festive yummies » maameemoomoo

Kek Lapis with Cranberry

Jan 272011

I *love* Kek Lapis!

I don’t care that it is ultra high in calories, the fact that it contains 20 egg yolks and uses a whopping 500g of butter just for an eight inch cake. I *love* Kek Lapis. Period.

Truth be told, i’m one of those who will not say no whenever i am offered to sample this delectable cake at mostly shopping malls at this time of the year. Heck, even if i’m not offered, i’d go up and take one sample just satisfy the palate! Yes, i’m that shameless! *hide*

BUT!

It’s only for this cake. Cookies and others… my interest just isn’t quite there. Hee!

For those who have no idea what i’m talking about (probably just a few of you), Chinese New Year is just next week! One of the must have for the family, apart from pineapple tarts and bak kwa, is Kek Lapis. Instead of buying it off the shelves this year, i took up the challenge from Darcy (again) and baked us not 1 but 2 cakes (didn’t have the right cake pan so i baked another cake using the extra batter simultaneously!)!

I’m mad, am i not? ^_^

It was hard work alright.

I almost didn’t leave the kitchen for 3 hours!

Having said that, i quite enjoy the whole process though. The thrill of squatting down, — yeah, so not glam i know! :P — seeing each layer successfully baked in the oven, the joy of poking the cooked cake with toothpick which emits the most droolicious smell ever and dubiously spreading layer after layer… are really quite delightful!

For a while, i thought the cake would be a flop especially after the first 2 layers. Firstly, i was not using the required cake pan. Secondly, i don’t own a metal fondant smoother, so the first few layers which i pressed down with a spoon, the baked layer got torn a little (i was too rough). And thirdly, i have no idea how much batter i should add and how high the cake will rise up to.

But i’m glad everything turns out quite O.K though there is much room for improvement when i’m baking this cake again next week. ;)

Kek Lapis with Cranberry

Ingredients
(revised version)
20 egg yolks
4 egg whites
500g salted butter
3 tbsp condensed milk
250g sugar (orig : 350g!)
200g plain flour
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
2 tsp vanilla essence
4 tbsp rum or brandy
60g dried cranberries (optional)

Method
1. Butter the base of an 8″ X 8″ X 2.5″ pan and line with baking parchment.
2. Pre-heat your oven at 200C, selecting the grill function.
3. Sift the plain flour and spices together. Mix in the dried cranberries.
4. Beat the egg yolks and sugar together until pale yellow, thick and creamy
5. Cream the butter and condensed milk together until soft and fluffy. Add the creamed butter to the egg yolk mixture and mix until combined.

6. Beat the egg whites until medium firm peaks.
7. Fold in the egg whites, followed by the flour mixture into the rest of the batter.
8. Stir in the vanilla essence and rum until well-combined.
9. Spread a thin layer of batter onto the parchment paper.
10. Grill for 7 – 8 mins on the lowest rack in your oven or until lightly golden brown.
11. Remove cake pan from oven and press the baked layer down lightly with a metal fondant smoother. Prick all over the layer of cake with a toothpick.
12. Repeat steps 9 to 11 for each layer.
13. For the last layer, turn the oven down to 150 degrees C and bake on middle rung for 15 minutes or until golden brown.
14. Remove from oven and run a paring knife along the edges of the cake pan.
15. Turn the cake out of the pan and remove the baking parchment.
16. Flip cake back upright and let cool.

Recipe adapted from here.

———————

Submitting this to Muhibbah Monday to Suresh at 3hungrytummies :)

Donna Hay's Christmas Fruit Cake

cakes, festive yummies, love & marriage 20 Responses »

Jan 132011

I know what you’re thinking! ^_^

Christmas Cake?!?!

On January 13th?!?!

Heeeeee.. yes, go ahead and laugh.

It’s no secret that i am always lagging behind in posting my bakes by now. Even for most of those in food, i usually bake them after the craze dies. Hahahaaa!

So if you will, do pardon this very outdated post of mine, Christmas Fruit Cake.. my very first fruit cake :)

Truth be told, fruit cake ain’t my slice of cake.

I’m not a fan at all. I will not even eat it if you were to place it right in front of me. I just don’t like fruit cakes. Period. But. Darcy does! In fact, for Darcy, fruit cakes equates Christmas.

This Last year, Darcy said something rather laughable, not because i’m cocky or think i could do it for sure but more because he couldn’t just ask nicely. Men… *rolls eyes* :PppPp

Just because he loves fruit cakes but doesn’t like the store bought ones (terribly sweet!) …..

