Vanilla Bean Birthday Cake

So this month is my favourite month of the year because its my birthday month. So naturally, I give special attention to March babies. 

My Uncle C turns 55 this year and naturally I wanted to make him a cake. So I called up my cousin M and interrogated her on the flavours that he likes. Her only reply was that he likes anything vanilla.

Hmmm.. vanilla eh.. the first thoght that came to my mind was Adriano Zumbo's V8 Cake. I first saw it on the second season of Masterchef Australia. For the benefit of those who don't know who Zumbo is, he's an amazing patissier based in New South Wales, Australia. The V8 cake is basically an 8 layered and textured vanilla cake. It has layers like vanilla jelly, toasted vanilla brulee, vanilla daquoise and so on. 

So I searched for the recipe and oh my was this cake challenging. To begin with I had no access to ingredients such as miroir glaze, titanium dioxide, almond praline paste or pailette feuillitine (just to name a few). So instead of attempting all the layers, I decided to pick out components from the recipe. 

I decided on attempting the vanilla ganache to fill my layers with and vanilla creme chantilly to frost the cake. Mind you the whole thing is a min two day process.

So Monday night, I prepared the vanilla sheet cake. This was just a recipe that I always turn to for a simple white cake. In addition to the vanilla extract, I added vanilla beans as well for extra flavour.

Then whilst the cakes were baking in the oven, I quickly prepared the vanilla ganache and creme chantilly. Now the recipe for the vanilla ganache calls for 300g of white chocolate and when I went shopping for chocolate the day before, Cadbury Dream was 220g per block. So there I stood in the aisles of Cold Storage wondering weather I should get two blocks or just alter the recipe to accommodate the 220g. 

The creme chantilly called for thickened creme but I bought whipping cream instead and the final product (the next day) still whipped up well. Phew!

Can you see the specks of vanilla beans in the cake. It was heavily scented with Madagascan vanilla. Mmmmm .... 

Then came the vanilla ganache. Now when I took it out of the fridge, it was firm and held its shape. Then the more I started working with it, the more it started to melt. Arghhh once again my frustration with the Singapore heat. Sigh. I quickly filled the layers and popped it back into the fridge. But I can see the weight of the cake squeezing the ganache out. Moments like this I wish I had a blast freezer or cake ring... I'll invest in a cake ring.

Frosted the slightly cooled cake with the creme chantilly and piped rosettes all over it. It was still too hot for the frosting to hold its shape but it was 2am by then and I was like - I need to get this done.

Made smaller tasting pieces with the scraps. I tought it was too sweet and Mom thought it was perfect. Lets see what my Uncle says. 

Components of the Cake :- recipes adapted from Adriano Zumbo's V8 Cake

Vanilla Bean Cake
Any white sheet cake with vanilla beans added to it

Vanilla ganache
300g white couverture chocolate
185g thickened cream
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 vanilla bean, split, seeds scraped
95g unsalted butter, softened

Vanilla crème chantilly
4g gold strength gelatine leaves
590g thickened cream
1 vanilla bean, seeds scraped
175g caster sugar
24g cold water

To make the vanilla ganache, heat the cream, extract and vanilla seeds into a saucepan. Bring to to boil and pour over white chocolate. Mix all until combined and let it cool to room temperature. Whisk in the butter and refrigerate till needed.


To make the vanilla crème chantilly, cut gelatine into small squares, soak in the cold water. Place cream, vanilla and sugar in a saucepan and bring to the boil. Remove from the heat and allow to cool to 70-80°C, and then stir through the gelatine and water mixture until dissolved. Place in a container, cover the surface with cling wrap and place in the fridge.

Pandan Chiffon Cake

So I was food blogging and saw a recipe for Pandan Chiffon Cake. I had bought my Chiffon Cake tin yonkers ago at Sun Lik Trading Pte Ltd http://sunliktrading.com/ and never really had a recipe to try it out. Recipe called for pandan juice so I did some errands at the mall and bought my pandan leaves together with a few other groceries that you really don't need but just bought it anyways because you were there. Haiz. 

