Cherries: Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte (cheat version)

What do you do with leftover chocolate cake layers?  I love schwarzwälder kirschtorte, also called Black Forest Cake, Black Forest Cherry Cake, or Black Forest Gateau.  After making one just a few weeks ago, I was left with one, single layer of chocolate cake.  That's just too little for a full cake, but to throw it away would have been so wasteful.  So, I decided to do a little cheat version of the cake I love so much.

Tips:

1- If you have leftover cake layers, wrap it tightly with plastic wraps and it should store in the freezer for about two weeks.

2- It doesn't necessary have to be a heart-shaped cake, go for anything you have or like.

3- Personally, I prefer using Kirschwasser, it literally means cherry water in German.  However, if you are serving this to a child or pregnant ladies, you can substitute it with syrup from canned cherries mixed with simple sugar syrup (see recipe below).

4- You will see multiple choices for the soaking liquid.  You can chose any versions you prefer depending on your own liking and who you are serving the cake to.

5- I'm using fresh Bing cherries which are sweeter, but you can also substitute with canned cherries if you prefer.  Sweet, tart, pie filling, any kind of cherries you have are fine.  Marachino cherries, however, does not go so well if used as the filling, decorations are fine though.

6- If you don't have piping tips or piping set, you can spread it with a knife and spoon, or cut a 1/4 inch tip out of a zip top plastic bag and pipe.

7- If Chantilly cream on the cake turned soft due to surrounding temperature, do chill it in the fridge for about 10 minutes before serving.

 

Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte (cheat version)

Cake:

1 Chocolate chiffon cake layer

Arrange and using cookie cutters, cut out 3-6 shapes of the cake.

If the thickness of the cake is at or more than 3/4 inches, half it, so that it is about 1/2 inch thick.

Fillings:

Cherries, halved and pitted 

Depending on the size and shapes of your cake, you may need less or more of the cherries.

Chantilly Cream:

1 cup heavy cream

2 tbsp sugar

1 tsp vanilla essence

Whip all three ingredients to stiff peak and store in refrigerator until it is ready to be used.

Soaking Syrup:

Choice I)

1/8 cup kirschwasser

Choice II)

1/8 cup sugar

1/8 cup water

Boil the two ingredients until dissolved for a simple syrup.

Cool the syrup and set aside for later use.

Choice III)

3 tbsp simple syrup

3 tbsp kirschwasser

Mix all ingredients and set aside for later use.

Choice IV)

3 tbsp simple syrup

3 tbsp syrup from canned cherries

Mix all ingredients and set aside for later use.

Choice V)

2 tbsp simple syrup

2 tbsp syrup from canned cherries

2 tbsp kirschwasser

Mix all ingredients and set aside for later use.

After cutting out cake shapes, immediately brush with your choice of soaking liquid so that the cakes does not dry out.

Set first layer on a plate and pipe a thick later of Chantilly cream around the border.

Set cherry halves on the cake.

Add a little more Chantilly cream to fill the spaces between the cherries.

Place another layer of cake on top of the first layer, with soaked layer facing bottom.

Brush the top of the second layer of cake with soaking syrup.

Repeat procedure of piping cream and placing cherry halves on cake.

Place third layer of cake over the second layer of cream and cherries.

Decorate top of the cake with Chantilly cream, and decorate with more cherry halves.

Dust with cocoa powder if you wish.

Finally ENJOY YOUR CAKE!

You can also cover the whole cake with cream as shown in the picture below.  Whatever you wish, you can make em!  As the title of the blog suggests:  PLAY!  Have fun, enjoy! ^^

Cardamom and Pear Bavarian Cream Cake

Happy Birthday (ahem, a little belated) to my sister Rachael!  She's always been the silly, cheeky one, while me the quiet one with a inner closet cheeky personality waiting to jump out.  She's the one who has the sweet sweet smile that I wish I have.  However, do not let that fool you, for she has a little devilish personality that's waiting to prank you if you're not careful.  I know it because I've been the victim of the pranks more times than I can count.  I love you regardless, and HAPPY BIRTHDAY AGAIN!   And HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL!!

