Steamed Cheese Cake 蒸芝士蛋糕

There is this Steamed Cheese Cake in Sun Moulin bakery (Isetan KL) that I love very much.., moist, cottony soft…

But look at mine… it’s not as soft or moist as Sun Moulin’s..but still…. Yummy, with a nice cheese aroma..

This is a recipe that I found on Pinky Fantasy’s site. Her steamed cake smiled wide, but mine is round with a dome, similar with the one where Pinky Fantasy got the recipe from which is Warm Sweet Home.. Both of them found the cake a bit tasteless on the cheese side, Warm Sweet Home cut down on the cheese, but Pinky Fantasy didn’t. Maybe they expected more, I guess…

To me, I expected it to taste somewhat like Sun Moulin’s, so I wasn’t that disappointed. The strength of the aroma is similar to the one in Sun Moulin, but taste wise… not as soft. The mouth feel is like a steamed pound cake. Sun Moulin’s steamed cheese cake has a flat surface, while mine is dome shaped, so, definitely the texture will be different.

This is a definite keeper, nice for breakfast or tea. I modified it a bit, rounding up some measurements making it easier for my non digital weighing scale.

Steamed Cheese Cake Recipe

Ingredients: (I made 7 pcs with this amount, just nice to make a hexagon on my steaming wok.)
100 ml milk
10 gm butter (1 mini plastic pack)
2 pcs cheese slice ( Kraft Singles, Chesdale type, I used Valumetric)
1 large egg

100gm low gluten flour (Pau flour)
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
50 gm sugar
1 tbsp cheese powder

Method:
1. Bring milk to a boil and turn off the fire. Put in butter and cheese slices to melt. Let mixture cool down a bit and beat in egg.
2. Prepare steamer and bring water to a boil.
3. Sift flour with baking powder. Mix in sugar and cheese powder.
4. Pour the egg cheese mixture into the dry ingredients and combine well.
5. Spoon batter into paper cups in muffin tins.
6. Steam at high heat for 15 minutes.


These were my first attempts before the minor adjustments of recipe.
My 2nd attempt looked smoother on the dome, with the cheese granules not visible.

Chicken and Oyster Mushroom Soup 平菇鸡汤

This soup was created way back in 2001, when I was still staying with my buddies after graduation.

I never liked Chicken Rice Wine Soup, I like it before the wine is added, but not after the wine. So, my grandaunt will always ladle out one bowl for me before she adds the wine. That was when I was a child.

Many many years later, I wanted to do 'that pre wine chicken soup', and there were these mushrooms in the fridge almost going to go rotten if I don't cook it soon. So, in they went into the soup... and it made it even more delicious. The grey oyster mushrooms added an extra touch of sweetness to the soup..and it thickens the soup a bit.. lovely addition..

This soup has lots of ginger in it, and my hubby is no fan of ginger... yet, he says it is good! Best taken on a cold rainy day...

Chicken and Oyster Mushroom Soup Recipe

Ingredients:

1 chicken whole leg or 2 thighs (cut small)

1 tsp salt

3/4 cup of ginger (roughly 6 inches), smashed with the back of a cleaver. (If u like to eat ginger, by all means, slice it or julienne it)

2 tbsp oil

4 cups water

200 gm grey oyster mushroom (torn to smaller pieces)

Method:

1. Marinate chicken pieces with salt for 15 minutes.

2. Heat wok, fry ginger with oil until slightly golden.

3. Put in marinated chicken and stir fry for 3-4 minutes.

4. At this point, if you want to discard some oil, you may do so.

5. Pour in water and bring to a boil. Simmer chicken soup on medium heat for 10 minutes.

6. Add in oyster mushrooms and simmer for another 3 minutes.

7. Taste and place onto a bowl.

Pink Dragon Fruit Jelly 2 (火龙果冻 2)

As I mentioned in the previous dragon fruit jelly posting, I'll do this again with modifications.

And yes I did! This time, more flavourful.

Ingredients:

1 cup of red dragon fruit puree (pureed with a fork)

2 tbsp lemon juice

6 cups water

400 gm honey (depends on the sweetness of your honey)

2 tbsp agar-agar powder (about 16gms)

Method:

1. Puree dragon fruit flesh with a fork. Mix in lemon juice.

2. Bring 5 cups water to a boil, mix agar-agar powder with 1/2 cup water and pour in. Rinse the container where the agar was mixed in with the last 1/2 cup water and pour in. Simmer for 5 minutes. Turn off fire.

