#baking ventures

I used a cake batter recipe I had and tweaked it for matcha sponge instead and used a buttercream recipe from Epicurious. 

Ingredients

Cake

150g + remove 6 tbs Flour 

2 tbs Cornflour 

4 tbs Matcha Powder

2 tsp Baking Powder

Pinch of Salt

6 Eggs

1 cup Caster Sugar

2 tsp Vanilla Extract

Filling

200g Whipping Cream

1 tsp Matcha

Strawberries, cut in half, coated in sugar if they are not sweet

Buttercream Frosting

227g Butter, softened

1 cup Milk

1/2 cup Caster Sugar

1/4 cup Sifted Flour

1 tsp Vanilla Extract

Assembly

Strawberries

White chocolate balls

Instructions

Cake Sponge

Preheat oven 180oC.

Grease two 8-inch cake pan.

In a bowl, sift flours, matcha, baking powder and salt 3 times.

Beat eggs and sugar in a large bowl till thick ribbons form.

Add vanilla.

Gently fold in flour mixture 1 tbs at a time, till fully incorporated.

Pour mixture equally into the two pans.

Bake for 25min till tooth pick inserted in the middle comes out clean. 

Unmould and cool completely on a cooling rack.

Filling

Beat cold whipping cream till stiff peaks almost form.

Mix in matcha powder.

Beat to consistency wanted and refrigerate till use.

Buttercream Frosting

Cream butter and sugar till light and fluffy.

In a small saucepan, combine 1/ cup milk, flour and vanilla extract,whisk till no lumps present.

Over medium heat, add the remaining 3/4 cup milk slowly, whisking constantly.

Cook mixture till it comes to a low boil.

Reduce heat to low and keep whisking till the mixture thickens.

Remove from heat but continue stirring the mixture till thickened.

Allow it to cool to room temperature or place it in the freezer to speed up the cooling.

Pour the milk mixture into the butter-sugar mixture.

Beat till light and fluffy.

Set aside.

Assembly

Place cut strawberries on the bottom cake layer.

Cover strawberries with whipped cream.

Place the top cake layer over.

Cover the cake with buttercream frosting and smoothen it.

Decorate the top as you wish, you may pipe the buttercream icing, add strawberries or chocolate.

I made this for christmas so I made santa strawberries

Cut the strawberry near the stem to create an even base.

Cut the tip of the strawberry off.

Place a small ball of buttercream on the cut surface of the base layer.

Place the tip of the strawberry on.

Add a drop of buttercream frosting to the tip as a “bobble”.

Add chocolate rice or ball to create the eyes.

Enjoy.

This makes a 8inch cake.

I got the recipe from Older Mommy Still Yummy.

Ingredients

1 1/2 cup Flour

1 cup Rolled Oats

1/2 cup  Caster Sugar

2 tsp Baking Powder

1 tsp Baking Soda

1/2 tsp Salt

2 Large Eggs

1/4 cup Vegetable Oil

1/4 cup Milk

3 Ripe Bananas, mashed

1/4 tsp Ground Cinnamon

Instructions

Preheat oven 200oC.

Mix the dry ingredients in a large bowl.

Form a well and add the wet ingredients.

Mix well.

Fill muffin cups to 3/4 full.

Bake for 20-25min till toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Cool on a cooling rack.

Enjoy.

I got the recipe from The Foodie Lovers.

I found that it is best eating fresh out of the oven, the bread kept overnight dried out a lot.

Ingredients

Bread

1/2 cup Milk, warmed

1 tsp Sugar

2 tsp Instant Yeast

2 3/4 to 3 cup Flour

1 tsp Salt

2 tbs Salted Butter, softened

3/4 tsp Garlic Paste

1 1/4 cup Milk, room temperature 

Extra milk for brushing

Filling

1 tbs Salted Butter, melted

2 tsp Dried Italian Herbs

Crushed Pepper & Chilli Flakes

1/2 cup Grated Cheddar Cheese

2 tbs Chopped Sundried Tomatoes

2 tbs Chopped Jalapenos

Instructions

Mix dry bread ingredients together in a big bowl.

Make a well and add the wet ingredients in, adjust the amount of milk accordingly. 

Using a dough hook, “knead” for at least 15 min, add more flour/ milk if need.

Allow the dough to proof for 1-1.5h till doubled in a warm environment.

Deflate the dough gently and roll into a large 12″x12″ square.

Brush the dough with melted butter and sprinkle the filling on.

Use the rolling pin to lightly press the filling into the dough to prevent  them from falling off.