Mmmph!  Having a mouth full of this baby had me closing my eyes, and going off to dreamy land for a moment.  At the first bite, you get blasted with the flavor of cardamom in the soft creamy Bavarian cream, followed by a subtle pear and orange combination from the pear slices and orange chiffon cake.  I melted alright!  It was just how I dreamed for it to be.  If I were standing, I would have done a Snoopy dance around the room.  Although, on second thought, it's a good thing I was sitting down, for I went weak in my knees eating this baby up.

I was introduced to cardamom the spice earlier this year by a friend who has recently moved back to India.  I miss you guys!  I think it was love at first sight for me with cardamom.  I've been dreaming of this cake for a couple months now.  Finally I got down to pencil and paper, scribbled out the recipe and then, all that's left was for the director in me to yell: "ACTION!"

I've been planning on getting the cake done for a party this weekend, but decided to try it out first and bring Black Forest Cake instead to the party.  After trying this cake, I decided that it's too good to keep it to myself and I just gotta gotta gotta share this with my friends.  Before they get to eat it though, you guys get to see it here! :D

Tips:

1- Gently crush the cardamom pods with the butt of a knife or in a mortar and pestle to release the flavorful seeds.

2- Before slicing the cake rounds, it helps to have a ruler and toothpicks around. Measure about 1/2 inch thickness and insert a toothpick into the cake as a marker.  Then using a sharp knife, or a serrated utility knife, cut the cake into rounds just right above the marker.

3- If you are new to cutting cake rounds, wrap the cake tightly in plastic wrap and freeze for about 12 hours before slicing.  This helps to harden the cake, and thus making the cutting action easier.

4- If you soak the pear rounds in salt water mixture, remember to rinse and pat dry quickly before cooking in milk.

5- If you don't have a plastic cake wrap, makeshift with a strip of parchment paper of at least 2"x20".  You can use clear tape to tape shorter pieces together.  Otherwise, use a 9" cake tin or spring-form cake pan for this purpose.

6- You can omit using the raspberries for decoration if you prefer.

Special thanks to Helene of Tartelette for her advise and recipe which I altered for the cardamom.

Cardamom and Pear Bavarian Cream Cake

2 D'Anjou Pears (one sliced into rounds, and the other sliced into thin wedges for decoration)

1 tbsp salt

1 cup water

1 9-inch orange chiffon cake (Recipe here)

6-12 raspberries for decoration

1 strip of plastic cake wrap, at least 2 inches high and 20 inches long

4 egg yolks

1/4 cup sugar

1-1/4 cup milk

2-3 cardamom pods, roughly crushed open

1 tbsp gelatine in 1/8 cup water

1 cup heavy cream

Cake preparation:

Cut orange chiffon cake into 1/2-inch thick rounds.

Reserve 2 rounds for this cake, and store the rest of the cake for another purpose.

---

Pear preparation:

Slice the pears into rounds and thin wedges.

Soak the wedges in water and salt mixture to stop it from turning brown.

Use the pear rounds immediately, otherwise, soak it in the salt water mixture until needed.

---

Bavarian Cream preparation:

Whisk egg yolks and sugar until very pale.

Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, bring the milk and cardamom pods to a boil over medium heat.

While the milk is warming up, place the sliced pear rounds into the milk for about 3 minutes, or until it looked slightly transparent.

Remove the pears from the milk.

When the milk boils, strain out the cardamom and measure out 1 cup of milk.

Continue beating the egg yolk mixture as you slowly pour the hot milk over the yolk.

Pour this yolk mixture back into the saucepan, and cook over low-medium heat until it coats the back of a spoon.

Remove the yolk mixture from heat and stir in the softened gelatine until it has completely melted.

Leave the yolk mixture to cool back down to room temperature.

Meanwhile, whip the heavy cream to soft peak, and fold it into the yolk mixture.

---

Cake assembly:

Place one 1/2-inch thick cake round on a large, flat plate.

Wrap the plastic cake wrap around the cake as tight as you can without smooshing the cake up.

Tape the plastic cake wrap together with a small piece of clear tape.

Before pouring the cream, reserve about 1 cup of the cream for later use.

Pour about 1/2 inch thick layer of the Bavarian cream onto the cake.

Place the raspberries against the plastic cake wrap.

