Vanilla-Flecked Chiffon Cake : Bake-Along #64

Theme for this week's Bake-Along #64, is Chiffon Cake, selected by my baking buddy Zoe of Bake For Happy Kids, for our bake together with Lena of Frozen Wings, and anyone who wishes to bake-along with us. 

My favourite chiffon cake recipe is from Tish Boyle's "The Cake Book", Orange Chiffon Cake which I've first baked almost two years ago, and have baked it a few more times since then. So for our Chiffon theme Bake-Along, I naturally thought of this Vanilla-Flecked Chiffon Cake from the same book, which I have been wanting to make for ages. I'm glad I finally made this. It is just as good as the Orange Chiffon Cake.

I made the full recipe, and baked in three pans, two of 7" and one of 6", using chiffon cake pans with feet. The recipe uses a plump Tahitian vanilla pod, but since mine is not Tahitian vanilla pods, I have used two vanilla pods which my sister bought from Bali. As usual, I have reduced the amount of sugar, from the original 350gm to 180gm and it's sweetness is just right. 

The cake is soft, fluffy, moist and is flecked with the vanilla seeds all over. I can actually taste the light crunch  of the vanilla seeds.

Makes a nice treat for breakfast and tea-time snack!

Vanilla-Flecked Chiffon Cake
(adapted from "The Cake Book", Tish Boyle)
Makes one 10-inch cake, serving 12 to 14
2-1/2 cups (8.8oz/250gm) sifted cake flour
1-3/4 cups (12.3oz/350gm) granulates sugar, divided (180gm)
1 tablespoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 plump Tahitian vanilla bean, split lengthwise in half
6 large eggs, separated, at room temperature
2/3 cup (160ml) water
1/2 cup (120ml) safflower or other neutral vegetable oil
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
3 large egg whites
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
confectioners' sugar for dusting

1. Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 325F.
2. Sift together the cake flour, 1-1/4 cups of the sugar, the baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Whisk until well blended, and set aside.
3. Using a spoon, scrape the small seeds out of the vanilla bean into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (discard bean). Add the egg yolks, water, vegetable oil, and lemon zest and beat at medium speed until blended, about 1 minute. Reduce the speed to low and add the flour mixture one-quarter at a time, mixing just until blended.
4. In a clean mixing bowl, using the whisk attachment, beat the 9 egg whites and the cream of tartar at medium speed until soft peaks form. Gradually beat in the remaining 1/2 cup sugar. Increase the speed to high and beat until the whites are stiff but not dry. Using a large rubber spatula, briskly fold about one-quarter of the whites into the cake batter. Gently fold in the remaining whites. Scrape the batter into an ungreased 10-inch tube pan with a removable bottom and smooth the top.
5. Bake for 55 to 65 minutes, until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Invert the pan and place the center tube on a bottle. (If the pan has "feet", it can be inverted directly onto a work surface). Let stand upside down until completely cooled, about 1-1/2 hours.
6. To unmold the cake, slide a thin-bladed knife around the side of the cake, making sure to press the knife against the side of the pan to avoid marring the surface of the cake. Repeat with the center tube. Lift the tube up top remove the cake from the pan, and slide the knife under the cake to detach it from the pan bottom. Invert the cake onto a serving plate. Dust the top lightly with confectioners' sugar.
7. Slice the cake using an angel food cake divider or a serrated knife (use a sawing motion) to avoid compressing its airy texture.

Store at room temperature, under a cake keeper or covered with foil, for up to 5 days. Or freeze, well wrapped, for up to 2 weeks.

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A NOTE FOR LINKING :

Please be advised that this theme is only for CHIFFON CAKES. We are not accepting submissions for Angel Cakes and Sponge Cakes, as these three cakes are different, even though they may look the same. Thank you for your co-operation!

To view the Chiffon Cakes that everyone has made, please visit Lena from Frozen Wings and Zoe from Bake For Happy Kids, and all our friends who has baked along with us in the linky below :

For our next Bake-Along, our bake is Chocolate Zucchini Bundt Cake, from Cake Keeper Cakes by Lauren Chattman, pg 108 or you may get the recipe here. Bake the selected recipe and join us! The linky will start on 24th July until 2nd August. Everyone is welcome! 

