Cheddar Cheese Sponge Cake

Cheddar Cheese Sponge Cake

by Jeannie Tay
Line bottom and the sides of 7″ square pan
Ingredient A:
50g Corn oil
5 Egg yolks n whole egg 1- (65g)
70g Cake flour
70ml Fresh milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
Ingredient B:
Egg white 5
80g Castor sugar
1/4 tsp Cream of Tartar OR 1/2 lemon juice
4 pieces cheese slices (you can add some shredded cheddar cheese on the top too)

METHOD:
Preheat oven to 170C, second lowest rack.

1. In a large mixing bowl, hand whisk egg yolks, oil, milk, whole egg until pale and well combined then sift in the flour and mix until smooth. Cover n Set aside.
2. In another clean dry bowl(make sure it’s oil free too!) use an electric whisk (or stand mixer if you have one) whisk the egg white until foamy before adding cream of tartar. Continue whisking until thick foams before slowly adding sugar and continue whisking until stiff peaks form or if you can be gentle, just until soft peaks is fine. I find mixing soft peaks meringue into the yolk batter is easier than stiff peaks.
3. Fold meringue into egg yolks batter gently, 1/3 portion at a time until you get a nice creamy batter that can be poured into your cake pan easily. You can use a hand whisk to fold in the meringue and at the end, switch to a spatula to scrap the bottom of the batter and fold up gently to ensure even mixing of the meringue into yolk batter.
4. Pour half the cake batter into the pan, then place the cheese slices gently on top; add some shredded cheddar if you wish. Top up with remaining half batter and lastly add shredded cheddar cheese on the top. Bake in a water bath for 20 minutes at 170C before reducing the temperature to 150C and continue to bake for another hour. Please take note that temperature and timing is only indicative here.
5. Remove from oven and drop the pan from a height a couple of times to minimize shrinkage. Remove from mould by holding the paper lining and lifting up on to a cooling rack. Peel the paper from the sides and allow to cool before slicing.

Note to self: Smeg oven with the above temperature and timing

Chocolate cake with ganache

As mentioned previously, chocolate cakes have a tendency to go bubbly during mixing in of meringue. This method of warming up the oil a bit before adding flour and cocoa powder to mix seems to work in preventing the batter from going bubbly. Do give it a try and see if it works for you too. Do not reduce the sugar as this is a very low sugar cake as I wanted to add the ganache.

Chocolate Sponge Cake (cooked dough method)

by Jeannie Tay

35g plain flour + 15g cocoa powder (Sift together)

40g vegetable oil

60g full cream Milk

3 large egg yolk

1/8 tsp salt

10g sugar

3 egg whites

40g sugar

1/4 tsp cream of tartar or substitute with 1 tsp lemon juice

6″ round pan, bottom lined with parchment but do not line or grease the sides.

Method:

Place oil in a sauce pan and heat it up to just warm (about 65-70C). Remove from fire and add in the flour mixture and handwhisk until smooth. Add milk to the mixture followed by the egg yolks, sugar and salt. Mix until you achieve a smooth batter. Cover and set aside.
In a dry and oil free bowl, place egg whites and start whisking at high speed until frothy. Add cream of tartar and continue to whisk while adding the sugar gradually. Lower the speed once the meringue is beginning to look fine and glossy. Stop at very firm peaks.
Incorporate the meringue into the yolk batter in 3-4 batches gently with a hand held whisk. Once the final batch is added, switch to a spatula and keep folding gently until no more streaks can be seen.
Transfer to baking pan and place this pan into a slightly bigger pan. Then place these into another bigger pan (note: make sure the pans are leak-proof). Pour tap water (I used room temperature as I forgot to heat up some in advance!) into the largest pan up to about 1 cm deep and bake in preheated oven at 150C for 30 minutes then reduce temperature to 140C and continue baking for another hour or until the cake springs back when you gently press the top. There should not be much squishing sound when pressed. Note that temperature and timing defers with each oven, so adjust accordingly.
Remove from oven and unmold as soon as you can. Cool on rack before serving or frosting.

I made a simple ganache using 1:1 ratio of whipping cream and cooking chocolate.

Gula Melaka Sponge cake

This is another favorite recipe of mine. I love anything with gula melaka don’t you? You can find more recipes using this ingredient here and here if you want to try them out.

