Strawberries and Cream Chinese Bakery-Style Chiffon Sponge Cake, Gluten-free or not

We had some guests come for dinner the other night.  Hubby ordered Chinese take-out, so all I had to do was add a nice green salad (you can never get enough veggies!) and make a dessert.  

To keep with the Chinese food theme, what is a typical Chinese dessert?  For special occasions, my mother would either bake or order a beautiful vanilla chiffon sponge cake decorated with fresh fruit and whipped cream from a local Chinese bakery.   

You can use your favourite sponge cake with whipped cream and fruit.  I made 2 tube sponge cakes with this vanilla chiffon sponge cake recipe.  I decorated one cake and froze the second one to enjoy at another time for a quick dessert.   For those who are on a gluten-free diet, you can try this gluten-free vanilla chiffon sponge cake.  

Pressed for time?  Ready-made angel food cakes can be decorated fresh whipped cream and fruit.  

I usually fill and decorate these cakes with canned fruit cocktail that has been drained and blotted dry.  I have also made a "Strawberries and Cream" cake with fresh strawberries and  "Peaches and Cream" with canned peaches.  

This time, I used fresh strawberries and canned mandarin orange segments to fill and decorate the cake.  Make sure to blot dry the excess moisture from the fruit on a paper towel or napkin. 

Strawberries and Cream Chinese Bakery-Style Chiffon Sponge Cake, Gluten-free or not

1 - 8" vanilla chiffon sponge cake, gluten-free vanilla sponge cake or ready-made angel food cake
1.5 cups heavy cream
4.5 Tbsp confectioner's sugar 
1.5 tsp vanilla 
chocolate shavings, with a vegetable peeler
selection of fresh/canned fruit for decorating and filling (possibilities are endless!)
  - strawberries, kiwi, grapes, melon balls, etc
  - canned fruit (must be drained and blotted dry):  peaches, pears, mandarin oranges, cherries, etc.

Prepare chiffon cake and cool completely.

Whip 1.5 cups heavy cream with 4.5 Tbsp confectioner's sugar and 1.5 tsp vanilla for at least 3 minutes on high until the cream is stiff.  Be careful not to overwhip the cream (mixture will separate and become butter!).  If you would like extra whipped cream for piping or for serving, use 2 cups heavy cream, 6 Tbsp confectioner's sugar and 2 tsp vanilla.  

Dice about 1 cup (I forgot to measure, chop enough fruit to fill the cake layer) fresh or canned fruit for filling and blot dry on paper napkin/towel.  Set aside.

Cut cake in 2 layers.  Place one cake layer on a cake plate.  Spread the cake with whipped cream and place chopped fruit pieces (blotted dry) on top of the cream. Place the top layer on the fruit filling.  

Frost and decorate the cake as desired with the whipped cream.  

- Adapted from Vanilla Chiffon Sponge Cake

The cake didn't last long!  Of course, the kiddies had leftover cake dolloped with extra whipped cream for breakfast the next day!

Enjoy! 

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Gluten-Free Vanilla Chiffon Sponge Cake

Happy New Year!  Wishing you all Prosperity, Good Health and Happiness for 2013!  

My New Year's Resolution:  to try cut out as much gluten as possible.  My tummy troubles are better when I eliminate gluten/wheat from my diet.  My test for Celiac's disease came back negative but I may be sensitive instead of allergic.  

I decided to make a gluten-free vanilla chiffon sponge cake. It was a success!  Sorry about the presentation of the cake, I had to quickly take these pictures before the whole cake was DEVOURED!

I found this recipe from SeriousEats and it is almost exactly the same as my regular chiffon cake except for the use of a gluten-free flour blend of tapioca starch, white rice flour, potato starch and xanthan gum.  The texture was beautifully fluffy, feather-light, not gummy and heavenly.  The taste was slightly powdery, but with a bit of whipped cream, sliced fresh strawberries and canned peaches, it tasted like a "real" (wheat) chiffon cake! 

Gluten-Free Vanilla Chiffon Cake

Gluten-free flour blend*
1 1/4 cup white rice flour (I used a Thai brand from an Asian supermarket, very finely milled)
1/2 cup potato starch
1/4 cup tapioca starch (I used an Asian brand)
1/2 tsp xanthan gum

Cake:
1 cup granulated sugar 
3 teaspoons baking powder 
1/4 teaspoon salt 
3/4 cup water (I used 1/4 cup milk + 1/2 cup water)
1/2 cup vegetable oil 
2 teaspoons vanilla 
5 egg yolks (or 7 if using all-purpose flour)
1 cup egg whites (8 eggs) 
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar 

Move oven rack to lowest position. Heat oven to 325°F. In large bowl, mix flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Beat in cold water or milk, oil, vanilla and egg yolks until smooth.

