Ombré Rose Cake

This Ombre Rose Cake would never fail to delight the birthday girl(or lady, even nanny!). The gorgeous roses are made of buttercream tinted in white, pink and dark pink, they look very sophisticated but all you need is the right piping tip.

I recommend Wilton 1M/2D (the one I'm using here is 2D), but basically any closed star tip would work. If you are an amateur in cake decorating and you don't feel confident enough, just practice on a piece of kitchen towel/plate, then scrape the buttercream back into your piping bag. Trust me, it take only a few practices to get hold of.  

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Recipe for Pink Ombré Rose Cake

Makes a 5" cake

Ingredients:

Butter Cake

• 140g Unsalted Butter
• 160g Sugar
• 2 Eggs
• 1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract 
• 80ml Full-fat Milk
• 150g All Purpose Flour
• 1/2 tsp Baking Powder
• Pink/Red Food Colouring

Buttercream

• 350g Butter and/or Shortening
• 300g Icing Sugar
• 2-4 Tbsp Milk
• 1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract
• Pink/Red Food Colouring

Directions:

1. Make Buttercake. Preheat oven to 170°C. Grease three 5"cake pan with melted butter or non-stick spray.
2. Beat butter and sugar until fluffy and light yellow in colour.
3. Crack eggs into separate bowls and add them in one by one, making sure the mixture is well incorporate after each addition. Mix in vanilla extract as well.
4. Add in 1/2 of dry ingredients (all-purpose flour + baking powder), mix on low then pour in 1/2 of the milk. Repeat the steps until the mixture is just incorporated and there are no lumps of flour, do not over-mix.
5. Divide batter into three equal portions. Tint two of them with different amount of food colouring, to get a darker and lighter colour. (The exact amount depends on the brand you use, so start off by using 1-2 drops first.)
6. Pour batter into greased cake pans, and bake for 30 - 35 minutes. When a toothpick inserted comes out clean, your cakes are ready! Take them out from the oven, let them sit for 10 minutes then remove them from the baking pan. Let cool completely.
7. Make Buttercream. Cream butter and/or shortening, turn beater to low-speed and gradually add in icing sugar. Turn the beater up to medium to medium-high speed and beat for 3-4 minutes (6-8 minutes by hand). Switch to low-speed again and add in vanilla extract and milk (1 Tbsp by 1 Tbsp), until you reach the desired consistency. 
8. Divide buttercream into three portions, with one slightly bigger. Leave the bigger portion white and add food colouring to the other two. Tint the buttercream into a lighter and darker shade of pink.
9. Decorating the cake. Scrape a little bit of buttercream onto your cake board or plate and place the darkest-colour cake slice in the centre. Spread a thin layer of your desired filling onto the cake slice, you can use buttercream, jam or chocolate. Place the lighter-shade cake slice on top and repeat until you have a three-layer cake.
10. Crumb coat the coat. Spread on a very very thin layer of buttercream (white or ombre) onto the surface of the cake, gently scrape off the excess with a knife. The buttercream should be so thin that you would still see the colour of the cake.
11. Now prepare three piping bags with a closed-star tip (Wilton1M/2D), and fill them with buttercream. (If you only have one piping tip, fill your bag with the darkest shade first.)
12. Start piping roses on the bottom section, apply pressure on the pipping bag and go outwards in a circular motion. Imagine you are drawing the number "6" but it has its tail wrapped around itself. If you're not confident enough, practise on a piece of kitchen towel/plate first. Repeat with the other sections, including the top of the cake.
13. Pipe on drop flowers with the same tip to cover any spaces between roses on top, simply place the tip 90° to the cake, apply pressure onto the piping bag and reducing pressure force as you pull away.
14. Now your beautiful masterpiece is done! Everyone will be amazed and think you got it from a really fancy bakery, enjoy the compliments (haha)! :P

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Chocolate Chiffon Cake

Chiffon cakes are so light and airy, they never fail to leave you with a guilt-free form of satisfaction. Don't be fooled though, my friend, these babes get their moistness from a high oil content in the recipe. So even though chiffon cakes resemble angel food cakes in terms of appearance and texture, it's not a legit "healthy dessert". Well, of course, it's a much better alternative to stuffing your face with cheesecake and shortbread when you're trying to maintain a healthier diet (save those for you 20% indulgent times).

