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!