Using a pizza cutter, slice the dough to form 6  strips.

STack the strips up with the toppings facing upwards.

Cut down the stack dividing it into 6 equal pieces (6 square stacks).

Grease a 9″x4″ loaf tin and place the dough in.

Allow the dough to proof for an hour.

Brush with some milk

Bake in a 180oC preheated oven for 30-40min.

I got the recipe from Chopstick Chronicles.

This recipe makes around 30 cookies.

Ingredients

100g Salted Butter, softened

90g Caster Sugar

1 Large Egg, egg yolk and white separated.

195g Plain Flour

5g Matcha Powder

Instructions

Measure and sift out 100g flour into a bowl.

Add matcha powder to the remaining 95g flour and sift into another bowl.

In a big bowl, cream butter & sugar till light and fluffy.

Add egg yolk and mix well. Keep the egg whites for brushing.

Divide the mixture into half (100g each).

Combine the first half with the sifted flour.

Wrap the dough formed in a clingwrap and shape into a 2x4x20cm long board.

Combine the other half of the butter mixture with the matcha flour.

Repeat 7.

Refrigerate both dough for 30min.

Brush the surface of the plain dough with egg white.

Place the matcha dough over the plain dough.

Slice the doughs in half along the long edge

Place half the dough on a clean surface and brush with egg white.

Place the other half on top, with the white/ green colour alternating.

Gently press together to form one dough.

Refrigerate for a minimum of 1 hour.

Preheat oven 180oC.

Slice the dough with a sharp knife to obtain cookies of 8mm thickness.

Bake for 20min or till the edge turns slightly golden brown.

Cool completely on a cooling rack.

Really felt like eating these, found the recipe from The Woks of Life.

It taste great when it is fresh out of the oven but dries out quite a fair bit overnight. Microwave for 10-15s prior to eating if you have kept it overnight. 

Ingredients

2/3 cup Heavy Cream, room temperature

1 cup + 1 tbs Milk, room temperature

1 Large Egg

1/3 cup Caster Sugar

1/2 cup Cake Flour

3 1/2 cup Bread Flour

7g Instant Yeast

1 1/2 tsp Salt

12 Hot Dogs

Sesame seeds

1 Egg + 1 tsp Water (Egg wash)

Instructions

In a large bowl, mix together dry ingredients.

Create a well in the middle and add the wet ingredients.

Mix with a dough hook and allow the dough hook to mix/ knead the dough for at least 15min.

Proof the dough till 1.5x the size in a warm environment (30oC)

Pour the dough out on a clean counter top and press the air out gently.

Divide the dough into 12 equal pieces.

Let the dough rest for 5 min. 

Roll each piece of dough into a 10-12 inch rope, keeping the middle thicker than the ends.

Wrap the dough around a hotdog, tucking or pinching the ends in. 

Repeat for the remaining 11.

Proof till double in size in a warm environment. 

Brush the dough with egg wash and sprinkle some sesame seeds on the top. 

Bake in a 180oC preheated oven with a water bath placed on another shelf for 15min, rotating the pan halfway through baking.

This recipe is from The Recipe Critic. 

Ingredients

Cookie Batter

3 3/4 cups Flour

1 1/2 tsp Baking Powder

1/2 tsp Ground Cinnamon

1/4 tsp Ground Nutmeg

1 cup Salted Butter, softened

1 cup Caster Sugar

1/2 cup Brown SUgar

3/4 cup Pumpkin Puree

1 Egg

2 tsp Vanilla Extract

Cheesecake Filling

226g Cream Cheese

1/4 cup Sugar

2 tsp Vanilla Extract

Cinnamon Sugar Coating

1/2 cup Caster Sugar

1 tsp Ground Cinnamon

1/2 tsp Ground Ginger

Pinch of ground Nutmeg

Pinch of Ground Cloves

Instructions

Whisk flour, baking powder, cinnamon and nutmeg together.

In a separate bowl, beat butter and sugars till light and fluffy.

Mix in pumpkin puree,eggs and vanilla.

Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients til combined. 

Chill dough for an hour.

Blend cream cheese, sugar and vanilla together.

Chill for an hour.

Preheat oven 180oC.

In a small bowl, combine sugar and spices together to make the coating.

Take a tbs of cookie batter, roll into a ball and flatten into a disc.

Place a tsp of cream cheese in the middle

Place another disc of cookie batter over the cream cheese and roll into a ball. 

Roll the ball in cinnamon sugar.

Use the bottom on a glass to gently press down on the dough ball.

Bake for 10-15min.