I mean... I haven't ventured to make anything new lately, or gotten around to blogging about my cooking adventures. I'll try and amend that problem though. Bye for now, peeps!

Caramel-filled Crunchie Cupcakes

So, I realize it's been far too long since I last posted a quality recipe post on my blog. I apologize deeply for this... not only to my followers, but to myself. I don't know what's come over me... I really don't. I'd like to blame everything else that's been going on in my life for interrupting my passion for baking and cooking, but that'd just be a cop-out. Sure, work's been stressful (since I have to make up for all of the shifts I swapped to go on my holidays) but who hasn't had to deal with hectic work schedules every now and then. Yes, maybe I've been having some relationship issues on my mind but again, I'm not the only one. So, today I decided to kick myself in the butt and actually make something.

This recipe's for my friend James. It's his birthday tomorrow and he's all sad about being somewhere where he knows very few people, but mostly he's all down about being a year older. I say, "Heck to that! You're only as old as you feel!" And he has got to be the most fun-loving, energetic and just plain wonderful person I have the pleasure of knowing :D

For this recipe, I decided to use one of my favourite chocolate bars and turn it into a cupcake. I dunno, cupcakes seem to be all the rage nowadays. What with all these gourmet bakeries specializing in just cupcakes, and shows like Cupcake Wars on the Food Network getting so much attention. So, I thought I'd join in with the crowd.

Caramel-filled Crunchie Cupcake

Cupcake Ingredients:

- 2 cups flour

- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder

- 1/4 tsp each baking soda and salt

- 1/2 cup butter

- 3/4 cup sugar

- 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed

- 3 eggs

- 1 tbsp molasses (or corn syrup if unavailable)

- 1 1/2 tsp vanilla essence

- 1/2 cup buttermilk

- 1/4 cup whole milk

Caramel Drizzle Ingredients:

- 1 cup sugar

- 2 tbsp corn syrup

- 1 cup heavy cream

Caramel Filling:

- 1/2 cup butter

- 1 cup sugar

- 1 tbsp corn syrup

- 1/2 cup whipping cream

Whipped Cream Ingredients:

- 1 1/2 cup whipping cream

- 1/2 cup powdered sugar

Garnish/Other Ingredients:

- 6 Crunchie Chocolate Bars (cut 18 big-chunks for topping the cupcakes; and then roughly chop the remaining bars)

Cupcake Method:

1. Preheat oven to 350degrees, and prepare the cupcake tins (grease tins well, or use liners)

2. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

3. Beat butter until fluffy, add in the sugars and when combined, slowly add in one egg at a time. Add in molasses/corn syrup and vanilla.

4. Alternately, add the flour mixture and the buttermilk + milk into the butter mixture. Continue to mix until well combined.

5. Add in the roughly chopped pieces of Crunchie, and pour batter into the prepared tins (~2/3 full) and bake for 15-20minutes.

6. Remove cakes from oven, cool and slice in half.

Caramel Drizzle Method:

1. Place sugar in a heavy bottomed sauce pan with the corn syrup. Heat pan on medium-high and wait for sugar to melt. Once sugar mixture has turned a dark amber, remove from heat and add in the cream. Allow to cool and use for drizzling the cupcakes when ready.

Caramel Filling Method:

1. Melt butter in a saucepan, add in the sugar and corn syrup. Stir continuously over medium heat for 6-8minutes, or until mixture turns a deep amber.

2. Pour in the cream, and continue to cook for 1-2minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool to a spreadable consistency.

Whipped Cream Frosting/filling:

1. In a metal bowl, whip the whipping cream until fluffy and firm. Add in the powdered sugar and mix well. Set aside for cupcake assembly.

Assembly:

1. Take top off of a halved cupcake.

2. Spread on a thin layer of whipped cream frosting, followed by a layer of caramel filling.

3. Place top of cupcake back on.

4. Top cupcake with a heaping tbsp of whipped cream frosting. Drizzle on the caramel sauce, sparingly; and top with a chunky piece of Crunchie.

It actually felt really good going back into the kitchen to make something more than a packet of noodles, tea, a sandwich or some sort of frozen dinner. I missed the feeling of being creative and getting my hands dirty; putting effort and love into making dishes is a lot of fun... but I think for a while there, it was becoming more of a chore to up-keep this blog than it was a joy. Hopefully, I'll get back into the groove... and if ever you're worried about whether or not I'm actually still around, check out my tumblr :P I'll probably be on that.

