Inside-out German Chocolate Cake

This cake was on the cover of Gourmet/March 2000 and i fell in love with it on first sight. I had to attempt to make it. The first time i followed the recipe to the 'tee' and had difficulty spreading the filling as the method of using the oven suggested by recipe made the dulce de leche too dry.

I had a request for a german chocolate cake from my sil for his boss's birthday and i remembered that i have made a german chocolate cake before but to look for the magazine was a chore as there are so many. Decided to get one from the net, found some very interesting ones but bingo i found the one i needed and the reviews that came with this recipe was so helpful. I have altered the cake recipe to 1 1/2 times as the layers were too thin and i used the method of boiling the unopened can of condensed milk in water.

The cake took its name from an American with the last name of "German." In 1852, Sam German created the mild dark baking chocolate bar for Baker's Chocolate Co. The product was named in his honor - "Baker's German's Sweet Chocolate." Most recipes use this signature chocolate but this Gourmet recipe does not and the chef used Valrhona cocoa powder and i used Nestle.

Pay attention to the assembling of the cake or else my experience of having not enough of glaze will be repeated and the decoration became a fudge.

Ingredients:
For cake layers:
2 1/4 cups sugar
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup plus 1 1/2 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/8 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/8 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/8 teaspoon salt
1 1/8 cup whole milk
9 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
2 large egg
1 large egg yolk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
1 1/8 cup boiling-hot water

For filling:
7 oz sweetened flaked coconut
4 oz coarsely chopped pecans (1 cup)
14-oz can sweetened condensed milk
1 tablespoon vanilla

For glaze
2 1/2 sticks unsalted butter
10 oz fine-quality semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
3 tablespoons light corn syrup

Special equipment:

3 (9-inch) round cake pans

Method:

Make cake layers:

Turn oven to 350°F and bake pecans in upper third of oven and coconut in lower third, stirring occasionally until golden, by then oven should be preheated.

Oil cake pans. Line bottoms of pans with rounds of parchment or wax paper.

Sift together sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a large bowl.

Whisk together whole milk, butter, whole egg, yolk, vanilla, and almond extract in another large bowl until just combined.

Beat egg mixture into flour mixture with an electric mixer on low speed, then beat on high speed 1 minute. Reduce speed to low and beat in water until just combined (batter will be thin).

Divide batter among cake pans. knock pans to remove some air bubbles and bake in upper and lower thirds of oven, switching position of pans and rotating them 180 degrees halfway through baking, until a tester comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes total.

Cool layers in pans on racks 15 minutes. Run a thin knife around edges of pans and invert layers onto racks. Carefully remove parchment or wax paper and cool layers completely.

Make filling:

Heat a tall pot of water, enough to cover the can of unopened condensed milk and let it cook for 1 1/2 hours on low heat. When done, remove from water and allow to cool before opening. Open can and pour into a bowl, stir in coconut, pecans, and vanilla , covered with foil.

Make glaze while milk is baking:

Melt butter in a 3-quart saucepan. Remove pan from heat and add chocolate and corn syrup, whisking until chocolate is melted. Transfer 1 cup glaze to a bowl, reserving remaining glaze at room temperature in pan. Chill glaze in bowl, stirring occasionally, until thickened and spreadable, about 1 hour.

Assemble cake:

Before assembling, trim and level cakes. Put 1 cake layer on a cardboard base and then on a rack set over a baking pan (to catch excess glaze).

Use your fingers to drop half of coconut filling evenly over layer and make sure that it is spread right to the edge of cake. Top with another cake layer and spread with remaining filling in same manner. Top with remaining cake layer.

Spread chilled glaze evenly over top and side of cake.

Heat reserved glaze in pan over low heat, stirring, until glossy and pourable, about 1 minute. Pour glaze evenly over top of cake, making sure it coats sides. Shake rack gently to smooth glaze. Chill cake until firm, about 1 hour.

Transfer cake to a plate.

Cooks' notes:•

Cake keeps, covered and chilled, 3 days.

Bring to room temperature before serving.

Serves

Read More......

Wonton Wrappers

The necessity to homemake wonton wrappers is that the store bought ones are not good eats and the urge to have a good bowl of wonton soup especially during the winters when it is cold outside, a nice hot bowl of soup is so comforting.





Ingredients:

300g plain flour
2 eggs
1/2 tsp alkaline water (kan sui)
2-2 1/2 tsp (approximately) water



Method:


Put all the ingredients in a food processor and pulse until it resembles pea size crumble. Remove from food processor and knead until dough is smooth. Sprinkle a little tapioca flour on the table, place the dough over and flatten with rolling pin.Remove dough to a noodle-making machine and roll out dough to paper thin sheets. Fold the pastry into five layers. Dust each layer well with tapioca flour. Stamp out with round cutters or cut into squares. Stack up the wonton wrappers/skin in an airtight container

Serves
Read More......

Green Tea Ping Pei Mooncake

The main ingredient to make the ping pei (cold skin) is the 'koh fun' which is fried glutinous rice flour. After lengthy discussions and questions among friends as to how the packing of 'koh fun' looks like, it is not found in the biggest asian store here. For curiousity sake, decided to go ahead and make some from plain glutinous rice flour. The filling is tau sar and the recipe is Jo's recipe for carrot ping pei mooncake but i changed it to green tea. The skin is green and has no distinctive tea taste as i do not have green tea essence and this green tea powder that i used is from Korea and meant for drinking.





Ingredients:

Ping Pei Skin:
160g icing sugar, sifted
25g shortening
125g water mix with 1 tsp of green tea powder, strain)
1/2 tsp salt
50g evaporated milk
110g Koh Fun (cooked glutinous flour - method for homemade is at bottom of page), sifted twice
50g cornflour, sifted twice


Paste:
1kg tau sar paste

Method:

To prepare Ping Pei skin:

Rub shortening into icing sugar until they resemble coarse breadcrumbs.

Stir green tea into icing sugar mixture and mix well with a spatula.

Add in evaporated milk, salt, Koh Fun and cornflour. Mix to a soft and smooth dough and stand it for 10 minutes.

Cook in the microwave on high 1 min at a time until dough is cooked and stir after every minute.

Let dough cool before moulding into mooncakes


To prepare mooncake paste:

Using small mooncake moulds, divide ping pei dough to 15g - 25f(depending on your preference of whether a thicker skin is desired).

Lightly flour your hands with koh fun. Knead each portion until it is not sticky

Roll into a ball .

Divide tau sar paste into 45 - 50 gm(the square mould need slightly more) Knead each portion a little and form each into a ball .

Lightly flour (using koh fun) your hands. Flatten a ping pei dough on your palm to be a 2-inch circle. Press to make the edges thinner than the central part . Place a ball of paste. Start pushing the paste against the dough . As you push the paste, the dough will start enlarging . Wrap up the mooncake. Roll into a ball .

Lightly flour the mooncake mould. Place mooncake, seam side up, in mould. Flatten mooncake to conform to shape of mould. Bang upper, lower, left and right sides of mould to dislodge the mooncake .

Repeat to shape remaining mooncakes.

Refrigerate ping pei mooncakes for at least 1 hour before serving.

HOMEMADE 'KOH FUN'

Steam the plain glutinous rice flour for 1/2 hour.

Remove and put in a microwable glass bowl which has been lined with greaseproof paper.

Microwave on high 1 minute at a time until rice is slightly brown(time depends on the amount of rice flour)

Serves
Read More......