Japanese Strawberry Shortcake

Made this a few days ago when my cousin & family came over for lunch. It's a really subtle dessert that's just perfect because I like cake with fruits!

Firstly make the sponge a day ahead or wait until it's cooled down to slice it in half.

Vanilla Sponge 

90g sugar

3 eggs

Whisk this in a bowl over Bain Marie until the sugar dissolves.

20g butter

1 tablespoon milk

Combine milk and butter and melt it in a microwave. Set aside.

90g cake flour (sifted)

1 tsp vanilla essence

Whisk the eggs until really frothy and add the flour bit by bit by folding it in with a spatula.

Add the vanilla and finally the liquid.

Pour into a lined 6 inch cake tin and bake at 180 degrees for 30 minutes. Cool

Frosting

2 cups cream

1/4 icing sugar 

1/2 tsp vanilla essence 

Whip the cream until almost thickened and add in the sugar bit by bit. Once it's stiff, add in the vanilla.

Filling

Strawberries (hulled and chopped into pieces)

Peaches (chopped)

Sugar syrup

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup water

Simmer sugar and water until all the sugar has melted and set aside to cool.

Now time to assemble the cake.

Brush some sugar syrup onto the sponge

Layer it with cream and fruits

Top with more cream and put the top layer. Frost the cake with the balance cream and decorate it to your preference.

Chill for at least an hour. 

30 Minute Microwave Cake

 Told myself I'll try this recipe after reading Tastemade's post from Broma Bakery on a 30 minute cake .. And after reading further I realised its a microwave cake! Haven't made a microwave cake since I was maybe 15!

http://bromabakery.com/2015/02/30-minute-chocolate-cake-for-two.html

The link is here but for those lazy to click the link, it's basically 2 step -mix the wet into the dry ingredients and stir. Pour into well greased mugs or in my case I used round flat bowl. Microwave each layer for about 1 minute or until all the batter turns into cake (yes!! I stood in front of the microwave looking at the cake for 3 minutes!)

For the cake

• ½ cup sugar (i reduced the sugar slightly because I don't like extremely sweet cakes)
• 7 tablespoons all purpose flour
• 3 tablespoons cocoa powder
• ¼ teaspoon baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon baking soda
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1 egg
• ¼ cup milk
• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons water
• 
  

For the frosting

• 4 tablespoons butter, room temperature
• 3 tablespoons cocoa
• ½ cup powdered sugar
• 2 tablespoons milk
• dark chocolate shavings (optional)
• 
  

1. In a small bowl, mix together all dry cake ingredients with a fork. Add in wet ingredients, stirring until combined. Heavily grease three large mugs* and evenly distribute batter into mugs (~1/2 cup of batter each) or roughly around 100g of batter.
2. Microwave each mug or bowl by itself for 1 minute on high. Remove from microwave and shake slightly to loosen cake from mug. Flip mug over onto parchment paper-lined plate or board. The cake should drop right out. Repeat with remaining mugs, then place into freezer for 5 minutes, or until the cakes cool to room temperature.
3. While the cakes are cooling, make the frosting. Combine all ingredients in a standing mixer and beat on high until light and fluffy, about 1 minute. Remove cakes from freezer and frost the top of each layer before stacking. If using, shave dark chocolate over the top of the cake using a sharp knife.

I didn't put the cakes in the freezer but just let it cool in room temperature ..

Make the frosting 

Divide the frosting into 3 parts for 3 layers and top it with shaved chocolate .. Chill for an hour for the frosting to set nicely (or not and just eat it right away 😜)

Ondeh-Ondeh Cake (Gula Melaka Cake)

Pandan Sponge

110g butter

1 cup castor sugar

2 eggs 

Cream the butter & sugar but it will not get creamy because of the amount of sugar. Pour 1 egg at a time and continue whisking until it gets creamy.

1/2 cup coconut cream (I use Kara)

1/4 water

1 tablespoon pandan extract (or more depending on the colour of your paste)

1/4 tsp salt

In a measuring jug, mix the liquid items and add to the butter mixture alternating with the dry ingredients and whisk until well mixed.

11/2 cup flour (sifted)

1/2 tsp baking powder

Line 2 round 7 inches cake tins with grease proof paper. Pour the batter evenly and bake for 25 min on 180 degrees or until the sponge comes out clean from a skewer. Cool the sponge completely or what I did was bake the sponge 1 day before. Slice each sponge in half so that you get 4 layers of cake.

Gula Melaka Syrup

4 round blocks of Gula Melaka (chopped)

1/2 cup water

Boil the gula Melaka with water until completely dissolved and thickened. Set aside to cool.

Cream Cheese Frosting

250g cream cheese

200ml - 250 ml of Gula Melaka syrup 

Whisk the cream cheese until smooth and drizzle in the syrup bit by bit until you get the sweetness that you prefer. Set aside some syrup to drizzle over your sponge.

Toasted Coconut 

150g flaked coconut 

(I used Red Mill)

Toast in a pan over low heat until golden and cool.

And now once you have all the ingredients ready, it's time to assemble the cake.

Divide the frosting in 4 parts for all 4 layers. Place 1 piece of sponge on a plate, drizzle with Gula Melaka and spread 1 portion of frosting. Top with toasted coconuts.

Do all that on all 4 layers. I chose not to frost the side for a more rustic look. Keep refrigerated for at least an hour to set the frosting.

Happy trying!