'The Emma-Lily': A Rose, Lychee and Raspberry Chiffon Cake

 

 

Have you ever eaten a cake with this combination of flavours before? Well I certainly havn't, and who knew it would work out so well; we were all surprised. I made this cake for my best friend's (aka the flat mate) birthday, and I guess she was my inspiration. When I make birthday cakes I like to add a bit of something from the person I am making it for, be it their favourite flavour, colour, or even a little bit of their personality in an edible form of course. So this cake really is like my best friend encapsulated in one bite: sweet, light, pretty and fruity. She loved it. When I was browsing through recipes I stumbled upon a blog called 'The Pleasure Monger' and I can't recommend it enough. I used a combination of recipes to make this cake. I really loved her take on the 'Ispahan' cake inspired by Pierre Herme (one of my favourite patisserie chefs, the other being Hidemi Sugino). Whilst I was drooling at the beautiful photos of this cake I just knew that I wanted to do my own take on it, but on a bigger scale to make more fitting for birthday celebrations. I know that Herme loves to do things in mini portions, but the bigger the better right?! Well at least there would be more to share.

 
The recipe is a combination of various recipes which have been played around a little bit. I experimented with things like the jelly and the creme mousseline, as I've never added anything like that to a cake before and I can tell you that this is just the start of something new. I love creme mousseline, it's so much better than filling the cake with just normal whipped cream or butter cream! Chiffon cake is another thing which I was 'experimenting' with as I have never made it before so didn't really know how to handle the cake or even how to make it in the first place; thank heavens for instructions which I solemnly follow to a tee. I am now a chiffon cake lover, they are just soo light and fluffy that it is actually quite easy to finish of a whole cake without much effort. Also I consider them healthier than normal cake as they contain less sugar and not too much oil; it's the  whipped egg whites which transforms the cake from the ordinary to the extraordinary.

Rose and lychee are unusual flavours to use in cakes and you don't come across them too often. Some of you may be wondering how exactly I incorporated these flavours into the cake, well the 2 secrets are rose syrup and a can of tinned lychees. If you can't find rose syrup use rose water and add a bit of red/pink food colouring to it, and if you don't have rose essence just dilute the rose syrup with some water. I don't know how easy it is to get hold of lychees either fresh or tinned but they sell both in the supermarkets here in the UK, you just have to look. I thought that by adding both flavours to the cake that one of them may be a bit washed out but to my surprise you could definitely taste both, definitely the rose in the creme chantilly and the lchee in the creme mousseline and in the centre of the cake; the perfect balance of flavours. And the raspberries and strawberries did their job well too by not only looking pretty but also adding that extra sharp fruity hit to the palate in contrast to the creamyness of the rest of the cake. For those people who don't like overly sweet cakes this was definitely not too sweet, which in a way is bad as it means you can eat more and more and more of the cake without feeling too sick.

This recipe makes a fabulous birthday cake and if you have a day to spare why not spend it making this beauty of a cake, your tummy for sure won't regret it. The cake weighed at least 2-3kg and just about fit in the fridge luckily and it was a bit of a challenge finishing it. Luckily (or not so luckily some may argue :-p) we shared it with a few friends and devoured it in about 2 days. Those 2 days our diets literally consisted of cake, and we were definitely sad to see it all go. I'll just have to make it again.

Recipe:

Rose Chiffon Cake

Refer to this recipe from Evan's Kitchen Ramblings.

Lychee Chiffon Cake

Refer to this recipe from The Pleasure Monger for the cake batter. Don't add the food colouring and use the liquid in the can of tinned lychees instead of fresh lychee juice (unless you happen to have fresh lychee juice).

Creme Mousseline

Refer to this recipe from The Pleasure Monger and double the quantities. I didn't have lychee liqueur so I added the same quantity of lychee juice as a substitute.

Ispahan Jelly

Adapted from this recipe.

140g water
3 tablespoon canned lychee juice
1/2 tbsp rose syrup
10g sugar
8 raspberries crushed
5g gelatin sheets softened in cold water
1tsp red food colouring

Add all the ingredients except the gelatin sheets into a saucepan and bring to a simmer. Then take the saucepan off the heat and add the softened gelatin sheets and mix well. Now sieve the mixture so that it is clear. Pour into a tin foil lined circular tin which is slightly smaller than the chiffon cake tin. Leave to cool a bit. Leave in the fridge for at least 5-6 hours until it is set and jelly like. 

Rose Creme Chantilly

750ml double/whipping cream
3tbsp icing sugar
1 1/2 tbsp rose syrup
a few drops of red food colouring

Add all the ingredients to a mixing bowl and combine. Whisk the cream till stiff peaks form (be careful not to over-whip the cream). You can adjust the flavour according to your taste such as adding more rose syrup or adding more or less sugar.

