Tokyo Desserts

This cake is a bit unique with the addition of milk and salad oil to the recipe. These two ingredients add additional moisture that makes this a perfect dessert.

Recipe

Egg whites (room temperature) 450 grams

Granular Sugar 150 grams

Flour 150 grams 

Salt 1/2 teaspoon

Milk 6 tablespoons

Salad oil 6 tablespoons 

1. Sift together the salt and flour into a bowl. In a separate bowl, mix together the milk and salad oil.
2. Whip the eggs whites with a hand mixer for 3 - 4 minutes then add the sugar in 3 – 4 portions and mix until soft peaks form. Do not over mix.
3. Use spatula and mix in the flour in portions. Lastly, add the milk/oil mixture and mix thoroughly.
4. Spoon the batter into a large size chiffon cake pan (do NOT butter the inside of the pan). Preheat the oven to 170 C. and place the baking pan into the oven. Bake for 20 – 25 minutes depending on your oven.

Creamy chocolate mousse with raspberry gelatin

Winter is my season of choice for baking with chocolate. My house is not well insulated so it is chilly even with the heat on so basically a good place to work with chocolate.

In this recipe you need to combine the warm chocolate with the warm anglais - keeping both at about the same temperature - and the room temperature can effect how these two mix together.

This recipe does have several steps to it but you can make it a day ahead if you want to have it for a special dinner.

I used an 18 cm x 6 cm baking ring to make this cake.

Cake

The cookies kept their shape during baking

I was dying to try one of the rolling pins with the cut out etchings. After a little comparison between Amazon and Etsy, I decided on the one from Etsy due to price and of course since it was Christmas I bought the holiday theme.

My feedback on using one of these rolling pins is that you need to roll the dough using a regular rolling pin first and then just do a last roll over the dough with the one that has the decoration. Lightly flour the decorated rolling pin & dough before starting. Last step is to cut the cookies to the shape you want.

I think that the more intricate the design on the rolling pin then more of a chance for the dough to  stick into the crevices. My recommendation is don't by a rolling pin with super small etchings.

Also, you need a good cookie dough that will roll out without being too sticky and will hold its shape during baking. The recipes below for spice cookies meets both of  these.

Christmas and cookies, the two just go together. It is hard for me to decide my favorite cookie, however, at Christmas I really love anything that tastes like gingerbread. Even though these cookies aren't gingerbread, they are a close second. Not only do they taste delicious but they look so darn delicious as well. The white sugar powder looks like chocolate buried in fresh snow.

I know you are eager to get baking so let's skip the story and get right to baking. Preparation time for these cookies is only about 30 minutes - just add a little more time for the dough to chill in the refrigerator and then they will be ready for a quick bake.  Happy Baking & Merry Christmas to you and you and your family.

1. In a bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, and other dry ingredients including the sugar.
2. In another bowl, mix together the eggs, instant coffee and vanilla using a small whisk.
3. Melt the chocolate in a bowl over a pan of simmering hot water. After melting, remove from the heat and add in the butter in pieces and mix with a whisk.
4. Add the egg mixture to the melted chocolate in portions using a small whisk. Next, add the flour mixture in several portions and mix with a spatula.
5. Cover and put in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes or until the mixture becomes firm.
6. Remove from the refrigerator and use a teaspoon to scoop a small amount of dough - about 10 - 12 grams - and roll into a ball. Roll each ball in granular sugar and then the powdered sugar before placing on the baking sheet.
7. Bake at 170° C for 15 – 18 minutes. Remove from the baking sheet to cool before serving.

Amazon Japan

Amazon.com

It's that time of the year again -- Christmas. I make a gingerbread house each year since I love the decoration for the house and it fills the kitchen with wonderful smells.

The basics of a good house is gingerbread which won't become weak and icing which is solid. Think of the icing as cement for the house. I always add a little powdered egg white or Wilton's Meringue Powder when making the icing. I am not a full time cookie decorator so I always struggle with decoration. I know some basic techniques from the Wilton classes so I  keep my house decoration fairly basic.

My Gingerbread House book sold on Amazon Japan (日本語) and Amazon US (日本語) and provides detailed instructions on how to make the house and recipes for both the gingerbread and the icing. There are also a few other Christmas dessert recipes for cookies and other holiday desserts.

Grab a few family members or friends and take time in December to enjoy a delicious and fun baking get together.

In Japan everyone loves Christmas cakes with BIG decoration. Fresh fruits, whipped cream, chocolate and other decorations are usually used for these special cakes. Gingerbread and fruit cakes are not so popular in Japan at Christmas.