A friendly reminder when linking to our blog hop :

1. Please mention Bake-Along event in your own post linking direct to any of the hosts' post (Joyce, Lena or Zoe)

2. Please link only new and current post, PLEASE FOLLOW THE BAKE OR THEME provided by us. Unrelated post will be deleted.

3. Feel free to display our Bake-Along badge in your post.

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Cook-Your-Books #14 @ kitchen flavours

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Japanese Pork and Cabbage Dumplings

"Eating Around The Globe", is our theme for this week at I Heart Cooking Clubs (IHCC). I'm bringing my passport to Japan this week, with Nigel Slater's Gyoza (Japanese Pork and Cabbage Dumplings).

The tasty filling for these gyoza are first cooked and then wrapped in dumpling wrappers. The top, green part of the Chinese cabbage is used in the stuffing, not the firm white stalks. I used the firm white stalks for a Chinese noodle stir-fry, which we had with these gyozas for our meal.

Note : According to the book, the green leafy parts of the Chinese cabbage are shredded very finely, put in a colander and sprinkle heavily with salt. Let rest for 20 minutes, rinse and squeezed dry. However, it does not state in the recipe which step should the cabbages be added in. So I have added in the cabbages after stir-frying the minced pork for a couple of minutes.

I have omitted the sugar in the filling, even though it calls for just a pinch, I omit it altogether. The filling is tasty enough without the sugar. And I have used more minced pork than the recipe, about 380gm and this amount gave me 22 pieces of gyozas.

The gyozas are served with the dip, and I really like this dip a lot! Though I did make a few adjustments to it. Firstly, according to the book, this dip is supposed to be sweet, sharp and salty. I find that the sauce is sour without much taste at all. And how can it be salty, when the recipe for the dip, does not contain anything that is salty. And I've noticed that the recipe calls for 2 tablespoons of black soy sauce and none whatsoever of light soy sauce (maybe an error?) . So I have added in a little more and less, of this and that, and my changes are : an additional teaspoon of chilli sauce, just a half teaspoon of black soy sauce (instead of the original 2 tablespoons, I might omit it altogether if I make this again the next time), an addition of 1 to 1-1/2 tablespoons of light soy sauce, an additional 1-1/2 to 2 tablespoons of sugar to counter-balance the sourness from the vinegar. And I have added in some thinly julienned ginger just before serving, as I love the ginger in the dip, which is usually served whenever I had gyoza at any restaurants.

Adjust the sweetness, sourness and saltiness to your own taste. This dip is really good, it finally had that "sweet, sharp and salty" combination that Nigel mentioned, perfect with these gyozas!

** my changes in blue
Japanese Pork and Cabbage Dumplings
(adapted from "The Kitchen Diaries II", Nigel Slater)
2 handfuls Chinese cabbage
6 spring onions
2 teaspoons sesame oil
3 cloves garlic
2 teaspoons, finely grated fresh ginger
white pepper
250gm minced pork
a pinch of sugar (omitted)
2 teaspoons Chinese chives, finely chopped
a little light soy sauce
dumpling wrappers : 20
a little oil for cooking
100ml water

For the dip :
1 tbsp sesame oil
100 rice wine vinegar
2 teaspoons sweet chilli sauce (3 teaspoons)
2 tablespoons dark soy sauce (1/2 teaspoon)
1 to 1-1/2 tablespoons light soy sauce (my addition)
2 teaspoons sugar (an additional 1-1/2 to 2 tablespoons)
2 tablespoons julienned fresh ginger (for serving)

Put the ingredients for the dip into a small saucepan and bring to the boil. Simmer for two or three minutes, then leave to cool. It should be sweet, sharp and salty.

Shred the cabbage very finely, then put it in a colander, place on a plate, sprinkle heavily with salt and leave for twenty minutes. This will help it to soften. Rinse briefly, then squeeze out the moisture with your fist.

Finely chop the spring onions, put them in a frying pan with the sesame oil and let them softer over a low to moderate heat. Peel and finely crush the garlic and add to the pan together with the grated ginger and some ground white pepper. It is worth remembering that white pepper is hotter than black.