Vanilla Creme Chantilly 

150ml double/whipping cream
1/2tbsp icing sugar
a few drops vanilla essence

Add all the ingredients to a mixing bowl and combine. Whisk the cream till stiff peaks form (be careful not to over-whip the cream).

Extras
Lychees- either fresh or tinned lychees
Raspberries to go inside the cake and on top for decoration
Strawberries for decoration



Assembly:

1. Trim off the outer layer on the chiffon cakes as the brown will show when you slice the cake. In hindsight I should have trimmed literally all the sides and not just the top layer. Make sure both cakes are even and of the same size. Place the base cake layer on a cake board so it saves you transferring the cake later.

 2. Cover the bottom cake layer (I used the rose chiffon as the base) with some creme mousseline.

 3. Add whatever fruit you want in the middle or none at all. I first added a ring of raspberries.

4. Then I filled the centre with some lychees.

5. Pipe some more creme mousseline on top.

6.Smooth over the creme mousseline making sure it enters all the gaps and covers the raspberries on the sides. Place in the fridge whilst you do the next bit so that the creme mousseline hardens a bit.

7. Make a hollow in the middle of the top layer of cake (I used the lychee chiffon for this) which is the same size as the Ispahan jelly container.

8. Carefully add the Ispahan jelly into the hollow. If it the jelly breaks it's not the end of the world, don't worry, it's in the center so people won't notice so much.

9. Place this top layer of cake on top of the base so that it is jelly side face down. Patch up the sides with any left over creme mousseline so that it's even and smooth.

10.Now start adding the rose creme chantilly onto the cake. Spread with a palette knife.

 

11. Keep smoothing it over until it is as perfect as you can get it.

12. Pipe the vanilla creme chantilly onto the cake as a ring of small peaks.

13. Add raspberries on top of the vanilla creme chantilly peaks.

 14. Slice some strawberries and add to the centre of the cake. Serve the cake as soon as you can whilst it's fresh. Otherwise you can put it in the fridge for a few days (I don't know how long as it was all gone in around 2 days), but be warned the strawberries will dry out unless you put a glaze on them.

Sources:
The Pleasure Monger
Evan's Kitchen Ramblings 


A post by Fullest of Life

Sticky Cinnamon Rolls

I seriously can't wait to tell you about this recipe just because of how great it turned out and how delicious it tastes. I wasn't expecting too much when I made it, but boy was I surprised. It is probably one of the most delicious sweet recipes I've made, and it puts any of the shop bought cinnamon rolls that I have eaten before to shame. If you are going to make this don't miss out the sticky caramel sauce for the top as that is what transforms the rolls from good to absolutely brilliant. It's also how well the pecans work with the caramel, and cinnamon which is just truley scrumptious. The best thing is if you eat them warm; imagine a steaming cinammon scented roll topped with with warm melted caramel and toasted pecans, how can it not be good?! Have I tempted you yet? If so get baking now! Hurry, quick!

Makes: 14 rolls
Preparation time: 4-5 hrs

Recipe

Ingredients:

Dough
4 1/2- 5 cups flour (I used strong white bread flour)
a 7g satchet of dried yeast
1 cup milk
1/3 cup butter
1/3 cup white sugar
1/2 tsp salt
3 eggs
3 tbsp cream (for the glaze)

Filling

3/4 cup light brown sugar

1/4 cup flour

1 tbsp ground cinnamon

1/2 cup cold butter cubed

1 tbsp cream

1/2 cup chopped nuts/ raisins

Caramel Topping

3 tbsp light brown sugar

3 tbsp caster sugar

3 tbsp cream

3 tbsp butter
1/2 cup chopped pecans


Sugar Glaze
1/2-3/4 cup icing sugar
1 tbsp cream
a few drops water

Method:

1. Make the dough: in a bowl mix the yeast and flour.

2. In a saucepan warm the milk, butter, sugar and salt till all the butter melts.

3. Slowly beat in the butter mixture into half of the flour mixture.

3. Now beat in the eggs one by one. Beat the mixture for at least 3 mins.

4. Slowly add the other half of the flour mixture, use a dough hook or a wooden spoon to mix.

5. Once the dough comes together it shouldn't be sticky when you touch it, and it shouldn't be hard (don't add too much flour). On a lightly floured surface, knead it for at least 5 mins. Place in an oiled container and cover with a damp tea towel or an oiled piece of clingfilm for around 2 hrs in a warm place, till the dough doubles in size.

 

6. Once the dough has double in size punch it down and let the dough rest for 10 mins.

7. Make the filling: in a bowl add the sugar, flour, cinnamon and mix. Now add the butter and cream and using a knife cut the butter into the mixture till it looks crumbly.

8. Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface til it reaches a 30cm square (or a rectangle like mine).

9. Sprinkle the filling mixture and chopped nuts/raisins on top of the dough. You can also sprinkle some extra brown sugar combined with some cinammon to ensure good coverage.

