Marble Chiffon Cake

After making the black seasme chiffon cake many times, I wanted to try something different.  I saw many beautiful pictures of marble chiffon cakes on the internet and had tried different recipes, but none of them turned out to have the taste/texture I liked.  So, I decided to go back to Christine Ho’s black sesame chiffon cake recipe and made changes to it.  I’m very satisfied with the result and my kids loved it, the cake was gone in one day.

Ingredients:

8” Pan		10” Pan
6 110g 1 tsp	Egg whites Caster sugar Cream of tartar	7 128g 1 tsp

6 25g 80g 1/8 tsp 1 tsp 1 tsp 50g 80ml

Egg yolks Caster Sugar Cake flour Salt Baking powder Honey Olive oil Non-fat milk

7 29g 94g 1/8 tsp 1 tsp 1 tsp 58g 93ml

10g 10g

Cocoa powder All purpose flour

11g 12g

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 340F.
• Separate egg whites and egg yolks.
• Mix egg yolks, 25g sugar, salt and honey until well combined.
• Add in olive oil and mix well, then add in milk and mix well.
• Sift in 80g flour and baking powder into the egg yolk mixture, mix well to make sure there are no lumps.

• Divide the egg yolk mixture into two equal portions in separate mixing bowls.   I got 338g in my bowl, so I put 169g in each bowl.
• Mix 10g of the flour into a bowl of egg yolk mixture and 10g of cocoa powder into another bowl of egg yolk mixture.
• Now, beat the egg whites with an electric mixer until bubbles form.  It is best to begin at a slow speed and gradually move up to high when beating.  Add cream of tartar. After mixing well, add 110 grams of sugar in three batches, about one-third at a time, and beat well between additions.  Continue to beat until the egg whites are stiff and glossy.  Don’t over beat it, overbeaten whites look lumpy and watery.

• Gently fold-in half of the egg white mixture into the cocoa egg yolk mixture and half into the plain mixture until well combined.

• Spoon batters into an 8” tube pan, alternating spoonfuls of plain mixture and cocoa mixture to simulate a checkboard.  To create marbling, run a table knife through the batters in a swirling motion.

• Bake in the preheated oven for about 40 minutes.  After baking the first 15 minutes, if you find the cake surface gets browning, reduce heat to 320F.
• Remove the cake from the oven.  Invert the pan immediately on a wire rack.  Let it cool completely (at least an hour).

• Remove the cake by running a knife around the pan, angling the knife towards the pan to try and get the full crust on the cake.

• Black Sesame Chiffon Cake (ginskitchen.wordpress.com)
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• Matcha chiffon cake (jothetartqueen.wordpress.com)

Bow Tie Pasta with Salmon and Shrimp in White Sauce

When reheating cooked salmon the next day, its texture and flavor change.  What can you do with leftover cooked salmon?  There are plenty of options, but I like to toss in bow tie pasta and cook it with creamy white sauce – it’s as good as the first day.  You can use dried pasta but I made it from scratch, please go to my “Homemade Fresh Pasta” page for the recipe.

Ingredients:

16 oz 1-2 10 1½ Cups ½ Cup 2 Tbsp ¼ Cup 1/2 Cup 3-4

Dried Bow Tie pasta Or fresh pasta (pls see “Homemade Fresh Pasta” for recipe) Cooked salmon filets, broken into pieces Shrimp (peeled and deveined) Heavy whipping cream Non-fat milk Minced garlic Rice cooking wine Grated parmesan cheese Fresh basil leaves (Optional) Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Cook pasta according to package directions.  For fresh pasta, cook for 3-4 minutes only.  Drain and set aside.
2. Peel and devein shrimp, rub shrimp with ½ teaspoon of salt, set aside.
3. In a large skillet, heat 3 tablespoons of cooking oil over medium heat and add minced garlic.  When garlic is slightly brown, add salmon and shrimp, stir occasionally and cook for about 3 minutes.
4. Add cooking wine, followed by whipping cream, milk and 1 teaspoon of salt (add more salt if needed).
5. When sauce is bubbling, add bow tie pasta and basil and mix well.  Stir in parmesan cheese and gently toss to mix.  Sauce will be thickened now, if sauce is still too runny, combine one teaspoon of cornstarch with two teaspoons of water in a small bowl, stir to dissolve the cornstarch to thicken the sauce.
6. Sprinkle black pepper and cheese over the top.

HOW TO MAKE BOW TIE PASTA:

After rolling your pasta dough to the thinness you desire, cut into 1″x2″ retangles with a pastry wheel and cutter.

Take one retangle and pinch in the middle.

Place your index finger in the middle of the retangle and then bring the top and bottom to meet your finger, and press to seal the middle.

Black Sesame Chiffon Cake

Is there any difference between a chiffon cake and sponge cake?  They are quite similar but a chiffon cake calls for oil, its texture is more fluffy and airy while a sponge cake is oil/butter/fat free.  Most people complain that their chiffon cake sunk after cooling or did not rise.  I have made this chiffon cake many times and never encountered any problems.  I’m Christine Ho’s big fan and learned how to make this black sesame chiffon cake from her blog.  Her tip on how to prevent the cake from sinking is very helpful (i.e. never grease the pan or use a non-stick pan).  The reason I chose her recipe over many others found on the net is because her cake is so light and the sweetness is just right.

I slightly adjusted her recipe by adding more sesame powder and using 6 egg yolks.  You will love this recipe – it’s easy and the cake is even fluffier and softer than the store-made ones!

Ingredients:

6	Egg whites
60g	Caster sugar
1 tsp	Cream of tartar

80g	Cake flour
1/8 tsp	Salt
1 tsp	Baking powder
30g	Black sesame powder
6	Egg yolks
30g	Caster sugar
50g	Olive oil
80ml	Non-fat milk

Method:

• Preheat oven to 340F.
• To separate eggs, place 3 small bowls side by side. Crack the first egg and pull the shell halves apart. Pass the yolk back and forth, letting the white fall into the first bowl. Put the yolk in the second bowl. Transfer the white to the third bowl and repeat with the remaining eggs.  By doing it this way, if you have one bad egg, you do not need to discard all egg whites.
• Beat the egg whites with an electric mixer until bubbles form. It is best to begin at a slow speed and gradually move up to high when beating.  Add cream of tartar. After mixing well, add 60 grams of sugar in three batches, about one-third at a time, and beat well between additions.  Continue to beat until the egg whites are stiff and glossy.  Don’t over beat it, overbeaten whites look lumpy and watery.

• Sift the cake flour, baking powder, salt and black sesame powder. Use a spoon to press through the sift if necessary. (Picture 1)
• Whisk the egg yolks with 30 grams of caster sugar, until the sugar completely dissolves. (Picture 2)
• Stir in the oil, bit by bit, until completely combined. Add milk and stir well.  (Pictures 3 and 4)
• Sift the flour mixture into the egg yolk mixture, in three batches. Combine well.  (Picture 5 and 6)
• Fold-in the beaten egg whites with a spatula.  (Picture 7)
• Pour the batter into an 8″ tube pan and bake in the preheated oven for about 45 minutes. After baking the first 15 minutes, if you find the cake surface gets browning, reduce heat to 320F. Continue to bake until cooked through. A needle comes out clean when inserted in the middle.  (Picture 8)
• Remove the cake from the oven. Invert the pan immediately on a wire rack.  Let it cool completely (at least an hour).  (Picture 9)

• Remove the cake by running a thin-bladed knife around the pan, angling the knife towards the pan to try to get the full crust on the cake.

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