Yogurt Berry Bread

Whipped up this delightfully fruity bread for sharing with my co-workers on a night shift. Seriously, night shifts will be the end of me... don't get me wrong, I love them. But for some reason I always end up working with people who seriously love to order take-aways to gnosh on through the 12 hour shift. I tried to be all healthy by bringing this yogurt berry loaf, but then we all ended up pitching in for pizza, someone brought chips, another person brought brownies and someone else brought pop... o_O But anyways, here's the recipe for my somewhat "healthy" contribution to the food fair.

Yogurt Berry Bread

Yields 1 loaf

Ingredients:

- 2 cups flour

- 1/2 tsp baking powder

- 1/4 tsp salt

- 1 egg

- 1 1/4 cup sugar

- 100g of your favorite yogurt

- 1/3 cup margarine

- 1/4 cup milk

- 1/2 cup berries

Method:

1. Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt.

2. In a separate bowl, cream the sugar and margarine until fluffy. Add in the egg, mixing until well combined; then, add in the yogurt.

3. Add 1/3 of the dry ingredients to the wet and mix well. Now alternate with 1/2 of the milk.

4. Add another 1/3 of the dry ingredients, alternate again with the milk and finish off with the remaining dry ingredients. Add in the berries and continue mixing thoroughly.

5. Pour into a prepared rectangular loaf pan and bake at 350degrees for 45-60minutes, or until toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Daring Bakers' Challenge: Yeasted Meringue Coffee Cake

I had to make this challenge early, because guess what? I'm going on another little trip. Yup, it was a spur-of-the-moment thing, as one of my friends asked me if I wanted to go with her to Las Vegas. After my trip to London, I realized that these little getaways were just what I needed to stay refreshed and not feel completely over-worked... so I said yes, and now I'm packing for the flight that leaves on the 27th. Vegas for 5 days!! WOHOO!! But now, on to the recipe.

The March 2011 Daring Baker’s Challenge was hosted by Ria of Ria’s Collection and Jamie of Life’s a Feast. Ria and Jamie challenged The Daring Bakers to bake a Yeasted Meringue Coffee Cake.

Filled Meringue Coffee Cake

Ingredients
For the yeast coffee cake dough:

- 4 cups flour
- ¼ cup sugar
- ¾ tsp salt
- 1 package (2 ¼ tsp) active dried yeast
- ¾ cup whole milk
- ¼ cup water
- ½ cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- 2 large eggs, room temperature

For the filling:

- 1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts
- 2 tbsp granulated sugar
- ¼ tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 cup coarsely chopped chocolate

For the meringue:

- 3 large egg whites, room temperature
- ¼ tsp salt
- ½ tsp vanilla
- ½ cup sugar

Directions:

Prepare the dough:

1. In a large mixing bowl, combine 1 ½ cups (230 g) of the flour, the sugar, salt and yeast.

2. In a saucepan, combine the milk, water and butter and heat over medium heat until warm and butter is just melted.

3. With an electric mixer on low speed, gradually add the warm liquid to the flour/yeast mixture, beating until well blended. Increase mixer speed to medium and beat 2 minutes. Add the eggs and 1 cup (150 g) flour and beat for 2 more minutes.

4. Using a wooden spoon, stir in enough of the remaining flour to make a dough that holds together. Turn out onto a floured surface and knead the dough for 8 to 10 minutes until the dough is soft, smooth, sexy and elastic, keeping the work surface floured and adding extra flour as needed.

5. Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl, turning to coat all sides. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and a kitchen towel and let rise until double in bulk, 45 – 60 mins.

Prepare your filling:

1. In a small bowl, combine the cinnamon and sugar for the filling if using. You can add chopped nuts to this if you like, but I find it easier to sprinkle on both the nuts and the chocolate separately.

Make the meringue:
1. Do this once the dough has doubled. In a clean mixing bowl beat the egg whites with the salt, first on low speed for 30 seconds, then increase to high and continue beating until foamy and opaque. Add the vanilla then start adding the ½ cup sugar, a tablespoon at a time as you beat, until very stiff, glossy peaks form.

