Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Happy Birthday Dear Mum & Ladyfingers Genoise

It has been a busy week again and it seems like there is little to no time left for my blogging. :( And nowadays I don't turn on my laptop as often as I used to, sometimes it can be a good 3 days. :P With that new gadget phone, I am totally satisfied with just that 3x2 inch screen to visit other blogger's posts and leaving comments, on the go! ;) That is why I am posting less lately. :P Hope this doesn't keep up though....not too "healthy" for my blog, lol! ;D But don't get me wrong, I am baking and cooking every single day, and there is plenty of post and photos to show. It's just my poor time management is just not making things efficient enough. :P Okay, that aside, last Sunday, I got busy baking my dear mum's birthday cake which fell on last Sunday. Nothing very special, just a simple Strawberry Shortcake with homemade Ladyfingers wrapped around it. ;)

Simplicity is all this cake is about. I didn't have that much time anyways, lol! And since my mum loves fruit cakes, going with this will be a safe bet. :) And I was really lucky to find these big and sweet strawberries especially since it is not really in season now. :P The recipe I adapted is pretty much the same as the Strawberry Swiss Roll cake I made. Instead of baking the sponge cake in a 10x8 inch tray, I used 2 round 8" round cake pan. :)
I was in a rush and did not get nice shots for the cake. :P Furthermore I totally forgotten to take a shot of the inside of the cake after it was cut...haiz. :P Notice those homemade ladyfingers are not even in shape! Anyway, at least it made the cake slightly more "sophisticated", lol!
But the good thing was my mum loved the cake. ;) My family were pretty impress that I was able to come up with this in a day, lol! How did this little daughter/sister of theirs that used to have no clue in cooking/baking did this, lol! Yeah ladies and gentleman, I've grown up!
Here is the shot of the cake (secretly taken while they were singing "Happy Birthday" to my mum, heehee) Yaks! The candle wax is dripping on the cake! :P Check out my mum's age, she's 70 but she still look as young as late 50s. No white hair and no color-dye either. ;) (Fingers crossed, praying I'll be the same when I hit 70, lol!) Well, I won't be showing photos, so you'll have to take my word for it, hee. :D Glad that everyone enjoyed eating the cake. Mission accomplished!Anyways, I wanted to show how I made the Ladyfingers I used in the cake. No, not that vegetables we eat in curry fish head OK. It's a genoise studier then your usual sponge cake, more flour in it that is. So it actually retains it's shape with baking. If you have tasted the traditional Tiramisu cake, these genoise can be found in it. It's usually soaked up in the Kalua mix and gives that extra texture that Tiramisu needs. :) Anyway, that will be another post. :) Taste wise of the genoise itself is like a drier cake and a bit crisp on the outside when it first come out from the oven. Something like a dry Kueh Bulu. :)
Frankly speaking I need to brush up on my piping skill here....these ladyfingers look pretty rouged and uneven in shapes. :P Anyway, my first try on the recipe, so I won't be too hard on myself. :) Enough, here is the recipe:

Recipe for Ladyfinger Genoise (makes about 30 of 5 X 1cm):
Set A:
130g cake flour
some confectioner's sugar for dusting
Set B:

65g egg yolk 35g caster sugar
Set C:
100g egg white
1g cream of tartar
65g caster sugar

Method:
  • In a large mixing bowl, beat all ingredients of Set B until ribbon stage. Set aside to be used later.
  • In another mixing bowl, beat the egg white from Set C until foamy. Add cream of tartar and continue to beat. Then gradually add the caster sugar in and beat the mixture till stiff peaks.
  • Gently fold the egg yolk mixture into the egg white mixture till both is well combined but do not overmix.
  • Sift in the cake flour and gently fold in till no visible flour lumps.
  • Transfer the batter into a piping bag with a wide tip. Preheat the oven to 18oC and prepare a baking tray with parchment paper.
  • Pipe the genoise out into 5cm by 1 cm sticks on the prepared tray and bake in the oven for 10 minutes till golden brown.
  • Remove from oven and let cool completely before storing or use. Freeze unused ones for up to 1 week.
Unfortunately, these genoise taste best on the day it's baked. It will become too tough or chewy the following. However I have to admit these ladyfingers did help beautify my mom's cake, else it would look too plain. :P I hope you all will give this recipe a try and perhaps use it to decorate your cake next time. I am sure with steady hands, your ladyfingers will look great and make your cake look fabulous. ;) Happy baking all!

