Chiffon Cake Testing

This is how my Chiffon Cake testing turned out. The recipe is from Happy Home Baking http://happyhomebaking.blogspot.com/2010/08/breakfast-chiffon.html
Her work is always an inspiration for me. I was limited with time, so, I quickly tried the basic ingredients. Okay, I misread her baking pan size. So, my tube pan is the regular size. If it had been the small angel food cake tube pan, it would have looked normal. It looks like a wheel. I think that's how the wheels are invented...
It taste so good that I did not make time to make any frosting or cream... I should have. Maybe not this time round, but I will try to give it a finished look the next time.

Pandan Chiffon Cake Adventure

PANDAN CHIFFON CAKE - doesn't it sound mysterious and delicious? I came across this recipe while visiting few of my favorite food blogsites (listed under "My Inspiration". ) I always wonder what that peculiar flavorful aroma I smell when I go near Asian pastry with 'green' color to them. I thought it was coconuts. After understanding that 'stuff' is Pandan - I went to the local Asian market in Sacramento to search for it. I found the fresh Pandan leaves. It was named Landau or something like that. I was not sure what it was, so I asked other shoppers, and they confirmed that it is Pandan leaves. Sadly, after the purchase, my work got so busy, I did not have the time to prepare it. So, after a week, I had to discard them. But I had Pandan Paste in my pantry from the previous week's shopping. (I was bit hesitant to use it because of the food coloring, but I only used a drop... it turned out beautiful color and added a delightful complimentary taste to the coconut flavor.) I didn't have fresh coconut meat to shave either. So, I used coconut powder mix to suffice. It brought back the memory of how we used to shave the fresh coconut meat with a shaver and squeeze the fresh milk out -- that was a good ole' days in S. Viet-Nam. In San Jose area, there are several bakeries (Hong Kong style) in 99Ranch that are quite popular. And many people love their cakes. I could not figure out what type of cakes they are. Now, I know--it is this Chiffon. The recipe for this Pandan Chiffon Cake is from the Seadragon's site at http://cornercafe.wordpress.com/2010/02/20/pandan-chiffon-cake/#comment-1635 As many other experienced bloggers have commented at both Happy Home Baking site or at Seadragon, the final gentle folding of the egg white is indeed challenging. This Pandan Chiffon Cake turned out great. Baked in the Angel Food Cake Tube pan. Baking at 160C. I read other bloggers' comments that baking at lower temperature prevents cracking at the top during the rise. Irregardless, I am very pleased with the result and taste. It looks great and yummy.

Melon Rum Flavored Canneles

I thought I would try baking Canneles de Bordeaux using Melon flavor Rum.  But ... I should have stayed with the Dark Rum.  Tonight's testing was to bake test with melon flavor rum, and using silicon baking mold.   Even though I do not have a "silicone Canneles molds", I improvised the regular silicone baking mold to test.
The baking result:   The copper canneles molds are still the best.   The aluminum canneles molds did a good job.   The silicone baking mold did not caramelize the outer part of the Canneles as copper and aluminum molds did.  But, it turned out interesting, I think. 
Taste testing:   The Canneles baked in silicon mold's outer shell did not pass the Canneles' egg shell crunchiness.   Even after 1 hr 40 min of baking, the caramelization is not 100%.  The texture is chewy.


I made petite canneles rather than the usual demi size because I wanted to quickly bake and find out the result.