3. Pour in honey and mix well.

4. Mix in fruit puree and pour into moulds to cool down.

5. Chill in the fridge.

Chinese Style Potato Chicken. (Hor Lan Shu Kai) 马铃薯鸡

Chinese Style Potato Chicken Recipe

2 pcs of chicken thigh (cut into small pieces)
2 tbsp oil 1 inch ginger (smashed)
2 pips garlic (chopped)
2 Russet potatoes (cut into chunks)
a few stalks of green onion cut 2 inch long.

Seasoning A)
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 cup water ( enough water to cover the chicken and potato)

Seasoning B)
1 tsp sugar
½ tsp salt
½ tsp cornstarch
½ cup water
1 tsp dark soy sauce

Heat wok on high heat. Put in oil, garlic and ginger. Add in chicken, fry until the chicken the flesh surface is seared. Add in potatoes, fry for a minute. Add seasoning (A). Cover and cook until the edge of potatoes can be crumbled when lightly pressed with a spatula. When the potatoes can be crumbled, add in (B). When the sauce thickens to preferred consistency, add in green onions and turn off the fire. Dish up and serve with rice.

****
The final seasoning are added in last because the potatoes will soak up most of the saltiness if added in too early.
I like my potatoes crumbling in my mouth when I bite into them, so i dun fry them before hand. And this crumbling effect cannot be achieved with those potatoes used in making ABC soup.

Strawberry Mirror Cake 草莓镜子蛋糕

I was captivated the moment I saw the picture!! And I hadn't even tasted it!! I'd just got to try out this cake. Pink with strawberries, layered with a nice yellow sponge... Yummy yummy. The picture is in http://simplyannes.blogspot.com/2007/07/pretty-in-pink.html. Well, it was a Daring Baker's challenge, and the recipe can be found at http://www.culinaryconcoctionsbypeabody.com/2007/07/30/mirror-mirroron-the-wall/

Well, I'm a novice at making cakes, other than pound cakes or chiffon cakes. And I've never whipped cream using dairy whipping cream, never made real custard with egg yolks and milk.... Yet, I'm determined to try this out, all because I love strawberries.


My first attempt :
Made several mistakes with the bavarian cream, but the sponge cake and mirror was good.
Mistakes:-----
1. Over beat the whipping cream, and made butter instead. But I still dumped them into the filling. Looked ugly, but still tasted alright.
2. Boiled the custard, so it curdled... looks grainy.. ugly, but still tasted alright.
3. Made manila card sqaure spring form pans. And they were too soft that they didn't remain a square when filled, but bulged by the sides.
4. Didn't wait for the custard to cool down enough before mixing with the curdled whipping cream and the whole bavarian cream was too liquidy when poured onto the frozen sponge. My sponge cake floated..

2nd attempt: Successful!!! In terms of assemby and taste.
And I made one in a springform and one in a square cake tin. It was my niece's birthday and I'm glad I didn't spoil her cake..... totally. But... I don't know why there are white streaks on the mirror.. and me, being worried that I won't be able to unmould the cake properly, put cling film on the sides of the spring form pan. when I did unmould it, there were lines on the sides of the cake from the cling film... looked pretty ugly that way. I should've prepared some whipped cream to cover up the streaky sides.


3rd attempt. Changed the assembly method and made a single layer of each.. I find that I like it this way better as I can serve it in smaller cuts without having to prepare plates and knife. It's easy to hold with fingers. Nice party dessert.


Some Daring Baker's blogs had some negative comment on the cake saying that it was not flavourful enough, I think, it might be due to the quality of the strawberries. I found that imported strawberries are not that fragrant and Cameron's strawberries are really really flavourful and fragrant. (Cameron's strawberries ripen on the plant, which is why they are so nice but spoils easily), I didn't even use colouring at all!! It was so red! So, for those who are not from Malaysia, try to use local strawberries that you know ripens on the plant. And if u ever go to Camerons, bring along a water tight container, so that u can get those so so ripe strawberries that goes on sale when it's almost closing hours for the Saturday night market at Brinchang. Wash, hull and freeze them. They are still yummy the next time u may need them. The problem of bringing down so so ripe strawberries from Camerons is that they bleed..so better clean and place them in a water tight container when u bring them down so that u can retain those yummy juices.