33 comments:

faithy said...

Looks very pretty! I admire your attempt to make your own sponge fingers which i hear is not easy! Awesome! thanks for dropping by my blog and leaving me your kind comments. :D

quizzine said...

I guess your mum would love the cake even more cos it's baked with love by you! Thought the "lady" fingers look rather pretty ;-)

Cooking Gallery said...

What a lovely birthday cake...! I love the ladyfingers around the cake :).

Esther said...

Great job on the cake! It looks professional. The writing is very neat and so is the frosting. :) I admire you for making everything from scratch.

Shirley @ Kokken69 said...

Bee, this is very well executed. I am sure you will age as gracefully as your mum- you have inherited her genes, right?

ICook4Fun said...

Happy Belated Birthday to your Mom. She must be very happy with the beautiful cake you baked for her. I will be as you put a lot of effort to it. I never make my own lady fingers. I just use the store bought one.

ReeseKitchen said...

Beautiful Cake, Bee Bee. Happy belated birthday to aunty...:)
Making your own sponge ladyfingers? You are very good, everytime have your own idea of decorating a cake. Very beautifully done!!

ann low said...

Happy Belated Birthday to your Mum.
The birthday cake looks perfect and beautiful.
And Bee, I tried your pound cake yesterday, very moist and delicious.

youfei said...

Hi Bee Bee,

The Ladyfingers looks fab! Very rustic and how I like it. And the colour was baked very evenly. Nice! =)

I'm sure your mum was really really pleased with you. hehe.

You Fei

Happy Homebaker said...

What a lovely cake! Your sponge fingers looks great! I am sure they taste way better than store bought ones.

Sonia ~ Nasi Lemak Lover said...

Happy Belated Birthday to your mum! You even made Ladyfinger Genoise, for a lazy bone like me, I will just buy from outside shop, hehehe..Well done Bee Bee.

Jo said...

The BD cake looks really pretty and light. And you even made your own ladyfingers. I'm too lazy and usually just buy it from the supermarket.

WendyinKK said...

I will shed a tear if my daughter bakes me a birthday cake. So nice.

The final cake looks good, of which I believe it tasted very good too :)

DG said...

Lovely cake!

busygran said...

That's wonderful to bake a cake for your mum! She must really be pleased. Like your home-made fingers!

Bakertan said...

Hi Bee Bee,

I was waiting for you to post your mum's birthday cake. Looks really good with the ladyfingers and ribbon. I think the ladyfingers turned out quite decent. No worries about the uneveness. It contributes a made-at-home touch to the cake. I probably would have used store bought ones, haha lazy me.

zhuoyuan

Honey Bee Sweets said...

Thanks for dropping by faithy! Hahaha, I was just curious about making the sponge ladyfingers myself. Nothing to admire, quite poorly made, lol!

Thanks Esther. Yeah, at least in my mum's eyes, this imperfections are not too obvious, heehee! ;)

Thanks Cooking Gallery! You are too kind with your words! I really have much to learn & improve.

Honey Bee Sweets said...

Thanks so much for dropping by my blog Esther! And thanks for compliments. ;)

Thanks Shirely. Hahaha....I am not too sure if I have inherited her "youthful" genes, but at least I know I love to cook, just like her. ;)

Thanks Gert! No lah, I am just curious how the ladyfingers are made, and this cake gave me this opportunity. ;) Still got lots of room for improvement.

Honey Bee Sweets said...

Thanks Reese. It's just a simple cake that I rushed out that day. Heehee, this idea actually quite popular, next time you can try out with store bought ones with your mousse cake, it'll make your cake pretty pretty yah!

Thanks Ann! Really! Yes! Bluberry in buttery pound cake is a sure win!