Place a layer of sliced pear rounds on the cream.

Fill the cream to about 1 inch thick, and place another layer of sliced pear rounds on the cream.

Fill with the rest of the cream (not the reserved one cup)

Gently push in the other layer of the cake round on top of the cream.

Jiggle a little to push out the air and flatten it against the cream.

Using a spatula, spread the reserved, 1-cup Bavarian cream over the cake.

Arrange the pear wedges into a circular fan around the cake.

Chill the cake for at least 4 hours or until set.

Finally, cut up a slice and go "mmmm..." with your eyes closed, and join me in dreamy land.

Enjoy and here's to wishing all a Happy New Year!

Orange Chiffon with Chocolate and Orange Cream

Happy Birthday Y'all~!!
Okay, I've got many friends whose birthday falls in November, and none of them live nearby enough that I can make em a cake.  So here's a big dedication to all of em.  Namely, in chronological order, Derrick, YeongWen, HuanKiat, Jennifer, TakKhwin, Jim, Lester, Claire, Eric, & Laytyng. *phooo* That was quite the mouthful... lol


HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ALL OF YOU NOVEMBER-BORN GUYS & GALS!  Here's to a better, sweeter, and memorable year ahead :)

Since coming back from the recent cruise to Eastern Caribbean, I've added a couple of gems to my collection of liquors, Cointreau and Kahlua.  First heard of Cointreau and Kahlua as a child when my parents bought for their own collection.  Back when I was about 18, I was the worst drinker anyone can imagine.  A couple drops of Kahlua in a big glass of milk will make me buzz.  My sister will attest to that, cuz she's the one who had to make me a glass of tea after that.  lol  Yeah, weak drinker alright.  Still weak now, but I've built up a bit of tolerance to it to a point where I can enjoy a beer or a glass of wine without falling off on my face and had to be dragged off.  *Disclaimer:  no mommy, I've never got drunk that bad before and plan to stay that way.*

I've digressed.  Anyway, I've promised my friend Jason that I'll think of a cake recipe using Cointreau when I get back, and after a couple days of figuring out the whats and hows, here it is...  I have to say, I'm surprised at how orangy the cake tastes.  The flavor of orange and chocolate balances very well and does not overpower one another.  Just how I loved it :)

Tips:
1- Before slicing the cake to form the top and bottom halves, it helps to have a ruler and toothpicks around. Measure about 3/4 to 1 inch thickness and insert a toothpick into the cake as a marker.  Then using a sharp knife, or a serrated utility knife, cut the cake into halves just right above the marker.
2- If your cake is slightly domed, use the same method detailed in Tip 1 to cut off the domed area, so that you have flat surfaces to work with.
3- If you prefer not to use alcohol, just substitute the alcohol with 1/4 cup more of orange juice.  Although the boiling will rid the syrup of alcohol anyway.
4- If you do not have Cointreau, feel free to use Grand Marnier or any other orange flavored alcohol.
5- If you prefer an adult-oriented cake, you can choose not to boil the Cointreau.  Instead, heat the orange juice just enough to dissolve the sugar, then add in Cointreau last and mix well.
 
 

Orange Chiffon with Chocolate and Orange Cream

1 nine-inch orange chiffon cake, sliced into two round halves
1 15-oz can of mandarin orange slice, drained

Soaking Syrup:
1/4 cup orange juice
1/4 cup Cointreau
1/2 tsp orange essence
1 tbsp sugar

Whipping Cream ingredients:
2 cups heavy whipping cream
1 pkt (2-1/4 tsp) gelatine
3 tbsp water
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup cocoa powder
2 tbsp of orange rind 

Soaking Syrup:

Put all ingredients for the soaking syrup in a small pot and boil on medium low heat for 5 minutes.
Then remove from fire, and let it cool down while preparing the other ingredients.
When the syrup has cooled enough to handle, brush it over the cut surfaces of the chiffon cake. 

