Lamington Cake

 

I actually never ever heard about this cake before. Until I visit ncc-indonesia.com, which featured this cake in one of it's cake recipe. 

A lamington is a dessert of Australian origin. It consists of squares of sponge cake coated first in a layer of traditionally chocolate sauce, then in desiccated coconut. 

The ncc's cake is the one modified, with chocolate cake as the base cake. I then seek for further reference of this cake, which for me is quite easy to follow, and taste-wise look good, since it has a sweet, savory, and salty taste from chocolate and desiccated coconut. 

There are many variations of this Lamington cake, one of the example is the one ncc has. Most recipes also use jams to fill in its layer. They usually use strawberry jam to get the sour taste so the cake's taste would be very rich. 

For my starter Lamington cake, I choose to use Mardi Michels's recipe which features in Jamie Oliver's site. This recipe is very easy and you can use all ingredients found in your pantry.  

I did a modification, though. When the recipe calls out for 1 1/2 tsp of baking powder, I used 1 tsp of emulsifier. Since based on my experience, using emulsifier for sponge cake will give a better cake texture, and I also use my own chocolate icing recipe. It still tastes great, though. 

Ingredients

For the cake4 eggs
200g (1 cup) granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
200g (1 ⅓ cups) cake flour
1 teaspoons emulsifier
110g margarine, melted and cooled

For the icing
200 gr dark cooking chocolate
100 gr whip cream powder (I use wippy cream haan)
200 ml mineral water
50 gr butter

Topping
Around 6 cups of desiccated coconut

Directions 

For the cake

1. Preheat the oven to 350˚F/180˚C/gas 2. Grease and flour a 22 x 22 cm pan, lining the base of the pan with parchment paper. 
3. Beat the eggs, sugar and vanilla in a large bowl with an hand mixer (medium-high speed). Add emulsifier, then continue to mix until pale and thick (around 3 minutes). 
4. Sift the flour and baking powder over the egg and sugar mixture, and use a rubber spatula to gently combine the dry ingredients. 
5.  Add the melted butter, about ⅓ at atime, gently mixing with a rubber spatula until completely combined, then pour the mixture into the prepared pan.
6. Bake for 25 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean. 
7. The cake should spring back when lightly touched in the centre. Turn cake onto a wire rack to cool.
8. Cut cake into even, bit-sized pieces about 4-5cm.  You will probably end up discarding the edge pieces, as they won’t be completely square. At this stage you can refrigerate the cake for a few hours or leave the cake overnight in an airtight container, because a slightly less fresh cake will be easier to dip in the chocolate icing.
9. When you are ready to dip the cakes, set up an area large enough to accommodate bowls for the cake pieces, the chocolate icing, the coconut and also a large tray topped with parchment paper and a cooling rack. 10. You will need to work quickly to dip the cakes so having everything organised in advance will help.

For the icing

1. In a large saucepan, dissolve the whip cream powder with mineral water, then bring to boil. 

2. Add chopped dark cooking chocolate until all chocolate melt, and mix altogether. 

3. Turn of the heat, then add the butter quickly into the mixture. 

4. Working quickly, using a fork, dip the cake cubes into the chocolate mix and roll them around with the tines of the fork to completely coat. 

5. Drain any excess mixture off the cakes then drop them in the coconut and roll them around lightly to coat evenly with coconut. 

6. Set the cake cubes on the cooling rack placed over parchment paper to drain. You can refrigerate the cakes to help set the icing, then bring them to room temperature before serving.

Desiccated coconut
1. Buy the grated coconut in your nearest market. Trust me, it helps a lot! LOL. 
2. Place the coconut flakes in a food processor if you want smaller flakes. Add 1/4 cup to 1/2 cup of salt with the coconut in the food processor if you want a salty one. 
3. Spread the coconut on a baking sheet, in a thin layer. Warm it in a 200F oven until dried. Make sure not to overbrown the flakes.