I made some ammendments to the portions of the recipe and eliminated the kirsch. And I wrote the modified instructions based on my experience.

Strawberry Mirror Cake Recipe
The sponge:-
2 eggs
2 egg yolks
100gm sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 egg whites
1 pinch cream of tartar
1 tbsp sugar
50gm sifted cake flour


Moisting syrup:- mix and cool down.
50ml hot water
1 tsbp sugar


Strawberry Bavarian Cream:-
1 ½ tbsp unflavored gelatin
150 gm fresh strawberries + strained strawberries from preparing the mirror.(pureed)
2 egg yolks
70gm sugar
180 ml milk
1 tbsp lemon juice
200ml whipping cream

Strawberry Mirror:-
250 gm fresh strawberries
150 gm sugar
180ml water
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp unflavored gelatin

**I did this cake in less than 4 hours with lotsa breaks in between. I know the list of ingredients and the instructions seemed so long.... but once u get the hang of it, it's actually pretty easy to make.



Method:

Assembling the cake.
1. Prepare cake. Place trimmed cake onto a 10 x 10 jelly roll pan. Put in the freezer.
2. Prepare strawberry juice.
3. Prepare bavarian cream.
4. Moisten cake with moisting sugar syrup and pour bavarian cream onto cake. Level the cream. Put in the fridge to set.
5. Prepare strawberry mirror and when mirror mixture has turned syrupy pour onto the bavarian cream layer. Place cake in the fridge to set.

Sponge cake:-
1. Preheat oven to 180/200C. Line a 10 X10 inch jelly roll pan.
2. Beat eggs whites until foamy, then add in cream of tartar. Beat until soft peaks, then add in 1 tbsp of sugar and beat until stiff and glossy.
3. In a separate bowl, beat eggs, egg yolks, and sugar until creamy, pale and light. Beat in vanilla.
4. Sift cake flour. Fold into egg yolk mixture.
5. Stir in 1/3 of beaten egg whites into egg yolk mixture. Then fold in the rest of the egg whites.
6. Spread batter evenly in pan. Bake for 12-15 minutes.
7. When cake has cooled, remove baking paper, trim cake so that cake will have an even surface and remove the brown upper skin. Cover and place in freezer.


Bavarian Cream:-
1. Puree strawberries and sprinkle in gelatine powder. Stir it until the gelatine is well blended in well with the puree.
2. Whip egg yolks and sugar until pale and light.
3. Bring milk to a boil and pour in 1/4 of the milk into the egg yolk mixture while still beating with a mixer. Pour in the rest of the milk slowly. Mix well.
4. Return this mixture to the fire and cook with a low fire, stirring constantly, until your finger leaves a clear trail in sauce when drawn across the back of the spoon.(Do not boil or mixture will curdle.)
5. Immediately remove from heat and stir in strawberry mixture.
6. Pour into a stainless steel bowl and place over a bowl of ice water. Stir in lemon juice. Stir once a while to prevent the sides from solidifying.
7. While waiting for the strawberry custard mixture to cool down, whip whipping cream to soft peaks. Do not overbeat!!
8. When strawberry gelatin mixture has cooled and thickened to the consistency of softly whipped cream, fold whipped cream into strawberry custard mixture.


Strawberry Mirror:-
**I prepare strawberry juice(step 1-3) in advance because I `recycle' the strained strawberry pulp from the juice into the bavarian cream.
1. Chop strawberries into large chunks.
2. Place strawberries, sugar and water into a saucepan. Lightly press the strawberries to release juice. Bring to a boil.
3. Strain the juice with a strainer and don't press the fruits at this point.
** this step to be done only after bavarian cream has set on the cake.
4. Bring the strawberry juice that was prepared earlier to a boil. Remove from fire. Sprinkle in gelatine powder and stir to ensure the gelatine has melted.
5. Put in lemon juice. Stir. Wait for it to cool down and turn syrupy.


3rd attempt....



2nd attempt : -My niece's birthday cake




Made a base out of old milk powder packaging. Look at the ugly streaks at the side from the cling film. This assembly is based on the recipe from the Daring Bakers.