Chinese Cake

The perfect sponge cake:  How many of you have had the chinese roll cakes or birthday cakes purchased from an asian bakery?  Aren't they the lightest, softest, most moist, and perfectly lightly sweetened cakes you have ever eaten?  I know that I can eat a huge slice and not feel full.  A buttercream frosting would be too heavy for this cake.  A filling and frosting of whipped cream and fruits is all it needs.  This cake is pretty much my "go to" cake base for all asian birthday cakes and strawberry shortcakes.  It can be flavoured with extracts, fruit purees, green tea or pandan.

For over 30 years I would drive out to the east end of Montreal and purchase a cake for all my special occasions, from birthdays, anniversaries, children's full month, Mother's Day or just because I felt like I needed one.  It was also the same cake that all friends and families bought for their birthdays and special events.  Have you heard of the saying "Too much of a good thing is a bad thing"?  We stopped buying it because it wasn't special anymore.  Fast forward 30 years and I took a baking class from this bakery.  Because of this class, it then motivated me to take a 1 year pastry course!  I now have the coveted recipe for the Chinese cake and can jazz it up with different flavours and decorations to make it special for any occasion or cravings I have.

Such a simple cake can make such beautiful cakes!

Makes 1 x 8" x 14" pan for cake roll or 1 x 8" x 3" or 1 x9" round cake.  I like the resulting height of an 8"x3" round cake pan as it cuts and gives 3 nice cake layers.

Ingredients:

85g    egg yolks (approx 4 XL eggs or 5 large eggs)

25g    sugar

45g    oil

45g    milk

85g    cake flour

1g      salt

1 tsp  vanilla extract (or any other flavour)

170g  egg whites (approx 5 XL eggs or 6 large eggs)

85g    sugar

Method:

1) Preheat oven to 325F

2) Mix egg yolks with sugar.  Mix in oil.  Mix in milk.  Sift in flour and salt and mix.  Mix in any flavouring.

3) Whisk egg whites, adding sugar in 3 batches, at medium high speed until firm peaks.  Lower speed and continue beating for a couple of minutes to medium peaks.

4) Fold in egg whites, in 2 to 3 batches, into the egg yolk batter, until no whites are visible.

5) Bake in a parchment lined pan for 30-40 minutes until inserted toothpick is clean.

Adapted from Patissierie Legault

Chinese Dumplings

Teamwork!!!  I never thought to make dumpling skins from scratch until we made Chinese dumplings at my pastry school to celebrate the Chinese New Year.  All the Asian classmates got together and made a variety of dumplings for our class.  The fillings and styles of wrapping were different but the dough was basically the same with the only difference was whether hot or cold water was used.  The non-Asian classmates would help out between turns of their Danish pastry dough because the class must go on!  All the dumpling dough was rolled out by hand and cut out with a ring.  I wish I had a picture to commemorate the event that started me on my homemade dumpling journey.

                                                

The experience brought back memories of my childhood when the Loo family would all make “fun guo” (steamed pork dumplings) around the kitchen table.  Patriarch and Matriarch Loo made the best tasting dumplings.  They made sure that the ingredients were of quality and with ingredients that all the children enjoyed - shrimp, pork and chinese shiitaki mushrooms.  I’m salivating just thinking of the translucent pockets filled with savoury and juicy shrimp and meat fillings.  The Loo girls would make the dumplings and the Loo boys would eat them.  Teamwork!!!  At that time we used a tortilla press to flatten the dough.  Now I’m using the kitchenaid pasta dough roller to flatten out the dough.  Seriously, why roll by hand when I have access to a machine that will help make sure the wrappers are consistent in size and thickness.

The below recipe is not the translucent wrapper or filling from my childhood.  Once I find one I’ll certainly write it down and we can have a Loo family dumpling day!  The filling can really be anything you like.  Go wild!  Go crazy!  Go enjoy the fruits of your labour!  It’s definitely an all day event when doing this alone.  I didn't mind because it is for family and so relaxing while listening to oldies music.

The recipe below makes about 150 dumplings. 

FILLING:

Ingredients:

1.3kg of ground pork

200g of chopped raw shrimps

4 dried chinese mushrooms

15g light soya sauce

15g cooking wine

20g salt

30g sugar

300g water (or water from the soaked mushrooms)

3 eggs

Dark soya sauce

Sesame oil

Oil

Method:

Wash and soak the chinese mushrooms.  Chop the mushrooms.  Combine the marinade ingredients and then pour over the ground pork.  Using a kitchenaid, with the paddle attachment, beat at medium low / medium speed until all the ingredients are combined and liquid absorbed.  Add in the shrimps and mushrooms and continue to beat.  Let sit for 30 minutes.

