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When I was growing up, cakes did not look anything like what we see today - we almost never saw anything with fresh cream and one can totally forget about intricate entremets. What we had then were rustic, simple and predictable. I recall that we would always look forward to marriage celebrations among family friends, waiting for the day when they would personally deliver the red invitation card and the box of engagement cake. Yes, those were strange times when the bride/ groom family would be running around distributing dozens of boxes of cakes and wedding invitation cards. Depending on how close one is to the family, one may get either one or two boxes of wedding cakes.
The contents of those cake boxes were almost always the same- typically an assortment of 10 slices of sponge cakes frosted with delicious butter cream. Some would be crusted with chocolate rice, others would be dotted with colourful jams. Quite often, the ones with chocolate would get snapped up first after which we would reach for those topped with jams... The tradition has become simplified over the years. Nobody runs around distributing cakes on their engagement day anymore. Instead these have been replaced by cake vouchers which one can redeem from the bakery stores.
When I spotted these in Alex Goh's Creative Making Of Cakes, I knew that I would have to make these just to revisit childhood nostalgia. My cake is not completely the same as what we used to have.The sponge cake is more refined, the butter cream is fluffier and lighter and the jam tasted less artificial than what I used to have 30 years ago...(even though I tried to buy the cheapest jam I could find off the supermarket shelf) but it still managed to give me flash backs of those pink floral cake boxes tied with raffia ribbon and those lacquered red invitation cards...gosh, I have not seen those in ages!
If you are from the same era as I am, you will love this. Memories are the world's most potent ingredients...
Jam Topping Cake (Adapted From Alex Goh's Creative Making of Cakes)
Recipe
(A)
150g Sugar ( A tad sweet, I would reduce this to 120g next time)
15g Cake Emulsifier
(B)
5 Eggs
130g Flour
1tsp Baking powder
(C)
40ml Water
(D)
85g Melted butter
Desiccated coconut
Strawberry jam
Butter cream for frosting. I used left over butter cream from here.
Method:
1. Preheat oven to 190C. Mix (A) until well blended in a mixing bowl. Add (B) into the same bowl and start to whisk with balloon whisk until thickened.
2. Add (C) and continue to whip until light and fluffy. (ribbon stage - with the help of the cake emulsifier, this can be achieved very quickly and it stays very stable)
3. Fold in (D) and mix till well blended.
4. Pour the batter into a 12 inch square tin lined with parchment paper.
5. Bake at 190C for 20mins.
6. Remove from oven. Lift cake out of baking pan (so you should cut the parchment paper such that it overflows and allow you to grip the edges to lift the cake out of the tin) and leave to cool on a wire rack.
7. Peel off parchment paper when cake is completely cooled. Cut into 2 equal slices.
8. Sandwich the 2 slices together with butter cream.
9. Using a 3 inch round cutter and cut the cakes into rounds. (alternatively, you can just slice into rectangular slices which will reduce wastage)
10. Coat the outside of the rounds with butter cream and cover with desiccated coconut.
11. Pipe a ring of butter cream at the top of the cakelet. Fill center with your favourite jam.
When I was growing up, cakes did not look anything like what we see today - we almost never saw anything with fresh cream and one can totally forget about intricate entremets. What we had then were rustic, simple and predictable. I recall that we would always look forward to marriage celebrations among family friends, waiting for the day when they would personally deliver the red invitation card and the box of engagement cake. Yes, those were strange times when the bride/ groom family would be running around distributing dozens of boxes of cakes and wedding invitation cards. Depending on how close one is to the family, one may get either one or two boxes of wedding cakes.
The contents of those cake boxes were almost always the same- typically an assortment of 10 slices of sponge cakes frosted with delicious butter cream. Some would be crusted with chocolate rice, others would be dotted with colourful jams. Quite often, the ones with chocolate would get snapped up first after which we would reach for those topped with jams... The tradition has become simplified over the years. Nobody runs around distributing cakes on their engagement day anymore. Instead these have been replaced by cake vouchers which one can redeem from the bakery stores.
When I spotted these in Alex Goh's Creative Making Of Cakes, I knew that I would have to make these just to revisit childhood nostalgia. My cake is not completely the same as what we used to have.The sponge cake is more refined, the butter cream is fluffier and lighter and the jam tasted less artificial than what I used to have 30 years ago...(even though I tried to buy the cheapest jam I could find off the supermarket shelf) but it still managed to give me flash backs of those pink floral cake boxes tied with raffia ribbon and those lacquered red invitation cards...gosh, I have not seen those in ages!