That said, this recipe has been adjusted to be low in sugar and lower in fat, so it's much healthier and could fit the 80%-healthy criteria, I guess. Don't worry though, the texture and flavour has not been sacrificed, this chocolate chiffon cake is still moist with it's fluffiness coming from the well-beaten egg whites (meringue) and baking powder. Use a good-quality pure cocoa powder for a flavorsome and rich, yet mildly sweet cake.

The success of baking a well-risen chiffon cake depends on: (1) mastering the technique of beating egg whites (2) folding in egg whites gently and (3) appropriate tools. This tube pan below is crucial for baking chiffon cakes, the tube in the middle enables even distribution of heat, so the cake could rise beautifully. This, however, is not the most important use of the tube pan. The tube in the middle is around two inches taller than the sides, therefore, when the cake comes out of the oven we can immediately turn it upside down to cool without exerting pressure on it. By doing so, we stop the cake from shrinking while being left to cool.

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Recipe for Chocolate Chiffon Cake

Makes an 8-inch cake

Ingredients:

• 6 + 3 Tbsp Egg White, at room temperature
• 5 Egg Yolks
• 100 g Sugar
• 60 ml Vegetable Oil
• 150 ml Milk
• 180 g Cake Flour
• 1 tsp Baking Powder
• 1/4 tsp Baking Soda
• 25 g Cocoa Powder
• 1 tsp Instant Coffee Powder
• 1/2 tsp Distilled White Vinegar/ Lemon Juice

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 160 °C. Prepare an 8" tube pan with a removable bottom, do NOT grease it.
2. Make egg yolk batter. Sift cake flour, baking powder and baking soda in a bowl. Mix in sifted cocoa powder and instant coffee powder. Add in 1/3 of sugar and roughly mix together.
3. Make a well in the dry ingredients (above), then pour in lightly beaten egg yolks, vegetable oil and milk. Mix with a hand-held whisk till the batter is lump-free. Set aside.
4. Make meringue. In a separate bowl that is dry and clean, beat egg whites and distilled white vinegar/lemon juice with an electrical mixer on low speed. When bubbles form on the surface, add in half of the remaining sugar and beat on medium speed. Finish adding in all the sugar a little by little. Keep beating till stiff peak forms (the egg whites have a blunt "tail" when you lift up your whisk), this is "meringue". 
5. Combine mixtures. Scoop 1/3 of the meringue into the batter we made previously, whisk until just incorporated.
6. Pour the mixture back into the meringue and fold in with a spatula. This is a critical step to making a good chiffon cake, you have to work quickly but gently to avoid breaking and deflating the meringue. Stop immediately when there are no chunks of meringue left.
7. Pour batter into your tube pan and bang on the counter for a few times to release large air bubbles.
8. Bake for 40 - 45 minutes.
9. When cake is done, remove from oven and immediately turn it upside-down to cool completely (takes around 30 minutes to an hour, it really depends on the temperature of your house).
10. Once cooled, run a knife round the outer and inner sides of the cake to remove the pan. Do the same for the tube base. 
11. Sprinkle some icing sugar on top (maybe upload a photo and #peachybunnybakes first) and serve! :P 

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Polka Dot Vanilla Cake Roll

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Recipe for Polka Dot Vanilla Cake Roll

Makes a 9 inch roll.

Ingredients:

Cream filling

• 150ml Whipping cream
• 3 Tbsp Sugar
• 1/2tsp Vanilla Extract

Pattern Mixture

• 1 Egg White
• 30g Sugar
• 40g All-purpose Flour 
• 20g Butter, at room temperature
• Food Colouring (Red, Blue, Green and Yellow)

Vanilla Sponge Cake

• 3 Eggs
• 60g Sugar
• 1/5Tbsp Milk
• 55g All-Purpose Flour
• 12g (1T + 1t) Corn Starch
• 1/2tsp Baking Powder
• Pinch of Salt
• 2Tbsp Vegetable Oil
• 1/3tsp Vanilla Extract

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Lemon Meringue Tart

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Recipe for Lemon Meringue Tart

Makes a 7-inch tart

Ingredients:

For Lemon Curd

• 250ml Water
• 100g Sugar
• 30g Corn Starch
• Juice and Zest of 1.5 Lemons
• 3 Egg Yolks
• 25g Unsalted Butter
• 1/8tsp Salt