Whipping Cream:
In a small bowl, soak the gelatine in 3 tbsp of water.
Place the bowl in a pan of simmering water.
Gently stir until the gelatine dissolves, then remove from heat and let it cool.
Beat the heavy whipping cream with a wire whip until it foams.
Add in powdered sugar, and vanilla extract.
Beat until stiff peak forms.
Remove 1 cup of whipped cream and slowly mix into the gelatine until smooth.
Slowly whip in the gelatine mixture into the rest of the whipped cream. 
Remove 1/3 of the whipped cream into a separate bowl.
Add 5 tbsp of the soaking syrup to the leftover 2/3 of the whipped cream and beat until smooth. This will be the orange flavored whipped cream.
Remove the orange flavored whipped cream into a clean bowl, and wash the mixing bowl.
Place the 1/3 of the whipped cream that was removed earlier into the mixing bowl along with cocoa powder.
Whip until smooth.

Putting it all together:
Put the bottom half of the sliced cake on a flat surface and spread a thin layer of chocolate cream over the top surface only.
Arrange the drained orange slices in a single layer over the chocolate cream.
Spread more chocolate cream over the orange slices, just enough to cover them.
Place the other half of the cake over the orange and chocolate layer.
Cover the whole cake in a very thin layer of orange flavored cream to stabilize and help the crumbs stay in place.
Then spread a thicker layer of orange flavored cream over the whole cake to cover.
Lastly decorate the cake as you wish with orange slices, chocolate cream, or chocolate shavings if you prefer.

Last but not least, good luck and enjoy a lice of orangy cake.
And again, Happy Birthday to my friends :)

Orange Chiffon Cake

Chiffon cakes are fluffy, light slices of yumminess.
Updated: January 5, 2011
***I apologize to any readers who tried to read through this and got frustrated.  I did not realize I missed out a few tips and some clarification.  And in retrospect, I am also adding some extra info on beating egg whites.  Thank you mommy, for actually going through and letting me know the frustration you encountered. MUAH!***

Tips:
1- Have all your ingredients weighed, measured and ready, that will help the work-flow tremendously.
2- If you're working fast, you can beat the egg whites first, then the egg yolks.  This saves time of washing up the bowl before beating the whites if you don't have a separate mixing bowl.
3- Make sure your mixing bowl is clean and grease-free when you work with egg whites.
4- This recipe is for either a large bundt pan or for two 9-inch round cake pans.
5- If you only need one cake, feel free to wrap the other cake tightly in clingwrap and freeze it.  When you need the cake, just put it in the refrigerator 24 hours before using.
6- If you are using bundt cake pan, do not oil.
7- If you are using 9-inch pans, do not oil, but line the bottom of the pans with parchment papers.
8- I started learning making chiffon cake with self-raising flour, but have recently moved to using a mixture of plain flour, baking powder, and salt.  Either recipe should work just fine.  With plain flour, you just have to mix the flour thoroughly before you use.  With self-raising flour, you can get away with just a quick sift.
9- One way to test if the egg whites are ready: Dip your wire whip into the egg white foam, give it a quick turn and lift the whip.  You should see a beak-like egg white tip on your whip.  It might sag just a tad, but should not be limp or runny. You should still be able to see a glossy sheen on your foam.  If you see your egg whites starting to loose its sheen and form clumps, it has been over-beaten.  I have never tried this before, but I have seen this tip being promoted over and over again.  Add in one more egg white into the mixture, and beat until just right.  Of course, you will need to remove 1/8 of the egg white before continuing with the recipe if you add the extra egg white to rescue the batch.

Orange Chiffon Cake

Egg White Mixture:
7 egg whites
1/2 tsp cream of tartar
1/2 cup sugar


Egg Yolk Mixture:
7 egg yolks
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup orange juice
1/4 cup milk
2 cups plain flour                     )
2-1/2 tsp baking powder          )  or 2 cups self-raising flour
3/4 tsp salt                             )
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp orange essence
1 tablespoon orange rind, chopped


