Christmas Charlotte

Christmas Yule Log 2015

My group5 friends met up yesterday. One of them told the story of how she knows someone who bakes every Christmas for Jesus for His birthday. I think that is such a brilliant idea!  Here is where the tradition begins. Happy birthday to Jesus. 

I did some research on Yule log. I decided to use carol's chocolate banana Swiss roll recipe.  For the chocolate powder in the recipe, I used the 100% valrhona chocolate powder. The chocolate powder made the cake dense. The outcome was actually very good. The filling was with also from carol. It was the chocolate whipped cream in the chocolate and nuts Yule log recipe. I followed the recipe but used less cream in the whipped cream part because i didn't have enough. It made the cream more stiff. The chocolate was valrhona equatorial was noire 55%. I chopped chocolate before melting it. 

Overall the taste was very good. Didn't taste like Asian cake but much less sweet. My friends really like it. I am very glad. 

Charlotte cake

Carol's chocolate cake with whipped cream. Chocolate mousse filling from 嚐滋味trinity chocolate cake with strawberry. 

Genoise

CL recipe. Do not beat eggs over simmering water. Just turn off the heat and take the boiling water away from the stove. Beat for a few minutes and feel the temperature w finger. Make sure it is warm to touch. Take the hot water away and start beating. With handheld mixer, beat for about 15 minutes to get a stable egg batter. Use whisk or rubber spatula to add flour in two or three additions. Heat milk and oil by putting them in a bowl over the hot water used earlier. Make sure the removable bottom disk used in the cake pan is light weight. 

This cake wasn't easy for me. Two years ago it gave me tennis elbow. I am glad I still remember how to make it. 

紅茶戚風蛋糕Tea chiffon cake

I used royal blend tea from Fortnum & Mason in this chiffon roll cake. I grounded the tea to add to the batter. The infused tea also adds strong flavor to the cake. The recipient of this cake said it was perfect. Thank you J. 

CL and http://phuny.pixnet.net/blog/post/17538986-%E8%91%9B%E9%9B%B7%E4%BC%AF%E7%88%B5%E7%B4%85%E8%8C%B6%E6%88%9A%E9%A2%A8%E8%9B%8B%E7%B3%95

Matcha Swiss roll

Rose cake

My first rose cake. It is a filled with strawberry and piped with whipped cream frosting. The frosting is more stabilized than just whipped cream because cream cheese is added. It is very easy to pipe with this frosting. 

Fresh cream and fruits

Baking lesson in Taiwan - 鏡面巧克力蛋糕