Assemble the Coffee Cakes:

1. Line 2 baking/cookie sheets with parchment paper.

2. Punch down the dough and divide in half. On a lightly floured surface, working one piece of the dough at a time (keep the other half of the dough wrapped in plastic), roll out the dough into a 20 x 10-inch rectangle. Spread half of the meringue evenly over the rectangle up to about 1/2-inch from the edges. Sprinkle half of your filling of choice evenly over the meringue (ex: half of the cinnamon-sugar followed by half the chopped nuts and half of the chocolate chips/chopped chocolate).

3. Roll up the dough jellyroll style, from the long side. Pinch the seam closed to seal. Very carefully transfer the filled log to one of the lined cookie sheets, seam side down. Bring the ends of the log around and seal the ends together, forming a ring, tucking one end into the other and pinching to seal.

4. Using kitchen scissors, make cuts along the outside edge at 1-inchintervals. Make them as shallow or as deep as desired but don’t be afraid to cut deep into the ring.

5. Repeat with the remaining dough, meringue and fillings.

6. Cover the 2 coffee cakes with plastic wrap and allow them to rise again for 45 to 60 minutes.

7. Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C).

8. Brush the tops of the coffee cakes with the egg wash. Bake in the preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes until risen and golden brown. The dough should sound hollow when tapped.

9. Remove from the oven and slide the parchment paper off the cookie sheets onto the table. Very gently loosen the coffee cakes from the paper with a large spatula and carefully slide the cakes off onto cooling racks. Allow to cool.

10. Just before serving, dust the tops of the coffee cakes with confectioner’s sugar as well as cocoa powder if using chocolate in the filling. These are best eaten fresh, the same day or the next day.

This recipe is definitely a winner! It was ooey-gooey, chocolatey and moist. I have a serious addiction to bread, and since this recipe allowed for me to practice baking with yeast and improve my bread making skills I was very happy to whip this up. All in all, this Daring Bakers' Challenge was pretty easy to complete, and a perfect light snack for tea.

Daring Bakers Challenge: Biscuit Joconde Imprime/Entremet

The January 2011 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Astheroshe of the blog accro. She chose to challenge everyone to make a Biscuit Joconde Imprime to wrap around an Entremets dessert.

My version is a vanilla sponge, filled with berries and a banana custard filling.

Joconde Sponge

YIELD: Two ½ size sheet pans or a 13” x 18” (33 x 46 cm) jelly roll pan

Ingredients:
- ¾ cup almond flour/meal
- ½ cup + 2 tbsp confectioners' sugar
- ¼ cup cake flour
- 3 large eggs
- 3 large egg whites

- 2½ tsp white granulated sugar or superfine sugar
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter, melted

Directions:

1. In a clean mixing bowl whip the egg whites and white granulated sugar to firm, glossy peeks. Reserve in a separate clean bowl to use later.
2. Sift almond flour, confectioner’s sugar, cake flour. (This can be done into your dirty egg white bowl)
3. On medium speed, add the eggs a little at a time. Mix well after each addition. Mix until smooth and light. (If using a stand mixer use blade attachment. If hand held a whisk attachment is fine, or by hand. )
4. Fold in one third reserved whipped egg whites to almond mixture to lighten the batter. Fold in remaining whipped egg whites. Do not over mix.
5. Fold in melted butter.
6. Reserve batter to be used later.

Patterned Joconde-Décor Paste

YIELD: Two ½ size sheet pans or a 13” x 18” (33 x 46 cm) jelly roll pan

Ingredients
- 14 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
- 1½ cups + 1½ tbsp confectioners' sugar
- 7 large egg whites
- 1¾ cup cake flour

- Food coloring gel, paste or liquid

Directions:

1. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy (use stand mixer with blade, hand held mixer, or by hand)
2. Gradually add egg whites. Beat continuously.
3. Fold in sifted flour.
4. Tint batter with coloring to desired color, if not making cocoa variation.

Preparing the Joconde- How to make the pattern:

1. Spread a thin even layer of décor paste approxim ately 1/4 inch (5 millimeter) thick onto silicone baking mat with a spatula, or flat knife. Place mat on an upside down baking sheet. The upside down sheet mak es spreading easier with no lip from the pan.
2. Pattern the décor paste – Here is where you can be creative. Make horizontal /vertical lines (you can use a knife, spatula, cake/pastry comb). Squiggles with your fingers, zig zags, wood grains. Be creative whatever you have at home to make a design can be used. OR use a piping bag. Pipe letters, or polka dots, or a piped design. If you do not have a piping bag. Fill a ziplock ba g and snip off corner for a homemade version of one.
3. Slide the baking sheet with paste into the freezer. Freeze hard. Approx 15 minutes.
4. Remove from freezer. Quickly pour the Joconde batter over the design. Spread evenly to completely cover the pattern of the Décor paste.
5. Bake at 475ºF /250ºC until the joconde bounces back when slightly pressed, approx. 15 minutes. You can bake it as is on the upside down pan. Yes, it is a very quick bake, so watch carefully.
6. Cool. Do not leave too lon g, or you will have difficulty removing it from mat.
7. Flip cooled cake on to a powdered sugared parchment paper. Remove silpat. Cake should be right side up, and pattern showing! (The powdered sugar helps the cake from sticking when cutting.)