In large bowl, beat egg whites and cream of tartar with electric mixer on high speed until stiff peaks form. Gradually pour egg yolk mixture over beaten egg whites, folding with rubber spatula just until blended. Pour into 2 ungreased 10-inch angel food (tube) cake pans.

Bake about 40-45 minutes or until top is golden brown and springs back to touch. Immediately turn pans upside down onto heatproof funnel or bottle. Let hang until completely cool, about 1-2 hours. Loosen side of cake with knife or long, metal spatula; remove from pans. 

* if not gluten-free, you can use 2 cups all-purpose flour or  2 1/4 cups cake flour

- Adapted from Serious Eats:  Gluten-Free Chiffon Cake

My kiddies LOVED this chiffon cake.  They didn't notice anything different from my regular recipe and even wanted some for breakfast today! 

Enjoy!

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Coffee Chiffon Rose Cake

Mother's Day weekend was lovely.  It was filled with lots of hugs, kisses, cards, presents, and time spent in the garden. 

Of course, I still had to make dinner, dessert, vacuum and wash the floors.  Nothing better to a mother than a nice, enjoyable meal and a fresh clean floor!

For dessert, I wanted to make a special Mother's Day cake.  With roses.  With coffee.  With fresh whipped cream.  Without chocolate.  In the past few months, I noticed that I was getting an allergic reaction to chocolate and cocoa.  It was enough for me to be very uncomfortable with a super itchy face after tasting the stuff.  I'm hoping that it is a temporary thing.  I developed a seafood allergy (hives) at age 16 and was somehow able to eat prawns, crab and lobster again after seven years! 

No worries, there are PLENTY of yummy things other than chocolate.  I'm patient and hopeful.  Maybe I can eat chocolate again in seven years.  In the meantime...

Here is my Rose Cake!  I was inspired by my friend's beautiful Rose cupcakes. (Thanks Q!)  I had the popular Wilton 1M star tip and the roses were very easy to pipe.  I followed I am baker's Rose Cake Tutorial and was able to make a very pretty cake with vanilla whipped cream.  I whipped the cream until it got to the stiff peak stage, about 4-5 minutes (the time depends on the brand of whipping cream, so keep a close eye). 

The coffee sponge cake recipe is from My Food Affair.  It is a very close adaptation of my  Vanilla Chiffon Sponge Cake.  With only the addition of instant coffee (I used decaf for the kiddies) and more sugar, the change was so good!  I was able to fill two 8" round pans and one angel food cake pan.  I cut up the extra cake (from the angel food cake pan) into smaller servings, wrapped them in cling wrap and then froze them in a large freezer bag to enjoy later.   

 The cake was not too sweet and the fresh whipped cream complimented the coffee flavour of the cake.

Coffee Chiffon Cake

2 cups all-purpose flour, or 2 1/4 cups cake flour
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt

4 tablespoons instant coffee
3/4 cup water
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla
7 egg yolks (or 5 if using cake flour)
1 cup egg whites (8 egg whites)
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar

Move oven rack to lowest position. Heat oven to 325°F. In large bowl, mix flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Dissolve instant coffee with 3/4 cup water.  Beat in coffee mixture, oil, vanilla and egg yolks until smooth.

In large bowl, beat egg whites and cream of tartar with electric mixer on high speed until stiff peaks form. Gradually pour egg yolk mixture over beaten egg whites, folding with rubber spatula just until blended. Pour into 2 ungreased 10-inch angel food (tube) cake pans.   

Bake about 25-30 minutes or until top springs back when touched lightly. Immediately turn pans upside down onto heatproof funnel or bottle. Let hang until completely cool, about 1-2 hours. Loosen side of cake with knife or long, metal spatula; remove from pans. 

I decorated this cake with Vanilla Whipped Cream.  I doubled the recipe and was able to fill and decorate one 8" double layered cake with piped roses. 

Note: This batch yielded two 8" round cake pans, with the bottoms lined with parchment paper (baked for 15 minutes) and one 10" angel food cake pan for about 30 minutes.  Next time, I will bake the whole batch in two 9x13 pans for about 15 minutes for a bigger double layered cake.    

Soft and cloud-like, chiffon cakes go down too easy!

The cake turned out so pretty.  Perfect for Mother's Day!

[Edited to add: ] Here is another picture of a coffee sponge cake I made last summer.  Back when I was able to eat chocolate. 

 Luscious fresh raspberries on a coffee sponge cake with whipped cream and shaved Callebeaut dark chocolate.  Also very yummy!

Enjoy!