Mille Feuille Crêpes Cake

 


A song played on the television during the afternoon show. It played a song I used to love back then, because of the piano sounds and Vanessa Carlon's beautiful voice. It is called a Thousand Miles, which inspires me to make a thousand layer cake or widely known as Mille Crepe, when I woke up the next morning. 

Actually I once made this Mille Crepe last year, and it turned out great. But now I'd like to seek for a recipe which comes from it's original country, France. 

I spent my mornings to do blogwalking and my fingers stopped at parislovepastry.com, when I found a Pierre Hermé pastry cream recipe. 

Pierre Hermé is a French pastry chef most famous for his macarons, many of which have unusual flavor combinations. French Vogue magazine dubbed him as "The Picasso of Pastry". 

Though he is most famous for his macaron, this pastry cream he created is sooooo good, soft, and delicious! 

Mille Feuille Crêpes Cake 

Ingredients for crêpes batter:
- 6 tablespoons butter
- 3 cups milk
- 6 eggs
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 7 tablespoons sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt

Ingredients for vanilla pastry cream:
- 2 cups milk
- 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- 6 egg yolks
- ½ cup sugar
- 1/3 cup cornstarch, sifted
- 3 ½ tablespoons butter

Ingredients for assembling cake:
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 1 tablespoon sugar

Instructions for crêpes batter:
- The day before serving the cake, make the crêpes batter and the pastry cream.
- Cook the butter in a small pan until it is brown like hazelnuts.
- In a large pan, heat the milk until steaming. Allow to cool for 10 minutes.
- With a mixer on medium-low speed, beat together the eggs, flour, sugar and salt. Slowly add the hot milk and browned butter. Pour into a contair with a spout, cover and refrigerate overnight. Bring batter to room temperature.
- Place a nonstick or seasoned 9-inch crêpe pan over medium heat and cover the surface with oil. Add 3 tablespoons batter and swirl to cover the surface. Cook until the bottom just begins to brown, about 1 minute. (you need to peek constantly, do this with a rubber spatula) Then carefully lift an edge and flip the crêpe with your fingers. (the crêpes are super hot, so cover your fingertops, or just your thumbs, with a band aid) Cook on the other side for 5 seconds. Flip the crêpe onto a flat surface. Repeat until you have 20 perfect crêpes.

Instructions for vanilla pastry cream:
- Bring the milk to a boil. Turn off the heat and stir in the vanilla, then set aside for 10 minutes.
- Fill a large bowl with ice and set aside a small bowl that can hold the finished pastry cream and be placed in this ice bath.
- In a medium heavy-bottomed pan, whisk together the egg yolks, sugar and cornstarch. Gradually whisk in the hot milk. Then place the pan over high heat and bring to boil, whisking vigorously for 1 to 2 minutes.
- Press the pastry cream through a fine-meshed sieve into the small bowl. Set the bowl in the ice bath and stir until the temperature reaches 140 degrees on a thermometer. Stir in the butter. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Instructions for assembling cake:
- Whip the heavy cream with the sugar and Kirsch. Fold a quarter of the whipped cream into the pastry cream, then the rest.
- Lay 1 crêpe on a cake plate. Using an a rubber or icing spatula, cover with a layer of pastry cream. Repeat until you've used all of the crêpes. Lay the best-looking crêpe on top.
- Chill for 2 hours. Dust with sifted confectionars' sugar. When ready to serve, slice it like a cake.

Remember, this cake is best when you really make the batter and vanilla pastry cream a day before. Enjoy!

Strawberry Pancakes

 

Do you like pancakes? I bet if you asked youngsters that question today, everyone will agree with you.  

Pancakes are very popular in Indonesia now, as restaurant serving Pancakes widely open around the city. Either being part of the mall, or having their own building.  

