Aspiring Bakers #8 : Bread Seduction (June 2011)

ASPIRING BAKERS #8 : BREAD SEDUCTION (JUNE 2011)

Bake or steam Bread, Buns or Pau. To join, post it on your blog between 1 June to 30 June.
Click here for details.

The closing date is 30 June 2011.
All entries will be compiled and posted on 1 July 2011.

Thursday, February 24, 2011

heart shaped mont blanc cake

baked mont blanc cake today. my mum came home from market with fresh chestnut so i thought of making this since is on my to do list after looking at keiko's book OKASHI. and i've got this can of chestnut puree at home. the chestnut puree cost $9.95 and i bought from cold storage quite some time back.



i used basic yellow sponge cake as the base. the recipe is from pook. the cake is crispy at the side but fluffy and dense inside with the aroma of vanilla which i like, compared to eggy taste. im using three different sizes of heart shaped cutter to cut out the base. the smallest one is when there's those "leftovers". for the chestnut puree and cream, recipe is from ju.


placing sponge cake into heart shaped cups






Yellow sponge cake
40g Cake flour
30g Cornstarch
2 Large eggs
2 Egg yolks
65g Sugar
½tsp Coarse salt
½tbsp Vanilla extract
¼cup 120ml vegetable oil
¼cup Melted butter (warm)


Preheat the oven to 190 170°C.
Sift the flour and Cornstarch together, set aside.
Line 25x25cm 9 inch baking pan with baking paper.
Mix melted butter with vegetable oil.
Beat the eggs, egg yolks, sugar and salt until very thick and pale (thick ribbon).
Add the vanilla and beat to combine.
Pour the sifted flour into the egg mixture, fold to combine.
Pour the melted butter mixture (drizzling, if possible) into the batter and fold to combine.
Pour the mixture into prepared pan.

Bake for 18 minutes or until golden and spring when touch lightly.
Remove the cake from the pan and let it cool on a wire rack
For chestnut puree
15 oz 354g of pureed chestnut
1/2 cup 100ml cream
1/2 cup 80g sugar
1 large egg yolk
1 vanilla bean*
* I used 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1. Slice the vanilla bean in half length wise and scrape the seeds into a small saucepan. Add the cream, sugar and whisk in the yolk. Heat over low heat, continually stirring until the mixture begins to thicken. Take the pan off the heat and allow the vanilla bean to steep while the mixture cools.

2. When the mixture is cool, put it in a food processor along with the pureed chestnuts. Blitz until smooth and creamy.* Put a spoonful of chestnut puree in the double mesh strainer over a bowl and press through using a spatula. Strain the rest of the chestnut puree, cover and set aside.
* I did not use a food processor. Instead, I handwhisked till as creamy as I could, and i did not put everything through a sieve (like pureeing baby food).

chestnut cream

3 tbsp powdered sugar
1/3 cup chestnut puree

1 tsp rum


1. In the clean dry bowl of an electric mixer, add 3/4 cup of heavy cream. Using the whisk attachment, beat until the cream holds soft peaks. Add the sugar and beat until the sugar is incorporated. Add 1/3 cup of the strained chestnut puree and mix until the cream holds firm peaks being careful not to over mix.3/4 cup heavy cream

ASSEMBLE:

i brush on a simple sugar solution, ie, boil equal parts water to sugar till everything dissolves, on top of the sponge cake and then leave to cool. Then brush the sugar solution onto the sponge. Pipe a generous dollop of chestnut puree in the centre. Then pipe the chestnut cream on top. I added some valrhona crunchy dark choc pearls and then add fresh chestnut to decorate. REFRIGERATE it.

i feel like is not very nicely done. the heart shaped isnt obvious other than the cup itself. and i've got left over chestnut puree and cream! tmr going to try baking chestnut swiss roll? or muffins? psst, there's borders sale tmr at expo starting from 10am! head on down if you want (:


VERDICT: the chestnut cream and puree is YUMMY! esp when is cold from the fridge. and is not too sweet. definitely worth trying again (:

im submitting this to ASPIRING BAKERS #4 LOVE IN THE AIR hosted by ellena.


side qn, anyone who have a big oven and would like to buy silpat? i washed (my habit to wash everything i bought before i keep it) and kept the silpat that my sis in law bought for me last yr as christmas present, in the cupboard. today when i saw it and thought i could use to bake cookies then i realise is too big for my oven! she bought TWO big ones! *faints* is NEW! if anyone wants to buy it, pls let me know. dont want to waste it. then i can buy the smaller ones. thank you! (:

36 comments:

  1. Cute cakes! Where you got those heart shaped cups with lids? ;)

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  2. thank you cathy. i got it quite a while ago from phoon huat (:

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  3. So creative! Yes the heart shape cups are really adorable. I will be rushing to PH to get some tmr! Btw, you can cut the silpat into 2, I do that too.

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  4. hahah. actually is a pudding cup (: wen, my eyes open really wide when i read that! you mean CUT?? i thought the instruction say something like no folding and . . . . as it contain glass?? pls enlighten me. thank you! (:

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  5. ahh shucks missed this :( the cake looks so adorable in the heart shaped cups! made with love from you eh? hehehee

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  6. thank you jean! of course, is made with lots of love, from me to you :D

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  7. You even have heart shaped cups to match the cake cut outs :) These look lovely and tasty too!

