Matcha Snowskin Mooncakes

My mind is a total blank when it comes to remembering details: I can't remember where I kept the snowskin mooncake recipe that I used last year!

So I end up randomly grab a recipe and perform trial-and-error as I go along. My first few batches of the snowskin mooncakes are not satisfactory as the skin dough get torn most of the times when wrapping in the filling.

Finally, the matcha snowskin mooncakes turn out to be the most decent and presentable. Hurray!

It is going to be Mid-Autumn Festival soon. Wishing all a happy Mid-Autumn Festival in advance! :)

Earl Grey Chiffon Cake

Using the same recipe as Pu-Erh Chiffon Cake, I did the original Earl Grey Chiffon Cake. This soft and fluffy cake is filled with the lovely scent of Earl Grey tea. :) I strongly recommend this cake to all Earl Grey tea lovers! :)

Thanks to Happy Home Baking for sharing the recipe. :)

Earl Grey Chiffon Cake
Adapted from: Happy Home Baking

Ingredients (Makes an 18-cm tube cake)
(A)
3 egg yolks
40 g castor sugar
100 g cake flour
1 tsp baking powder
Pinch of salt
1 tbsp (3 satchels) Earl Grey tea powder
50 ml vegetable oil
75 ml water
(B)
3 egg whites
40 g castor sugar

Method
1. Sift cake flour, baking powder and salt together, set aside.
2. Place egg yolks in a mixing bowl, add sugar in 3 separate additions and with a manual whisk, whisk till the mixture becomes sticky and turns pale.
3. Drizzle in the oil, whisking at the same time till the mixture is well combined. Repeat the same with the water.
4. Add in the flour mixture and whisk until flour mixture is fully incorporated into the batter.
5. Add in the tea powder and mix well.
6. In a clean, dry mixing bowl, beat egg whites with an electric mixer until mixture becomes frothy and foamy. Gradually beat in the sugar and beat on high speed until stiff peaks form.
7. Add the beaten egg white into the egg yolk batter in 3 separate additions, each time folding gently with a spatula until just blended.
8. Pour batter into an ungreased 18-cm tube pan. Tap the pan lightly on a table top to get rid of any trapped air bubbles in the batter.
9. Bake in a preheated oven at 170°C for 45 – 50 minutes or until the cake surface turns golden brown, and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
10. Remove from the oven and invert the pan immediately. Let it cool completely before unmold.

Notes
- I sifted the Earl Grey tea powder together with the flour mixture.

Spinach Chiffon Cake

Whenever I think of spinach, the image of Popeye immediately appears. Popeye is one of my favourite cartoons when I was young. Who can forget the extraordinary strength that Popeye gained after consuming spinach, although I am not sure about the truth behind it? Hehe... Are you a fan of Popeye when young? Don't be shy to raise your hands. :)

With a handful of spinach leaves, this Spinach Chiffon Cake displays the most natural light green that I have ever seen in all my bakes so far. Ooh, how I love the pretty green hue. :)

Thanks to 袅袅烘焙香 for sharing the recipe. :)

Spinach Chiffon Cake
Adapted from: 袅袅烘焙香

Ingredients (Makes a 21-cm tube cake)
(A)
4 egg yolks
20 g castor sugar
48 g vegetable oil
65 g spinach juice
80 g cake flour
1 tsp baking powder
80 g sweetened red beans
(B)
4 egg whites
40 g castor sugar
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
Spinach Juice
6 - 7 spinach leaves
2 tbsp water

Method
1. Cut the spinach leaves into small pieces and blend with 2 tbsp water. Strain and measure out 65 g of spinach juice.
2. Sift cake flour and baking powder together. Set aside.
3. In a bowl, whisk egg yolks and sugar together till pale and sugar is dissolved.
4. Add in oil and mix well, followed by the spinach juice.
5. Add in the flour mixture and mix well.
6. In a clean mixing bowl, beat egg whites and cream of tartar till foamy. Add sugar in separate additions until stiff peaks form.
7. Add the beaten egg whites into egg yolk batter in 4 additions and fold gently using a spatula.
8. Toss the red beans with a little flour before mixing into the batter.
9. Pour the batter into an ungreased tube pan. Tap the pan lightly on a table top with both hands to get rid of any trapped air bubbles in the batter.
10. Bake in a preheated oven at 160°C for 40 minutes.
11. Remove from the oven and invert the pan immediately. Let it cool completely before unmold.