Preparing the MOLD for entremets:

1. Start with a large piece of parchment paper laid on a very flat baking sheet. Then a large piece of cling wrap over the parchment paper. Place a spring form pan ring, with the base removed, over the cling wrap and pull the cling wrap tightly up on the outside of the mold. Line the inside of the ring with a curled piece of parchment paper overlapping top edge by ½ inch. CUT the parchment paper to the TOP OF THE MOLD. It will be easier to smooth the top of the cake.
2. A biscuit cutter/ cookie cutter- using cling wrap pulled tightly as the base and the cling covering the outside of the mold, placed on a parchment lined very flat baking sheet. Line the inside with a curled piece of parchment paper overlapping.
3. Cut PVC pipe from your local hardware store. Very cheap! These can be cut into any height you wish to make a mold. 2 to 3 inches is good. My store will cut them for me, ask an employee at your store. You can get several for matching individual desserts. Cling wrap and parchment line, as outlined above.
4. Glass Trifle bowl. You will not have a free standing dessert, but you will have a nice pattern to see your joconde for this layered dessert.

Preparing the Jaconde for Molding:

1. Trim the cake of any dark crispy edges. You should have a nice rectangle shape.
2. Decide how thick you want your “Joconde wrapper”. Traditionally, it is ½ the height of your mold. This is done so more layers of the plated dessert can be shown. However, you can make it the full height.
3. Once your height is measured, then you can cut the cake into equal strips, of height and length. (Use a very sharp paring knife and ruler.)
4. Make sure your strips are cut cleanly and ends are cut perfectly straight. Press the cake strips inside of the mold, decorative side facing out. Once wrapped inside the mold, overlap your ends slightly. You want your Joconde to fit very tightly pressed up to the sides of the mold. Then gently push and press the ends to meet together to make a seamless cake. The cake is very flexible so you can push it into place. You can use more than one piece to “wrap “your mold, if one cut piece is not long enough.
5. The mold is done, and ready to fill.

Entremet- Filling Options: Mousses, pastry creams, Bavarian creams, cheesecakes, puddings, curds, jams, cookie bases, more cake (bake off the remaining sponge and cut to layer inside), nuts, Dacquoise, fresh fruit, chocolates, gelee.

Cinnamon Apple Upside-down Cake

I've taken it upon myself to do a bit more stress-baking. Apparently the powers that be have decided to seriously screw with me this week. Initially, I was really looking forward to working this week because I had swapped shifts around with a friend so that I could work mostly nights (I usually love nights). But, I guess because I was trying to "make my life easier" karma decided to kick it up a notch. After I got home from my shift, which ended at 7am I emptied my scrub pockets to find, to my dismay, the narcotic keys!! When I saw them, my heart sank... "Crap, crap, nooooooo!! Why!!" these words ran like a continuous news broadcast ticker through my mind. AAAARGH!! I had to drive all the way back to work to bring the keys back to the ward!! Nooo... why!!!

Well, after that adventure, I finally made it home and literally collapsed in my bed, ready to sleep until 5pm... but then I remembered that my colleagues and I had planned a pot-luck for our next shift, and I scrambled out of bed to whip up something tasty. Boy, am I glad that tonight's the last shift of my set... I seriously need to take a break and get reset my internal clock. But anyways, here's what I'm bringing to work tonight.