Preheat oven to 300°F (150°C).
Combine plain flour, baking powder, and salt, and sieve 2-3 times until well mixed.  
Or if you are using self-raising flour, you may just sieve it once.
Beat egg yolks, sugar, orange juice, and milk until sugar is dissolved.
Slowly mix in the flour and salt mixture until no clumps visible.
Add in oil, rind, and orange essence and combine well.
----
Use a separate mixing bowl or transfer the egg yolk mixture to a separate bowl and wash the mixing bowl well so that no grease remains, because any remainder of grease or yolk leftover in the mixing bowl will cause the egg white not to rise. (see Tips 2 & 3)
----
Beat egg white with a wire whip until it is foaming on the surface but is still liquidy below.
At this point, slowly add in sugar and keep beating until soft peak forms.
Now add in cream of tartar while beating.
Keep beating until stiff peak forms but still glossy.
----
Mix a quarter of the egg white mixture into the egg yolk mixture to lighten it up to help the folding process.
Gently and quickly fold in the rest of the egg whites into the yolk mixture.
***Folding technique:  Using a big spatula, cut the mixture down through the center until you scrape the bottom.  Then lift up the spatula and fold the mixture over.  Do not pat the mixture down, just lightly flip it over will do.  Then give the mixing bowl a quarter turn and repeat the cutting, scraping, and flipping motion.  Then give the bowl another quarter turn and repeat...  You get the gist :)  Cut, scrape, flip, turn, cut scrape, flip, turn...***
Fold until just mixed, no visible streaks visible.
Pour the mixture into the bundt pan or equally into the two 9-inch pans.
Bake at 300°F for 30 minutes until lightly browned.
Switch the oven heat up to 350°F for another 10 minutes or so until golden brown.
Remove the pans from the oven and invert immediately, then leave to cool completely before removing the cakes from the mold.

p/s: If I come upon more tips on chiffon cakes, I'll add them below.  If anyone has any tips, please let me know, I'd like to learn ^.^

Spiced Pumpkin Cranberry Cupcake

Never liked pumpkin much.  Couldn't understand all the hoo-ha behind pumpkin pie, didn't understand what's so great about spiced pumpkin latte that comes out every fall at coffee stores.  For twenty over years, it stayed that way.  All it took was a cheesecake to change my mind. ^.^  Hehe...  A couple years ago, I had a slice of pumpkin cheesecake at a friend's place and that changed my mind about pumpkins.  Heeh


So this year, to start off this fall on a pumpkin-ish tone, I made spiced pumpkin cupcakes.  After grating my nutmegs, I went bonkers, and took out my mortar and pestle and started pounding my cinnamon and cloves into powder.  Yeah, I did went bonkers that night.  lol...

Tips: 
1- You don't have to pound cinnamon and cloves, but if you can, try grating your own nutmeg.  It smells so awesome and it's so easy, you'll do it again after you've tried it once.
2- Soaking your cranberries before mixing and baking helps to keep them moist and plump through the baking process.
3- This recipe is for about twenty 2-1/2 inch cupcakes.  If your muffin trays are larger or smaller, remember to adjust the baking time and check for readiness.

Spiced Pumpkin Cranberry Cupcake

Cupcake ingredients:

3/4 cup dried cranberries

1 cup water

2 tbsp brandy/kirsch

2 cup + 2 tbsp all-purpose flour

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp ground cloves

1/4 tsp grated nutmeg

1/2 cup vegetable oil

2 large eggs

1-1/2 cup pumpkin paste

Cream cheese icing ingredients:

8 oz cream cheese, softened (1 pkt)

4 oz butter, softened

1-3/4 cup powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla essence

a couple drops of red, yellow, and green food dye

Boil the cranberries in water and brandy/kirsch mixture for 5 minutes then switch off the fire and keep the cranberries soaking for about 10 minutes then drain.

Preheat oven to 350°F and line muffin tray with paper cups.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together all the dry ingredients until well mixed.

Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add in the wet ingredients (oil, eggs, pumpkin paste).

Whisk together the wet ingredients and slowly draw in the dry ingredients until well mixed.

Stir in the cranberries.

Pipe or spoon the batter into paper cups and fill to about 3/4 full.

Bake for 25 minutes or until a cake tester inserted into the center of the cupcake comes out clean.

Cool on a rack for about 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, combine and cream all ingredients for icing. 

Mix a couple drops of food dye into part of the icing until you achieve the color you want.

Pipe or spread cream cheese icing on the muffin.

Oh, and have fun with the icing design.  ^.^

Good luck and hope you fall in love with pumpkins.  heehee

Oh, and yes, HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!!!!  Go get drunk on candies!