Pumpkin Chiffon Cake

Haven't been baking a chiffon cake successfully recently, don't know if it's due to the oven temperature. Maybe the oven is getting old and temperamental. Finally I baked a tall chiffon cake that did not lose height upon cooling. The trick is to use a lower baking temperature (for my oven).

The satisfaction of a beautiful chiffon cake!

Pumpkin gives the cake a bright yellow colour. I always prefer cakes with natural colouring with no additives. I never use baking powder or cream of tartar for my chiffon cakes. It is not necesssary to ensure a successful bake! Do give it a try!

Pumpkin Chiffon Cake

Ingredients: (17cm chiffon tin)

100g pumpkin, steamed and mashed and mixed with
1-2 tbsp milk (optional, I omitted)

3 egg yolks
20g caster sugar
50ml vegetable oil (I use 40g)
40ml water
80g cake flour
1/2-1 tsp cinnamon powder (I omitted)

4 egg whites
50g caster sugar (I used 40g)

Method:

1. Steam pumpkin until soft (about 10min), mashed with 1-2 tbsp of milk (adjust or omit depending on the consistency)
2. Whisk in egg yolks and sugar until the sugar dissolves.
3. Gradually add in vegetable oil, followed by water.
4. Add sifted cake flour and cinnamon powder and mix until just combined. Set aside.
5. In another bowl, whisk egg whites until foamy. Add in sugar gradually and continue whisking until stiff peak form.
6. Gently fold in the egg white into the egg yolk batter (in step 4) in 3 batches.
7. Pour the batter into an ungreased chiffon tin. Give the tin a few slight knocks on the tabletop to remove air bubbles. Bake in preheated oven at 160 deg C for 40 minutes.
8. Remove from oven and invert the tin immediately onto a cooling rack.
9. Unmould the cake only when it is completely cool.

Adapted from: 好吃戚风蛋糕轻松上手

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Aspiring Bakers: 南瓜小馒头&刈包

真好笑。查看了我以前的记录，竟然没做过包子！可能是太容易买得到的关系吧。

就在去年的时候，我尝试了第一次做包子。虽然感觉不是很完美，但是趁现在Aspiring Bakers是包子主题，终于有勇气把它们post上来。

这两个食谱都是来自《孟老师的中式面食》。是当时从图书馆借来的书。食谱我随意的抄下。如果有不清楚的地方，请去找找这本书吧。

I did 2 chinese baos last year. Don't laugh at me yah, it was only my first time making baos. Since this month's Aspiring Bakers is Bao Ho-Chiak, I find the courage to post up these not so nicely made baos.

There are 2 types of method for making baos based on the Chinese book by 孟老师. The Mini Pumpkin Mantou 南瓜小馒头 is made using one-time proofing method. The Lotus Leaf Buns 刈包 is made using two-time proofing method. I tried both and find that the two-time proofing method seems to produce softer buns.

Mini Pumpkin Mantou 南瓜小馒头 - Before steaming

Mini Pumpkin Mantou 南瓜小馒头 - After steaming

Lotus Leaf Buns 刈包 - The process

Lotus Leaf Buns 刈包 - The fat fat buns

Mini Pumpkin Mantou 南瓜小馒头 (one-time proofing method)

Ingredients (40 pcs):

60g pumpkin (without skin), diced, steamed and mashed
90g water
1/2+1/4 tsp instant yeast
250g plain flour
25g sugar
2 tsp oil

Method:

1. Mix water and instant yeast.
2. Add in mashed pumpkin, flour, sugar and oil. Mix well and knead to form a smooth dough. Rest the dough for 5 minutes.
3. Roll the dough into 30x20cm flat rectangle shape. Brush away excess flour. Then brush a layer of water over the dough.
4. Roll up the dough swiss-roll style into a cylinder shape. Then continue to roll it thinner until you get a longer cylinder shape of about 85cm in length. Make sure the diameter of the cylinder dough is of even thickness.
5. Cut the dough into 40 even portions.
6. Put the dough on baking paper and into the steamer (heat off). Cover and proof for 15 minutes.
7. On the fire, when the water starts boiling and steam on medium-high heat for 10 minutes.
8. Off the heat, leave the lid slightly open for 3-5 minutes before removing the whole cover.

Lotus Leaf Buns 刈包 (two-time proofing method)

Ingredients (10 pcs):

(A)
160g water
1/2 tsp instant yeast
180g plain flour

(B)
120g plain flour
25g sugar
2 tsp oil

(C)
1 tbsp oil for brushing

Method:

1. Mix (A) water, instant yeast and flour. Cover in cling wrap and proof for 1 hour.
2. Mix (A) from step 1 with (B) and knead to form a smooth dough. Rest the dough for 5 minutes.
3. Roll the dough flat into about 0.8cm thickness. Cut out round doughs with a 10cm round cutter.
4. Roll each round dough to oval shape.
5. Brush the surface of the dough with some oil (to prevent sticking), then fold the dough into half.
6. Put the dough on baking paper and into the steamer (heat off). Cover and proof for 25 minutes.
7. On the fire, when the water starts boiling and steam on medium-high heat for 12 minutes.
8. Off the heat, leave the lid slightly open for 3-5 minutes before removing the whole cover.

Recipes from: 孟老师的中式面食

I am submitting 南瓜小馒头&刈包 to Aspiring Bakers #31: Bao Ho-Chiak 包好吃 (May 2013) hosted by Miss B of Everybody Eats Well in Flanders.

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Pumpkin Chiffon Cake 南瓜戚风蛋糕

好久没做到这么漂亮的戚风蛋糕了！

For quite some time, I had been producing failed chiffon cakes. Half of the time, they dropped out of the inverted chiffon tin during cooling. Half of the time, they didn't dropped out, but had sunken top after removed. I knew I had problem with the oven temperature. It was until I got my oven thermometer, the mystery was solved.

I think my oven is getting old. When I set the temperature at 170 deg C, it was lower than that. So now I bake my chiffon cakes at 180 deg C and extend the baking time 5 minutes longer to get the crust thicker. It works!

The rare occasion when I bake my cake and shoot my photo so early in the morning. The morning sun makes the cake so pretty! Look at the fluffy texture!

Pumpkin Chiffon Cake 南瓜戚风蛋糕

Ingredients (makes one 22cm chiffon tin, half the recipe for 16cm chiffon tin)

4 egg yolks
30g sugar
1/4 tsp salt
60g vegetable oil
60g coconut milk * (I use fresh milk)
80g pumpkin, diced, steamed and mashed
120g cake flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
some pumpkin seeds

4 egg whites
100g sugar
1/8 tsp cream of tartar (I omitted)

* You can replace coconut milk with milk + 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon or ground nutmeg

Method

1. Whisk egg yolks, sugar and salt until the sugar dissolves.
2. Gradually add in vegetable oil, followed by coconut milk. Add in mashed pumpkins, mix well.
3. Fold in sifted cake flour and baking powder until well-mixed. Set aside.
4. In another bowl, whisk egg whites and cream of tartar until foamy. Add in sugar gradually and continue whisking until stiff peak form.
5. Gently fold in the egg white into the egg yolk batter (in step 3) in 3 batches. Lastly, add in pumpkin seeds.
6. Pour the batter into an ungreased chiffon tin. Give the tin a few slight knocks on the tabletop to remove air bubbles. Bake in preheated oven at 170 deg C for 40 minutes.
7. Remove from oven and invert the tin immediately onto a cooling rack.
8. Unmould the cake only when it is completely cool.

Recipe adapted from: Fruity Cakes 鲜果蛋糕香 by Alex Goh

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