For some early Christmas practice, I baked a chocolate cake and decorated with cream cheese icing and chocolate topping. The chocolate is tricky to get the right temperature so that it drizzles down the cake with the right mouth watering look. The cake was a little cool so the chocolate cooled down as soon as it hit the icing which slowed down the chocolate flow.

The cake is a basic chocolate cake recipe which is easy to put rather together quickly. The cream cheese icing is also quite fast to make, however, if you aren't familiar with icing a cake that can be challenging. A palette knife can make the job of icing much easier. The chocolate has a small amount of gelatin so that it stays firm.

Chocolate Cake

200 grams sugar
200 grams flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
100 grams butter
180 grams sweet chocolate (chopped)

1. In a bowl, sift together the flour and baking powder. In a separate bowl, measure the butter and melt over a saucepan filled with hot water.
2. In another bowl, put the chocolate over a saucepan of hot simmering water and melt.
3. In a large bowl, whip the eggs with a hand mixer and gradually add the sugar. Mix on medium speed until the batter is a light yellow color and slightly thickened. This may take a few minutes but don't skip this step.
4. After the batter is well mixed, add the flour mixture and mix on low speed until well mixed. Next add the melted butter in portions and mix on low speed.
5. Lastly, add the chocolate in portions and mix with a spatula.
6. Prepare 2 round baking pans (20 cm round) and lightly butter and flour each of them.
7. Pour the batter evenly between both pans and bake at 180 degrees Celsius for about 40 minutes. Check if done by using a toothpick.
8. When finished baking, cool thoroughly.

Cream Cheese Icing
200 grams cream cheese (room temperature)
40 grams butter (room temperature)
125 grams powdered sugar

1. In a large bowl, mix the butter and powdered sugar with a hand mixer on low until well mixed. Then gradually add the cream cheese in pieces and continue to mix.
2. You can add some flavoring to complement the chocolate like vanilla.

Chocolate Topping
40 grams water
40 grams milk
45 grams sugar
25 grams cocoa powder
2 grams gelatin (softened)

1. Heat the water, milk, sugar and cocoa powder in a saucepan until just lightly boiling. Turn off the heat and add the gelatin. Pour into a bowl to cool. The chocolate should be a little thickened to when pouring on the cake.

Putting everything together
1. Put the bottom piece of the cake on a plate cut the top so that it is flat. Spread some icing on the top add a little strawberry jam on top of the icing (don't spread the jam to the end of the cake though).
2. Place the second piece of cake on top and then spread the remaining icing on the cake using a palette knife. Recommendation is to icing the cake once with about half of the icing and then place in the refrigerator for about 15 minutes. Remove from the refrigerator and use the rest of the icing to icing the cake.
3. Starting from the center of the cake, start pouring the chocolate and use a spoon to distribute it evenly on top of the cake and so that it gradually starts to drip down the sides.
4. Decorate the cake with fresh cream and fruit as you like.

I found two great combinations - white chocolate and pumpkin. This is a bit of a nontraditional dessert for Halloween but it is always good to update the recipe box. The white chocolate is made into a mousse and combined with a soft pumpkin flavored cake and delicious pumpkin flavored gelatin.

This cake has several steps to it but don't despair since the end result is well worth it. If you are looking for short cuts you can also buy the cake that sits on the bottom.

Let's get to it. Put on some good music and set aside a couple of hours for this one.

This recipe is enough for a 18 cm x 6 cm baking ring

I always try to bake to match the season. To me, it doesn't make sense to to buy expensive fruits such as mangoes in January or to make chocolate desserts in the heat of the summer. If you enjoy each of the seasons and the fruits and vegetables that are available, then you can stay better in tune with the nature around you.

Sweet potatoes are easily available throughout the year in Japan, but to me they remind me of fall and winter. Many of the supermarkets in Japan have a display of sweet potatoes at the entrance of the vegetable section and they also usually have warm baked ones available for sale. The smell of warm baked sweet potatoes can hit you as you enter the store and starts your taste buds watering. On a cold evening it is hard to resist putting one in your shopping basket.

Enough about shopping and the seasons, let's get to the baking.



1. Sift the flour into a bowl. Cut butter into small cubes and mix with the flour using a pastry cutter (use a food processor if you have one). Butter should be well mixed with the flour.

2. Add the egg, sugar, salt & water and mix. Put dough on a smooth surface and knead gently until it is soft and well mixed.

3. Cover in plastic wrap and put in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour before using.

50 grams almond powder
50 grams powdered sugar
50 grams soft butter
5 grams flour
1 egg
5 grams dark rum
1. Mix the butter and powdered sugar. Add the egg and mix. Add the almond powder, flour & rum. Mix well.

