Moist Steamed Haw Flakes Layered Cake- The Recipe



Beautiful layered cake...




Moist Layered Cake with Haw Flakes



Hi there...How's life treating you, so far.. I hope it is good. And how's the weather in your area? Talking about the weather, I remembered that I was totally obsessed with weather forecasts back then-when I was studying in the UK. I was really looking forward to see whether it was going to rain or it would be sunny. You see, weather forecasts were important to me as I walked to my college every single day. I needed to see whether it was necessary to bring an umbrella as I did not like to wear   a rain jacket. It had always been the long coat and an umbrella-hmmm. Well, back here in my area- it has been raining today and I do not have the urge to bake anything, so it is time to do an entry in my blog as I  have made a resolution for 2013 - that is to bake and blog more.

    Last week I have managed to come out with a better version of Steamed Haw Flakes Layered Cake. This cake was a sure winner as my colleagues gave good reviews on it. They could not imagine that I had the patience to layer and steam the cake. Well... ha ha, talking about  my patience, I never thought that I had the patience to layer a cake. Being me, the ever busy career lady, the layering process seemed to be messy and full of hassles. But I was taken aback by the results, I meant the end product- it was a therapeutic process for me.  You see, I was so stressful with the ever mounting paper work that I forced myself just to bake something, just to get away from usual routine. And I was really really pleased with what I had achieved. Now, as promised, I am sharing the recipe of Moist Haw Flakes Steamed Layered Cake. I wish to write more- but I am having  a tonne of assignments to be done. So here goes;

Ingredients


6 eggs (large or medium)
1 cup of unsalted butter ( I used SCS) -room temperature
3/4 cup of caster sugar ( you could reduce it to 1/2 cup)
2 cups of superfine flour ( you could use cake flour)
** (You could also use plain flour, but please make sure you sift it for three times)
4  1/2 tbsps of sweetened condensed milk ( I used F&N brand milk- and not the creamer)
**( You could  reduce to 4 tbsps  of sweetened condensed milk)
1 packet of haw flakes ( containing 10 small tubes)- ( you could use two packets as well...)
1 tsp of baking powder
1 tsp of vanilla essence
1 tsp of apple green colour essence (I used Star brand) ( you could add in 2 tsp )

How


##Heat your steamer. (Moderate heat).


1) Separate the egg whites and yolks.
2) In a separate bowl, using the hand mixer, mix the white eggs and caster sugar until stiff.
3) In another bowl, mix well the egg yolks with butter. Add in the sweetened condensed milk.
4)Then, add in the vanilla essence. Mix well again.
5) Pour in the stiff egg whites into the butter mixture. Mix well.
6) Sift through superfine flour and baking powder into the mixture. Mix well again.
7) Grease your baking pan with butter. ( I used a round baking pan). Put a round-sized baking paper on the base of the pan.
8) Divide the batter into two bowls. Put the green colour essence into one bowl. Leave the other one on its own. (original colour).
9) Using a spatula, spread the green batter evenly into the baking pan. Then, arrange the haw flakes on top of the batter. Steam it for 5 mins. (Remember to cover your baking pan with a plastic sheet, aluminum foil or kitchen cloth, so that the water from the cover of the steamer will not drop down onto your cake).
10) Then, after 5 mins, (or when the cake is ready), take out the baking pan from the steamer. Put another spatula of the original- coloured batter into baking pan. Arrange haw flakes on the original- coloured batter. Steam it for another 5 mins.
11) Do this process again, alternating the green and original batter. You will have the original batter as the last layer.
12) Check if your cake is ready by inserting a skewer into the cake. If it comes out clean, your cake is ready.



Notes:


1) Eventually it will only take 5 mins to steam each layer.
2) The overall process will take you more or less two hours.
3) Cut your cake when it is already cool.
4) The heat from the steamer, could be very hot and dangerous. Use suitable kitchen mittens or thick cloth to transfer the baking pan from the steamer.





Love is layered cakes



Nothing beats the taste of your own home made cakes...





I simply loved layered cakes

  On a final note, what make us happy towards the end of the day, is doing things that we love very much. In this case, I love baking too much that it is definitely my passion rather doing endless of paper work and assignments. Happy baking, everyone. May all your dreams come true...

Moist Steamed Haw Flakes Layered cake- "cake style"- A sneak peek

Moist steamed haw flakes layered cake.. mmmm (Second time experiment)





Hmm... I just couldn't wait to share the pictures of my moist steamed haw flakes layered cake. Just giving you a sneak peak or preview on the beauty of this cake, until I get the time to write the recipe.  I had managed to get the right taste and moisture of this cake after my second experiment. Till then, have a feast of the eye for this beauty.



The " apam"-styled layered cake.... (Note the difference on the first picture and this one)



I just love steamed layered cake...

 Life is beautiful, indeed...... ;) with your own homemade cakes. Happy days ahead.....



Steamed Haw Flakes Layered Cake - Apam Style



Steamed Haw Flakes Layered Cake -"Apam style"



 I had this craving for this Steamed Haw Flakes Layered Cake a few days ago. Thus, I went through many recipes from books and the net and eventually came out with my own version of steamed layered cake. I did not want to go through many tedious process of layering and steaming this cake, so I made my own experiment and sailed through. Huh... This was my first time of doing a layered cake, so forgive me of the not-so-neat visual effects of this cake. The result was marvellous. Son took many pieces of this cake and gave two thumbs up. Eventually, by day two, it was all gone. This cake is like an "apam style" cake, as it is not that really moist, but it stays soft even the day after. Keep this in your fridge and have it with a cup of black coffee or not- so- sweet black tea and you will definitely fly to heaven. All right, let me share the recipe with you ;

Ingredients

5 eggs (large or medium)

1 cup of unsalted butter ( I used SCS) -room temperature

1 cup of caster sugar ( you could reduce it to 3/4 cup)

2 cups of superfine flour ( you could use cake flour)
** (You could also use plain flour, but please make sure you sift it for three times)

2 tbsp of sweetened condensed milk ( I used F&N brand milk- and not the creamer)

**( You could add in 3 tbsp of sweetened condensed milk- but remember to reduce the caster sugar

by 1-2 tbsp)

1 packet of haw flakes ( containing 10 small tubes)- ( you could use two packets as well...)