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  8. thank you biren (: yes, it really taste yummy (:

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  9. What a lovely creation!
    Like what Wen said, you can cut your silpat to fit. I actually bought large silicone mats and cut it to fit my 2 baking trays, and there was still small pieces left, which I cut to fit the base of my mini pans. They're great, and saves me the trouble of having to cut parchment paper every time I bake.

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  10. thank you NEL (:
    OMG! thank you dearest!! i'll go experiment it. hopefully i dont spoil the whole expensive silpat! hahah. that's exactly the purpose of buying silpat for me as my SIL know i dread cuttin parchment (: THANK YOU (:

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  11. You won't regret it :) Just be sure to use a sharp pair of scissors to get a clean cut. I just used a ballpoint pen to trace the shape out. The ink will wipe off the mat easily, so don't worry about it. Hope this helps.

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  12. thank you for the wonderful tips! is really useful! (:

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  13. Haha... don't worry Jasmine! It can be done. Actually when I cut it, i didn't think much too, also didn't read the instruction...lol!

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  14. Hi Jasmine! Nice work there! Which section do you remember getting the chestnut puree from at Cold Storage? I saw some at Meidi Ya but they are freaking expensive!

    I have a tub of chestnut puree sitting in my fridge for the last 2 months and I'd been telling myself that I wanna make a Mont Blanc one of these days but haven't gotten down to do it!

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  15. i like your cake...and the cups too! hope i can find them at phoon huat too!!

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  16. got it, wen. JUST DO IT right (: hahah

    thank you pei hwa (: join wen and cathy for the hunt of it (:

    thank you jess (:

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  17. thank you alan (: i got it from the canned food section. apparently, they do place it with bakery section too. however, it depend on the cold storage that you're visiting. the smaller ones does not carry this. recommend you to call and check with them (:

    http://www.coldstorage.com.sg/corporate/public/corporate_storelocations.html

    unless all else fail, then meidi-ya would be considered. their stuffs are super exp!! when you've got all ingredients, bake it! i'll be looking forward to your post! (: pressure you :D psst, this recipe, the puree and cream is really delicious when cold from fridge and not too sweet.

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  18. Love those love creations. I have a can of chestnut in my cupboard too, must do something about it.

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  19. This really sounds delicious. I love the flavor of chestnuts, so know I'd really enjoys these tiny hearts. I hope you have a great day. Blessings...Mary

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  20. ann, try this. is yummy (:

    indeed it is. thank you mary (: may you have a great day too (:

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  21. Lovely presentation :) I bet it taste good too :p

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  22. this looks good! i bet the chestnut puree must be delicious.. i saw them selling over here but it's very expensive.

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  23. I think Sun Lik's chestnut puree might be cheaper. But have yet to try this. I bet it is delicious as I love chestnut.

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  24. Thanks for the heads up Jasmine and Edith. Will do an "off-season" mont blanc AFTER I go through some other bakes. So many things to bake and so little time!

    Thanks again gals!

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  25. thank you ellena (: it taste realy yummy!

    thank you shirley (:

    thank you for the info, edith (: if you love chestnut, you should give this a try (:

    sure alan. you're most welcome (:

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  26. Whoa, nice to have the readymade chestnut puree. Hassle free and no sweating! :o) I wish I could get those here too. Your desserts look so tempting. Am I invited? hehe... Just kidding! Enjoy your evening.
    Kristy

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  27. Whoa, nice to have the readymade chestnut puree. Hassle free and no sweating! :o) I wish I could get those here too. Your desserts look so tempting. Am I invited? hehe... Just kidding! Enjoy your evening.
    Kristy

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  28. Thanks for the heads up Jasmine and Edith. Will do an "off-season" mont blanc AFTER I go through some other bakes. So many things to bake and so little time!

    Thanks again gals!

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  29. This really sounds delicious. I love the flavor of chestnuts, so know I'd really enjoys these tiny hearts. I hope you have a great day. Blessings...Mary

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  30. got it, wen. JUST DO IT right (: hahah

    thank you pei hwa (: join wen and cathy for the hunt of it (:

    thank you jess (:

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  31. Hi Jasmine! Nice work there! Which section do you remember getting the chestnut puree from at Cold Storage? I saw some at Meidi Ya but they are freaking expensive!

    I have a tub of chestnut puree sitting in my fridge for the last 2 months and I'd been telling myself that I wanna make a Mont Blanc one of these days but haven't gotten down to do it!

    ReplyDelete
  32. thank you NEL (:
    OMG! thank you dearest!! i'll go experiment it. hopefully i dont spoil the whole expensive silpat! hahah. that's exactly the purpose of buying silpat for me as my SIL know i dread cuttin parchment (: THANK YOU (:

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  33. thank you jean! of course, is made with lots of love, from me to you :D

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  34. Cute cakes! Where you got those heart shaped cups with lids? ;)

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