Cinnamon Apple Upside-down Cake

Ingredients:
- 1 cup butter
- 1 2/3 cup brown sugar
- 1 tsp each, cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice
- 2 tsp vanilla
- 2 apples, cored, peeled and thinly sliced
- lemon juice of one lemon
- 1 1/2 cup flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 eggs
- 1/4 cup sour cream

Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 325degrees.
2. In a medium sauce-pan, heat 1/2 cup of butter until melted and frothy. Add in 2/3 cup brown sugar and cook over medium-heat until mixture is dark amber and smooth in texture. Add in 1 tsp vanilla and 1/2 tsp each of cinnamon, allspice and nutmeg. Pour mixture into the bottom of a 9-inch round, deep dish baking pan.
3. Arrange the sliced apples in a fancy pattern on top of the caramel mixture in the pan, ensuring that the apple slices are tightly tiled over the caramel. Sprinkle lemon juice over top of the apples.
4. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, remaining 1 cup of brown sugar, salt, baking powder and the remaining 1/2 tsp each of the spices.
5. In another bowl, cream together the butter, eggs, vanilla and sour cream.
6. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix until well-combined.
7. Spread the batter over top of the apples in an even layer.
8. Bake for 45-50minutes, or until toothpick inserted comes out clean.
9. Remove from oven, invert on serving dish and serve warm or at room temperature.


You could smell the heavenly scent of apple and cinnamon wafting through the house... and it nearly made me forget about the fiasco that had happened with the narcotic keys. Needless to say, I'm definitely not carrying the keys tonight... no siree.

August's Daring Baker's Baked Alaska

I've always wanted to try my hand at making a real baked Alaska. I say real, because I've made a baked Alaska once before... a long time ago in my High School Home Economics class... it didn't turn out so well :P But with this month's Daring Baker challenge asking us bakers to try out hand at this finicky dessert I new I had to have my "A-game". My variation for this DB recipe was to make a banana-rum baked Alaska. The cake base would consist of a brown-butter banana bread pound cake, and the ice cream would be a cinnamon, maple, rum flavor.

The August 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Elissa of 17 and Baking. For the first time, The Daring Bakers partnered with Sugar High Fridays for a co-event and Elissa was the gracious hostess of both. Using the theme of beurre noisette, or browned butter, Elissa chose to challenge Daring Bakers to make a pound cake to be used in either a Baked Alaska or in Ice Cream Petit Fours. The sources for Elissa’s challenge were Gourmet magazine and David Lebovitz’s “The Perfect Scoop”.

Individual Baked Alaska
Vanilla Ice Cream
- 1 cup (250ml) whole milk- A pinch of salt
- 3/4 cup (165g) sugar
- 1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise OR 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 2 cups (500ml) heavy (approx 35% butterfat) cream
- 5 large egg yolks- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- My Variation: substitute 2tsp vanilla with 2tsp rum extract, add 1/2tsp ground cinnamon and 2tsp maple syrupMethod:
1. Heat the milk, salt, and sugar in a medium saucepan until the liquid steams. Scrape out the seeds of the vanilla bean (or extract if using) with a paring knife and add to the milk, along with the bean pod. Cover, remove from heat, and let infuse for an hour. (If making cinnamon-maple ice cream, add in the powder and syrup now!)
2. Set up an ice bath by placing a 2-quart (2 litre) bowl inside a large bowl partially filled with water and ice. Put a strainer on top of the smaller bowl and pour in the cream.
3. In another bowl, lightly beat the egg yolks together. Reheat the milk in the medium saucepan until warmed, and then gradually pour ¼ cup warmed milk into the yolks, constantly whisking to keep the eggs from scrambling. Once the yolks are warmed, scrape the yolk and milk mixture back into the saucepan of warmed milk and cook over low heat. Stir constantly and scrape the bottom with a spatula until the mixture thickens into a custard which thinly coats the back of the spatula.
4. Strain the custard into the heavy cream and stir the mixture until cooled. Add the vanilla extract (1 teaspoon [5ml] if you are using a vanilla bean; 3 teaspoons [15ml] if you are not using a vanilla bean) and refrigerate until thoroughly chilled, preferably overnight.
5. Remove the vanilla bean and freeze in an ice cream maker. If you don’t have an ice cream maker, you can make it without a machine.Brown Butter Pound Cake
- 19 tbsp (275g) unsalted (sweet) butter
-- or if making banana brown-butter cake, use 8 tbsp butter and 1/2 cup mashed banana
- 2 cups (200g) sifted cake flour (not self-rising; sifted)
- 1 tsp baking powder- 1/2 tsp (3g) salt
- 1/2 cup (110g) packed light brown sugar
- 1/3 (75g) cup granulated sugar
- 4 large eggs- 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extractMethod:
1. Preheat the oven to 325°F/160°C and put a rack in the center. Butter and flour a 9”x9” (23cmx23cm) square pan.
2. Place the butter in a 10” (25cm) skillet over medium heat. Brown the butter until the milk solids are a dark chocolate brown and the butter smells nutty. (Don’t take your eyes off the butter in case it burns.) Pour into a shallow bowl and chill in the freezer until just congealed, 15-30 minutes.3. Whisk together cake flour, baking powder, and salt.
4. Beat the brown butter (if making banana-brown butter cake, add mashed banana now), light brown sugar, and granulated sugar in an electric mixer until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in the eggs one at a time, mixing well, and then the vanilla extract.
5. Stir in the flour mixture at low speed until just combined.
6. Scrape the batter into the greased and floured 9”x9” (23cmx23cm) square pan. Smooth the top with a rubber spatula and rap the pan on the counter. Bake until golden brown on top and when a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 25 minutes.
7. Cool in the pan 10 minutes. Run a knife along the edge and invert right-side-up onto a cooling rack to cool completely.Meringue (For the Baked Alaska)
- 8 large egg whites
- ½ teaspoon (3g) cream of tartar
- ½ teaspoon (3g) salt
- 1 cup (220g) sugar