(between the supermarket aisles 2 weeks before X’mas)

Darcy : you don’t know how to bake a fruit cake right?

(before i could answer)

Darcy : i know you don’t.

me : (narrowed my eyes and threw him deadly look) yeah, you are so right! i don’t know how to bake a fruit cake. so you better get one from here.

Darcy : i knew it! you really don’t know how to bake a fruit cake! *shook his head in that manner, yes, that you-are-very-lousy-manner manner*

me : *lips pursed, nose wrinkled, eyes narrowed once more and ready to pounce but alas, i was not at home so i settled for a couple of pinches on the arse *

—————————————

Ummm.. so what is the fruit cake doing here then?!?

One word : Love. :)

Not sure if it was the brandy i used, but goodness gracious me, this cake is awwwwsssommmeee! YES, i’m now a convert! A 101% convert. It’s so good that i couldn’t even resist the cake batter! Heh! To wait for a week before slicing it was pure torture. It was mother of all tests! Haha! I needed to hide it in order to get the cake outta my head!

So yes, if you are anything like me, or my sister (also a convert now, thanks to me :P) who winces and wrinkles nose at the mere mention of fruit cakes, may i suggest you to give this more than palatable fruit cake a try?

Trust me, you will love it!

Grandma’s Fruit Cake

(adapted from Donna Hay’s Modern Classic 2)

1 packet of Silver Bird’s fruit mix (i dislike my cake to be jam packed with fruits)
1/2 cup of silvered almonds
1 cup brandy (i use Otard XO)
250g butter, softened
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 dark molasses
4 eggs
2 1/4 cups plain flour, sifted
1/4 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground allspice
1/2 cup milk
1-2 tbsp brandy or sherry, extra

1. Place the fruits in a bowl and pour over the brandy. Cover & allow to soak overnight -> i soaked for a week for more robust flavor.

2. Pre-heat oven to 140C. Place the butter & sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer & beat until light & creamy. Gradually add the eggs & beat well.

3. Place the butter & fruit mixtures, flour + nuts, baking soda, all spice & cinnamon into a large bowl and mix together to combine. Alternate the flour mixture with milk to combine. Line a 20cm (8 inch) square cake tin with two layers of non stick baking paper.

4. Spoon in the mixture & bake for 2 hours or until cooked (mine needed only an hour. do check often as this cake dries up rather quick once it’s baked). Pour over the extra brandy while cake is still hot. Cool in tin.

Note : This cake may be stored in an airtight container up to 2 months.

——————————

You can eat this cake right after it cools or if you like, you can wrap it tight with cling film and let it sit for at least a day or 2 for a better tasting cake. Mine sat for a good whole 7 days!

After that, i served each and every slice of the warm (i heated them up) cake with a cold brandied crème anglaise.

Aaahh… blisssssss~

Hot buns for sure!

bread, festive yummies 2 Responses »

Apr 042010

I never thought of making any Hot Cross Buns this year for Easter.

I mean, we don’t even celebrate Easter!

Talk about the power of food bloggers and Twitter… i got lured and seduced into it somehow. But that was also because i happened to free and at home since 2pm… otherwise, you know.. buns in time just before dinner?

No way!

If you know how to make bread, this buns ain’t a problem.

It’s chicken feet even! :P

The teeeeeny weeeeeeny ma fan part gotta be the piping… y’know, when everything’s done and you just wanna put your legs up finally, then you realized you need to get your butt butt up and mix the flour + water to do the whitish-yellowish cross…

Having fun with yeast is pretty thrilling…

First is when you see your yeast’s mixture bubbling after 5 minutes… it simply means, your yeast is not spoilt! *yay*

Then it’s onto proofing no. 1… just like the picture below left (above), initial dough doubling or sometimes, tripling! What a sight to behold…. Grin.

I’ll usually let out a small shriek without fail whenever i see this happens.

But.

I’ll let out a louder shriek without fail whenever i don’t see this happens!

Oh, proofing no.2 gets me excited too. It never fails to fill one’s life with happy air around him/her whenever one sees the gaps in between fills up nicely. Well, i don’t know about you but for a simpleton like me, a smile is always there… :)

However, the same cannot be said when i see my jeans is being filled up nicely the next day after all the carbs-loading though! >.<

The best part about bread making?

When the bread is being baked in the oven!

The aroma…..

AaaaaaaaaaaaaAaaaaaaahHHhhhh……~~

Indescribable. Period.