So I started my prep on Sunday. Step 1 was to extract the juice from the pandan leaves. One way was to pound the life out of it using a mortar and pestle. Wasn't feeling particularly strong that day and therefore opted to blitz it with some water in my sturdy Preethi blender. Squeezed out all the fragrant juice and et voila 1/2 cup of pandan juice. 

Then I mixed the egg yolks, oil, pandan juice, suagr,  flour a baking soda into an emulsion. In a separate bowl I whisked the egg whites to soft peaks, added sugar and continued whisking to achieve stiff glossy peaks. Then began folding the egg whites into the emulsion and it was a total pain ! The egg whites had to be folded in gently so as to not lose all the air. I kept folding and folding and most of the egg whites did get incorporated sans for a few small lumps that were really beginning to annoy me. Eventually I reached a point where I went enough is enough and poured the batter into the cake tin. Baked for 55 mins and the fragrance of the pandan filled the whole house. Dad was particularly excited as tea time was just around the corner as well.

Dad's verdict was that the cake was fluffy and moist but needed more pandan flavour. For me it was 'wet'  well actually moist but I guess that's because I was expecting the drier store bought versions. Aunt loved it too.


Pandan Chiffon Cake  Recipe adapted from pickyin.blogspot.sg


For the 94ml Pandan leaf juice:
10-12 pieces pandan leaves 
3-4 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons coconut milk (optional) 

For the flour batter:
135gm self-rising flour
75gm castor sugar
6 egg yolks
4.5 tablespoon corn oil
¼ tablespoon baking of soda

For the meringue:
6 egg whites
75gm castor sugar
½ tablespoon cream of tartar

Pre-heat oven to 170°C and position a wire rack at the lower third rack. Prepare a clean 23cm chiffon cake tin, do not grease!

Wash and cut the spears of pandan leaves into ½ inch pieces. Place into a blender and add 3 tablespoons of the water. Blend to form a thick paste, add another tablespoon of water if it is difficult to blend. Remove and squeeze out all the liquid from the paste through a fine strainer. You can either add some coconut milk, which will go nicely with the pandan  flavor, or add more water.

Sift the flour and baking soda into a small bowl. In a separate large mixing bowl, whisk the egg yolks with the corn oil to form an emulsion. Add the pandan leaf juice or pandan leaf juice plus coconut milk mixture. Mix well before adding the sugar and whisk till sugar has dissolved. Add sifted dry ingredients and whisk well into a smooth batter, there should be no lumps. Set aside.

Whisk together the egg whites and cream of tartar. Once the egg whites begin to foam, start adding the sugar gradually in 3 additions. Beat till the meringue is smooth and glossy, with stiff peaks. Be careful not to overbeat the egg whites.

Immediately stir in approximately 1/3 of the meringue into the batter. With a flexible rubber or silicon spatula, fold in the meringue gently and mix well. Once a roughly homogenous mixture is achieved, add the rest of the meringue and repeat the gentle, light-handed folding process till the cake batter is well combined. Scoop from the bottom of the bowl to ensure no meringue or flour batter is left unmixed. Do not beat or overwork the batter as this will knock out the air you've put into the meringue.

Pour the cake mixture into the cake tin. Using your spatula, dip it into the batter right to the bottom and make circles around the tin twice. This is to remove any large air bubbles possibly trapped while pouring in the cake batter.

Bake at 170°C for 10 minutes. Lower the temperature to 160°C and bake for another 45 to 50 minutes or until cake is done. The cake tester should come out clean. Don't fret if the top of your cake cracks a little, this is normal.

Remove the cake from the oven and immediately overturn it to cool completely, up to 2 hours. Release the cake by running a sharp, thin knife along the sides of the cake tin and subsequently the bottom of the tube. 

Cake keeps well chilled in an airtight container or cling wrapped up to five days (three if using coconut milk).