If you are from the same era as I am, you will love this. Memories are the world's most potent ingredients...
Jam Topping Cake (Adapted From Alex Goh's Creative Making of Cakes)
Recipe
(A)
150g Sugar ( A tad sweet, I would reduce this to 120g next time)
15g Cake Emulsifier
(B)
5 Eggs
130g Flour
1tsp Baking powder
(C)
40ml Water
(D)
85g Melted butter
Desiccated coconut
Strawberry jam
Butter cream for frosting. I used left over butter cream from here.
Method:
1. Preheat oven to 190C. Mix (A) until well blended in a mixing bowl. Add (B) into the same bowl and start to whisk with balloon whisk until thickened.
2. Add (C) and continue to whip until light and fluffy. (ribbon stage - with the help of the cake emulsifier, this can be achieved very quickly and it stays very stable)
3. Fold in (D) and mix till well blended.
4. Pour the batter into a 12 inch square tin lined with parchment paper.
5. Bake at 190C for 20mins.
6. Remove from oven. Lift cake out of baking pan (so you should cut the parchment paper such that it overflows and allow you to grip the edges to lift the cake out of the tin) and leave to cool on a wire rack.
7. Peel off parchment paper when cake is completely cooled. Cut into 2 equal slices.
8. Sandwich the 2 slices together with butter cream.
9. Using a 3 inch round cutter and cut the cakes into rounds. (alternatively, you can just slice into rectangular slices which will reduce wastage)
10. Coat the outside of the rounds with butter cream and cover with desiccated coconut.
11. Pipe a ring of butter cream at the top of the cakelet. Fill center with your favourite jam.
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17 comments:
这个蛋糕太美了，真的很美，很吸引。我可不可以请教你一下，你是真么拍到背景很深暗然后，前面就可以看到那个蓝色布景。是不是有用特别的灯光，还是相机本生就可以调到这样。我昨晚在看Donna Hay的杂志（那个你做mini doughnuts 的那一本 issue 56）她也用了这样的技术，我看了一个晚上还是在思索答案。今天你上了这个蛋糕恰巧用了相同背景，不知道可不可以和我分享一下呢？
Li Shuan: 说不清楚。I will email you.
I m horrible at cake decoration but this is something I am gonna give a try! This looks so cute and sounds delicious.
@kankana- I am really bad at cake frosting but this is perfect because can hide the frosting with the desiccated coconut :)
I remember this one...but I thought its coated with peanut bits rather then desicated coconut. But again, different bakery might just have different flavor. Thanks for the memory. ^_^
oh yes!!! chopped up peanuts! gosh... we are all from that era...
I'm with Alan, chopped peanuts!
And in those days, self raising flour boxes always feature these cakes too, :)
Oh my oh, that was what I did before I get married. Running around with those cakes. Definitely brought back memories. These days be it wedding or 1st mth, all give vouchers. Sad isn't it? Kind of lost that human factor.
I also wants to learn from Li Shuan' question. Can you teach me pls?
Edith, I will forward my response to Li Shuan to you.
These are beautiful petite dessert cakes, love them!
Yea I remember those tiny cakes. I always like the two tiny sandwich together butter cake rather than the colorful round or rectangle kind. I don't think anyone give that out anymore. Now they just give one 8" round cake.
it really brings back fond memory of those days, how delighted was I when i chanced upon an old cake shop in Melaka (quite near Jonker Street) during my recent holiday ,which only sells those buttercream cakes and old fashion butter cakes like what we used to have.
Yours looks heaps better than what i remember in those boxes!!! Those creamed laden cakes! ahhha. I love your presentation- and cake decoration skills! plus- i like how tiny they looked!
I just discovered this old skool cake shop in Sydney and there is a very similar version... OMG. I miss those cream cakes. reminds me of my grandma! keeping this
Wow just look at that texture! So cute, too. I would gladly eat several of these 8).
I totally agree with you! I always like the way you describe the environment or situation which is related to your bakes. And yes, I also belong to that generation. I think we are the X generation! LOL. Yes, those times, we do snap up the chocolate cakes first!
I've tried the sponge from Alex's book, but not the whole recipe like yours. Made me regret not trying it after seeing how pretty yours are!
yes, this definitely looks much more chic and pretty than the sponge cake slices from the past hehe ...
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