Ingredients:

• 3 egg yolks
• 35g vegetable oil
• 50g gula melaka/coconut milk syrup
• 50g cake flour
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 3 egg whites
• 35g castor sugar
• 1/8 tsp cream of tartar

Method:-

1. Melt gula melaka with coconut milk and a piece of pandan leaf. Strain into a large mixing bowl and set aside to cool. Measure out 50g and place in a mixing bowl. Add the oil and yolks and mix well.
2. Add sifted flour and mix with a hand whisk until combined. Set aside.
3. Beat the egg whites until foamy then gradually add sugar to beat until firm peaks form.
4. Add 1/3 of the meringue into the yolk batter and using the hand whisk to mix until combined. Add the next 1/3 portion and whisk again. Finally, add the last portion, whisk briefly before switching to spatula to scoop the batter from bottom and fold up on to the batter to make sure all are combined and no more yolk batter can be seen.
5. Pour into an 6″ round pan (line bottom with paper and the sides with teflon sheets) and place it into another seamless pan before placing these into a shallow water bath. Bake at 180C for 30 mins top heat only then reduce to 160C for 50 mins top and bottom heat.
6. Unmould as soon as possible. Cool on rack completely before slicing.

Swiss roll with meat floss filling

I did the bread version of this roll recently and it was well received. So this time, I tried the cake version and found it to be just as good. Sweetness from the cake and mayonaise, and savory from the meat floss…a great combination of flavors for me! Let’s take a look at the recipe…

Swiss roll with meat floss filling

Ingredients
Pan size used: 26cm x 26cm or 25cm x 30cm

• 4 yolks
• 20g sugar
• 60g milk
• 40g corn oil
• 70g cake flour
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 4 whites
  40g sugar
  1/4 tsp cream of tartar (COT)

Method

Preheat oven to 190 deg C and line pan.
Sift flour with baking powder.
Next add in the yolks, milk, oil, sugar, vanilla and salt in a large mixing bowl and mix well with a hand whisk. Add in the sifted flour and mix until smooth. Set aside.
Whisk whites till frothy before adding COT and 40g sugar slowly, and continue to whisk till stiff peaks.
Fold meringue into yolk mixture 1/3 at a time.
Pour into prepared pan. Level the top and then tap pan on table few times to remove trapped bubbles and bake on highest level at 190 deg Celsius for 12 mins or till the top is golden. (Temperature and timing is a guide only, adjust accordingly.)
Remove and drop pan twice on table to reduce shrinkage.
Immediately place another sheet of non stick baking paper over the top and flip over.
Remove the paper lining and allow the cake to cool on the rack, lightly covered with a piece of fresh baking paper.
Once cooled, apply filling and roll tight with the aid of a ruler.
Chill before cutting for neat slices.

Meat Floss filling:

• 100g of mayonaise
• 3-4 tablespoons of condensed milk (can add more if you like it sweet)
• 1 tablespoon of lemon juice
• blitz about 1 cup of meat floss in the food processor to make it finer

Method:

Mix all the ingredients except meat floss together until smooth and use it to apply all over the cooled swiss roll. Sprinkle meat floss on top, making sure you add more on the end that you start rolling.

Gula Melaka Chiffon

Using genuine gula melaka will produce a very fragrant cake. Coconut milk is also use as the flavor combines will with gula melaka. Very traditional taste in a classic cake.

Ingredients:-

6 eggs yolks – I used grade A eggs (65g)
60g corn oil
100g plain flour
1/4 tsp salt
50g coconut milk
50g pure gula melaka

6 eggs whites
1/4 tsp cream of tartar (may replace with 1 tsp lemon juice or vinegar)
60g sugar

Method:

1. Melt gula melaka with coconut milk and a piece of pandas leave. Strain into a large mixing bowl. Add the oil and yolks and mix well.
2. Add sifted flour and mix with a hand whisk until combined. Set aside.
3. Beat the egg whites until foamy then gradually add sugar to beat until firm peaks form.
4. Add 1/3 of the meringue into the yolk batter and using the hand whisk to mix until combined. Add the next 1/3 portion and whisk again. Finally, add the last portion, whisk briefly before switching to spatula to scoop the batter from bottom and fold up on to the batter to make sure all are combined and no more yolk batter can be seen.
5. Pour into an 8″ (20cm) tube pan and place it into another seamless pan before placing these into a shallow water bath. Bake at 160C for 90 mins. Water bath should dry up towards the end of the baking time. If not, then remove the water pan and continue to bake until cooked.
6. Invert immediately to cool completely before unmolding.

