Gluten free Carrot Cake

Adapted from : http://www.deliciouseveryday.com/best-ever-carrot-cake-gluten-free-carrot-cake/

Ingredients

• 350g (3/4 lb or 12 oz) carrots, peeled and tops removed
• ½ cup of pecans
• 5 large eggs
• 1 heaped tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 250g (1/2 lb or 9 oz) of almond meal (ground almonds)
• 220g (1/2 lb or 8 oz) of brown sugar. Need to half the sugar next time as it was very sweet
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
• 1 tsp of ground ginger
• CREAM CHEESE FROSTING:
• 250g (1/2 lb or 9 oz) of cream cheese, at room temperature
• 50g (1¾ oz) of butter, at room temperature
• 100g (3.5 oz) of icing sugar, sifted
• zest and juice of half a lemon, or to taste

Instructions

1. Grease two 20 cm (8-Inch) nonstick springform cake tines and preheat the oven to 180 Celsius (350 Fahrenheit). I used a 9 inch pan hence a flatter cake. I will lined this with baking paper next time as I do not have springform tin and it was so hard to take the batter out.
2. Grate the carrots using a food processor and remove the grated carrots from the bowl and set aside. Remove the grater attachment from the food processor and switch to the chopping attachment and add the pecans and pulse until roughly chopped. Set aside with the carrot. I used Thermomix pulse function to do this step.
3. Add the remaining cake ingredients (except the carrots and pecans) and process to combine. Finally add the carrot and pecans and pulse to combine with the cake batter.
4. Divide the batter between the prepared springform pans and bake for 15 to 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and let the cake cool completely in the tin before removing.
5. To make the frosting combine the butter and cream cheese in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and beat until smooth and creamy. Add the icing sugar and lemon juice and zest and beat for another 5 minutes, or until pale and fluffy.
6. Spread the frosting between the cake layers and over the top of the cooled cake.

The carrot cake turned out very moist and nice but a tad sweet. Everyone says the taste was fine but I will still cut sugar down

This is what happen when the tins are not lined with baking papers. They broke apart when I took them out

The test run cake. Frosting was not looking good as the crumbs from the broken cake made it hard to spread the frost.

Orange Chiffon Cake

Adapted from jothetartqueen:

https://jothetartqueen.wordpress.com/2014/07/15/orange-chiffon-cake/

Totally love her chiffon cake technique. Just follow her recipe to the dot. I love chiffon cake, though this one did not rise as high as hers but the taste was incredibly light and fluffy. This cake is so far the best I have made for chiffon cakes.

