Orange Chiffon Cake - Cooked Dough Method

I first tried out the cooked dough method of chiffon cake using this same recipe. I failed in that attempt.... frankly, I have not figured out why. Maybe at that time, I cooked the dough too long, resulting in a very dry and overcooked dough... or maybe I had mistakenly measured the wrong amount of liquid... When I attempted this recipe last weekends, everything went so well that I really cannot understand what I had done wrong in that 1st disastrous attempt.

Anyhoo... this cake turned out so fluffy and good that it was very well received by the family.

Here's the recipe for a 18cm mold.

What you need

• 4 nos. egg yolks
• 75gm cake flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 92gm orange juice (from 2 oranges)
• 40gm corn oil
• 1 tbsp orange zest (abt 2 oranges)
• 4 nos. egg whites
• 65gm castor sugar
• 1/4 tsp cream of tartar (optional)

What to do

• Preheat oven to 160C.
• Place orange juice and corn oil to boil. Once you see that the sides starts to bubble, off the heat and immediately sift in the cake flour and baking powder. Mix till combined.
• Whisk in an egg yolk at a time, till well combined, then whisk in the orange zest.
• Whip egg whites with sugar till wet stiff peaks.
• Fold in 1/3 of the whipped egg whites into the cooked dough to lighten it. Then proceed to fold in remaining whites.
• Pour batter into the mold, bang on the countertop a couple on times to get ride of air pockets before sending the mold into the oven.
• Bake at 160C for about 40 mins. 
• Cool completely, inverted on your counter before unmolding cake.

Trip to Melbourne

Hi Peeps,

I will be making a trip to Melbourne very soon... intending to visit baking supply stores there. Anyone who has any must-go places to recommend? Oh... also must-buys! LOL...

Thanks a million!

Chocolate Rice Kueh Bahulu

Was in the mood for something sweet ....

Recipe found here.

Cinnamon Buns

Looking through my collection of baking books, I came across the book written by Peter Reinhart. I remember buying this book on an impulse online, because there was another book on offer, and I thought that since I'm ordering one book, might as well make it 2. :)

A quick flip through the book, I noticed that most of the bread recipes are for rustic/sourdough breads, which I do not have the patience for. So I looked more closely and finally found a straight-forward recipe for cinnamon buns. So cinnamon buns it shall be!

The method is quite different from the norm. The butter, sugar, eggs were whipped together first and then flour and milk added. Interesting....

The baked buns were really good too! However, i did not add any white fondant (icing) onto the tops after the buns were baked as I found the bread sweet enough.

Original recipe by Peter Reinhart, and here's my adaptation:

Makes 8-to 12 large buns

What you need

• 6.5 tbsp granulated sugar
• 1 tsp salt (i omitted this coz i used salted butter)
• 2.75oz salted butter at room temp (you can use shortening or unsalted butter or margarine)
• 1 large egg, slightly beaten
• 1 tsp lemon extract or grated lemon zest of 1 lemon ( I omitted this coz I do not have lemons at home)
• 16 oz bread flour (you can use all purpose flour too)
• 2 tsp instant yeast
• 9oz whole milk (or buttermilk) at room temp
• 4oz cinnamon sugar (mix 6.5 tbsp sugar plus 1tbsp ground cinnamon) (orginal recipe asked for 1/2 tbsp of ground cinnamon, i upped it to 1 tbsp)

What to do

• Cream tog the sugar and butter on med-high speed on an electric mixer with paddle attachment. Whip in the egg and lemon extract/zest (if using) till smooth.
• Add in the flour, yeast and milk. Mix on low speed till dough forms into a ball. Switch to dough hook and mix till dough passed pane test.
• Oil a large bowl and transfer the dough into it. Cover bowl with plastic over and let it poof till double in size.
• Transfer dough onto an oiled counter top and punch it down.
• Roll out dough about 3/4 in in thickness and 14 inches wide by 12 inches long. Sprinkle cinnamon sugar onto dough and roll it up, swiss-roll style.
• With the seam side down, cut into 8-12 even pieces each abt 13/4 inches thick.
• Line 1 or more pans with baking parchment. Place the buns approx. 1/2 inch apart.
• Poof at room temp for 75-90 mins, or until size had doubled.
• Bake in preheated oven at 180C on the middle rack, for 20mins.