1 sweet potato (baked, peeled & sliced about 300 grams)
1/2 sweet potato thinly sliced (these pieces will be boiled)
30 grams butter
1 tablespoon brown sugar
15 grams honey
10 grams dark rum
2 egg yolks
100 grams fresh cream

1. In a bowl, soften the butter then add the brown sugar, honey, rum & egg yolks. Mix well with a whisk.

2. Boil the sliced sweet potatoes in water (add 1 tablespoon sugar to the water) until they are soft. Do not over  boil  or they will break apart.

3. Add the 300 grams sweet potato to #1. You can use a food processor to mix together or a fork. Slowly, add the cream. To remove the lumps, you can  put the mixture through a sieve. 

4. Roll the dough to fit the tart pan and cut off any extra. Fill the bottom with sweet potato filling the cover with almond cream (do not add too much). Arrange the sliced sweet potatoes on top in a nice circle pattern.

5. Bake at 170 degrees Celsius for 10 minutes then reduce to 160 degrees and bake for 40 minutes until browned. 

Step away from the flour and the oven and fill your shopping basket with summer fruit. While it is warm outside, change to cool and lighter foods and enjoy the delicious summer fruits.

Serving colorful fruit is a great excuse to make a trip to the shops to buy new dishes to complement  the fruit. My kitchen cabinets are bulging with dishes of every shape and color so not much room for new ones.  I found these cute watermelon cups at Cotta.co.jp (Japanese only) several years ago and I  noticed that the design has been slightly updated now. I have bought many cute seasonal dishes from this site and I always need to use restraint whenever I shop there.

The fruit paired with a scoop or two of ice cream makes a great summer dessert. Enjoy it while the weather is hot.

Spooky Cake in a Jar

It's never too early to start planning for Halloween. It's not just about being spooky, but the dessert also has to taste good.

I am always looking for new and interesting desserts and I found a great idea on I Am Baker. She gave me the inspiration for this Halloween cake in a jar dessert.

The dessert is quite easy to make. You just need to use your imagination and decorating skills to create a beautiful cake.

This recipe is enough for 4 290 ml jars (I used Weck)

Icing Decoration
10 grams butter (soft)
10 grams powdered sugar
10 grams egg white
10 grams flour

1. Whisk the butter and the powdered sugar, add the egg white then add the flour. Add black coloring.

Outline the decoration inside the jar

My friend's finished house

 
I still enjoy making and decorating gingerbread houses at Christmas. The first step is to make a template for the house you want to make. This is your chance to be design the house of your dreams!! My advice is to keep it simple though.

The gingerbread recipe below is very crispy and does not become soft easily. Good for making houses, not so good for making cookies.

Secondly, you need icing which is not too wet so that it dries relatively quick and the house can stay together.



Recipe makes 1 medium size house:
Sugar　85 grams
Baking powder 2 grams
Salt 3 grams      
Molasses (light or dark) 125 grams
Ground ginger 1 gram
Cinnamon 1 gram
Flour 325 grams
Water 25 grams


1. Mix the first seven ingredients in a bowl until well blended.  Add the flour and water next. Continue to mix until dough forms.

Cut the dough in shape of the template

2. Roll the dough directly onto the cooking sheet and cut out patterns using the gingerbread house template.
3. Cut the gingerbread with a sharp knife working from the inside out.  This means, if there are windows, etc. cut them first.  Then cut the sides.  Bake at 180 Celsius for about 15 minutes. Check for hardness. If soft, bake again for several minutes.



The house is ready to be baked

 


1. Combine powdered sugar and meringue powder. Add the water and beat until it becomes fluffy. Icing should be able to hold its shape when piped.



1. Prepare a piece of cardboard covered with foil for the base. Make a line with the icing on the foil where the house will be put. Start with the back of the house and continue with the sides.

2. Place the back of the house along the back icing line. Then place one of the sides next to the back of the house and put a line of icing along the side to hold the two pieces together. Repeat the same process for the other side.

Chocolate cake with pumpkin cream filling

Time for Halloween decoration.
This roll cake is filled with pumpkin cream and a few pumpkin seeds. I added cinnamon, allspice and nutmeg to the pumpkin puree so it has a tasty pumpkin pie taste to it.

This recipe is fairly quick to put together but if another person is available to help it will go even that much quicker.

This decoration will be piped on top of parchment paper and then the cake itself will be poured over the decoration before baking.  For decorations, either draw on your own or use cookie cutters to make shapes and trace.

Decorations are ready

Decoration: