Prune Layer Cake 2

Actually this was an order for Chinese New Year. This lady wanted a low cholesterol full egg yolk layered cake. Usually if I made this for personal consumption, I'll only do whole eggs, but since it's an order, ok, let's go for 30 egg yolks.

Recipe is similiar to the previous post, Haw flakes layer cake, but, I replaced the 10 whole eggs with 30 egg yolks.


450gm butter
140gm sugar
30 egg yolks from large eggs
510gm condensed milk
240gm cake flour
1 cannister Prunes, 340gm. Snip prunes into half. Press to flatten on a plate.

Method:
1. Preheat oven on grill setting. (My oven has either 230C or 250C setting, so I used 230C)
2. Use a 9x9 inch square pan. Line bottom of pan. Heat up pan for step 8 (I do this over the hot water I prepared for the water bath later).
3. Beat sugar and butter until light and fluffy.
4. Add in eggs, one by one. Beating well after each addition.
5. Mix in condensed milk
6. Sift flour and fold into batter.
7. Separate batter into 10 portions.
8. Spread a portion of batter evenly onto hot pan.
9. Tilt pan left and right to level batter. Grill for 7 minutes or until golden.
10. Remove from oven and press cake layer to remove excess air. Spread another portion of batter over the cooked layer, tilt pan to level batter and arrange flattened prunes onto batter. Grill for 7 minutes or until golden.
11. Alternate step 9 and 10 until batter is finished.

****
Pan needs to be heated up at step 2 for even distribution of batter. You can either heat up in the preheating oven or over a pot of hot water.

Switch off oven fan when u do this cake, if not, the bottom will burn at the end of the baking. If the fan cannot be turned off, like my oven, even on grill mode, bake this cake in a shallow water bath to prevent the base from over browning…my baking pan is 9X9 and my water bath pan is 10X10. Too big a water bath pan will leave u a very moist cake, and a longer browning time. But even if it gets too moist later, u can dry it up in the microwave on low for 10 minutes and then wrap it up again for even distribution of moisture from within.

What did I do with the leftover egg whites???? Few recipes coming up :)

Haw Flakes Layered Cake

Sarawak Style Layered Cakes... Long time never do this. I'm stingy to pay for the electricity the grilling uses.

I did this for Chinese New Year, I didn't bake any cookies. This is easier, at least I don't need to sit there doing nothing but shaping and filling cookies. For this I just put it in the oven, wait for the buzzer and do another layer. In between baking the layers, I can online, do this blog and fold my laundry, I have more liberty in short. More time for other things.

This time I used this type of Hawflakes, which I find to be not that good. The previous type that I used is the small pink packaging type. That one gives better flavour. To me this one in the picture is a bit too sweet and less tang.

I also changed the recipe this time. Did not use strawberry jam. Didn't use crushed Marie biscuits, but just cake flour.

The recipe this time is,

450gm butter
140gm sugar
10 large eggs
510gm condensed milk
240gm cake flour
few drops of red food colouring

Method:
1. Preheat oven on grill setting. (My oven has either 230C or 250C setting, so I used 230C)
2. Use a 9x9 inch square pan. Line bottom of pan. Warm up pan for step 8 (I do this over the hot water I prepared for the water bath later).
3. Beat sugar and butter until light and fluffy.
4. Add in eggs, one by one. Beating well after each addition.
5. Mix in condensed milk
6. Sift flour and fold into batter.
7. Divide batter into 2 parts. Colour one part with red food colouring, leave the other plain.
8. Spread a ladle of batter(red) evenly onto hot pan.
9. Tilt pan left and right to level batter. Grill for 7 minutes or until golden.
10. Remove from oven and press cake layer to remove excess air. Spread another ladle of batter (plain) over the cooked layer, tilt pan to level batter and arrange haw flakes onto batter. Grill for 7 minutes or until golden.
11. Alternate step 9 and 10 until batter is finished.

****
Pan needs to be warmed up at step 2 for even distribution of batter. You can either warm it up in the preheating oven or over a pot of hot water.

Switch off oven fan when u do this cake, if not, the bottom will burn at the end of the baking. If the fan cannot be turned off, like my oven, even on grill mode, bake this cake in a shallow water bath to prevent the base from over browning…my baking pan is 9X9 and my water bath pan is 10X10. Too big a water bath pan will leave u a very moist cake, and a longer browning time. But even if it gets too moist later, u can dry it up in the microwave on low for 10 minutes and then wrap it up again for even distribution of moisture from within.

Well, in order to make sure all layers are equal and that no either type of batter are in excess, I separate the batter into portions, kept in bowls. So that I will have equal layers, and no leftovers.

To serve,
Cut off dry ends, divide cake into 4 long pieces and slice each piece less than 1cm thick. This cake is not meant to be chomped on, but eaten slowly over tea. Taste better as it ages. I kept this at room temperature for over a week, and it still looks good. If kept in the fridge, it can keep for months.

Oh yes,
Nicole and Aunt Yee Wah, how was the pandan kaya layer cake??

Prunes Layer Cake 梅干千层蛋糕

The prune layer cake I ate b4, didn't contain prune jam in it. I tried adding in to get a slightly different coloured layer... Well, the colour outcome wasn't all that pretty either, unless I add in some food colouring. If u can't find it, just replace it with more condensed milk. I bought mine at Tesco.

I don't think I'll be making any layer cakes any near future, cos it made my electric bill sky high. I live in a house that pays comercial rates for electric and it's almost double of the domestic rate.. Not until I move into my new house (2010, maybe), only then will I embark on layer cakes again.

Ingredients (A)
225gm butter
50gm sugar
5 medium eggs, grade C
170gm Plum jam (warmed to liquify it a bit)
170gm sweetened condensed milk (1/3 medium can)
120gm cake flour

Ingredients (B)
225gm butter
50gm sugar
5 medium eggs, grade C
340gm sweetened condensed milk (2/3 medium can)
120gm cake flour
340gm dried Pitted prunes (cut into half and press flat)

Method:Ingredients (A)
1. Beat sugar and butter until light and fluffy.
2. Add in eggs one by one. Beating well after each addition.
3. Mix in plum jam and condensed milk
4. Add cake flour to batter and mix well.

Ingredients (B)
1. Beat sugar and butter until light and fluffy.
2. Add in eggs one by one. Beating well after each addition.
3. Mix in condensed milk
4. Add cake flour to batter and mix well.

Baking:
1. Preheat Oven in grill mode at 220C.
2. Line the base of a 9X9 inch baking pan and grease the sides. Preheat the pan over a pot of hot water or in the preheating oven
3. Place one ladle of (A) in the hot pan.
4. Spread batter evenly. Tilt pan left and right to level batter.
5. Grill for 7 minutes or until cake layer turns golden.
6. Remove cake pan from oven and press cake layer to release air.
7. Put in a ladle of (B) and repeat step 4,5 and 6. Arrange flattened prunes on top of layer (B) after step 4.
8. Continue baking cake layers alternating batter (A) and (B) until all batter is used up.
9. When done, leave to cool on wire rack for 10 minutes and overturn the cake. Peel the lining paper. Let the base dry properly and make sure the whole cake has cooled down before storing.

13/05/09: Sorry, I've mistyped the plum jam as prune jam. (Prunes are dried plums, like raisins are to grapes)
If u can't get plum jam, just do the batter in one batch. You can either add up the condensed milk or add up the sugar. If u want to add up the sugar, just follow the list of ingredients below.

450gm butter
200gm sugar
10 medium eggs
510gm condensed milk
240gm cake flour
340gm dried pitted prunes (cut half and pressed flat)

Method: Follow method of ingredients (B)


Note: If u find this cake dry, don't worry. It moistens up the next day. Anyway, it doesn't taste good on the same day. Just keep the whole cake in a tupperware.
Layer cakes can keep very well and they taste better when aged. 2 months in the fridge is not a problem. A week in room temperature is no problem. So, take ur time to slowly savour the cake, slice by slice.

Strawberry Haw Flakes Layer Cake 草莓山楂饼千层蛋糕

The bun is still in the oven... not wanting to follow the sister's footsteps to be out early. The exact due date is tomorrow, doc's dateline to induce is 29th, coming monday. Keeping my fingers crossed that I need not be induced.. The pain is rather unbearable when being induced, I don't even have time to breathe. *sigh*

Ok, so, here's the last of the three layers cakes I made.

Out of the three cakes, and the favourite ratings are:
Horlicks: 35%
Kaya: 10%
Strawberry Haw flakes: 55%
This is just an approximate value of the responses I got.
Not that the kaya one is not tasty... it's just "favourite".
I personally like Horlicks best, then kaya then haw flakes being last.

I might be trying out Milo, Prunes, or even nutella in the future...

Here's the recipe for Strawberry Haw Flakes Layer Cake. I incorporated the strawberry jam because I wanted to have some pink layers in it. And being pink with no flavour is so.... fake to me. So, to be pink, there must be some justification to it.

Ingredients (A)
225gm butter
50gm sugar
5 medium eggs, grade C
170gm Strawberry jam (warmed to liquify it a bit)
170gm sweetened condensed milk (1/3 medium can)
150gm Marie biscuits (finely ground into powder form)
Few drops red colouring

Ingredients (B)
225gm butter
50gm sugar
5 medium eggs, grade C
340gm sweetened condensed milk (2/3 medium can)
150gm Marie biscuits (finely ground into powder form)
Haw flakes … as many as u want

Method:
Ingredients (A)
1. Beat sugar and butter until light and fluffy.
2. Add in eggs one by one. Beating well after each addition.
3. Mix in strawberry jam and condensed milk
4. Add marie biscuits crumbs to batter and mix well.
5. If colouring is added, add in last and mix well

Ingredients (B)
1. Beat sugar and butter until light and fluffy.
2. Add in eggs one by one. Beating well after each addition.
3. Mix in condensed milk
4. Add marie biscuits crumbs to batter and mix well.

Baking:
1. Preheat Oven in grill mode at 220C.
2. Line the base of a 9X9 inch baking pan and grease the sides. Preheat the pan over a pot of hot water or in the preheating oven
3. Place one ladle of (A) in the hot pan.
4. Spread batter evenly. Tilt pan left and right to level batter.
5. Grill for 7 minutes or until cake layer turns golden.
6. Remove cake pan from oven and press cake layer to release air.
7. Put in a ladle of (B) and repeat step 4,5 and 6. Arrange haw flakes on top of layer (B) after step 4.
8. Continue baking cake layers alternating batter (A) and (B) until all batter is used up.




There are less layers this time, as I used more batter for each layer, adding in 3 more minutes to grill than the other cakes. And it looks better with more prominently visible layers. It's up to you to have as many layers and as thick as u want it to be.


Top layer haw flakes were hard after baking, so they cracked when I layed the knife on them. Keep the cake wrapped for 2-3 days and the hawflakes will turn soft again.


The earlier 2 Layer Cakes:
Horlicks Layer Cake
Kaya Layer Cake

Kaya Layer Cake 加央千层蛋糕

Kaya is coconut egg jam. Taste really good with bread, and taste good too when incorporated into this cake.

Ingredients (A)
225gm butter
160gm soft brown sugar
5 medium eggs, grade C
200gm Original flavour kaya (1 cup Gardenia Auntie Rosie kaya)
2 Tbsp milk powder
120gm cake flour/superfine

Ingredients (B)
225gm butter
160gm soft brown sugar
5 medium eggs, grade C
200gm Pandan flavour kaya (1 cup Gardenia Auntie Rosie pandan kaya)
2 Tbsp milk powder
120gm cake flour/superfine
1 tsp green colouring /pandan emulco

Method:
Ingredients (A)
1. Beat sugar and butter until light and fluffy.
2. Add in eggs one by one. Beating well after each addition.
3. Mix in kaya and milk powder.
4. Sift flour over batter and mix well.

