Chocolate Kugelhopf

This month, at The Cake Slice Bakers, the four recipes selected from the book World Class Cakes by Roger Pizey, which we are currently baking from are ;

Ginger Cake
Scandinavian Cardamom Coffee Cake
Chocolate Kugelhopf
Tarte aux Pommes

Members can choose any of these cakes to bake, and my choice is Chocolate Kugelhopf, since I am drawn to yeasty bakes!

This Chocolate Kugelhopf has a chocolate ganache swirls in it. It bakes into a soft and nice kugelhopf, but the process of making it is rather frustrating (to me!).

The recipe uses 1 whole egg and 2 egg yolks, but the instructions says to mix in the egg yolks without any mention of the whole egg, and I was wondering whether should I use the whole egg as well or was it a typo error in the instructions. I went ahead and add the whole egg, assuming that it has been left out in the instructions.  The dough is like very thick batter, and I have to add almost half a cup of extra flour so that it is a little doughy, and even then, the "dough" is still very soft and so, so, sticky. I thought of adding more flour but am afraid that the bread will be dry, as I've added about 30% extra to the original amount. Honestly I almost gave up and thought of dumping the dough. But I went ahead anyway and hope for the best! I left the dough to proof for the first rising, punch it down, and it was supposed to be rolled on a floured counter. No way I could roll the very soft, very sticky dough without it sticking onto the counter, and it would definitely stick to the rolling pin from the looks of it, even if I flour the top, I would need quite an amount of flour, and I am not confident that I could transfer the very soft dough onto a baking sheet, which is to be refrigerated for 30 minutes. I placed the dough on a large sheet of plastic, which I placed on an upturned baking sheet, then place another large sheet of plastic over the dough, and use a rolling pin to roll it into a large rectangle. Refrigerate for 30 minutes, keeping fingers crossed that it will be easier to work with later on. 

Remove from the refrigerator and immediately spread the ganache all over. Roll the dough, swiss roll style. Still too soft to roll, and with the help of a wide pastry cutter, I tried rolling it but it was difficult to roll as the dough was sticky. In the end, it looks like a misshapen lump of log, rather than a nice rolled up smooth log of a dough. I know definitely that there will not be any pretty swirls in there! Bring the two ends together into a ring, adjust the dough, by shaping it gently, with floured hands, so that it is more or less the same thickness all around. Gather the dough and place in the greased bundt pan, with a whole almond placed in each ridge at the bottom of the bundt pan. Cover with greased cling wrap and left to rise until doubled in size. It certainly rises well! Bake in a preheated oven for 35 minutes, though I baked mine for an additional 5 minutes to get that really brown colour on the crust. It looks really huge after baking and I do hope that the kugelhopf will turn out good!

Let the kugelhopf rest for 10 minutes in the pan, then unmold onto a wire rack, glaze while still warm with some glaze, with a recipe provided for it. Since I have a container of apricot glaze, I used that instead. Allow the kugelhopf to cool. I could not wait to slice, to see the inside and taste it. But I was rather pleased with how it looks like from the outside!

Once it has cooled down, the glaze disappeared, no longer glossy! But I'm not concerned with that. I am eager to see the inside!

No pretty swirls! But the taste makes up for it! This Chocolate Kugelhopf is soft and fluffy. Tasted really good with the addition of chocolate ganache.  The kugelhopf was still soft the next day when we had it for breakfast, and we enjoyed slices of it with our morning coffee. That being said, I will not be making this again, but I was glad that I have given it a try.

Note : I've used 1 teaspoon instant yeast instead of the fresh yeast calls for in the recipe. For the ganache, I've used dark chocolate instead of semisweet chocolate. I baked in a 6-cup Nordic Ware bundt pan. 