Recipe: Orange chiffon cake
Makes a 23 cm (9.5″) chiffon cake
This is a very light chiffon cake, packed with lots of orange flavour. The orange flavour becomes more pronounced the next day. If this is your first time baking a chiffon cake, you may refer to my previous post on “how to make a chiffon cake” for tips to handle the tricky chiffon cake.
Ingredients:
Group A:
5 large egg yolks, room temperature
120g castor sugar
90ml corn oil (or any neutral flavour oil like canola and grapeseed)
130ml freshly squeezed orange juice (I used 2 medium sized oranges)
finely grated zest of 2 oranges ( I use a microplane to do this)
1 tsp vanilla extract
190g cake flour+
3/4 tsp baking powder (optional, just to ensure the lift. but I have baked without the baking powder and it works just as fine.)
1/4 tsp salt
Group B:
5 large egg whites, room temperature
90g castor sugar
+ Cake flour substitution: If you don’t have cake flour, you can easily make your own at home. Measure out a cup of all-purpose flour, remove 2 tbp of flour, then replace 2 tsbp of cornflour. Sift this mixture twice to distribute the cornflour evenly.
Method:
1. Separate the egg whites and the egg yolks. Ensure that there is no trace of yolk in the whites. Allow them to come to room temperature. This is especially important for the egg whites to be whisked to their peaks.
2.Preheat oven to 180C Have your chiffon cake tin mould ready. Do not grease it!
3. Start with the group A ingredients as we only want to whisk the egg whites when everything else is done. If not, the egg whites will start to deflate.
4. In the bowl containing the yolks, add in sugar and whisk until light and pale. This can be done with a hand whisk. We just need some aeration in the yolks. Add in the oil and whisk until incorporated.
5. Add the orange juice, grated orange zest, vanilla extract into the yolk mixture and whisk. Then, measure and sift your dry ingredients and whisk into the yolk mixture (until just incorporated).
6. Next come the crucial step of whisking the egg whites. It is best to use room temperature egg whites because whites right out of the fridge will be too cold and will not whisk well. We are essentially whisking a meringue. Start with a stainless steel clean and grease-free bowl (I always rinse it with boiling water to rid of any remaining grease). Add in your room temperature egg whites and put it onto your mixer.
7. Begin whisking your egg whites at medium low speed till foamy. You can add a pinch of cream of tar tar (which increases the meringue stability) at this point if you like. This is optional and your meringues will still work even without it.
8. Turn your mixer speed to high and whisk whites until soft peaks. Soft peaks are reached when the peaks of the whites droop when the whisk is lifted.
8. Start to pour in your caster sugar slowly, in a few additions, while the mixer is still running. The sugar, when added gradually, greatly stabilizes the meringue. But the sugar needs to be added slowly to give time for the sugar to dissolve and not weigh down the meringue. The meringue should be whisked to a glossy, firm peaks – just slightly short of stiff peaks. The whites should look glossy and when the whisk is lifted, the peaks will hold but the tip will fall back slightly onto itself. Just a note: stiff peaks mean that when you turn the whisk is lifted, the peaks will hold up straight without collapsing onto itself at all.
9. Start by adding 1/4 of the meringue to mixture A (yolk mixture). Whisk lightly to combine until it is well incorporated. Do not be afraid to knock out air at this stage. We are lightening the yolk mixture so that it will be of a more similar consistency to the meringue which will help you fold the meringue through easily and more evenly.
10. Next, add in 1/2 of the remaining meringue to the mixture A (yolk mixture). Fold gently using a rubber spatula drawing a line across the centre of the batter then going under the batter and lifting up when the spatula reaches the sides of the bowl. Turn the bowl as you do this. Do ensure that the egg whites are folded into the mixture thoroughly so you won’t get egg white streaks after baking. Fold in the dried cranberries into the batter.
11. Gently pour the chiffon cake batter into the chiffon tin. Using a rubber spatula, level and smooth out the top of the cake batter and gently tap the chiffon cake tin against the kitchen counter twice to remove any large air bubbles.
12. Bake in a preheated 180 degrees celcius for about 1 hr 5 minutes (+/-). The top of the cake should be lightly browned and springs back to touch when it is done. The cake tester inserted into the centre of the cake should come out clean. At about 25 minutes into the baking, check on your chiffon cake. If the top starts to get too brown or starts cracking too much, cover the chiffon cake with a sheet of aluminum foil (oil it so that the cake would not stick to it) before you continue with the baking.
13. Remove the ready cake from the oven, place a funnel into the center hole of the tin and invert the cake to cool on a cooling rack. Only attempt to unmould the chiffon cake from its tin when it is cooled fully.
14. To remove the cake after it is cooled, run a palette knife against the sides of the cake tin. Turn it out gently onto a cake board. The base of the cake tin would now be on top. Run a palette knife in one swift motion against the base of the tin. Allow the chiffon cake to gently fall onto the cake board. Remember not to shake/yank out the chiffon cake – the crumb structure is very tender and you would only tear your cake if you do so.
*Storage tips:
*The chiffon cake can keep in an air-tight container in room temperature for a few days.

Birthday Cake- Butter cake recipe

Adapted from:
http://loft48.blogspot.com.au/2013/08/fluffy-vanilla-butter-cake.html

this recipe has 2 variation, one with cake flour and one with self raising flour. I used the cake flour one.

Ingredients- Self Raising Flour 4 eggs (55gm each), egg yolks and whites separated
200gm self raising flour, sifted
230gm salted butter
150gm brown sugar
50gm white sugar
60ml evaporated milk
1 tsp vanilla bean paste

Ingredients- Cake Flour
4 eggs (55gm each), egg yolks and whites separated
200gm cake flour, sifted with 1 tsp baking powder
227gm SCS unsalted butter
150gm castor sugar (for mixing with butter)
50gm castor sugar (for mixing with egg whites)
60ml full cream milk
1 tsp vanilla bean paste