For the Tart Crust

• 120g Digestive Biscuit/Graham Cracker Crumbs
• 50g Unsalted Butter, melted

For Italian Meringue Topping

• 4 Egg Whites, cold
• 150g White Sugar

Directions:

1. Make Lemon Curd. Place a small saucepan on the stove on low heat, add sugar, corn starch and salt into it and mix. Pour in water, lemon juice and zest. Stir constantly and let the mixture c°ome to a gentle boil.
2. When the mixture has thickened a bit, pour 1/3 of it into the egg yolks and whisk till combined. This is called "tempering", it stops the yolks from being scrambled. Pour this mixture back into the saucepan, continue to stir constantly over medium-high heat until further thickened. Set aside to cool.
3. Make Tart Crust. Grease a 7-inch tart pan with non-stick spray/butter.
4. Mix biscuit crumbs and melted butter thoroughly, then press firmly on the bottom and up the sides of the greased tart pan with your hand or the back of a spoon.
5. Pour cooled lemon curd over the crust and refrigerate for at least 3 hours.
6. Make Meringue Topping. Put sugar into a wide baking dish, put into an oven preheated at 160°C for 5 minutes.
7. Beat cold egg whites on low-speed in a clean and dry bowl. When bubbles form on top of the egg whites, gradually add in sugar, Continue to beat on medium speed till peak forms and the egg whites become glossy.
8. Spread meringue on top of tart evenly. If you want to make you tart look extra fancy, put some meringue in a pipping bag with a round nozzle (or cut off a corner of a ziplock bag) and pipe meringue topping onto it.
9. Use a blow torch to "burn" the surface of the meringue topping. Allow the meringue to cool for a few minutes before cutting up the tart.
10. Serve! :P

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Tiramisu

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Recipe for Tiramisu

Makes a 6x6 inch cake.

Ingredients:

• 250g Mascarpone Cheese, at room temperature
• 3 Egg Yolks
• 70g Sugar
• 70ml Milk
• 150ml Whipping Cream
• 1tsp Vanilla Extract
• 2 tsp Cocoa Powder
• 40ml Strong Coffee/Espresso (cooled at room temperature)
• 2 Tbsp Dark Rum
• 1pack of Italian Ladyfinger

Directions:

1. Prepare Mascarpone mixture. Whisk egg yolks and sugar in a small saucepan until fluffy and light yellow in colour. 
2. Add in milk then put over low heat. Stir constantly until the mixture simmers and thickens a little. Let it cool and refrigerate.
3. In a clean and dry bowl, whip cream on medium speed with an electronic mixer or by hand to stiff peaks. TIP: When whipping fresh cream, always make sure the cream is cold and your utensils and tools are dry and grease-free, or else the cream would not whip out and might even curdle. 
4. Take egg yolk mixture out from refrigerator and combine with mascarpone cheese.
5. Add in whipped cream and mix till well incorporated.
6. Assemble Tiramisu. Prepare a cake board/plate and a mousse cake mould (either a 6-inch square or 7-inch round). 
7. Stir rum (or your choice of liquor) into room temperature strong coffee/ espresso in a wide dish.
8. Dip lady fingers into the coffee and rum mixture for 3 seconds (this is the perfect amount of time for the biscuits to be not too dry nor too soggy), then lay them onto the cake board/plate. 
9. When you have filled up the bottom layer, scoop in half of the mascarpone mixture and even out with a spatula. Sift a layer of cocoa powder on top. Repeat to fill up the cake mould.
10. Refrigerate for a minimum of 4 - 6 hours, preferably overnight.
11. Remove mould, take a photo and serve! :P
12. Upload photo to FB/Instagram and #peachybunnybakes :P

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Strawberry Custard Tart

I'm not a huge fan of strawberries, my favourite fruit is white peaches (in case you can't tell already. "PEACH-y bunny"?), but I totally adore them when baking. Strawberries have such a well-balanced flavour and texture that it goes well with basically anything. Muffins, buttercream, pies, mousse, pound cakes, napoleons, cupcakes...... you name it! 

This tart is doesn't have a whole lot of sugar in it, so the strawberry flavour really shines. It's the perfect dessert to share at a gathering or dinner party, the mild tartness of the strawberry evens out the usual overwhelming butteriness of tarts.

