Chocolate Tart on Christmas

This Christmas is a great feasting for me indeed. I have been eating like non stop and no chance to feel hungry at all. Guess what!? Immediately I put on weight.

Other than eating I make some desserts too. Log cake, chocolate tart, fruits puffs, panettone and so on.

Here, I want to share about the chocolate tart. It is a rich, smooth and silky chocolate fillings on top of a rich shortcrust  pastry. The berries enhance the Xmas atmosphere to cheer up everyone.

Ingredients for a pastry fit 28 cm tart pan

330g plain flour
70g sugar powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
70g whole beaten eggs
160g cold butter (cut into small chunk)
100g melted dark chocolate 

For the pastry, mix the flour, sugar powder and salt in a food processor until combine.  Add the butter and pulse the food processor in few times until everything become fine bread crumbs.  Add in the beaten egg and pulse again for few times until it almost come to a dough. Take out the dough and flatten it to become a round disc. Cling wrap it and chill in the fridge at least 1 hour before use.

Line the chilled pastry onto a tart pan. Use a folk to poke some holes on the pastry then refrigerate for 30 minutes. Line a baking parchment on the tart surface and add the baking beans to blind bake the pastry at 220C preheated oven for 15 minutes. Take the pastry out and remove the beans and baking parchment. Egg wash the pastry surface and continue to bake for another 10 minutes. 

Brush the melted chocolate on the pastry surface and the sides to help the chocolate filling attach to nicely it later.

For the chocolate fillings

200ml whole milk
565ml double cream or cooking cream
60g caster sugar
350g 70% dark chocolate
2 large eggs

Put the milk, cream and sugar into a saucepan and slowly bring to the boil, stirring gently. Take off the heat and add the broken chocolate, whisking until smooth, then add the eggs and whisk again. Pour the filling into a jug. Put the baked tart case back in the oven, carefully pull out the oven shelf and pour in the filling. Push the oven shelf back in and bake for 15 - 20  minutes. It is cooked when the filling still has a slight wobble to it. Remember, it will keep firming up a little as it cools down. 

Xmas Log Cake 2014

It has been quite a busy year for me. I thought after my little one started his schooling  I could have more time to do my own things but seems like things are still  queuing behind hasn't completed yet and now come to the end of the year. Hopefully the coming year I will plan my works better and be more organised.

No much time to share too many stories here but as usual a xmas log cake for this festive season to wish you a blessed Christmas and happy new year 2015.

It's quite a big cake about 3.5 kg which is custom made for December birthday babies in my cell group and it's just enough to feed about 30 members.

Have a joyful Christmas !

Peach Cloud Cake

I named this cake as cloud cake because it's tasted as soft and light as cloud. The texture is melt in the mouth like eating without adding any colorie to your body. This cream cake is well accepted by many people for the cake is cottony soft and texture is not so sweet that will make you feel want to have another bite after one and never get enough of it.

For 10 inches sponge cake X 2

Ingredients

180g egg yolks

80g caster sugar

140g vegetable oil

180g full cream milk

240g plain flour

540g egg whites

160g caster sugar

600g whipping cream

canned peaches (sliced)

150g frosty whip powder

240g cold water

Whisk the egg yolks with caster sugar until pale in color then add the oil follow by the milk. Shift in the plain flour and mix until no any lumps left.In another clean bowl, whisk the egg white until frothy then add the caster sugar in three batches and keep whisking until nearly to a stiff peak foam. 

Fold in the egg white mixture to the egg yolk mixture in three batches until well mix. Divide the mixture into two round lined baking pan and bake in 100C preheated oven. Bake at 100C for 15 minutes follow by 120C for 25 minutes then 140C for 20 minutes and lastly 150C for 30 minutes. Bring out the cakes from the oven to cool down while preparing the cream.

Whisk the whipping cream until stiff peak and chill in the fridge. Whip up the frosty whip powder with cold water until thicken then chill in the fridfe . Divide each cake into two portions, you will have four pieces of cake.

Place a piece of cake on a cake board, spread some whipped cream and arrange some sliced peaches. Cover the peaches with a layer of cream then place another peice of sponge on top. Continue with this process until you got a tall cake. Cover the whole cake with whipped cream and freeze the cake until whipped cream is harden.  

Spread the frosty whipped cream to the whole cake and smooth it nicely. Pipe some spiral pattern and arrange some peaches on the top. Cover the side of the cake with some toasted almond or puff pastry flakes. Chill for 4 hours before serve. 

Lemon Curd Hokkaido Cupcakes II

This hokkaido cupcakes become my number one bake product of the year. People had tried never get enough of it.

32 cups of Hokkaido cupcakes

Ingredients

180g egg yolks
80g caster sugar
140g vegetable oil
180g full cream milk
240g plain flour
540g egg whites
160g caster sugar

400g whipping cream
100g frosty Whip powder
160g cold water

For the Lemon Curd

4 large eggs
120g caster sugar
130g lemon juice
2-3 lemon zest
90g Butter

Combine the eggs, sugar, lemon juice and zest and cook over a double boiler until smooth and thicken.  Add butter and stir for the final shining and silky consistency. Set aside to cool while preparing for the hokkaido cupcake.

Whisk the egg yolks with caster sugar until pale in color then add the oil follow by the milk. Shift in the plain flour and mix until no any lumps left. In another clean bowl, whisk the egg white until frothy then add the caster sugar in three batches and keep whisking until nearly to a stiff peak foam. 

Fold in the egg white mixture to the egg yolk mixture in three batches until well mix. Divide the mixture into each hokkaido cups about 80 to 90 percent full and bake in 100C preheated oven. Bake at 100C for 10 minutes follow by 120C for 20 minutes then 140C for 15 minutes and lastly 150C for 10 minutes. Bring out the cupcakes from the oven to cool down while preparing the cream.

Whisk the whipping cream until stiff peak. Place into a piping bag and chill in the fridge. Combine the frosty whip powder with cold water then whip until thicken. Put into a piping bag with flower tip attached. Once the cupcakes completly cool down, pipe some lemon curd into the cupcakes then follow by the whipped cream. Pipe leftover lemon curd at the center of the cake and lastly pipe out the frosty whip cream. Chill in the fridge and it is best serve cold.