An InLinkz Link-up

Olive Oil Cake With Fresh Apricots

This month, at The Cake Slice Bakers, the four recipes selected from the book World Class Cakes by Roger Pizey, which we are currently baking from are ;

Olive Oil Cake with Fresh Peaches
Hummingbird Cake
M'hanncha
Oliver Peyton's Strawberry and Majoram Cream Tart

Members can choose any of these cakes to bake, and my choice is Olive Oil Cake with Fresh Peaches. But instead of peaches, I've used fresh apricots.

I made half a recipe and bake in a 5" cake pan, and it bakes up like a giant cupcake! Maybe I should have used a 6" cake pan instead. This is a simple cake with all the basic ingredients, instead of butter, it uses olive oil.

The cake has moist, close crumbs and I thought that this is just an ordinary cake, nothing special that would make me want to bake it again. I prefer the Danish Apple Cake which I baked months ago from the same book, maybe I have always prefer using butter in my cakes instead of oil.

An InLinkz Link-up

Golden Raisins Financiers

This month, at The Cake Slice Bakers, the four recipes selected from the book World Class Cakes by Roger Pizey, which we are currently baking from are ;

Raspberry Angel Cake 
Hazelnut Dacquoise 
Blueberry Financiers
Plum Madeira

Members can choose any of these cakes to bake, and my choice is Blueberry Financiers. 

The only thing is I did not use blueberries, which I was planning to use, but at the last minute, I've used golden raisins as I have been thinking about making a tea cake with golden raisins for weeks! I've made half a recipe, which yields 6 financiers, and the only change I've made to the recipe was to reduce the sugar to 1/4 cup and I've added 1/4 teaspoon of vanilla extract to the batter. The mould I had was slightly longer than the one used in the recipe, and the shape is oblong instead of rectangular. Baking time remains the same at 20 minutes.

I have also omitted the apricot glaze for the baked financiers. 

These financiers are delightful to eat, very moist and yummy. The only downside is, the raisins sank to the bottom, but that is OK with me, as these little tea cakes are really nice. Perfect with a cup of warm tea.

An InLinkz Link-up

Pineapple Coconut Cakes

This month, at The Cake Slice Bakers, the four recipes selected from the book World Class Cakes by Roger Pizey, which we are currently baking from are ;

Genoise with Raspberries and Cream

Lime and Poppy Seed Syrup Cake

Pineapple Coconut Cakes with Pineapple Syrup

Sacher Torte

Members can choose any of these cakes to bake, and my choice is Pineapple Coconut Cakes. 

In the recipe, the author has used eight small fluted petit-Brioche pans. I do not have any Brioche pans so I've used two small round pans instead, size 5-1/2". I bought those cute little pans from Ikea a couple of months ago and have not used them before. Now is the good time to put those pans to use.

Some changes I've made with the recipe :

• reduce the sugar to 1/3 cup (original was 3/4 cup)
• added 1 tbsp dark rum to the batter
• adjustment to the baking time ; bake at 170C for 40 minutes
• omitted the pineapple syrup

This cake was brushed with pineapple syrup, but I have omitted it. I was afraid that it might be too sweet.

A slice or two makes a wonderful tea-time treat.

Overall review : Very nice cake. Moist and buttery with soft crumbs. I was glad that I have reduced the sugar, as with the reduction in sugar, the sweetness was just right for us. Not too sweet but with a touch of sweetness. The only thing that I would change is to add more chopped pineapple to the batter. Lovely cake to snack on with a mug of warm green tea.

An InLinkz Link-up

Banana Loaf

This month, at The Cake Slice Bakers, the four recipes selected from the book World Class Cakes by Roger Pizey, which we are currently baking from are ;

Thierry Busset's Ten Layer Coffee Chocolate Cake

Greek Coconut Cake

Banana Loaf

Mandarin, Polenta, and Macadamia Cake

Members can choose any of those cakes to bake, and my choice is Banana Loaf.

