Last Saturday we stayed home and made our homework cakes. I will not provide recipes as we followed the school's, and it probably is not a good idea to reproduce them here. Both are butter cakes, which are too rich for me. Next week we are doing sponges.
In any case, the Spar SP-800 mini mixer is a fantastic gadget and well worth the expense. Don't be fooled by the 'mini' in the description, it weighs a ton and is more powerful than home mixers. It creams butter with ease, very easy to use and clean, and comes with 3 sturdy attachments- paddle, whisk and pastry hook. I bought a spare bowl which is good for whisking egg whites, and this was a real boon, whites done within 3 minutes and no more tired arms. Incidentally, Lau Choy Seng at Temple Street sells the same model and accessories, and their prices are better.
Cake 1: Butter Prune Cake.
Judy told us that one of her students uses this recipe in her business and it sells like, erm, hot cakes.
Ingredients: Butter ( a lot!), sugar, evaporated milk, eggs, cake flour, baking powder and prunes soaked in rum. Next time I would soak the prunes way ahead, it was a bit soggy, even after sprinkling flour on it the prunes stuck together.
Method: Egg white separated from yolks and whisked till soft peaks form before being folded into the creamed butter-egg-milk mixture. I find this method gives a lighter, higher cake (two knuckles in this case, well, we didn't have a ruler handy). Cook in 160 degree C oven. Incidentally I noted Judy's tip which was to check the oven temperature, since I have two oven thermometers in my kit, I did as she advised and true enough, my oven is cooler than it should be, I had to turn the dial to 175 to obtain the desired temperature.
Result: The top was even and not too high or sunken. Sides were straight, but not lofty enough. The cake was light and soft, with a very tender crumb. The chopped prunes were evenly distributed in most parts, in some they sank to the bottom. The prunes added a welcome boozy tart sweetness to the cake, next time I might add more.
Cake 2: Butter Cheese Cake.
This is Judy's variation of cheese cake, and sports an intriguing sprinkle of fresh ground black pepper. A cross between heavier traditional baked cheese cakes and lighter Japanese versions.
Ingredients: Butter ( again, too much!), sugar, fresh milk, eggs, cake flour, baking powder and grated cheese- I used matured cheddar, and freshly grated black pepper.
Method: One bowl method. Cream butter and sugar, add eggs, milk + flour and finally cheese.
Result: Yikes, it only rose a little, at its sides it only went as high as 1.5 knuckles. The top was even and not cracked, the mottled pattern was due to the sprinkled cheese topping. This was a denser cake than the first, but was surprisingly light yet melt-in-the-mouth rich. The taste was a bit strange at first, sharp salty peppery cheesiness mingling with the background sweetness, but left overnight, the flavours melded and came together quite pleasingly.