Red Velvet Cake

Red velvet cake is one of the most romantic cake around…it’s the cake to bake for weddings, birthdays and valentine’s day! whenever I came across a red velvet cake recipe, I shuddered when I read the amount of red colouring going into the cake and always refrained from baking it. Only indulge once in a blue moon upon request. Here’s my version with less coloring; add more if you like a brighter red version 😛

Red Velvet Cake (sponge cake version)

Ingredients in bracket for 6” round pan

80g plain flour (40g)
10g Cocoa powder (5g)
12g corn flour (6g)
1/4 tsp baking soda (1/8)
1/4 tsp salt (1/8)
6 egg yolks (3 yolks)
1 tsp vanilla extract (1/2 tsp)
1 tsp vinegar (1/2 tsp)
2 tsp bright red food color (1 tsp)
70g Corn oil (35g)
100g full cream milk (50g)

6 egg whites (3 whites)
1/4 tsp cream of tartar (1/8 tsp)
100g caster sugar (50g)

Method:-

Grease and line the base of an 8″ round pan. Pre-heat oven 160C.

1. Sift the first 5 dry ingredients. Set aside.

2. Beat egg whites until foamy before adding cream of tartar. Continue to beat while gradually adding sugar until firm peak and set aside.

3. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together egg yolks, oil, milk, vanilla, vinegar and red colouring until well combined. Finally add in sifted flour mixture and mix with a hand whisk until smooth.

4. Fold in prepared meringue in 3 portions, first 2 portions with hand whisk until all combined before switching to a spatula and fold gently until no streaks of batter can be seen.

5. Pour into prepared pan and bake at 160C in a water bath for about 90 mins or until cake is done.

6. Remove the cake from oven, wait until cake pulls away from the side of the pan before unmoulding. Cool completely before proceeding to frost the cake.

Cream Cheese Frosting:

226g (8 oz) cream cheese softened (113g)
80g icing sugar (40g)
1.5 cup Bettercreme topping cream – whip up until stiff (1/2 + 1/4 cup)
1 tsp vanilla extract

Place cream cheese, vanilla and icing sugar in the stand mixer bowl and beat until creamy. Add the whipped cream and whisk to combine.

Use it to decorate the cake.

Munira’s version if you are not into so much cream cheese in your frosting:-

Ingredients:
240ml Rich Bettercreme
70g Cream Cheese, softened
1/4 cup Icing Sugar
A few drops of Vanilla Extract

Method:

1. Combine cream cheese, vanilla and icing sugar together until smooth.
2. Whip the cream in another bowl until thick, add the cream cheese mixture and continue to whip until stiff.

Quantity for 11″ Square pan:

192g flour
24 gms cocoa powder
29 g corn flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
14 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
2 tsp cider vinegar
4.5 red food colouring
170 g corn oil
240g milk

15 egg white
1/2 tsp tartar
240g caster sugar

For Cream cheese frosting, need to increase to double the quantity

Baked this for a birthday request, it’s a huge cake!

Bluepea Sponge Cake

This is a spin-off of the pandan chiffon cake. I used this recipe as a standard to bake either in a tube pan or a round 8″ pan. If I bake in in a tube pan, I called it a chiffon cake and if in a round pan, it’s a sponge cake. Whatever you want to call it, it’s still delicious and light. If baking in a round pan, you need to grease and line the bottom unless it’s a removable base one. For this cake, I halved the ingredients (in brackets) and bake in a 6″ round with removable base. Use an 8″ tube or 8″ round pan if following the full recipe.

Bluepea Sponge Cake

By Jeannie Tay

Ingredients:

110g cake flour/superfine flour. (55)

10g corn flour. (5)

20g caster sugar (10)

1/4 tsp salt. (1/8)

5 egg yolks. (3 large)

70g Corn oil (30g)

40g coconut milk (20)

60g (30g) water mixed with about 1 tsp bluepea powder

6 egg whites (3)

1/4 tsp cream of tartar (you may omit or replace with 1 tsp of lemon juice or vinegar)

60g caster sugar (30)

Method:-

1. Sift flour and salt together. Set aside.

2. Mix together oil, coconut milk, sugar and bluepea juice until well blended. Add the yolks and mix well with a hand whisk before sifting in flour mixture and mix again until combined. Set aside.

3. Beat egg whites until frothy, add in cream of tartar and beat until soft peaks form. Gradually add in sugar and beat to firm peaks.

4. Lighten the batter with 1/3 portion of the meringue using a hand whisk. Then add another 1/3 portion of the meringue and gently fold. Repeat with the remaining portion until fully incorporated.

5. Pour batter into pan and run a skewer around the batter to help remove big bubbles.

6. Place the cake pan into a seamless pan and place these into a bigger pan. Pour room temperature water into the largest pan to about 1 cm in height.

7. Bake the cake on the lowest rack at 160C for 80-90 minutes or until cake is done. Tent the cake if it gets too brown. After removing cake from the oven, unmould and cool on rack. However if you’re baking in a tube pan, immediately invert to cool completely before unmoulding.

