Lapis Cranberry Roll

I baked Lapis Cranberry Roll on Sunday. It's less time consuming to bake this than the regular lapis..... there're just five layers, less than a third of the regular lapis. But it tastes just as good. I shared it with my colleagues... all of them gave their thumbs up, one even said it's  perfect! I agree with them... it's moist & rich with a sourish taste, thanks to the cranberry. 

I learnt to make this cake during one of my weekend baking classes, long long time ago. The instructor, Mdm Wannah Alshatrie, also demonstrated three other types of lapis roll. Hope to share them with you here. This cake is actually called Lapis Moscovis Roll & it uses mixed dried fruits. Since I replaced the fruits with dried cranberry, I change the name too. It's perfect for the coming CNY.

Lapis Cranberry Roll

Adapted from recipe by Wannah Alshatrie.

Ingredients:
9 egg yolk

1 whole egg         

90g castor sugar

170g butter

1 tbsp sweetened condensed milk

1 tsp pure vanilla paste (original recipe uses 1/2 tsp vanilla essence)

25g plain flour

50g dried cranberry
1 tsp sugar
hot water (enough to cover the cranberry)
sweetened condensed milk - for filling

Directions:

1. Preheat oven at 200 deg C using top fire only or  Grill no 4 for Baby Belling oven. 
2. Grease & line (base only) a 10 x 10-inch jelly pan. Set aside.
3. Combine cranberry, sugar & hot water. Mix & leave aside for about 10 minutes to soften the cranberry. Strain & pat dry. Set aside.
4. Combine butter, condensed milk & vanilla in a mixing bowl & cream until pale. Set aside.
5. Combine eggs & sugar in a clean & dry mixing bowl & beat at high speed until thick & pale for about 5-8 minutes.
6. Add butter into egg mixture & mix using a hand whisk until well blended.
7. Finally fold in flour & mix thoroughly.
8. Scoop 2 ladleful of batter (about 100g) into baking pan. Spread evenly & sprinkle some cranberry. Bake for about 4 minutes or until it's cooked & the top turns golden brown.
9. Remove from oven & press top of cake using a lapis presser. Repeat step 8. Continue until finish. (I made 5 layers.)
10. Once baking process is completed, remove pan from oven & immediately turn  cake over  onto a tea towel or grease paper. Spread condensed milk & roll tightly. (Cake must be rolled when it's still hot.) If using towel to roll, transfer cake carefully onto a clean grease/baking paper & wrap tight. Leave aside to cool & chill in fridge.

I'm submitting this post to Aspiring Bakers #27: Through Thick and Thin - Kue Lapis Classics  hosted by Sam of Sweet Samsations & Chinese New Year Delights 2013 hosted by Sonia of Nasi Lemak Lover.

Cold-Oven Cream Cheese Pound Cake

This is my first time baking a cake in a cold oven. I never knew we could do that... Apparently, baking this Cream Cheese Pound cake in a cold oven gives it time to rise nicely. The crust is golden-brown & the crumb is moist & velvety. However, I found it quite sweet when I took a bite on the day I baked it. But the next day,  it tasted much better. Still, the next time I bake this, I think I'll reduce the sugar slightly.

Cold-Oven Cream Cheese Pound Cake
Recipe by  Lauren Chattman from Cake Keeper.

3 cups cake flour
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
2-1/2 cups sugar
6 eggs,  room temperature
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1-1/2 tablespoons grated fresh ginger (I didn't use.)
1 tablespoon grated lemon zest

1. Adjust the oven rack to the lower-middle position. Grease a 12-cup Bundt pan and dust with flour. Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium mixing bowl.
2. Combine the butter, cream cheese, and sugar in a large mixing bowl and cream with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until fluffy, about 3 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary.
3. With the mixer on medium speed, add the eggs, one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl after each addition. Beat in the vanilla, ginger and lemon zest.
4. Turn the mixer to low speed and add the flour mixture, 1/2 cup at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl after each addition. After the last addition, mix for 30 seconds on medium speed.
5. Place the cake in a cold oven. Turn the oven to 325F and bake, without opening the oven door, until the cake is golden brown and toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 65 to 80 minutes.
6. Cool the cake in pan for 15 minutes, then invert it onto rack. Cool completely before slicing and serving.
7. Store uneaten cake in a cake keeper or wrap in plastic and store at room temperature for up to 3 days.

NB: I made only half the recipe & baked in 6 mini bundt pans for about 35 minutes.

I am submitting this post to Bake-Along #38 hosted by Joyce of  Kitchen Flavours, Lena  of Frozen Wings and Bake for Happy Kids.

Jeneket

I just love this cool weather....... especially since it's Saturday.. Makes me feel like parking myself in front of the tele, lie down on the carpet & watch a good comedy, although I think, I'll most likely doze off....  Unfortunately, these days, rain or shine, weekday or weekend, I'm hardly at home in the afternoon, much less lying down & watching the tele. Anyway, the weatherman says tomorrow's weather will be quite similar to today's, so looks like it's another cool day  for us here in Singapore. Cool......

This morning, I fried some jeneket, a traditional snack commonly found in stalls selling kuih. It brings back memories during my primary school days when I used to buy it from the canteen for only  5 cents a piece! Those were the days..... Today, my kids don't even  value five cents anymore. Just the other day, my youngest son asked me if the 5-cent coin is still accepted when  paying  for any purchases... 

I've made jeneket a few times before but I've yet to find a good recipe. Now I think I've found it! It's soft & tasted  right except that I would add about a spoonful more sugar the next time I make this. The recipe in the book calls for a kilogram of flour but  I decided to make only a quarter recipe.

Jeneket
Recipe by Aini Salim from Kuih Dari Singapura.

Ingredients:
250 plain flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda (I used potash, aka 'potas'. Refer here for more details.)
50g sugar
60 ml hot water
60 ml fresh milk
1 egg (lightly beaten)
12g butter
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp vanilla paste (I added.)
oil for deep frying

Method:

1. Combine flour, baking soda & baking powder & sift. Set aside.
2. Combine sugar, hot water & milk & mix well until sugar dissolves. Set aside to cool.
3. Combine  milk mixture & flour & mix well. Then add in eggs, butter & salt & mix, preferably using a cake beater,  until well blended, 
4. Set aside overnight.
5. Grease a flat pot cover (I used the base of a kuih lapis presser). Dip fingers into some oil.
6. Take some dough with greased fingers & place it onto greased pot cover, flattening dough using  fingers. Gently, slight the dough into the hot oil.
7. Fry until golden brown. Serve warm.