Method:
1. Beat the egg whites, cream of tartar, and salt on high speed in an electric mixer until soft peaks form. Beat in the sugar gradually in a slow stream until stiff peaks form.


Assembly Instructions – Baked Alaska
1. Line four 4” (10cm) diameter tea cups with plastic wrap, so that plastic wrap covers all the sides and hangs over the edge. Fill to the top with ice cream. (For my banana-rum baked Alaska, I sliced pieces of banana and layered it on top of the ice cream after I pressed it into the bowls/cups)
2. Level the top of the brown butter pound cake with a serrated knife or with a cake leveler. Cut out four 4” (10cm) diameter circles from the cake. Discard the scraps or use for another purpose.
3. Make the meringue (see above.)
4. Unwrap the ice cream “cups” and invert on top of a cake round. Trim any extra cake if necessary.
5. Pipe the meringue over the ice cream and cake, or smooth it over with a spatula, so that none of the ice cream or cake is exposed. Freeze for one hour or up to a day.

I attempted to use my hand-held long-ended lighter to brown the edges of the meringue but I suppose the flame wasn't hot enough for the browning effect to be properly seen. Note to self: invest in a good quality hand-held torch (justify the need for one by making creme brulee and baked Alaskas at least 2 times a week :P). So, with the failed attempt at browning with my lighter, I decided to just put the baked Alaska in the oven as the recipe had described. In the end, there was a little bit of a mess on my pan. I must have missed a spot during the meringue piping process, leaving a part of the ice cream exposed. This resulted in a little bit of a melty, leakage of ice cream through the meringue layer... but, thankfully, I pulled the dessert out of the oven before any real damage was done. And my sisters, my parents and I decided to just enjoy the dessert communally, straight off the pan. I cannot describe the taste, only that it was deliciously sweet, cakey and fluffy (thanks to the meringue). I will definitely be trying this recipe again.

Mmm... the aftermath of the melty, fluffy, sweet dessert! What a nice treat on a warm summer's day.

Cassava Cake (Bibingka)

Well, it's still a swelteringly hot summer day... and you'd think that that would mean that I'd stay away from anything hot and potentially sweat-inducing. However, my addiction to baking has rendered it nearly impossible for me to stay out of the kitchen and away from the heat-producing box known as my oven.
Upon opening the fridge this morning, I discovered that I had about a cup of evaporated milk left over from another dish I'd made (I can't quite recall what though, the heat is seriously melting my brain o_O) and like any normal person I thought that it'd probably be a good idea to use up the milk in another recipe, before the heat rendered it curdled, sour and just plain disgusting.

I put my thinking cap on, and thought long and hard about what I wanted to make... and then it hit me! Cassava cake! Or Bibingka. My dad makes a wicked cassava cake, and I thought I'd try my hand at making one that was as good as (if not better than) his. So, onward with the recipe...