“Hot Cross Buns!

Hot Cross Buns!

Hot and yummy,

Hot Cross Buns!”

Verdict : the song above says it all! ;)

I totally dig the sweet glaze and the delicious raisins!Next time, i’ll up the quantity of the raisins for sure. And of course, as you would probably notice already.. what a runny flour mixture i have! Sniffs… Hence, my not-so-good-looking-buns-with-ugly-cross! Not to mention, i divided the dough using “agaration” method which resulted one bun bigger than the other. AIYO! :P

Hot Cross Buns

From Donna Hay’s Modern Classic 2

1 tablespoon active dry yeast

½ cup caster sugar

1 ½ cups (375ml) lukewarm milk

4 ¼ cups plain flour, sifted

2 teaspoons mixed spice (i used 1/2 tsp mixed spice + 1/2 tsp nutmeg)

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon (upped to 3 tsp)

¼ cup mixed candied peel, finely chopped (skipped!)

50g butter, melted

1 egg

1 1/2 cups mixed sultanas (i only used 3/4, will use 1 cup next time!)

Crosses

1/2 cup plain flour

1/3 cup water (i’d prob use just 1/4 cup next time)

Glaze : i used jam, strawberry jam.. because it’s the only jam i could find in the fridge ;)

Method

Place the yeast, two teaspoons of the sugar and milk in a jug or bowl and set aside for 5 minutes. The mixture will start to foam, indicating the yeast is active.
In a large bowl, combine the flour, spices, sultanas, mixed peel and remaining sugar. Add the butter, egg and milky yeast mixture. Mix using a butter knife until a sticky dough forms.
Knead the dough on a well floured surface for 8 minutes or until elastic. Place in an oiled bowl, cover with a tea towel and allow to stand in a warm place for 1 hour or until doubled in size. Divide the dough into 12 pieces and roll into balls.
Grease a 23cm (9 inch) square cake tin and line with non-stick baking paper. Place the dough balls in the tin, cover with a tea towel and set aside for 30 minutes or until they rise.
Preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F). For the crosses, combine the flour and water and using a piping bag, pipe crosses on the buns. Bake for 35 minutes or until well browned and springy to touch.
Brush the glaze over the buns while they are hot.

——————–

Hope you had a fantabulous Easter! :D

CNY & The Gold Bars

boys & funday, cakes, festive yummies 6 Responses »

Feb 182010

With so many egg whites left from pineapple tarts making, the most appropriate bakes to use them all up during this festive season would be the Gold Bar, or better known as Financiers. At least, that was what i thought! :P

Of course, the fact that i bought the mold few months ago and have not had the chance to use it yet was another reason too!

No cracks!! The way it is supposed to be :)

When i first read the instructions in the recipe, i thought i read it wrongly. Then i re-read and realized i wasn’t wrong at all. The egg whites require no whisking to stiff peaks! When i first baked these babies years ago, the recipe from Carole Bloom instructed me specifically to whisk my whites to stiff peaks! And Keiko Ishida doesn’t.

How odd!

For the fun of it, i experimented the same recipe, 2 ways.

Matcha ones with stiff peaks whites and the rum ones with slight beating whites.

My verdict?

I like the rum ones!

BUT.

The thing is, i filled the batter 50% full for my matcha ones and when i realized later that they didn’t rise that much, i filled the rum ones to almost brim touching!

So, i can’t really judge, can i? ^.^

Most importantly, both tasted just as good… despite the difference, aesthetically.

p.s : amount of sugar has been adjusted according to my personal preference. :)

Recipe (adapted from Keiko Ishida’s Okashi)

Pastry flour        50g [i used plain flour]
Corn flour          5g
Baking powder 1/2 tsp
Egg White          130g
Castor Sugar      130g 80-90g
Ground almonds 50g
Salt                    pinch
Unsalted butter 130g
Green tea powder 10g

Method :
1. Preheat oven to 220C.
2. Sift flour,corn flour, baking powder and green tea powder together.
3. In a mixing bowl, lightly beat egg white with sugar and salt. Add ground almond, and flour mixture in stages.
4. In a heavy saucepan, heat butter until brown and fragrant. Once browned, transfer butter to a different bowl and cool down immediately using ice water.
5. Add browned butter gradually to flour batter and mix well to incorporate butter into flour batter.
6. Pour batter into molds and bake at 220C (i turned it down to 150C instead) for 15mins.

—————————————————————

As of the many years before this, CNY photo with the boys on the Day 1!