Orange Swiss Roll with Orange Jam

A simple and delicious recipe. As I am using jam, it can be spread on while the cake is still hot. If you are using whipped cream or butter cream, you have to wait till the cake is cooled before applying.

Swiss Roll with Orange Jam

Ingredients:-
5 egg yolks
40g Oil
30g Milk + 30g Sunquick orange cordial
80g Cake Flour
5 egg whites
65g caster sugar
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
Method:
Mix egg yolks, oil, cordial and milk together and whisk until blended then sift in flour and mix well. Set aside.
Beat the egg whites till foamy then add cream of tartar, continue to beat while adding sugar gradually to firm peaks.
Fold the meringue into the yolk batter in 3 batches then pour into prepared pan (I used 26 x 26cm pan); smooth out the top by gently shaking the pan from side to side. Bake in preheated oven on the level above the centre level, at 180C for 13-15 mins or until golden brown. Turn the pan half way through baking to get even browning.
Transfer the cake to cooling rack and invert on a plastic board lined with a clean piece of parchment paper. Peel off paper lining and apply jam all over the cake before rolling it up. Tighten the roll with a long ruler and leave it to cool before slicing. Enjoy!

Double Chocolate Butter Sponge cake

Most sponge cakes use oil but I always prefer butter; anything with butter tastes better! Anything with cocoa also tastes better and with added melted chocolate, what more can I say?

Ingredients:

6 yolks (+- 65g egg with shell)
80g butter
100g milk
90g cake flour (sift with cocoa, soda n salt)
15g cocoa
Small pinch of soda bicarbonate 
1/4 tsp salt 
50g cooking chocolate (melted)

6 whites
105g castor sugar
1/4 tsp cream of tartar 

8″ round pan or 7” square pan

Method
———–

1) Preheat oven to 170 degrees with water bath.

2) Line bottom of pan and grease the sides.

3) Melt butter in microwave for 40 seconds with the milk.

4) Pour hot butter/milk into sifted flour/cocoa mixture

5) Mix with spatula and add yolks and followed by melted chocolate.  Set aside.

6) Beat the whites till foamy before adding cream of tartar and then pour in sugar in a slow stream.  Beat till firm peaks. The firmer your meringue, the higher chance the cake will crack!

7) Fold meringue into yolk batter in 3 batches till well incorporated.  

8) Slowly pour batter into pan tapping the sides of the bowl to release bubbles.

9) Bake at 160deg for 100mins top n bottom heat on the lowest rack. At end of 100mins, remove water bath and bake for another 5 mins.

10) When cake is done, off oven and wait for 10-15m for the cake to pull away from the sides. Check for parts which are still stuck and gently dislodge with spatula. 

11) Unmould and put cake back into oven to dry in oven’s residue heat. 

Chocolate Sponge Cake

Chocolate sponge cakes are quite intimidating as they tend to go bubbly on you. Meringue has to be glossy and very firm to help counter this effect. To prevent your cake from cracking, we use methods like pan in another pan and bake in a water bath. If you can achieve a smooth top sponge cake without all these methods, just follow your own method. Always remember that every oven behaves differently and results may be different even if you have followed the temperature and timing as stated in the recipe. This cake is a good base for frosting.

Chocolate Sponge Cake by Jeannie Tay

60g cake flour + 15g cocoa powder (Sift together with a pinch of baking soda)

50g vegetable oil

75g full cream Milk

3 large egg yolk

1/4 tsp salt

20g sugar

3 egg whites

60g sugar

1/4 tsp cream of tartar or substitute with 1 tsp lemon juice

6″ round pan, bottom lined with parchment and the sides with teflon sheet.

Method:

In a large mixing bowl, mix together the yolks, oil, salt, milk and sugar. Once mixed, sift in the flour and mix until smooth. Cover and set aside.
In a dry and oil free bowl, place egg whites and start whisking at high speed until frothy. Add cream of tartar and continue to whisk while adding the sugar gradually. Lower the speed once the meringue is beginning to look fine and glossy. Stop at firm peaks.
Incorporate the meringue into the yolk batter in 3-4 batches gently with a hand held whisk. Once the final batch is added, switch to a spatula and keep folding gently until no more streaks can be seen.
Transfer to baking pan and place this pan into a slightly bigger pan. Then place these into another bigger pan (note: make sure the pans are leak-proof). Pour hot water into the largest pan up to about 1 cm deep and bake in preheated oven at 170C for 30 minutes then reduce temperature to 160C and continue baking for another hour or until the cake springs back when you gently press the top. There should not be much squishing sound when pressed.
Remove from oven and unmold as soon as you can. Cool on rack before serving or frosting.