Cassava Cake (Bibingka)
Yields 1 cake ~8-10 servings

Ingredients:
- 1 pack (454g) frozen, shredded cassava root; thawed
- 250ml evaporated milk
- 250ml coconut milk
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 cup sugar
- topping: shredded coconut + brown sugar mixed together (optional)

Method:
1. Mix all ingredients together
2. Pour into two 8-inch round glass pan (or two 8x8inch square glass pans) that have been well greased.
3. Place dishes in a water bath and bake at 350degrees for 1hour.
4. Remove bibingka from water bath and sprinkle on the topping if desired. Continue to bake for another 25-35minutes (without water bath).
5. Set oven to broil and cook for 5minutes (or until the top of the cake is nicely browned).
6. Remove from oven and allow to cool before slicing.

The heat from the oven was unbearable... but the smell that the cake gave off was simply delightful. I couldn't stay away :P And the cake itself, although I'll admit, not as good as my dad's recipe, was pretty darned good. My dad's bibingka is usually more chewy and glutinous than the recipe I made. This bibingka was more like a firm, creamy, egg and cassava pudding... not too sweet, but just sweet enough and with just enough coconut milk to not overpower the cassava taste. I'll have to ask my dad for his recipe... because there's one more pack of frozen cassava in the freezer and I definitely want to learn the secret to his chewy cassava cake recipe.

One thing that I'd probably do differently, is that I'd make the cake a bit thicker. Upon pouring the batter into the glass dish, I realized that I had much more batter than would fit into the glass dish; however, the leftover batter was not enough to make a completely whole, second cake. Perhaps if I had a larger glass dish... maybe a 9x13inch rectangle glass dish would have been just the right size. Well... there's always next time, because this recipe is so simply and easy to make! But, I'll probably wait until the heat dies down before I get back into that blazing hot kitchen.

July '10 Daring Baker's Challenge: Swiss Swirl Ice Cream Cake

The weather this summer has been tolerable but not very pleasant. Yes, the summer sun is out in full force and wrecking havoc upon those of us who dread the sunlight. I'm not a cold-blooded monster per se, just more of a fall/winter girl. Yes, I rather enjoy the cool, damp Autumn showers as well as the blisteringly frigid breeze that December brings. But that's not to say that summer doesn't have it's positive notes; one thing is for certain, during the summer-time nobody can give you the "glarey-eyes" if they catch you eating ice cream for dinner :P. And if they do give you the "glarey-eye" you know it's only because they're jealous that you're enjoying a frosty treat whilst they are left to suffer in the sweltering heat, without the reprieve of their own tasty sweet. Okay, maybe some of you health-nuts and parents out there don't condone ice cream as a meal... but when you're desperate and sweaty you must admit that nothing beats ice cream.

Anyways, all this banter is simply leading into this month's Daring Baker's Challenge which was hosted by Sunita of Sunita’s world – life and food. Sunita challenged everyone to make an ice-cream filled Swiss roll that’s then used to make a bombe with hot fudge. Her recipe is based on an ice cream cake recipe from Taste of Home.

So... on with the recipe... and the pretty pictures

Swiss Rolls

Ingredients:
- 6 medium sized eggs
- 1 cup caster sugar + extra for rolling
- 6 tbsp, a pinch over 1.5 oz of all purpose (plain) flour + 5 tbsp/a pinch under 1.5 oz of natural unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted together
- 2 tbsp of boiling water
- a oil for brushing the pans

Filling:
- 2 cups whipping cream
- 1 vanilla pod, cut into small pieces of ~ ½ cm (or 1 tsp vanilla extract)
- 5 tbsp caster sugar

Method:
1. Pre heat oven to 200C or 400F.

2. Brush baking pans ( 11 x 9 in) with a oil and line with greaseproof baking paper. If you have just one pan, bake one cake and then let the pan cool completely before using it for the next cake. 3. In a large mixing bowl, beat together eggs and sugar until very thick; when the beaters are lifted, it should leave a trail on the surface for at least 10 seconds.

4. Add the flour mixture, in three batches and fold in gently with a spatula. Fold in the water.
5. Divide the mixture among the two baking pans and spread it out evenly, into the corners of the pans.
6. Place a pan in the center of the pre-heated oven and bake for about 10-12 minutes or till the center is springy to the touch.
7. Spread a kitchen towel on the counter and sprinkle a little caster sugar over it.
8. Turn the cake on to the towel and peel away the baking paper. Trim any crisp edges.
9. Starting from one of the shorter sides, start to make a roll with the towel going inside. Cool the wrapped roll on a rack, seam side down.
10. Repeat the same for the next cake as well.
11. Grind together the vanilla pieces and sugar in a food processer till nicely mixed together. If you are using vanilla extract, just grind the sugar on its own and then add the sugar and extract to the cream.
12. In a large bowl, add the cream and vanilla-sugar mixture and beat till very thick.
13. Divide the cream mixture between the completely cooled cakes.
14. Open the rolls and spread the cream mixture, making sure it does not go right to the edges (a border of ½ an inch should be fine).

