#54 - Fruity Swiss Roll

Start of a new year, 2017!

I know I was not baking much for last year and this year, I hope to set things right! I really hope to keep to my resolution of uploading one recipe a week. Baking and sharing recipes are things I do to keep myself sane amidst my work and other chores. It is like a personal me-time. Since I enjoy these times so much, I promised myself that I shall work much harder to keep to this resolution of mine this year. I hope, I really hope so.

This is the second week of the year and I am starting my year with a Fruity Swiss Roll bake. I bought some really fresh good eggs from the wet market the other day and I was excited to use them in my bakes. Considering the fact that most of the eggs I used in my baking/cooking were bought from supermarket, this batch from the wet market was indeed different. They were much larger in size and the yolks were of a much fresher and brighter colour. It also gives the cake a really fragrant eggy smell when it is done. Love it! Nothing beats fresh and premium ingredients.

Will be trying out more versions of the Swiss Roll next. I think they make pretty good breakfast items as well as after-dinner dessert.

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Recipe: Adapted & modified from Ochikeron.
Free printable version of recipe - Click here 

Ingredients

Sponge Cake
Eggs (separate the yolks from the whites) - 4 nos
Milk - 40g
Corn Oil - 40g
Vanilla Bean Paste - 1/4 tsp
Flour (sifted) - 60g
Castor Sugar - 80g

Filling
Whipping Cream - 200ml
Castor Sugar - 1 tbsp
Assorted fruits of your choice (diced)
* I used kiwi, strawberries, raspberries and mangoes

Method

Sponge Cake

1. Preheat oven to 180C. Line baking tray with baking paper.

2. In a large bowl, beat egg yolks together with milk, oil and vanilla. Mix well.

3. Add in flour and fold it into the yolk mixture using a spatula. Ensure mixture is well combined and smooth. Once combined yolk mixture is done, set aside for later use.

4. In a separate mixer bowl, beat the egg whites until foamy using an electric mixer.

5. Then gradually add in sugar and continue mixing until thick and stiff peak.

6. Once it is done, fold in egg white mixture, one-third portion at a time, into yolk mixture until a well-combined batter is obtained.

7. Pour combined batter into baking tray and ensures that it is evenly spread out.

8. Tap baking tray against tabletop to remove air bubbles from batter.

9. Bake in oven at 180C for about 12 mins or until cake is lightly browned.

10. When cake is done, remove from oven and tap baking tap against tabletop to prevent shrinkage.

11. Remove sponge cake from tray and allow it to cool on cooling rack. Ensure cake is completely cooled before adding filling on the browned side of the cake.

Filling

12. To prepare the filling, combine whipped cream with sugar using electric mixer. Beat until soft peak.

13. Spread cream filling over the browned surface of the cake.

14. Top with diced fruits over the creamed surface. Leave a one-inch gap around the border.

15. Roll the cake in baking paper and cover with a layer of cling wrap. Rest the cake in fridge for at least 2 hours before slicing and serving. Best served chilled.

#28 - Mango Sago with Pomelo, 杨枝甘露

Mango Sago with Pomelo, better known as 杨枝甘露, a very popular dessert in Singapore. Somehow, this also happens to be the one dessert that I make year after year (after each Lunar New Year). Maybe it is because of my hubby's love for mangoes, or maybe it is just due to the abundance of pomelo I have at home after each Lunar New Year. Whatever it may be, there is no reason not to indulge in this sweet yet tangy dessert, especially in the hot and humid weather these days.

The only problem I have with this dessert item is having to seek for really ripe and sweet mangoes. Last year when I was making this dessert, I did not manage to find the type of mangoes I was looking for and had to settle for whatever I could find at the local supermarket. I ended up with these mangoes which were SO sour that it kind of spoilt the whole dessert for me. 

This time round, I managed to find these honey mangoes from Thailand instead. Although they were still slightly sour, but overall, they were much better. Furthermore, with the generous helpings of pomelo and creamy sago in the dessert, it was just heavenly! 