Heehee, Youfei, that's an excellent way to look at it! Yeah, rustic and homey cake. ;) I guess if my mum likes it, can already, heehee.

Honey Bee Sweets said...

Thanks HHB! No larr, actually homemade ladyfingers doesn't stay crisp like store bought ones. It kind of become chewy when it come in contact with the cream. :P O well, at least I tried.

Sonia, if anyone else you say is lazy I would believe. But you, no lah! Actually I was having fun trying to make the ladyfingers recipe. But thank you for your kind words!

Thanks so much Jo! Need to learn and practice more though. :P

Honey Bee Sweets said...

Wendy! I think I will too!!! Hahaha, but wonder when will thar be. But the fact that I bake for my family every week, my mum gets to eat so often... Don't think she will shed any tear, heehee.

Thanks DG!!

Thanks busygran! Well I still have improve my skills.

Honey Bee Sweets said...

Thanks for dropping by Zhouyuan! Heehee, you must be disappointed, probably visualizing a much nicer one. :P O well, I can't be too adventurous on the cake flavour so I have to fall back on the usual strawberry shortcake. Hopefully next time I can make a nicer & more creative cake. ;)

Angie's Recipes said...

How nice that you even baked your own lady fingers. :-) The cake looks very pretty and bet it tastes very fresh and delightful!

pigpigscorner said...

wow, you made your own sponge fingers! The cake is really pretty!

Bakericious said...

Bee Bee, happy belated birthday to your mum, she must b so happy to recd such a beautiful cake.

I agreed with you that sponge fingers work wonder to decorate the cake. I had used it (mine of course is store-bought) for my DLL cake and turned my short cake looked more appealing.

Your expectation is too high, I will never pipe like you do. Your sponge fingers look good, though shape is not as perfect as store-bought but size is so uniform and how can store-bought beat with homemade!

Kitchen Corner said...

WOW Bee, you made your own ladyfingers! Very impressed.... I believed that your mum and family sure love the cake because it's made by your heart and soul. That's the most important one.

Pei-Lin said...

Bee Bee, no worries about blogging and whatnot. Just blog as you please and based on your busy schedule! Anyway, we blog for fun, right? Speaking of which, how I wish I can blog-hop on the go too! Haha! No $$$ to buy that Gadget first, though, I'm not quite a tech-savvy person ...

Hey, don't be too harsh on yourself! The savoiardi look fine to me. Agree with ZY that there's this home-made feel to it. =)

Been wanting to make cake like this (Charlotte) since my college days in the U.S. after sucking up all the Frenchness on French-inspired blogs! Hopefully I can get around to do so. I love the look of a Charlotte as it's just so elegant and down-to-earth simultaneously. Wish me luck! And I'll probably make my own savoiardi too! Love home-made everything!

Honey Bee Sweets said...

Thanks so much for the compliment Angie. ;) I can't say it's an excellent cake, but I am glad that I made it in time for this occasion.

Thank u thank u Ann!

Thanks Jess. ;) You know you are being too generous on your compliments on my simple cake leh. ;p But very nice of you to always drop by and giving me all that encouragement, really appreciate it!

Honey Bee Sweets said...

Thanks for the encouragement Grace.... You are ever so nice. ;)

Dear Pei-Lin, your words are so comforting! After reading, it just kind of reminded me that what you said is completely right! Blogging is totally for fun! I shouldn't feel too bad if I stopped for a few days or even a couple of weeks!
Heehee, homey is my middle name, that's why I make all these bakes look like what they are! Yeah, my mum loved it. *phew!*

My Asian Kitchen said...

what a nice lovely B day cake!! salut you to make the lady finger yourself..

Honey Bee Sweets said...

Thanks My Asian Kitchen! Welcome to my blog! Happy that you like what you see, drop by again soon.

petite nyonya said...

Your mom is one lucky lady !:) The cake is simply pretty and you even made the sponge fingers yrself!!

Honey Bee Sweets said...

Thanks Joslynn, okay only larr, not so fantastic, lol!