Notes
- Tossing the red beans in a bit of flour prevents them all sinking to the bottom of the pan.
- I blended spinach leaves with 50 ml water, strained and measured out 65 g of spinach juice.
- I omitted sweetened red beans. 

White Loaf

Thanks to Jess and Honey Boy, I finally got my first decent looking bread loaf after countless failures in bread making! I say this bread looks decent because it looks like and tastes like bread to me! :) For that, I am overjoyed. :)

I used a 450 g (20 x 10 x 10 cm) non-stick loaf tin and after slightly more than 1 hour of final proofing, the bread was like about 80% full. Afraid of over-proofing, I closed the lid and popped the tin in the oven. As expected, the bread did not rise to the top. Hence I did not manage to get a Pullman loaf even though the recipe is supposed to be a Pullman loaf.

I have taken a closer photo on the bread to show you the bread texture.

Please tell me, have I succeeded? :)

Another question again: For a 450 g bread loaf, how much bread flour do you usually use? I saw recipes ranging from 250 g to 330 g bread flour and I am not too sure which one should I use.

I am eager to hear all your feedbacks and feel free to share all useful tips in bread making as I am really a total begineer in this area.

Last but not least, Happy National Day to Singapore!!! :)

Cheddar Cheese Cake

The cheddar cheese addition has miraculously transformed a simple butter cake to a delightful savoury cake. Yummy! :)

Thanks to Lily's Wai Sek Hong for sharing the recipe. :)

Cheddar Cheese Cake
Adapted from: Lily's Wai Sek Hong

Ingredients (Makes 2 loaves)
1 cup (227g) unsalted butter
1 cup white sugar
4 eggs
2/3 cup (4 slices) cheddar cheese, cubed
2 1/4 cups plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
3/4 cup milk
Pinch of salt (Optional)
1 tsp vanilla extract (Optional)

Method
1. Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease a 9 x 13-inch baking dish or 2 loaf pans.
2. Sift plain flour, baking powder and salt together. Set aside.
3. Mix milk and vanilla extract in a bowl. Set aside.
4. Cream butter and sugar till light and fluffy.
5. Add in eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
6. Add the flour mixture in 3 additions, alternating with the milk mixture until the batter is smooth.
7. Add in the cheddar cheese and mix well. If the batter is too stiff, add a little more milk and mix well.
8. Pour the batter into the prepared pan(s). Bake at 175°C for 45 – 60 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean. 
9. Cool in pan for 5 – 10 minutes. Unmold from pan and cool completely on a wire rack.

Notes
- I replaced plain flour with cake flour.
- I baked in a medium loaf pan and a 20-cm round pan.

Winter Plum Blossom Flower Flaky Mooncakes

Winter Plum Blossom Flower Flaky Mooncakes
Adapted from: Y3K My Secret Recipes Series Vol. 11 – Mooncakes by Alan Ooi

Ingredients (Makes 4)
Water Dough
53 g plain flour
5 g icing sugar
20 g shortening
27 ml water

Oil Dough
50 g plain flour
30 g shortening

Filling
200 g lotus paste
50 g chestnuts

Egg Wash
1 egg yolk, lightly beaten

Method
1. Filling: Toast the chestnuts at 120°C for 10 - 15 minutes. Set aside to cool and chop into small bits. Combine the chopped chestnuts and lotus paste. Divide into 4 portions of around 62.5 g each. Shape round and set aside.
2. Water Dough: Combine flour, icing sugar and shortening together. Add in water and knead into a soft dough. Roll it into a long strip and cut into 4 portions of around 26 g each.
3. Oil Dough: Combine plain flour and shortening together and knead into a soft dough. Roll into a long strip and cut into 4 portions of around 20 g each.

Assembling:
4. Flatten a piece of water dough and wrap in an oil dough. Shape round and roll up like a swiss roll. Repeat the process of flattening and rolling up once again.
5. Flatten the dough and wrap in a filling. Shape round, flatten and cut into a winter plum blossom shape. Make a depression in the centre with your thumb.
6. Arrange the mooncakes on a baking tray lined with parchment paper. Brush with egg wash and bake in a preheated oven at 180°C for 20 – 25 minutes.

Notes
- For egg wash, I used 1 egg, lightly beaten.
- I applied a second egg wash 15 minutes into baking.