WRAPPERS:

Ingredients:

1000g AP Flour

560g warm water

Extra flour for dusting

Method:

In a large bowl, mix in the warm water with flour.  Once, more or less combined, turn out onto the table and knead until a smooth ball.  Cover and let rest for 30 minutes.  Cut into 4 pieces and wrap 3 in plastic wrap.  Dust table top with flour and roll dough into a sausage.  Flatten out and pass the dough through the pasta roller, passing twice for each thickness, starting at 1, then 2, then 3, and finally to 4.  I like the thickness of 4 but you can go to 5.  Cut using a 3 ¼” / 8cm ring (glass cup or whatever you have on hand).  Flour well between layers

ASSEMBLY:

The easiest way is to make half moon shaped dumplings.  Take a dumpling wrapper, wet half of the edge with water, put a full teaspoon of filling in the middle of the wrapper and fold over the wrapper so that the dry edge meets the wet edge.  Press the edges down.  Another way is to use a gyoza mold.  Lay on dumpling on a parchment lined tray that has been well floured to prevent the dumplings from sticking.  Cover with plastic wrap to prevent the skin from drying as you continue making the rest of dumplings.  You can freeze the dumplings on the tray.  Once completely frozen, transfer to a plastic container or bag.  Dumplings can be boiled or pan fried.

Galettes des Rois

Better than the bakery!  Seriously…This is such an easy pie to make using store bought puff pastry!  Don't get me wrong.  There is nothing like home made puff pastry dough, but store bought puff pastry dough is a great compromise given the savings in time and effort.  The one I like best is the PC butter puff pastry dough.  The third ingredient listed after wheat flour and water is BUTTER!!!!!  Unfortunately my relationship with butter is not equal.  I love butter but butter doesn't always love me.  I have noticed that my jeans are starting to get a little snug!  

After my brother-in-law bought this galette/tart/cake at a pastry shop on New Year’s Eve, it reminded me that I had seen this recipe before and thought it looked like something I can handle.  I also needed something to make since I had 10 boxes of butter puff pastry sitting in my freezer that I purchased, on special, for $2.48 a box!!!  At that price why would anyone make puff pastry from scratch at home?!??

Most recipes I found called for a little bit of rum but I replaced it with almond extract.  Also because I like my desserts less sweet, the sugar was also reduced from 100g to 85g.  Use an almond instead of a ceramic figurine to avoid anyone from cracking a tooth if they aren't careful.  Not sure if the family was just being nice, but it was mentioned by many that it was better than the purchased Galette des Rois because there was more filling, it wasn't too sweet and it was oh so warm and BUTTERY!!

To help with cutting the circles, I used the base of a 9” springform pan to cut out the puff pastry dough for the bottom, a 10” pizza pan as a template for the top circle of the pie, and the 9” springform pan ring to neatly and cleanly cut the edges after the galette was assembled.  

Who says it needs to be round?  To reduce wastage of the puff pastry dough I made rectangles too and call it an almond tart.  Just as yummy!!!

GALETTE DES ROIS

INGREDIENTS:

Pastry:

450g of puff pastry (1 box with 2 sheets)

Almond filling:

100g of softened butter

85g of sugar

2 large eggs

100g of almond powder

½ tsp of almond extract

Pinch of salt

1 whole almond

Egg wash:

1 egg yolk

1 tsp milk

Method:

• Roll out the puff pastry and cut out 2 circles using a 9” springform pan and 10” pizza pan as a template.  Lay out each on parchment paper and refrigerate for 30 minutes.  The 9” will be the bottom and 10” will be the top.
• In a stand mixer with paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar for 5 minutes.  Add eggs one at a time beating after each egg. Add almond powder, almond extract and salt and beat until well combined.  Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
• When ready to assemble, lay out the 9” pastry circle on a sheet covered with parchment paper.  Spoon the prepared almond paste onto the middle of the circle and, using an offset spatula (or back of spoon), start spreading the almond paste from the middle to 1” from the edge of the pastry.
• Place the whole almond on the top, near the edge of the almond paste.
• Brush warm water along the exposed edge of the puff pastry.
• Using the 10” pastry circle, cover the almond paste and lightly smooth the top and press down on the edges to seal.  Using a 9” springform pan ring (or 9" ring), center the ring to use as a guide to cut the excess pastry dough from the edges.
• Using back of knife, create dimples along the edges about 1 finger width apart.  Score the top into a simple design.  Pierce 5 holes in the top to let the steam out. Refrigerate for 30 minutes (at this point you can refrigerate or freeze).  
• Preheat oven to 375F.  Egg wash the top, avoiding the edges as it will affect the pastry’s ability to puff (rise).  Bake for 30 minutes.

Adapted from: http://www.davidlebovitz.com/galette-des-rois-kings-cake-recipe/