Ingredients (B)
Same method as ingredients (A). Mix in colouring/emulco at the end.

Baking:
1. Preheat Oven in grill mode at 220C.
2. Line the base of a 9X9 inch baking pan and grease the sides. Preheat the pan over a pot of hot water or in the preheating oven
3. Place one ladle of (A) in the hot pan.
4. Spread batter evenly. Tilt pan left and right to level batter.
5. Grill for 7 minutes or until cake layer turns golden.
6. Remove cake pan from oven and press cake layer to release air.
7. Put in a ladle of (B) and repeat step 4,5 and 6.
8. Continue baking cake layers alternating batter (A) and (B) until all batter is used up.


Previous Layer Cake: Horlicks Layer Cake
Next Layer Cake: Haw Flakes Strawberry Layer Cake

Horlicks Layer Cake 好力克千层蛋糕

I'm going to post 3 layer cakes.... but am posting it one per week.
Made these as christmas gifts.

My ex colleague introduced me to Sarawak Layer cakes, or Kek Lapis Sarawak. I used to think only the Indonesians make layer cakes, I didn’t know that Sarawakians bake these too..and make it to be part of their culture.

The Sarawak version makes paterns with the cakes, to me it looks like their traditional woven cloth, pua kumbu. But I’m not going to go thru that (I’m lazy)… taste is what that matters. And I don’t like it to be a mixture of everything, Horlicks, kaya, peanut butter or whatever u can think of…. I prefer each cake to take on one flavour only.

The original Sarawak Layer cakes use 30 egg yolks in each cake, but I'm not going to do that. Luckily I found a recipe that uses 10 whole eggs *Phew*
Then I made other Layer cakes based on the 10 eggs recipe I found. This is a good site http://rozzan.blogspot.com/search/label/KEK-KEK%20LAPIS for kek lapis, but it's in Malay. Tried and tested recipes.

In Malaysia, the size of canned condensed milk is approximately 510gm each, so I adjusted the recipe to finish up one can of it. Lessened the sugar, added up the milk…

450gm butter
140gm sugar
10 medium eggs, grade C
510gm canned condensed milk
240gm superfine/cake flour
200gm Horlicks powder

1. Preheat oven on grill setting. (My oven has either 230C or 250C setting, so I used 230C)
2. Use a 9x9 inch square pan. Line bottom and grease sides. Heat up pan for step 8.
3. Beat sugar and butter until light and fluffy.
4. Add in eggs, one by one. Beating well after each addition.
5. Mix in condensed milk
6. Sift flour and Horlicks together.
7. Fold (6) into batter.
8. Spread a ladle of batter evenly onto hot pan.
9. Tilt pan left and right to level batter. Grill for 7 minutes or until golden.
10. Remove from oven and press cake layer to remove excess air. Spread another ladle of batter over the cooked layer, and repeat step 9.
11. Repeat step 10 until all batter is used up.

****
Pan needs to be heated up at step 2 for even distribution of batter. You can either heat up in the preheating oven or over a pot of hot water.

Switch off oven fan when u do this cake, if not, the bottom will burn at the end of the baking. If the fan cannot be turned off, like my oven, even on grill mode, bake this cake in a shallow water bath to prevent the base from over browning… I over browned at my first attempt.. the bottom was very brown and dry but after keeping the cake overnight in a tupperware, luckily the dry bottom moistened up. Not too bad, but doesn’t look nice.

Left : Layer Cake press , the one I used to press the layers.

Right: Flat bottomed whiskey glass, can be used as well

Next Layer Cake : Kaya Layer Cake, Haw Flakes Strawberry Layer Cake