On the recipe for this dessert item, you would probably realised that for most of the recipes circulating on the internet, it is most common to have a mixture of the sago pearls, pomelo, evaporated milk/cream within the mango puree itself. However, I like mine slightly different. I separated the mango puree from the creamy sago (totally fattening I know, but yummy!) before I top up the dessert with a generous helping of mayo cubes and pomelo. Not only does that looks prettier, the creamy sago provides a smooth and rich texture to the dessert that I totally love! 

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Recipe: Adapted & modified from here.

Servings
6 - 8

Ingredients
Mango Puree Mixture
2 medium size ripe mangoes, cubed
500 ml mango juice
150 ml evaporated milk

Creamy Sago
60 grams sago pearls
200 ml Kara Coconut Cream
1/4 C dairy cream (35% fat)

Toppings
Pomelo, peeled and sacs separated
1 medium size ripe mango, cubed

Directions

1. In a saucepan of boiling water, add the sago pearls. Let it boil for 10 minutes before lowering the heat and continue to simmer until the it turns totally transparent. Strain the sago pearls through a sieve and run it under cold running water. Drain and set aside.

2. Mix the ready sago pearls with coconut cream and dairy cream. Keep it chilled in the fridge for later use.

3. To prepare the mango puree mixture, blend the mango cubes with mango juice and evaporated milk  with a blender on high speed. Make sure all the ingredients well incorporated in the mixture. When mixture is ready, set aside in the fridge for later use.

4. When ready to serve, layer the mango puree mixture at the bottom, followed by the creamy sago and lastly, top the dessert with some mango cubes and pomelo sacs according to your personal preference.

Note: Alternatively, you may also omit the use of creamy sago, and simply add the sago pearls to the mango puree mixture, mix everything thoroughly before serving.

#06 - Mango Yogurt Popsicles

On a hot sunny day, nothing beats having an icy cold popsicle to take away the heat. Don't you agree? During my last visit to the local mart, I came back with tonnes of fruits. There were mangoes, apples, kiwi, oranges, lemons, pears, grapes, banana, strawberries and raspberries. My refrigerator looks like the local fruit stall at the moment. Haha! But that's okay! Fruits are good for us right?

With the huge varieties of fruits, how can I not make something which is fruity yet cooling in this hot weather. This is a really simple recipe which does not require much work. As long as you have some mangoes and yogurt on hand, you pretty much have everything you need. 

These were the mangoes I used. As you can see, the mangoes were not fully ripe but that's okay since we are looking for a more citrus taste for our mango yogurt popsicle. A slight tint of sourness will be just fine. We wouldn't want to be using mangoes that are mushy or have brown pressed marks on them. 

When I was younger, I used to removed the skin of the whole mango before cutting it up into cubes/slices. The problem with this is that it isn't that easy to remove the whole skin of the mango. I often ended up with mushy mangoes due to over handling of the mangoes.

The better way to cut and prepare fresh mangoes for baking / desserts is to make a slice down one side (slightly off the centre) of the mango. After that, make another slice on the other side of the seed of the mango. Then, you may make vertical and horizontal cuts on the fleshy parts to get your mango cubes. Make sure when you are cutting the cubes, your knife reaches the skin but do not cut through it. You may then scoop out the cubes of mangoes with knife or a spoon easily.

For the remaining flesh around the seed, you can first thinly cut away the skin with a knife just like you are pairing an apple. Then you are remove the remaining flesh around the seed.

With these mango cubes, we are really to make our mango yogurt popsicles!

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Servings

Make 4 popsicles (depending on size of the mould)

Ingredients

2 mangoes

280g yogurt

1 tbs honey (optional)

Directions

1. Cut and prepare the mangoes. Place the removed mangoes cubes in a bowl.

2. Using a blender, blend the mango cubes and puree until a smooth blend is obtained.

3. Taste the mango puree for sweetness and add the honey, if necessary.

4. In a mixing bowl, fold in the mango puree into the yogurt using a spatula. 

5. Once the mixture if evenly folded in, pour it into the popsicle moulds. Freeze for at least 2-3 hours until the popsicles are firm. 

6. When removing popsicles from moulds, dip the moulds in a bowl of warm water. This will ensure that the popsicles come out smoothly from the moulds.