Hokkaido Chiffon Cake

 

I learnt to make this from Tomoko again from Caramel Factory. Since she's a Japanese, she said in Japan, the chiffon is normally coated with a layer of fresh cream. In Malaysia, she realized that some bakeries are actually selling Hokkaido chiffon cake in a small tiny cup, topped with some cream custard filling. This inspire her to start a class on a Japanese Chiffon Cake.

 

 

 

Again I've selected the right class to attend. I made 2 portion of the chiffon because I'm a chiffon cake lover. I love the soft, light, fluffy and  moist texture of the cake. It is so soft and fluffy that I could actually 'tear' the cake easily and stuff into my mouth. So far, the only chiffon cake that I could 'tear' as I described, was made by my auntie in Batu Pahat and that was like years and years ago. It's really a great satisfaction that I could actually bake such a cake by myself and the cake turned out beautifully.

 

Major flavor in the chiffon cake was earl grey tea which we boil hot water and add in the tea leaves to let it simmer for a while before draining it. It makes me wonder whether I can substitute the earl grey tea with other fruit flavored tea or latte for an instance. Maybe I should just give it a try the next time. This is just an awesome cake to devour.

 

 

 

Cocoa Walnut Raisin Buns

It was my 1st attempt on this recipe which was graciously shared to me by Ailing. My reliable Kenwood bread machine helped me to knead the dough, thus saving me lots of time, energy and sweat. All I needed to do was to weigh the ingredients, pour them into the machine, let it knead for 30 mins, remove the dough out to shape into rounds and let if proof for another 40 mins or so. The dough will double its size and that's when it's time for them to be shoved into the oven for baking. Yes, as simple as that but to make a nice  good loaf of bread with high volume is never an easy feat. I shaped the buns a tad too gigantic though.

 

Salt is an essential ingredient that is not only used for flavor but also controls the growth of yeast and strengthens gluten structure. Do not adjust the amount of salt in the recipe. As for sugar, it speeds up the action of the yeast as well as affecting the quality of the bread by helping to retain the moisture.

 

The texture of the buns were so soft while the little sweetness from the raisins and the nutty flavor from walnut made the buns as good as even eat it on its own (yup... Gardenia's slogan) without butter or jam. I brought 10 buns to office today and poofed... they were all gone in a jiffy. Nobody says no to walnut, ok! Hubby didn't get to eat a single bun and so I came back home from work today and baked another fresh batch for him. Boy, they tasted as good. It's gonna be our breakfast for tomorrow but I know he's never a bread person.

 

 

Here's the recipe to it :

 

Ingredients :

250g water

60g butter

50g sugar

30g milk powder

100g raisins

150 chopped walnuts

400g bread flour

50g plain flour

2 tsp instant yeast

1 tbsp cocoa powder

1 tsp salt

 

Method :

1. Pour liquid ingredients into the bread machine pan follow with the dry ingredients. If your bread machine recommends that you add the dry ingredients first, simply reverse the order.
2. Fit bread pan in the machine and set the programme to the dough setting (1.30 hours) and press start.
3. After about 30 mins of kneading, the machine will stop to let dough to proof. At this stage, remove the dough out from the pan and switch off the machine eventhough the programme has yet to complete.
4. Divide dough into 14 or 16 equal pieces and shape into round balls. Place on a greased baking sheet, allowing enough space for the rolls to rise and expand. Cover dough with a damp cloth to proof for 40 mins.
5. Brush the dough with beaten egg and bake in a preheated oven for 20 mins at 180C. Transfer to wire rack to cool