I did make a few changes to the recipe. The changes are :

1. I used 2 medium ripe bananas for the batter, and one more for the topping. Recipe indicated two bananas, one each, for the batter and topping.
2. I reduced the sugar to half cup, original recipe uses 1 cup. By reducing the sugar, the sweetness was just right, without being overly sweet.
3. I've used only 1/3 cup of ground hazelnuts instead of 2/3 cup, replacing the other 1/3 cup with all-purpose flour (an addition to the 1-1/4 cups all-purpose flour indicated in the recipe).
4. Instead of sour cream, I've used yoghurt.
5. I've added 2 tablespoons of rum to the batter.

Recipe indicated to use a small baking tin, size 7in x 3-1/4in x 3-1/4in, lined with parchment paper. However, when the batter was ready, it was just too much and from the looks of it, could not fit into the small pan. I then used a 8-1/2in x 4-1/2in loaf pan, and filled it with the batter. Even with this bigger sized pan, the batter fills up almost to the top level of the pan. I was keeping my fingers crossed that the batter would not spill over during baking! 

I baked the loaf at 350F for 57 minutes (the books says to bake at 325F for 45 to 50 minutes). It smells wonderful during baking, with the lovely aroma of the bananas and the rum. What a relief that the batter did not spill over. It rises a little, then it stopped rising, and continue on to bake to a lovely golden colour.

A delicious banana loaf. Moist, soft tender crumbs, not as dense as some banana loaves are, and the sweetness was just right. I am so glad to have reduced the sugar.

A slice (or two!) is wonderful with a cup of tea or coffee. We like this Banana Loaf and I will be making this again when I have some extra bananas.

An InLinkz Link-up

Victoria Sponge

This month, at The Cake Slice Bakers, the four recipes selected from the book World Class Cakes by Roger Pizey, which we are currently baking from are ;

Victoria Sponge
Red Velvet Cake
Almond Tart with Honey
Chocolate Cheesecake

Members can choose any of those cakes to bake, and my choice is Victoria Sponge Cake. A very easy and simple cake to make, baked in two pans, then sandwiched together with jam and cream. I've made half a recipe and used two 5" round cake pans to bake the cakes. Batter is easy and quick to prepare, uses self-raising flour and baking powder. I have reduced the sugar slightly to scant 1/3 cup for half a recipe, and the sweetness works out great. For the jam, I've used my own homemade strawberry jam.

The Creme Chantilly is made by whipping heavy cream, confectioner's sugar and vanilla extract. To make the Creme Chantilly, I've used about half a cup of heavy cream with one tablespoon confectioners' sugar with a small amount of vanilla extract. And I've used only half of  the Creme Chantilly to assemble the cake.

Assemble the cake by using one of the two cakes as the base (trim off the top of the cake to level it), spread some strawberry jam and then the Creme Chantilly. Top with the remaining cake and dust generously with confectioners' sugar. 

Cake is deliciously soft, buttery and spongy. I'm glad I've reduced the sugar slightly. The cake is not too sweet, with my not-too-sweet homemade strawberry jam, and the Creme Chantilly, this makes a lovely dessert.

An InLinkz Link-up

Vanilla and Orange Cake

This month, at The Cake Slice Bakers, the four recipes selected from the book World Class Cakes by Roger Pizey which we are currently baking from are ;

Lemon Drizzle 

Apple Streusel

Vanilla and Blood Orange Cake

Devil's Food Cake

Members can choose any of those cakes to bake, and my choice is Vanilla and Blood Orange Cake. I have however replaced blood orange with regular orange.

The full recipe is baked in a 8" pan. I've made half a recipe and bake the cake in a 5" round cake pan. For such a tiny cake, the amount of butter is half a cup (which I thought is quite a lot!), so I've used 100gm, wanted to use only 80gm but decided to reduce only 25gm from the half cup instead, and have reduced the sugar to 1/4 cup, taking into account that there is caramel at the top of the finished cake.

The caramel is first made by melting sugar in a saucepan (for the caramel, I've used 1/4 cup instead of 1/3 cup) and stir until the sugar has completely melted to a caramel. Immediately pour the caramel into the cake pan and place a sliced orange in the centre. 

