Announcement

This site will be migrating to a new address.
Please visit me at @Køkken and change your subscription to this blog to my RSS Feed

You Will Be Redirected!

Please do not leave any more messages on this blog. I will not be publishing or responding to any more comments left here. You will be automatically redirected to http://www.atkokken.com All posts have been migrated. You will be able to locate any posts by performing a quick search at my new site. Thank you.

Saturday, June 5, 2010

Marron Chiffon Cake - 栗のシフォンケーキ


Marron Chiffon 11

Marron Chiffon 8

Marron Chiffon 7

Marron Chiffon 3

The Chiffon Cake is decidedly my favourite cake. I favour it because it is light, cottony and low fat. I believe there are many out there who like this cake for the same reason as I do. I am quite confident in whipping up a basic chiffon - the basic pandan chiffon, orange chiffon etc do not intimidate me. However, as with most meringue based confectionery, the chiffon can become fickle and delicate when you try to disturb it.

I strive to be adventurous when I cook/bake and with the chiffon, I always have to brace myself for failures when I try something new. I've had my fair share of frustrations when I tried to introduce fresh fruits into the recipe. Chocolate, too destabilise the egg white and I remember baking 3 chocolate chiffon cakes, one after another, before I managed to get an intact, chocolate rich airy chiffon cake.

It has been quite a while since I last baked a chiffon cake and it was only when I saw the can of Marron Puree which I had bought in Japan last year, that I was prompted to re-visit the chiffon cake again. One of my favourite chiffon cake recipe book is Chiffon Cake Special Recipe by Kozawa Noriko (小沢のり子) . There are 25 recipes in the book and non-of them are plain chiffon cake. The Marron Chiffon Cake tries to recreate the Mont Blanc using a chiffon cake base. Incorporated into the cake is a blend of Marron Puree, Marron Paste and cooked Chestnut. Noriko had frosted the chiffon with whipped cream before topping it off with Marron Puree whipped cream.  I have decided to do away with the frosting as I do not want to risk ruining the cake with my lousy frosting skills.

The challenge of introducing solids into a chiffon is ensuring the meringue stays stable -otherwise, it may give way to huge voids upon baking. I don't like to add baking powder or cream of tartar when I bake my chiffon - I have this TWISTED VIEW that using baking powder and cream of tartar in a chiffon cake is cheating... but that is just me, no offense intended. Call me a chiffon cake purist but that is how I like my chiffon cake - I like to stare intensely at the egg white while they are being whipped to the right stiffness. And because I like my chiffon cake to have a soft and moist texture, I need to be very careful not to beat the meringue into spiky stiffness. The meringue should be beaten to yield firm peaks - firm enough to support the weight of the bubble whisk but still yield a slightly droopy hook at the end of the peak - that is my end point cue.

Marron Chiffon 12

Marron Chiffon 10

This is my first attempt at the Marron Chiffon and apart from 2 visible small holes on the cake surface, I would say that this has been a successful attempt. I am a little suprised by the elegant taste that the Marron paste and puree have imparted to the cake - made all the more pleasant with the Marron puree cream. Also, I believe I can try to use more cooked chestnut bits to yield a more fulfilling bite next time.

My next chiffon cake challenge? I have not quite decided yet. 4 down (Blueberry, Murasaki Imo, Marron and Pumpkin) - 21 more to go.

Marron Chiffon 13(100)

Recipe

Meringue
Egg White 110g
Sugar 55g
Corn Startch 5g

Egg Yolk Base

Egg Yolk 40g
Water  50g
Canola Oil  40g
Marron Paste  35g
Marron Puree  35g
Flour  55g
Diced Cooked Chestnut  90g

Cream
Fresh cream   20g
Marron Puree 20g

Method  :

1. Preheat oven to 160C.

2.In a mixing bowl,  add egg yolk, water and oil. Beat mixture at low speed until foamy. Add in Marron paste and puree.  Add flour and continue beating at low speed until thick and gluey.Fold in diced marron.

3. In a seperate mixing bowl, whip egg white until foamy. Add the sugar and cornstarch mixture in 3 additions. Whip egg white until firm but not stiff. I generally whip the egg white until the tip of the foam would still droop a little. The foam should be able to support the weight of your bubble whip.

4. Add 1/3 of meringue into egg & flour batter. Fold well to mix.

5. Stir remaining meringue to ensure no separation. Add half of the remaining meringue into (4). Fold carefully to combine.