10. Roll the dough keeping it tight.

 
11. You should now have a tight dough roll.Cut of the ends

 

 12. Divide the dough into 14 equal pieces.

13. Place into an oiled container (I used a cake and flan tin). Cover with oiled cling film and allow to rise for around 1-2hrs.

14. You can either bake the dough now or tommorrow if you place it in the fridge and then leave it at room temperature for 30mins before baking tommorrow. If baking, use a pastry brush to coat the surface with cream. In a pre-heated oven at 190C bake for 20-30mins till the rolls are browned.

15. To make the caramel sauce: Toast the pecan nuts in the oven for a few minutes. Place the sugar, butter, and cream into a saucepan and heat till all the butter is melted and all the sugar is dissolved, and the mixture looks like caramel. Add the nuts into the caramel. Now drizzle this caramel sauce over the cinammon rolls (easier to leave the rolls in the tins).

16. Make the sugar glaze: Mix the icing sugar and cream together and add a few drops of water till the right consistency is achieved (it should 'drizzle').Once the caramel sauce and buns have cooled drizzle this cugar glaze on top.

17. They're ready to eat!

Source:
Joy of Baking


A post from the Fullest of Life

4 Plait Braided White Bread

Today I tackled bread making. I have not always been that confident at making bread, and when I did make it the last time the loaf turned out hard and didn't rise. So you can understand why I don't really delve very much into the world of bread making. But today I felt optimistic and thought I would give it a go. I searched for a basic bread recipe and found one on the Good Food Channel. So I began, combining all the ingredients together and of course it turned out be be a big sticky mess and as much as I avoided getting my hands too messy I realised that there would be no other way; I don't have a bread maker or a food processor to do all the work for me so I didn't have any other option. My favourite part is the kneading, I can see how it can be quite soothing when you're feeling frustrated or angry, as you can put all this energy into the bread making. You actually need to kneed it for quite a while and you can't be too gentle; I swear my arms got a good work out. It's so satisfying when the bread actually rises as you know that you've done something right at least. I didn't want to make an ordinary loaf as you can buy that from the shops, so I decided to make something a little bit more special and pretty: braided bread. There is a bread called 'Challah' which is braided and contains egg, it's traditionally eaten by Jews on the Sabbath. Whilst my bread wasn't a Challah recipe I still wanted it to look like one, so I learnt how to braid it on youtube. Did you know that you can make breads from a number of strands (e.g.3,4,5 and 6) each resulting in a different pattern? One day I will make all the different ones and see which one I like the best. But for now I decided to go with the 4 stranded, simply because it's an even number which sounds good. If you don't want this extra hassle of braiding, just put the dough in a loaf tin and allow it to rise. So I've finished the hard bit which is mixing, kneading and waiting for the dough to rise, and now I'm finally ready to bake it, I'll let you know how it turns out when it's done.

It's in the oven...


Baking...


Baking...


Oooo it's turning golden in colour...


Still baking...


Smells good, mmmm...


Done!!!


Have a look, what do you think?

Check out the crust, soo glossy!

 Look inside- light and airy!

Verdict: It seems to have worked! Now I have bread to make butties :-)

Makes: 1 large loaf
Preparation time: 5 hrs

Recipe 

Ingredients:
500g strong white bread flour
300ml warm water
2 tbsp olive/vegetable oil
2 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
a 7g sachet of dried yeast
1 beaten egg

Method:
1. In a bowl mix the flour, salt, and yeast till well combined.

2. In another bowl mix the water, oil, and sugar together till all the sugar dissolves.

3. Slowly add the water mixture into the flour and mix with a wooden spoon (or use a food processor to mix).

4. The dough should start to come together. You'll need to use your hands at this point to bring the dough together and then knead the dough (use the palms of your hands and turn the dough whilst you knead it)  for 10 mins.

5. Put the dough in an oiled container and place a wet kitchen cloth or an oiled piece of cling film on top. Leave to rest for around 2 hrs in a warm place till the dough doubles in size.

6. Place the dough on a lightly floured surface and punch the air out, and knead for 2 mins.

7. Mould the dough to what ever shape you like; put in a loaf tin, make rolls, or braid. Loosely cover with clingfilm and leave to rest in a warm place for around 1-2 hrs till the dough rises/ doubles in size.Use a pastry brush to glaze the dough with egg wash.

 

 

 

8. Bake in a pre-heated oven at 200C for 25-40 mins (the time really varies with the type of oven used and the size of the loaf) till the loaf sounds hollow and is browned on the surface, if the loaf looks like it's burning on the top place some foil over it whilst baking. You can also turn the bread over (without the tin) for the last 5 mins so that the base also becomes cooked.
To confirm that the bread is done you can also use a meat thermometer through the base of the bread which should have a core temperature of 94C (200F).

9. Leave the bread to cool on a wire cooling rack or eat whilst it's nice and warm.
 

Source:
The Good Food Channel
Youtube


A post from the Fullest of Life