Method

Preheat oven at 170 degrees

1. Grease an 8 inches baking tin
2. Line the base with paper
3. Beat butter & brown sugar till colour turns pale & texture is light
4. Add egg yolks one at a time
5. Add vanilla bean paste & mix well
6. Add flour & milk in 2 separate alternate additions
7. Scrap down and mix well
8. Set aside
9. In another mixing bowl, beat egg whites till foamy
10. Add white sugar
11. Beat till stiff peak
12. Back to batter, add 1/3 meringue into batter
13. Using low speed, mix until batter loosen abit
14. Using a spatula, fold in the rest of meringue
15. Pour into a 8 inches baking tin and level it
16. Give a few knocks to release air bubbles
17. Bake at 160 degrees for 55-60 minutes
18. Cool on rack

 all the ingredients used for this

 I baked 2 initially but the cake was not tall enough, in the end I had 3 cake batter for the cake

 separated egg whites left to be at room temperature.

 whisking egg whites

 not stiff peaks yet

 this is stiff peaks

 folding in egg whites into the batter

 decorating. I made a lemon butter cream icing for this cake. I used very little icing as the cake was already very sweet

 I used crushed oreos and splatter them across all the sides. it is a mud block/creeper design

all done.

the middle batter was not very cook properly. I had issues with cake baked in that tin.

Chicken schnitzel

I made chicken schnitzel to freeze for the boy's lunch box for this term

Ingredients:
3 large chicken breast
2 cups bread crumbs
dash of onion powder and garlic salt
1 cup of Parmesan cheese
2 large eggs

Method:
Sliced the chicken breast into 3 thin layers
Coat the chicken slices with egg
Then coat with the breadcrumbs seasoning and Parmesan cheese
Fry in the air fryer for 15 to 20 minutes until golden brown

Good for sandwiches

Spring Rolls

Another variation to the kids lunch box

Ingredients:
500gms minced pork
1 cup of shredded cabbage
1tbsp of minced ginger
Sesame oil to fry filling
1 clove of garlic
1 large carrot
1 tbsp fish sauce
1 tbsp of soy sauce

sugar to taste

Stored bought spring roll wrappers (i only used 1 packet)

Method:

1.Heat up sesame oil

2. Fry the minced pork. Add in vegetables and sauces. Amend the ratio of seasoning according to taste. I added some of the homemade chicken stock powder as well.

3. Let the mixture cool before wrapping

4. I froze this right after wrapping. I used the air fryer for this. Fry for 20 minutes at 180C.

Chicken Pie

Another great recipe for the kids lunch box

Ingredients:

• 3/4 shredded roast chicken
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1/3 cup chopped celery (1 large stalk)
• 1/3 cup chopped carrot (1 carrot)
• 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups chicken broth 
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• Stored bought shortcrust pastry

Method:
1. Me;t the butter, add in onions and fry till it is soft
2. Add in celery and carrot and fry till soften
3. add in chicken broth and let it simmer down
4. Lastly, add in chicken and cheese
5. Let the filling cool down before wrapping
6. once cooled, get the pastry ready. i cut one large pastry sheet into 4
7. Pile 2 large tablespoon of the filling on each of the 4 squares
8. Cut another 4 squares from another pastry sheet and pile it on each of the filling.
9. Fold in the edges into a circular shape and pinch them tightly. Crimp the edges with a fork and make a cross cutting on top for the air to release during baking
10. I freeze the pies at this stage but if baking is required, bake it for 180C for around 20 minutes

This pie is very tasty with the chicken broth. I have used homemade chicken broth, and vegetables from the garden. 

Pandan Chiffon Cake

Adapted from: http://jothetartqueen.wordpress.com/2012/11/10/pandan-chiffon-cake/

I followed this recipe to the very inch. It worked very well as it measures the egg whites in weight to get the precise bake. Her site is very comprehensive and even provides tips on how to get the folding of the eggwhites right. It also provides troubleshooting tips as well.

The chiffon cake i bake turned out very well. Apart from small sections where it was a bit moist, it was nice and fluffy and light. I might turn the cake after 25 minutes next time to get an even bake. The only thing that is different from this recipe is the baking time. I took less than an hour, around 55 minutes for the whole baking time and i omitted the pandan leaves as i can't get hold of them here.