6. Add all remaining meringue to (5) and fold carefully to combine.

7. Pour into a 17cm chiffon pan. Bake at 160C for 15 mins.

8. Remove from oven and immediately invert chiffon pan to cool.

9. Cool down completely before removing cake from pan. Slice the cake and serve with whipped marron cream.

23 comments:

Quinn said...

They look great despite adding solids into them. You must have treated them like little babies and were very gentle with the folding! This is the problem with me, when I see recipes that ask for eggs to measured in gram, I skipped it! It's just me, you're fine, which is why you baked such chiffon to perfection!

Angie's Recipes said...

The chiffon cake looks so fluffy and smooth. You have done a really good job in folding and baking.

Zurin said...

Can u believe that I have never baked a chiffon cake. Im nt sure why...I think its just that I like moist rich dense cakes as opposed to light airy cakes...but i know chiffon cakes are lovely n moist.i think I will try one soon though..lovely pics..the cake looks so light and airy..

hannah @ thepastrykook said...

looks fabulous! i now see the need to conquer my fear of chiffon!

ann low said...

This is definitely a keeper, looks so soft and moist.

Edith said...

Your chiffon cake looks terrific. So light and fluffy. I am going to give this a try soon.

Passionate About Baking said...

Hi Shirley,
Thanks for sharing this chiffon recipe. I love chiffons, just like you. However, I'm not as patient as you to keep trying. I tend to get disappointed at a recipe, especially from baking books, if I failed. However, if it's from blogs where the bloggers have tried it, I'll have more confidence. :p I shall try your chiffon cake someday. Can't wait for your other experiments. :p

Happy Homebaker said...

Hi Shirley, I am currently reading this same book :) I am attracted to this Marron chiffon cake but too bad I don't think it is easy to get the marron paste here. Anyway, I am very satisfied just by staring at your chiffon cake :D

Carolyn Jung said...

I bet the chestnuts do give this cake a real sophistication. What a lovely creation you've come up with!

Shirley @ Kokken69 said...

Hi HHB, you can get the puree and cooked chestnut at Cold Storage.

WendyinKK said...

The names of the stuff that you use are getting more and more sophisticated....
:)

Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella said...

It's why you're a chiffon purist that we adore you! :D I love chestnuts and this sounds like a fabulous flavour for a chiffon cake!

Aaron John said...

That cake looks super light and fluffy!! YUM!!
Would you mind checking out my blog? :D http://ajscookingsecrets.blogspot.com/

tigerfish said...

You are a real baker! Certainly, I love chiffon cake for the same reasons as you :) .....

Big Boys Oven said...

wow this is a lovely bake, I love the way you infise marooon into it, just perfect for me. I would have finishing them in a day! :)

Happy Homebaker said...

Thanks for telling me that! will look for it :)

Y said...

I love that you're such a purist about your chiffon cakes :) This one looks particularly wonderful and tasty!

Cher said...

Hi Shirley,

I noticed the ingredients call for Marron paste and puree. May I know what is the difference?

Shirley @ Kokken69 said...

Hi Cheryl, the puree usually has about 10% sugar added and hence is wetter(sugar retains moisture). The paste is primarily mashed chestnut. Both the cooked chestnut and chestnut puree are available from Cold Storage. I couldn't get chestnut paste so I just mashed up the cooked chestnut.

M. said...

this looks great...I've never had or heard of marron cake, so I'm really curious how it taste like :)

Anonymous said...

Hi Shirley,
I'm new to baking so would ask you a stupid Q. What is Marron paste n puree? Is it Chestnut puree n paste? Can show e sample to c? As for Diced Cooked Chestnut is it buy from ready pkt type? Thanks in advance.

Best Rgds
pinky

Shirley @ Kokken69 said...

Hello Pinky, your questions are not stupid - don't worry. Many people don't know what Marron paste are. Marron is actually chestnut. The Marron puree is sweetned with 10% sugar and looks like kaya. I have seen this at Cold Storage and you can also get it at Sun Lik at Seah Street(next to Raffles hotel). Marron paste is just mashed chestnut. I couldn't find this but I did find the cooked chestnut at Cold Storage.The brand is Epicure and I show the chestnuts in my photos. To save time, just go to Cold Storage. You will find both. Try to get to a Cold Storage in an expat neighbourhood e.g. Orchard or Holland V.

Michael said...

This recipe is definitely one of the best cakes I have tried making in a very long time. I have served this in my officemates and they loved it! I would like to try this one again. It also goes well with a hot cup of coffee. Too bad my coffee maker broke down, now I gotta find some espresso spare parts Kudos!

LinkWithin

Related Posts with Thumbnails