15. Roll the cakes up again, this time without the towel. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill in the fridge till needed, seam side down.

Vanilla Ice Cream

Ingredients:
- 2 ½ cup whipping cream
- 1 vanilla bean, minced or 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ½ cup granulated sugar

Method:
1. Grind together the sugar and vanilla in a food processor. In a mixing bowl, add the cream and vanilla –sugar mixture and whisk lightly till everything is mixed together. If you are using the vanilla extract, grind the sugar on its own and then and the sugar along with the vanilla extract to the cream.
2. Pour into a freezer friendly container and freeze till firm around the edges. Remove from the freezer, beat till smooth and return to the freezer. Do this 3-4 times and then set completely.

The Hot Fudge Sauce

Ingredients:
- 1 cup caster sugar
- 3 tbsp natural unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 tbsp cornflour/cornstarch
- 1 ½ cup water
- 1 tbsp butter
- 1 tsp vanilla extract

Method:
1. In a small saucepan, whisk together the sugar, cocoa powder, cornflour and water
2. Place the pan over heat, and stir constantly, till it begins to thicken and is smooth (for about 2 minutes).
3. Remove from heat and mix in the butter and vanilla. Keep aside to cool .

The Chocolate Ice Cream

Ingredients:
- 2 cups whipping cream
- 1 cup caster sugar
- 3 tbsp natural unsweetened cocoa powder

Method:
1. Grind together the sugar and the cocoa powder in a food processor .
2. In a saucepan, add all the ingredients and whisk lightly.
3. Place the pan over heat and keep stirring till it begins to bubble around the edges.
4. Remove from heat and cool completely before transferring to a freezer friendly container till firm around the edges. If you are using an ice cream maker, churn the ice cream according to the manufacturer’s instruction, after the mixture has cooled completely.
5. Remove from the freezer, beat till smooth and return to the freezer. Do this 3-4 times and then set completely

Assembly
1. Cut swiss rolls into 20 equal slices (~2 cms each)
2. Cover the bottom and sides of the bowl in which you are going to set the dessert with cling film/plastic wrap.
3. Arrange two slices at the bottom of the pan, with their seam sides facing each other. Arrange the Swiss roll slices up the bowl, with the seam sides facing away from the bottom, to cover the sides of the bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and freeze till the slices are firm (at least 30 minutes).
4. Soften the vanilla ice cream. Take the bowl out of the freezer, remove the cling film cover and add the ice cream on top of the cake slices. Spread it out to cover the bottom and sides of the bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and freeze till firm ( at least 1 hour)
5. Add the fudge sauce over the vanilla ice cream, cover and freeze till firm . ( at least an hour)
6. Soften the chocolate ice cream and spread it over the fudge sauce. Cover with plastic wrap and freeze for at least 4-5 hours till completely set .
7. Remove the plastic cover, and place the serving plate on top of the bowl. Turn it upside down and remove the bowl and the plastic lining. If the bowl does not come away easily, wipe the outsides of the bowl with a kitchen towel dampened with hot water. The bowl will come away easily.
8. Keep the cake out of the freezer for at least 10 minutes before slicing, depending on how hot your region is. Slice with a sharp knife, dipped in hot water.

I decided against making the hot fudge part and the chocolate ice cream part because I had gone a little overboard with the chocolate-ness of my swiss rolls. The over-zealousness of my frosting and my decision to make the frosting chocolate flavored versus vanilla flavoured was probably my downfall. The frosting kinda oozed out, and since it was a similar color to the cake it didn't really create that nice color-differentiation that would have added a lovely finesse to the Swiss Roll. Oh, well... there's always next time.

Also, I didn't have enough whipping cream to make a separate batch of chocolate ice cream, so I simply used up all of my vanilla ice cream to fill the bombe. I'm sure if I used the hot fudge and chocolate ice cream, the bombe would have looked ultra-fantastic... but my sisters and my parents were just so happy that I had made a cold treat for them to enjoy that had both the deliciousness of cake and the refreshing creaminess of ice cream. I really enjoyed making this recipe, and will definitely do it again sometime... probably sticking closer to the original recipe than I did this time.