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Vanilla Chiffon Sponge Cake

I had some gorgeous fresh, farm eggs and some whipping cream in the fridge.  I haven't baked a cake in a while, but since I had these wonderful ingredients on hand, it would be a shame not to make a Chinese-style cake!  While the kiddies were (quietly!) playing puzzles, I took the opportunity to whip this up in my KitchenAid mixer. 
  
A classic Chinese-style bakery cake is a sponge cake that has a fruit or mousse-like filling, real whipped cream and fresh fruit decorations.  This was the kind of cake my mom made for our birthdays when we were growing up. 

I remember helping my mother decorate our birthday cakes.  She would bake the sponge, whip the cream and I would help decorate.  At the age of 10, my mother let me pipe luscious swirls of whipped cream and artistically place sliced fresh or canned fruit on top.  As the years passed, the cakes became an elaborate affair of fruit and whipped cream!  I can't believe that in a few years, I will be repeating this tradition with my little ones.  

Mom's sponge cake was always heavenly.  Although it tasted good, it would collapse after she pulled it out of the oven and we would simply hide the imperfections with whipped cream and fruit.  Because her recipe used 9 eggs per cake, I needed something lighter.  I have been searching for a recipe like the commercial Chinese bakeries, but I had found out that many of the popular bakeries use a sponge cake mix, filled with emulsifiers and preservatives.

Little did I know that my Betty Crocker cookbook (that I had for almost 20 years) had the sponge cake recipe that I was looking for!  It was a relatively straight forward recipe, considering that I had made so many different kinds of cakes to re-create those of the Chinese bakeries and my childhood.

This is my go-to recipe!  The hardest part is separating the egg whites and yolks.  I only use cake flour to get the tight sponge crumb texture like that of the bakeries.  All-purpose flour is OK, but since I was trying to re-capture my fond foodie memories, only cake flour will do. Due to the baking powder, I didn't have to worry about deflating the egg whites while folding.  The baking powder is there as a fail-safe measure, so I know that it will rise!

The original recipe says to use 1 angel food cake pan.  I prefer to split it up in two tube pans for two reasons:  1) you get 2 cakes; and 2) it bakes in about half the time.  Today, I used two 10" round pans and one 10" springform pan, all lined with parchment paper.  I had to adjust the time considerably, about 15 minutes, but it depends on the oven and pans used.  I usually freeze the extra cake for another occasion.

 

Vanilla Chiffon Cake

2 cups all-purpose flour, or 2 1/4 cups cake flour
1 cup granulated sugar
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup milk or water
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla
7 egg yolks (or 5 if using cake flour)
1 cup egg whites (8 eggs)
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar

Move oven rack to lowest position. Heat oven to 325°F. In large bowl, mix flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Beat in cold water or milk, oil, vanilla and egg yolks until smooth.

In large bowl, beat egg whites and cream of tartar with electric mixer on high speed until stiff peaks form. Gradually pour egg yolk mixture over beaten egg whites, folding with rubber spatula just until blended. Pour into 2 ungreased 10-inch angel food (tube) cake pans.

Bake about 25-30 minutes or until top springs back when touched lightly. Immediately turn pans upside down onto heatproof funnel or bottle. Let hang until completely cool, about 1-2 hours. Loosen side of cake with knife or long, metal spatula; remove from pans. 

Adapted from: Betty Crocker's Lemon Chiffon Cake 

Vanilla Whipped Cream

Beat 1 cup whipping (heavy) cream, 3 tablespoons powdered/ icing sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla in chilled medium bowl with electric mixer on high speed until soft peaks form.

Betty's Tip: Well-chilled cream will whip the best, so keep it refrigerated until ready to use. It also helps to chill the bowl and beaters before you begin. When the cream begins to thicken as you beat it, reduce the mixer speed so you can watch carefully and beat just until soft peaks form. Overbeaten cream will look curdled.

- Adapted from Betty Crocker's Sweetened Whipped Cream

Be careful not to over beat the whipped cream, as it will turn into butter!  I like using icing sugar because it has cornstarch in it.  The cornstarch helps stabilize the whipped cream so it can retain its shape when piped.  

This basic sponge cake and whipped cream is very versatile.  Today, I filled my cake with vanilla whipped cream and placed canned fruit cocktail (drained and blotted dry) in the middle layer on top of the cream.   

For a 2-layer 10" cake, I used 1 1/2 cups whipping cream, 4 1/2 Tbsp icing sugar and 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract.  This amount makes enough to frost, fill and pipe some swirls on top of the cake.  I used a Wilton 1M star tip for cupcakes for piping.  

[Edited to Add:  Last year's picture of my middle child's birthday cake decorated with lots of fresh fruit, canned fruit cocktail filling.  I used two 9"x13" pans to make a 2 layer cake.]

Enjoy! 

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