Hoshino Coffee

After some errands in town, Mom and I were contemplating spending the early part of the afternoon at a cafe; sipping coffee (for her - I don't drink coffee) and eating cakes (that's for me). Weeks before we had chanced upon a place that looked inviting but it was near closing for them so we missed the opportunity to dine there. As such, this time around we decided to give it a try.

The first thing that grabs your attention is all the frighteningly realistic looking plastic replicas of the menu. They look good enough for you to want to grab one and sink your teeth into it irregardless of the fact that you might break your jaw on the way. You almost  turn into a kid at a candy store (although that often happens to me). I remember deciding what I wanted to have ... maybe pancakes ... no no souffle perhaps ... a parfait ... oh god the choices ...

So before you get seated the wait staff hands you the menu and a blue sheet to fill out your order. I like the fact that the restaurant does not have too many menu options as I would prefer fewer well-executed dishes rather then a myriad of mediocre ones. Mom had to have her latte and opted for a vanilla souffle whilst I took the french toast stack.

We were promptly seated and served water. We handed over the blue sheet and the wait staff reconfirmed our order. Soon after she placed a printed receipt on our table. I haven't been dining out recently and I'm not sure if I like the idea of placing a printed receipt before the meal has been served. I'm sure it must have been done to manage what is being served to which table and so forth but now that I come to think of it I don't like the idea. 

Mom's latte was served first. I expected to see some drip coffee action around me but it didn't happen. I'm not sure if the drip action happens behind the scenes but oh well. I took a sip of her latte and was immediately hit with a strong roasted coffee taste. Not really sure if that is a good thing or not but Mom loved it and I guess that's all that matters. 

The vanilla souffle took some time to arrive. Understandable as souffles are meant to be baked and eaten straightaway. I found it a little too sweet and 'eggy'. It was soft and pillowy like all souffles but it just wasn't my cup of tea. Mom said she preferred my choice.

The french toast stack was good. Nice mound of french toast with a sprinkling of powdered sugar and a dollop of fresh cream which resembled the texture of Cool Whip and a jar of maple syrup. I thought it was going to be 'eggy' but surprise surprise it was mellow and ever so invitingly vanilla scented. The bread was well soaked and so it was soggy inside. Some might not like this but I LOVE soggy bread. Yup I'm the kind that doesn't butter my bread when tomatoes are put in, thus allowing it to get soggy. The surface of the toast was lightly crisped from being pan fried - I would have preferred more crisp but on the whole it was good.

We had a look at what the other diners were having and the food looked and smelled heavenly. All in all, it seems like a really nice place to have a relaxing conversation and good food.

HOSHINO COFFEE 
68 Orchard Road
Plaza Singapura #03-84

Tel : 6338 3277
Open daily from: 11am – 10pm (last order at 9.30pm)
Lunch: 11am – 3pm  

Coffee - S$7.00
Vanilla Souffle - $9.80
French Toast - $9.80
Total Bill - S$31.31

Sweet and Salty

I remember that afternoon being scorching hot and myself wanting to find some recluse from the heat. So my colleagues and I decided to have lunch at Burger King given the enticing air conditioning and short line at the cash registers. The boys ordered their mega burgers whilst I opted for my BK A4dables meal and had an additional soft serve - I blame the weather for tricking my brain into wanting more ice cream. 

So I started my meal with dessert - honestly all meals should start like that - but that day I was just being practical to avoid a pool of ice cream if I had started with my burger first. Midway enjoying my creamy frozen delight, I realised I had hot onion rings beckoning me. I've had fries with my soft serves at MacDonalds but never with onion rings. Hmmm...

So I picked up one dunked it into the mound of glistening white and ... chomp chomp chomp. Oh my god ... YUM ! Yes folks, sweet and salty always works for me. The cold and hot was an interesting contrast too that then melded into a warm joy in my mouth. 

I know my colleagues thought I was nuts but hey give it a try first before you diss it !

Burger King (Arena Country Club)

Mon - Fri: 10:00 - 22:00

Sat - Sun: 08:00 - 22:00

BK A4dables (No upsize) - S$4.95

Vanilla Soft Serve - S$0.70

Soft serve and Onion Rings - Priceless