Add the minced pork to the mixture, turn the heat up slightly and fry till the meat is pale gold, a matter of three or four minutes. (I have added in the squeezed cabbages about two or three minutes after frying the minced pork). Add the sugar, chives and three or four drops of soy sauce. Let the mixture cool.

Place a dumpling wrapper on the work surface and put 2 teaspoons of the pork mixture in the centre of it. Dampen the edge of the wrapper with water, then fold the bundle in half to give a semi circle and press firmly to seal, crimping the dough as you go with your finger and thumb. Set aside and repeat with the remaining wrappers and filling.

Warm a thin layer of oil over a low to moderate heat in a shallow pan to which you have a lid. Place the dumplings in the pan so their crimped edge stands uppermost. Let the bottoms colour lightly; they should be pale amber. Pour in the water, cover the pan with a lid and leave for five minutes. Remove the lid and let the water boil for a minute or two, till it has evaporated. Serve the gyoza with the dip.

Makes about 20, enough for 4.

I'm linking this post to I Heart Cooking Clubs (IHCC), the theme for this week "Eating Around The Globe"

and

Cook-Your-Books #14 @ kitchen flavours

Homemade Tots

A week ago, I wanted to make some french fries and the recipe calls for the cut potatoes to be boiled for a few minutes. By the time I checked on the potatoes, they have turned very, very soft! There goes my french fries! So I kept the soft mushy potatoes in the fridge and later on that night, sourced for some recipes for my mushy potatoes. Found this Homemade Tots from "The Book of Burger" by Rachael Ray, which I knew that my kids would love. So I made these for their after school snack. 

The potatoes are mashed and mixed with grated onion, flour, egg and chopped rosemary, season with some salt and pepper. This mixture is rolled on floured surface into 1-inch thick logs and cut into tots. Fry them in hot oil until golden and crisp, drain on kitchen paper towel and serve warm.

My notes : The mixture is very sticky. Some extra flour can be added into the mixture, but I did not add any. I place a big scoop of mixture onto a generously floured work surface, and flour my hands well. Shape it into a log and cut into tots (you may need to lightly flour your cutting knife), then I dropped the tots into a bowl filled with some flour, coat the tots all around with flour, you may need to adjust their shape as they are very soft. Drop them gently into the hot oil, fry until golden brown on all sides, transfer to kitchen paper towel to drain off excess oil. 

p/s : to check on the seasoning before frying the whole batch, shape a tablespoon of the mixture and fry until golden brown. Taste and adjust the seasoning if necessary.

These are yummy and fun to eat, especially when served with ....

...... some garlic mayonnaise. I added some garlic powder to a small bowl of mayonnaise, stir to blend well, and sprinkle with more garlic powder for serving (I love garlic powder!). I've got to whipped up a second bowl of garlic mayonnaise, yes, we love it! The whole batch was gobbled up by the three of us!  :)

Homemade Tots
(adapted from "The Book of Burgers", Rachael Ray)
6 medium starchy potatoes, such as Idahos, peeled and cubed
Kosher salt
3 tablespoons finely grated onion
1/4 cup flour, plus more for rolling
1 large egg
1 tablespoon minced fresh rosemary
pepper
peanut oil or vegetable oil, for frying

Cook the potatoes in a large pot of well-salted boiling water until tender. Drain the potatoes well and pass them through a rice into a large bowl. Add the grated onion (grate it right over the bowl), flour, egg, and rosemary; season with salt and pepper and mix well.

On a floured surface, roll the potato mix into 1-inch-thick logs and cut into tots.

Fill a countertop fryer with oil or pour a few inches of oil into a large Dutch oven. Heat the oil to 350F. (The oil is ready when a 1-inch cube of white bread cooks to golden brown in 40 seconds.) Fry the tots in small batches until golden and crisp, about 4 minutes. Remove and drain on paper towels. Season the cooked tots with a little extra salt.

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I'm linking this post to  Little Thumbs Up - July 2014 Event: Potato - organised by Zoe of Bake for Happy Kids and Doreen of My Little Favourite DIY and hosted by Jasline of Foodie Baker .

and
Cook-Your-Books #14 @ kitchen flavours