The batter is made by creaming sugar (I've used 1/4 cup), eggs and seeds from a vanilla pod, until light and fluffy, and doubled in volume, about 5 minutes. Fold in melted butter, orange zest, orange juice, mix to combine, and lastly the flour, in two batches. Pour batter into the prepared pan over the caramel and bake in a preheated oven.

According to the recipe, this cake is baked in a low temperature at 325F for 30 minutes. I have however baked at 350F and it took 35 minutes until the cake is done baking. 

Invert the cake onto a plate so that the caramel with the orange is now the top. Let cool and serve.

Cake is very moist, and soft. I am so glad that I have reduced the sugar, as this is quite sweet with the caramel. I thought that this cake could do with a little less butter. I like the orange slice and the bits of vanilla seeds throughout. My overall review for this cake, not great, but nice.

An InLinkz Link-up

Gingerbread

This month at The Cake Slice Bakers, the four selected recipes from the book which we are currently baking from, World Class Cakes by Roger Pizey, are :

Coffee and Walnut Cake

Paul A. Young's Torta Gianduja

Caribbean Coconut Cake with Rum

Gingerbread

Members can choose any one of these recipes to bake. My choice is Gingerbread.

This is a simple and easy bake. I've made half a recipe, bake in a 8-1/2x4-1/2 inch loaf pan. The only changes I made was to use Lyle's Golden Syrup instead of dark corn syrup, and brown sugar instead of superfine sugar, as indicated in the recipe. 

From the photo in the book, the cake is beautifully decorated with a lace pattern using royal icing. Of course, the frosting can be spread over the cake instead, but I've decided to omit the frosting.

The gingerbread turns out moist, soft and tender, though the colour is not as dark as other gingerbread. And the taste of the ginger is rather mild. I was thinking that some chopped crystallized ginger mixed into the batter would be nice.

Overall this is a nice moist, soft cake. Great with a cup of warm tea.

An InLinkz Link-up

Danish Apple Cake

The Cake Slice Bakers, an online group of lovely bakers are starting from a new book starting this month, World Class Cakes by Roger Pizey, to bake for a year, once a month. Each month, four recipes are selected from the book and members can choose any one of these recipes to bake. I am a returning baker, having baked with TCS a few years ago while Katie (one of the founders of this group) was the administrator. Over the years, the group has been managed by a few administrators and now the running of TCS is taken over by Anabel of Oven Delights. I'm happy to be back baking with TCS!

To kick start the bakes from this book, the first four selected recipes are :

Bee Sting Cake

Danish Apple Cake

Maple Syrup and Pecan Layer Cake

Chocolate and Rum Canneles

My chosen cake to bake : Danish Apple Cake

Could not decide between Bee Sting Cake and Danish Apple Cake, but since I have lots of apples in my refrigerator, Danish Apple Cake it is! This is a very simple and easy cake to bake. The only changes I've made was to reduce the sugar to 130gm. Apples are peeled and cored, cut into 1/2-in wedges, and arrange around the top of the cake, pushing them slightly into the batter. Some brown sugar is sprinkled over the batter and apples before the cake goes into the oven. The baking time took longer to bake, about 60 minutes. 

As soon as the cake was baked, I brushed the top with a thin layer of apricot glaze.

The cake bakes up nice and golden.

It may be sliced and served while still warm, and was suggested by the author that it's the most delicious when served warm from the oven with a scoop of ice cream. Too bad I don't have any ice cream!

But we are happy to eat it as it is! This cake is delicous, though it is a little sweet for me even though I've reduced the sugar quite a bit. The crumbs are buttery, moist, tender and wonderful with the golden raisins and apple slices. 

A slice is good with a cup of hot tea or coffee. This would make a wonderful plain butter cake without the fruits, one that I plan to bake one of these days. 

My first bake from World Class Cakes by Roger Pizey, and it is a keeper recipe, Looking forward to more baking from this lovely book. Get the book and join us. you may get full info here. 

Linky is for TCS members only

An InLinkz Link-up