Sweet shortcrust pastry crust. an almond cake base and homemade custard topped with strawberries and strawberry sauce. I promise your friends will think you got it from a fancy bakery!

View demonstration of this recipe on YouTube
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Recipe for Strawberry Custard Tart

Makes an 8-inch tart

Ingredients:

Sweet Shortcrust Pastry Crust:
Store-bought or homemade (Recipe here)

For Almond Cake Base:

• 40g Unsalted Butter, softened at room temperature
• 30g Sugar
• 25g Egg, lightly beaten
• 50g Almond Powder/Flour/Meal
• 1tsp Vanilla Extract 

For Custard Filling:

• 15g Unsalted Butter
• 40g Sugar
• 1 Egg Yolk
• 150 + 50ml Milk
• 25g Cake Flour
• 1Tbsp Brandy (optional)

For the Topping:

• 15 - 25 Strawberries
• 3 Tbsp Strawberry Jam
• 1 Tbsp Water

Directions:

1. Have sweet shortcrust pastry crust ready. Preheat oven to 180C
2. Make Almond Cake Base. Beat butter and sugar until creamy and light yellow in colour.
3. Add in vanilla extract and egg a little by little, mixing well after each addition.
4. Mix in half of the almond powder, when incorporated, add the remaining half and mix till there are no large lumps.
5. Pipe/spread evenly onto pre-baked pastry crust and cover sides of the crust with tin foil. Bake for 20 minutes. When it's baked, remove from oven and leave in tart pan on a cooling rack.
6. Make Custard Filling. Heat large portion of milk (150ml) over low heat and bring to a simmer.
7. In a heatproof bowl, whisk egg yolk and sugar till it becomes a pale yellow colour.
8. Sift flour into a separate bowl and mix with 50ml of milk so it forms a paste. Add it to the egg yolk mixture and stir well.
9. Stream in hot milk and whisk constantly. Remember to do this very slowly, or else you will end up with scrambled eggs (yes. eww...)!
10. Heat mixture on low, and keep stirring until it thickens to the consistency of mayonnaise. Then remove from heat and add in butter and brandy. Cover with cling wrap and refrigerate.
11. When both the tart and custard have cooled, pipe custard filling on tart starting from the centre.
12. Top with fresh strawberries, mix jam with water and drizzle this strawberry sauce on top.
13. Give yourself a pat on the back (because this is professional standard sweetie), take lots of photos and share with your friends!

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Sweet Shortcrust Pastry

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Recipe for Sweet Shortcrust Pastry

Makes a 7-inch pie crust

Ingredients:

• 60g Unsalted Butter
• 35g Caster Sugar
• 1 Yolk of a large egg
• 115g All-purpose Flour
• 2 tsp Milk
• Pinch of salt

Directions:

1. Cream butter and caster sugar till creamy and light yellow in colour.
2. Whisk in egg yolk.
3. Sift in 1/2 of the flour, mix till combined then add in the remaining half.
4. Add milk and vanilla extract to mixture. Mix again.
5. Keep mixing and your mixture should come together to form a dough. Knead it a few times then cover with cling wrap and refrigerate for 30 - 60 minutes.
6. When you are ready (or your pastry dough is ready!) to bake the pie crust, preheat oven to 170°C and grease a 7-inch tart pan with softened butter or baking spray.
7. Remove dough from refrigerator. Lightly dust your working surface, rolling pin and hands with flour. 
8. Mould dough into a disc then roll it out into a round shape of your desired size and thickness. When you've done that, carefully lift pastry up and lay in greased tart pan, then gently press pastry to bottom of pan. Using your rolling pin or hand, press on edges of pan to remove excess dough.
9. Now poke little holes in bottom of pastry using a fork. Cut parchment paper to fit bottom of pan, place on top of pastry and pour in beans/baking weights. This will prevent the crust from puffing up.
10. Bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes.
11. Take pastry out from oven, remove beans/baking weights and parchment paper. Bake for a further 8 - 10 minutes or until golden brown.
12. Remove from oven and let cool for 10 minutes before removing crust from pan.

Done! Your pastry is now ready for use. Be creative and you'll be able to make different desserts based on this recipe. :)

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