Recipe: Classic pandan chiffon cake
Makes a 23 cm (9.5″) chiffon cake
A chiffon is as beautiful as a summer’s day when it is light as air and fluffy like clouds. Though the texture of this cake is feather-light, its flavours are unmistakably pronounced, in a good way. Pandan and coconut milk complement each other and its beautiful marriage can be tasted in this chiffon cake.
Ingredients:
Group A:
100g egg yolks (or approximately 5 yolks), room temperature
35g sugar
40ml corn oil (or any other neutral flavoured oil like canola or soybean)- i used canola
about 12 fresh pandan leaves, washed thoroughly - i did not have fresh leaves so i omitted this part out
160ml coconut milk - i used the can
20ml water
1/2 tsp pandan paste
120g cake flour+
3/4 tsp double acting baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
Group B
270g egg whites (or approximately 6 whites), room temperature
55g caster sugar
pinch of cream of tartar (optional)- i used abit of salt instead
Method:
1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees celcius. Have your chiffon cake tin mould ready. Do not grease it!
2. Whisk yolks with sugar until pale and light. Add in the corn oil and whisk until incorporated.
3. Prepare pandan coconut milk: Using a blender, place coconut milk, water and cut up pandan leaves and blitz. Pour mixture over a sieve and squeeze out the pandan coconut milk. Alternatively, you can use your hands (do wear disaposable gloves as pandan juice can cause your skin to itch) to squeeze out the pandan flavoured coconut milk. Discard the remaining pulp.
4. Mix the pandan coconut milk into your egg yolk mixture. Add in pandan paste and whisk in sifted dry ingredients. Whisk well until there are no lumps.
5. Prepare a meringue: Use group B ingredients to whisk a meringue to glossy, firm, just short of stiff peaks. Start by whisking egg whites until soft peaks before adding the caster sugar and whisk till glossy and firm, just short of stiff peaks. Do not overwhisk.
6. Add in 1/4 of the meringue to the egg yolk mixture. Whisk lightly to combine.
7. Add in 1/2 of the remaining meringue to the yolk mixture. Fold gently to incorporate before folding in the rest of the meringue. Make sure that the whites are folded into the mixture thoroughly.
8. Gently pour the pandan cake batter into the chiffon tin. Using a spatula, level and smooth out the top of the cake batter and gently tap the chiffon cake tin against the kitchen counter twice to remove any large air bubbles.
9. Bake at 180 degrees celcius for about 1 hr. The top of the cake should be lightly browned and springs back to touch when it is done. At about 25 minutes into the baking, check on your chiffon cake. If the top starts to brown or crack, cover the top with a aluminium foil before continuing with the baking. You can turn down the temperature slightly as well to about 170-175 degrees celcius.
10. Remove the ready cake from the oven, place a funnel into the center hole of the tin and invert the cake to cool on a cooling rack. Only attempt to unmould the pandan cake from its tin when it is cooled fully.

 

 This is the Group A ingredients

 I am always nervous about getting egg whites right. I have watched and read alot before even attempting it. For this very reason, i used a hand mixer to control the right consistency. So even my fabulous Thermomix had to step aside for this cake.

 Whisk and whisk. took me a good 9-10 minutes standing and whisking

 This is how it looks like after folding in Part A and Part B. I did it very gently and big folds.
I knew the mixture was correct as it looks very nice and fluffy. the volume was definitely there and it was not deflated

 The pan i got is abit too big but it works as well. This is a 24cm pan.

 I did cover with an aluminum foil after 25 minutes. And i did invert it when it came right out from the oven.

 it did deflated after that. but it still had a nice height and light as a feather. Very delicate cake

 I did not wait till it totally cool. Was too impatient but definitely need to wait longer next time. I was too anxious to see the insides.

 and voila!, A perfect chiffon cake.

I love the texture and the taste. I might add more sugar next time and fresh pandan leaves please. :)

The family and our friends loved it so i will definitely have a go with more chiffon cakes next time.

Pizza Puff

Found this very interesting recipe for the kid's lunch box

Ingredients (you can use any vegetables you fancy):

- 2 small zucchinni

- 1 medium red onion

-2 cloves of garlic

- 1 cup of button mushroom sliced

- 1 cup of grated cheese

- 300gms of shredded ham

- 1 tomato sliced and diced

- 12 frozen puff pastry

- tomato paste

Method:

1. blitz zucchini and button mushroom in the Thermomix. 2 seconds on Speed 4. I didn't blitz it to a minced as i wanted some texture in the pizza