Such examples are Pancious Pancake, Pancake Parlour, and Mr. Pancake. Those are the most popular Pancake restaurant in Jakarta based on detikfood's review. Though detikfood chose Pancious as its favorite, mine still goes to Mr. Pancake, especially in Setiabudi 1 building.  It's cozy and noise-free environment, good hospitality, and taste, especially it's Pancake topping, made me always chose it when I had a meet up with my ex colleagues. 

Anyhow, It's been a while since I've tasted how pancake melt in my mouth, and I missed it so much, that I'd like to try a recipe which texture and taste gets any closer with my favorite pancake. 

So I browsed some of the Pancake recipes, and I found out that to make your Pancake moist and fluffy, you need to add some buttermilk, milk only, or vegetable oil. 

For today, I chose to use recipe from allrecipes which use vegetable oil in it, but after having read the review, I then decided to use melted butter. 

Ingredients :

- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons white sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 egg, beaten
- 1 cup milk
- 2 tablespoons of unsalted butter

Strawberry Sauce :
- Take 3 tablespoons of strawberry jam, and dissolve it in 2 tablespoon of warm water. 

Directions :

1. In a large bowl, mix flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Make a well in the center, and pour in milk, egg and melted butter. Mix until smooth.

2. Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium high heat. Pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/4 cup for each pancake. Brown on both sides and serve hot.

3. Pour strawberry sauce and icing sugar on top of it, yummmy

Water Roux Donut

When I made donut ala cafe before, I actually feel dissatisfied by its texture and taste, since it was too oily, empty and the taste was not too strong. 

So when I did a blogwalking in Mbak Hesti's blog for molten lava cake recipe, I remembered about this water roux donut recipe which I have bookmarked long time ago, but never tried, yet. 

Since today was the last day of Indonesian's long weekend after easter's holiday and ayah is in the house, I got lots of time to make one, and find some references to seek for the perfect glaze. My choice goes to chocolate nut glaze. 

Ingredients 

For the donut :

- 300 gr bread flour
- 300 gr all purpose flour
- 120 gr granulated sugar
- 2 tbsp skim milk
- 1 egg + 1 yolk
- 10 gr dry yeast (I use fermipan)
- 170 - 200 ml warm mineral water
- 75 gr margarine
- 1 tsp salt

Water Roux :

- 10% of bread flour from above recipe

- Mineral water 5 times from the bread flour

Exampe : 10% of 300 gr bread flour = 30 gram, so the mineral water should be   150 ml

For the glaze :

- 50 ml UHT milk

- 250 gr dark cooking chocolate

- Almond for topping

Directions :

Water Roux : 

1. Whisk together the 30 g flour with the 150 ml of water in a small saucepan.
2. Heat mixture over medium-low heat while stirring constantly until it thickens enough that your stirring leaves 'lines' or 'trails' on the surface, and then remove from heat immediately and scrape into a small bowl.
3. Cover bowl with plastic wrap to prevent it from drying on the surface and cool to room temperature.

Dough :

1. Put all dry ingredients, except butter and salt, and add cooled water roux in mixer bowl, mix it well, then add eggs and warm water. 
2. Mix all ingredients just come together, then add butter and salt. 
3. Knead until dough is smooth and elastic and will form a windowpane when stretched.
4. Proof dough, covered, until it doubles.
5. Deflate dough and weigh to 30-40 grams each portions. Roll out each portion into a round shape.
6. Cover and rest for another 30 minutes to allow it to rise. 

7. Use a donut cutter to get a donut shape from each dough round shape. 

8. Use a flat spatula to move the cut out donuts to a floured baking sheet.

6. Bring donuts into the hot oil, and fry donut under low heat, until the color turn brownish, Insert a chopstick into the hole, then flip over.  Fry for another 30-45 seconds, then remove to a rack to cool. 

7. When done – and cool enough to handle without burning your fingers, dip in each donut halfway into the glaze to coat.

8. Flip over, then set on a clean rack – allow the glaze to set. 

Chocolate Glaze :

1. Bring milk to boil under low heat, then add chopped dark cooking chocolate until milk and chocolate mix and melt