Chestnut Chiffon Cake

Oh I know, every time I return to this blog of mine, I seem to be dusting off plenty of cobwebs and dust, haha! Sorry guys, will try harder! Never fear, I am back with this all so delicious chiffon recipe to redeem myself, heehee :P Anyway, this Chestnut Chiffon recipe has always been my to-do list and since my MIL gave me a packet of chestnut she bought from her recent trip to Thailand, kind off kick start it. Plus ever since I tasted a Mont Blanc cake from Lady M, I was hooked and vowed to bake a chestnut cake myself.

I remember last time chestnut used to be so uncommon in local grocer except for those mobile stalls where old school uncles will roast those yummy chestnuts in charcoal. I would be drooling every time I walk pass and smell those super fragrant roasted chestnuts! (I still do when I see one haha!) But nowadays Singapore import so many ready to consume chestnuts in convenient packaging in many major supermarket! Joys! But somehow I just didn't get myself to buy some to bake...lazy as usual haha! Thanks to MIL! Oh yes, don't really fancy those paste form in cans because the though of other stuff could be mixed in just doesn't appeal me at all haha!

Recipe for Chestnut Chiffon Cake (makes 20-22cm tube size pan)
Egg yolk mixture
70g egg yolk
70ml water
70ml vegetable oil
125g chestnuts (from those ready consume packs)
40ml milk
100g top flour/ cake flour
 
Egg white mixture
190g egg white
95g caster sugar

Chestnut buttercream (optional)
200g Swiss meringue buttercream (cold) (I followed Bravetart's recipe, please refer to link)
60g ready to consume chestnuts
40ml cold heavy cream

• In a blender, add 125g of the chestnut and 40ml of milk. Zap till very fine crumbs or smooth, depending how chunky you want your cake to be.
• Preheat the oven to 160C and prepare a tube pan of 20/21/22 cm.
• In a large mixing bow, add egg yolk, water, oil and mix well. Add the pureed chestnut and stir till all is incorporated. Lastly, stir in the the cake flour with a whisk and making sure there is no lumps when all is combined.
• In a separate mixing bowl, add in all the egg whites and beat till foamy. Gradually add in the caster sugar and beat till mixture reaches stiff peaks.
• Add in 3 separate portions of the egg whites to the egg yolk mixture till all is incorporated and no visible white lumps.
• Pour cake batter into tube pan. Use a tooth pick or chop stick to run through the batter to release any air or bubble trapped inside.

• Bake in the preheated oven for 30-33minutes till the cake tester comes out clean or with very fine crumbs.
• Remove cake from oven and invert to cool completely before unmoulding.
• Once cake is completely cooled, remove from pan and slice up to serve.
•  
• To make the chestnut buttercream, combine all three ingredients in together in a blender and zap till smooth. Pipe the chestnut cream over the cooled chiffon as desired.

I cannot start to tell you how much I love this cake. It was literally love at first bite...yum! So light, soft, moist, fluffy and delicious, I can cry eating it hahaha! And it would definitely be a bonus if you make the buttercream too. :) Notice that I did not blend my chestnuts till very smooth as I wanted to be able to taste bits of it when enjoying the cake...its like eating the real stuff ya? Haha!

There, a shot of the sliced wonderful chiffon cake, haha! So yummy! Do try this...I can guarantee that you will not be disappointed. An ace of a chiffon cake. ;)

Okay guys, I better sign off and get my dinner ready! Till we meet again, eat well & be merry!

Buttery Cream Biscuits

Well Happy New Year everyone! Yay, doing my first post of the year which is not really that late into the month yet, haha! I guess nowadays I am only driven to blog when there is a demand for the recipe. Really don't wanna post something that people won't even take a second look at. :P Okay, back to my success story of my maiden's attempt on baking these buttery cream biscuits. I am rather apprehensive about baking scones / biscuits mainly because the fear that the dough be over-kneaded, and thus resulting a hard rock pastry which is flat and pathetic is not exactly what I wanna waste time baking.:P Although  do have several success with scones...but never tried baking a biscuit. So anyway, no more procrastination! Presenting you my tall and quite awesome looking cream biscuits! Lol!

The biscuits taste pretty much like scones but it's less sweet and usually served savory. If you have been to States, you probably had these with meat gravies....oh my I so so miss it. :( Anyway, making the gravy will be another post haha! So here it is, the recipe of the cream biscuits:

Ingredients for Cream Biscuits (makes 10-12 of 1.5" diameter circles)
375g cake flour
1.5 tbsp baking powder
75g cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes
60g confectioner's sugar
1/4 tsp salt
70ml cold heavy cream
1 large egg + cold fresh milk that makes 140ml of mixture

• Sift the flour, salt, confectioner's sugar and baking powder into a large mixing bowl.
• Then add in the cold butter cubes. Knead in with your fingertips, making sure the butter is not melting. If it is, return it to the fridge and let chill for 10 minutes.
• Once the butter has mixed in, the mixture will look like fine bread crumbs. Add in heavy cream and the egg milk mixture. Stir in gently and mix till just combine. Please do not overmix, just enough to not see any white lumps.
• Chill the mixture again in plastic wrap for at least 30 minutes this time. This is crucial as you do not want the butter to melt.
• Line a baking pan with parchment paper.Take out the chilled dough and roll out to about 1" thick. Using a cutter of your choice, dip in flour and cut out the dough.
• Chill the cut out dough again (I know I know hahaha) for 10 to 15 minutes. In the meantime,
  preheat the oven to 200C. 
• Bake the dough for 15minutes till top is golden brown. (no egg wash necessary)
• Let cool slightly before serving.

 Super happy that the biscuits turned out so tall! Yay! Smear on some whipped butter and sweet homemade strawberry jam and I am good! Great for breakfast, tea or even for savory dishes! 

Do try this recipe out and tag me on Instagram or leave a comment here to tell me how did yours turned out. :) Thanks!

Okay, gonna go get some shut eyes. Till next time folks! ;)