1 tsp of baking powder

1 tsp of vanilla essence

1 tsp of apple green colour essence (I used Star brand) ( you could add in 2 tsp )

How

##Heat your steamer. (Moderate heat).

1) Separate the egg whites and yolks.

2) In a separate bowl, using the hand mixer, mix the white eggs and caster sugar until stiff.

3) In another bowl, mix well the egg yolks with butter. Add in the sweetened condensed milk.

4)Then, add in the vanilla essence. Mix well again.

5) Pour in the stiff egg whites into the butter mixture. Mix well.
6) Sift through superfine flour and baking powder into the mixture. Mix well again.
7) Grease your baking pan with butter. ( I used a round baking pan). Put a  round-sized baking paper on the base of the pan.

8) Divide the batter into two bowls. Put the green colour essence into one bowl. Leave the other one on its own. (original colour).

9) Using a spatula, spread the green batter evenly into the baking pan. Then, arrange the haw flakes on top of the batter. Steam it for 5 mins. (Remember to cover your baking pan with a plastic sheet, aluminum foil or kitchen cloth, so that the water from the cover of the steamer will not drop down onto your cake).

10) Then, after 5 mins, (or when the cake is ready), take out the baking pan from the steamer. Put another spatula of the original- coloured batter into baking pan. Arrange haw flakes on the original- coloured batter. Steam it for another 5 mins.

11) Do this process again, alternating the green and original batter. You will have the original batter as the last layer.

12) Check if your cake is ready by inserting a skewer into the cake. If it comes out clean, your cake is ready.

Notes:

1) Eventually it will only take 5 mins to steam each layer.

2) The overall process will take you more or less two hours. (I started the mixing of batter from 7 p.m. and finished my steaming process by 9.30 p.m. It was worth the wait as the cake was soft and fluffy).

3) Cut your cake when it is already cool.

4) The heat from the steamer, could be very hot and dangerous. Use appropriate kitchen mittens when transferring the baking pan from the steamer.

5) Cover your steamed cake with a cling film and keep it in the refrigerator. (this is to keep the moisture of the cake).When ever you want to serve the cake, you could steam it again. However,  remember to take out the cling film from the pan before steaming it.



You would not stop at one slice.



Well, nothing beats the taste of a homemade apam-styled steamed layer cake. If time permits, I will do the moist-styled steamed layered cake post in another entry. Till then, have a marvellous Sunday. Happy days ahead...

Love is red velvet ......




Red velvet cupcakes with cream cheese frosting

  



Red lovelies



Hi, it's already February... Times does fly, I guess. I was busy during the month of January, so I kind of postponing all my posts. But today, I have made some ammendments. I am going to post a few entries to make up for the lost time.  In the month of January, I was sick with viral fever and on top of that, I had an appointment with my ENT consultant, nothing serious though... and I am recovering now ;). Well, back to this entry, I had done a baking project for my friend, S. She had requested me to bake for her sister's wedding since last year. So, true to my promise, even if I was extremely busy and not feeling quite well, I  had managed to fulfill her request. So, there went 65 red velvet cupcakes on a good Thursday morning of 24th of January, 2013. I started baking from five in the morning and finished frosting and packing those cupcakes by two in the afternoon. Fuh, it was really a mammoth project for a novice baker like me.

    The truth was, it had been three years since I last baked red velvet cakes. I kind of got bored with red velvet, until my friend persuaded me to bake these red lovelies.. On top of that, this was my first time doing red velvet cupcakes. Before this, I have only baked red velvet cakes. Well, there will always be the first time moments right...



 


Pinkish red velvet batter ...

 

I have used my usual recipe from the Joy of Baking website. Please  click -  red velvet cupcakes. I have replaced the use of double cream in the cream cheese frosting recipe with  2 tbsp of  SCS unsalted butter and 3 tbsp of Farmcows Fat spread (Blended Edible Vegetable Fats and Milk Fat). I have also added  1/2 tsp of salt and 1 tsp of freshly squeezed lemon juice.





Red velvet cupcakes baking in the oven









 Eventually, you could always find your own favourite cream cheese frosting recipe and make some adjustments here and there. Well, you just have to find the recipe which suits you best.





Red velvet cupcakes to die for....



Back to these red lovelies, I went shabby chic  this time, as I was totally exhausted the day before. I topped the cream cheese frosting with ready made sugar flowers from Queen and pink- coloured sugar sprinkles from CK products. All done with such enthusiasm and quality decorations for the bride-to-be. Since I was rushing, I had only managed to take these cupcakes' pictures after they had been packed in boxes. There was not even time to have a better setting for photography session.





I went shabby chic this time...

  Well, it was nice to do wedding projects at times, as I was really satisfied at the end of the day. Never mind for me feeling extremely lethargic a day after as I got to make others happy too. I wish all the best for the newly -weds and may happy moments sail through the ocean of their new life. Congratulations....





Love is red velvet... ; )