Monday, September 19, 2011

Happy Birthday To Dear Hubby

Sometimes I wonder will it change.....for it has been so many years now, probably close to a decade! I am actually talking about the number of birthday cakes I have made for my hubby all these years. I had a vague memory of the first birthday cake I made for him while we were still in States. It was definitely a chocolate cake and I know I didn't do a very good job. But I do remember my hubby was very happy at that time....just like today when I gave him the cake. The same happy reaction after so many years. :)
There is only two flavors of cakes that my husband loves, that is durian and dark chocolate. Yeah, super "heaty", lol! So it's no surprise why I kept baking these 2 flavors of cake every year lately, hahaha! Sounds boring isn't it, but I don't hear the birthday boy complaining. :)
For the chocolate sponge cake inside, I have adapted a new method call "烫面方式" (cooking the batter). I wasn't sure did I went wrong somewhere but the cake I baked didn't meet the high expectations I heard about and anticipated. Nevertheless, it was still acceptable and I just used it anyways since I don't have the lesiure to bake another one!

Ingredients for Dark Chocolate Decadence Cake: (Makes an 8" cake)
Set A:
60ml fresh milk
64g unsalted butter
Set B:
24g unsweetened quality cocoa powder (I used Valrohna)
50g cake flour
Set C:
5 egg yolks
1 whole egg
1 tbsp vanilla extract
Set D:
5 egg whites
100g caster sugar

Method:
  • Cook Set A ingredients in a heat proof sauce pot over medium low fire. Have a thermometer to make sure the temperature reaches 65C. Once it reaches 65C, add in the sifted cake flour and cocoa powder. Stir and mix well till the mixture is thick.
  • Mix the ingredients in C in another mixing bowl and gradually add it into the flour mixture. Once incorporated, set aside for later use.
  • Using the beater, whip the whites till foamy and gradually add in the sugar and beat till the mixture is stiff peaks and shiny.
  • Preheat the oven to 170C. Get ready an 8" X 3" round cake pan with removable base.
  • In 3 separate portions, add the whites to the egg yolk batter till everything is incorporated in. Pour the cake batter into the pan and bake till the cake top is formed, about 20 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 160C and continue to bake for another ~25 minutes till the cake tester comes out clean.
  • Once done, remove from oven and invert on a rack to cool completely before removing from pan.
For the chocolate cream and ganache my previous recipes, thanks.

I added fresh pitted cherries in the cake which gave it more texture, flavor and juiciness. The cake turned out very chocolaty, rich and yes very yummy. :) My hubby loved it very much and said he won't change a thing about the cake, hee. :)

I also made a mini 6" rich durian cake for my husband on his lunar birthday just for fun, heehee. :) Check it out:
This cake was made with fresh durian meat which I bought a while back when it was still in season and froze it well in my freezer. And to our delight, the durian cake taste really good, still very fragrant and creamy. :)
Gonna leave this post with this last picture, a rustic but tempting looking slice of the durian cream cake. :)

Hope you all have a great week ahead all!

17 comments:

  1. Happy Birthday to ur hubby! He is a lucky man.

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  2. WOW...happy birthday to Wilson..:) I like both..hehe! Greedy me!! If can, bake me a durian + chocolate one..haha! Can't wait to try your bakes again, dear friend...^^

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  3. Wah...So nice and Blessed to have 2 birthday cake = )

    A very Happy & Blessed Birthday to your Hubby = )

    Your cakes look so good that I'm drooling.

    By the way.. would it be possible for you to post the recipe of your durian cake ?!

    Thank you
    Chris

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  4. ooohhhh, the choc cake looks so good... I could dive into it now!

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  5. Happy Birthday to your hubby. 2 birthday cakes for birthday. How lucky is he :)

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  6. wow you definitely pamper him well. Happy Belated Birthday to him.

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  7. Happy Birthday to your hubby! He is lucky to have you, two lovely cakes!

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  8. I want both cakes!!! LOL, so greedy.

    Haapy Birthday to your hubby.

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  9. Happy birthday to your hubby! I'm sure he will never feel bored from receiving such a lovingly homemade cake of you! The last picture makes me drooling. Is that the piece reserve for me?

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  10. Happy birthday to your hubby, as usual he is lucky to have you that always made him two delicious cakes on his birthday. :)

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  11. 两个我都喜欢^^
    你的老公肯定感受到你浓浓的爱:P

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  12. Your hubby really is a lucky man! If it were me, I definitely won't complain as well ;p and the 烫面方式 is unheard of for me - definitely looking forward to trying it!

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  13. that's a gorgeous cake, bee! hmm, looks like your hubby likes rich cake, huh? what is the thing that you were talking about that the cake didnt meet your expectation? is it that the sponge not as soft as you expected?

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  14. Happy birthday to your hubby ^_^

    What a coincidence, my hubby also likes durian and chocolate cake ^_^

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  15. Happy Birthday to your hubby! All these cakes look so professional made. Your family is very lucky to have you being such a great cook.

    You are welcome to join us for our bake-along. We are baking pizza and will be posting our pizza bake on 6 Oct 2011.

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  16. Hey Bee, happy belated birthday to your darling! May many more happy returns. All the best.
    Blessings, Kristy

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Welcome friends! Care to drop me a little note, I would much appreciate that. ;)