2. diced onions and garlic

3. Mix all ingredients in a big bowl except for tomato paste and pastry

4. Thaw the pastry

5. cut the pastry into 4 squares, scoop some tomato paste and then the filling (about 3 spoons), shaped it into a mountain

6. Use another pastry square and cover it on the top and squeeze the sides to ensure it is tightly sealed. I used the knife to trim the edges so i can a nice circle

7. Cut a small X on top of the pastry so it will release the air when baking

8. Bake in a preheated oven at 180C for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown

Banana Chocolate Mousse Cake

 

This cake requires so many different method of preparing. First thing is baking the chocolate chiffon cake. Then slicing it into 3 layers. Then the mousse and banana filing and I was suppose to make a ganache but the cake didn't look very nice so I had to improvise last minute.

Chocolate Chiffon Cake
Ingredients:
**A**
6 egg yolks
200gms cake flour
120gm sugar
50gm cocao powder mix with 180ml water ( I used the plainstowe brand for all chocolate baking, I find it very nice and full of flavor)
90ml vegetable oil
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2tsp baking powder
**B**
6 egg whites
60gm sugar
***
9inch round baking pan

Method:
1. Preheat over to 180C
2. Line the bottom of the baking dish with baking paper. I butter it first so the baking paper can stick. I line this on the bottom and the sides to ensure the cake is able to come out easily
3. Mix all item in **A** in the thermomix on Speed 5 for 20-30 seconds until it is nicely mixed and then set it aside
4. I bought a hand mixer and mix **B** together until it forms stiff peaks. This takes a good 7-9 minutes. Again it depends on the equipment you are using. I stopped when the peaks are able to hold on its on
5. Fold the egg whites into the chocolate mixture from Step3. Slowly fold to ensure the air does not get out. I gently fold this till the mixture is nicely combined
6. Pour into the baking pan and bake for 40-45 minutes. Mine was done in 40 minutes
7. Remove the cake from the baking pan and let it cool on the rack before starting the slicing process
8. Once cooled, divide into 3 equal parts and start slicing. I used a long serrated knife to get this nicely divided
9. The cake is now done, set it aside and continue with the next part

Chocolate Mousse and Banana
Ingredients:
250gms of good milk chocolate bars
130gms of milk
500ml thicken cream
50gms sugar
8 bananas

Method:
1. I melt the chocolate and milk in the microwave in 30second interval. Set it aside to work on the cream
2. I got nervous with this part. I was not sure how to expect the right consistency of the whipped cream. I watched the youtube on Benelux chocolate mousse for thermomix for countless times but yet I got it wrong. you are suppose to place the butterfly in the Thermomix, pour in cream and sugar. On Speed 3, with MC off, whipped it for 20-50 seconds. I think I stopped too soon as my mousse was still runny. Definitely need to lengthen this next time.
3. Gently fold the cream into the chocolate mix and then set aside
4. Slice up the bananas in equal sizes so the cake will not be bumpy. I did not do this so my cake did not had the nice round top

Assembling:
1. Place the first layer of the cake on a plate
2. scoop the mousse and then place the sliced bananas on it. Then add more mousse
3. Work this for all the layers. I had very runny mouse so it was very messy, I used the remaining mousse to cover the whole cake
4. Place the cake in the fridge to let it continue to set

Decorating.
I was suppose to used ganache to pour over the cake and have a nice glossy cake but because my surface was not perfect I ended up making large chocolate shards and shaving to cover the imperfections

1. melt 250gms of dark chocolate over a pot of boiling water, never boil chocolate directly on the stove.
2. Pour the melted chocolate over huge pieces of baking paper and let it set in the fridge till it hardens. This step was too messy for me to take any pictures.
3. Once set, cut the chocolate up into pieces and start sticking it to the sides of the cake
4. I made some thin chocolate shavings to sprinkle all over the cake, so it covers all the loop sides.

This is my chocolate chiffon cake resting and getting ready to cut

 Assembling the cake. notice how runny my mousse is

 See how imperfect this cake is. The sides look like an alien head

 After masking the imperfection with chocolate shavings it look much better

 Top up with some strawberries for colour and also balance of flavor

ta daaa. done. the patterns on the chocolate were not intentional, I did not flatten the chocolate shards nicely so it had some uneven pattern, but I think it looks pretty nice this way.

This is how the slices look after cutting up, it was perfect and next time I will make sure the mousse is right.

This is a cake for a 6 year old boy :)