Friday, September 18, 2009

Tiramisu Cake wannabe?

Okay, why that title? It's either I made a tiramisu cake or I don't. It a long story, so bare with me a little. :) Last Saturday me and my girlfriends went out for a pre-celebration for 2 of my friends' coming birthday. It was a nice dinner at Alexis Bristol at Bangsar follow by a couple of drinks at Finnegan's Irish Pub. It was a wonderful night, something I will remember for a long time. :) While dinning at Alexis, my friends were all raving about their wonderful tiramisu and it's a MUST try desert. So I was really looking forward to trying it. Indeed it was a tasty cake, deep coffee flavors, soft chiffon cake soaked in coffee liquor and crunchy caramelized almonds on the sides, not your usual tiramisu I would say. :) After "carefully" tasting the cake, I decided (in my mind) that I should try making something similar just for my friend's actual birth date, since she really enjoyed the cake in Alexis.
This cake is totally inspired by what I tasted in Alexis, but it is purely my own creation on how it is made. Interested bakers can check out my recipe:

Ingredients for Coffee Sponge Cake:
6 egg yolks
90g caster sugar
55g maple syrup
8g coffee granulates / powder
30ml fresh milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
60g unsalted butter, melted and cooled
120g cake flour
10g corn flour
6g cream of tartar

Filling:
100ml non-dairy whipping cream, whipped
15g confectioner's sugar
3 tbsp sour cream
80g dark chocolate shavings
50g cream cheese, room temperature

Icing & decorations:
200ml non-dairy whipping cream, whipped

250g raw almonds, roasted and cooled and roughly chopped
200g caster sugar
1/4 cup water
Dark chocolate, melted & place in piping bag
Fresh strawberries

Method:
  • In a large mixing bowl, add the egg yolks and 30g of the caster sugar. Beat mixture till light in color.
  • Melt the coffee powder in to the milk and stir into the egg mixture till well combined.
  • Add maple syrup and cooled melted butter into the egg mixture and stir well.
  • Sift cake flour and corn flour into the egg mixture and stir till everything comes together.
  • In another mixing bowl, beat the egg whites with the remaining caster sugar and cream of tartar. Beat till stiff peaks.
  • Preheat the oven to 170°C. Grease and line with parchment paper an 9 inch round cake pan.
  • Gently fold in the egg white mixture in 3 separate portions into the flour mixture till everything is combined.
  • Pour the cake batter into the cake pan and bake in the oven for 35 to 40 mins.
  • Let cool in the pan for 5 minutes before removing it and cool completely on the rack.
  • Cut the cake into 2 discs and set aside.
  • Meanwhile, make the filling. Beat the cream cheese & sour cream with sugar till creamy. Add the chocolate shavings and mix well. Finally add the whipped cream and stir till everything is well combined.
  • To make the caramelized almonds, place the sugar and water in a small pot and start to boil the mixture. Once it almost changes to yellowish color, add the almonds and stir well. Remove from heat and pour on to a parchment lined tray. Spread the mixture evenly and not in clumps. Let cool completely. Then break up the pieces and set aside.
  • Spread the filling evenly on top of one of the cake disc. Place the other cake disc over it.
  • Spread the whipped cream all over the cake evenly. Plant the caramelized almonds all around the sides of the cake. Decorate at will.

I apologize for the quality of the pictures (so dark!). Was kind of in a rush to finish it so that I can give the cake to my friend, so did not take the time to take the pictures nicely. :-P But luckily the taste of the cake turned out good. I just wish I had more time to decorate it nicely. I merely just pop 2 fresh strawberries on top and piped the wordings over. :-P Wonder how long I take to make this cake? 4hrs++. :) But I guess time does not really matter since I do enjoy baking so much, haha!

As you can see the coffee and the maple syrup kind of turned the cake into a nice brownish tone. ;) The maple syrup essentuates the taste of the coffee, nice! The sponge cake did not really rise as nicely as I hoped for, some how I always have problem with this. :-P But overall it was really acceptably soft and with the crunchy almonds, it was pretty good. Everyone enjoyed the cake, including the little ones...I was a little worried at first that the coffee flavor might turn them off! :P The filling in the middle was a pleasant surprise, tasted like cookies and cream cheese ice cream, haha!

Although I have only known Reese for less then a year, we share a common strong interest, which is baking and cooking. She has this jovial and non-pretentious personality which can brighten you up. She's also generous to the people around her, especially on the food, haha! I was glad to bake this cake for her, and even more so when seeing the joy in her when she saw it. Happy Birthday Reese!

7 comments:

Von said...

I think I might just be addicted to your blog =] I've never had tirimisu before, but you cake looks awesome!
Your friend is so lucky to have a friend like you.....

Honey Bee Sweets said...

Thanks so much Von. Good to know that my blog can be such a "magnet", heehee. :) Actually I am also lucky to know this friend of mine too. Life's more colorful with good friends around, don't you agree?

ReeseKitchen said...

Hey Bee Bee,
I'm really very happy and thank you so much for this cake. It really made my birthday so so so special..:) Never a friend done this for me...you are the 1st!!
4hrs++...OMG! You shouldn't have! Really don't know how to thank you more.....;p Wish you'll stay longer...^-^

Honey Bee Sweets said...

Haha, don't worry about it Reese. I guess being a friend that loves to bake, it should come to no surprise to you right. ;) But I am really glad that you like and enjoyed the cake.

Kitchen Corner said...

I will definately like this cake as I like all kind of dessert with coffee taste. Will keep this recipe in my to-do-list. Cheers!

Cel said...

hello, i really love reading your blog, your generousity in sharing the recipes and your advice is irreplacceable and well appreciated!! keep it up! =D.

Honey Bee Sweets said...

Hi Cel,
You are most welcome. :) I am really glad that there's someone out there that appreciate what I love to do. Thanks for your encouragement, it's keeps me going. ;D