Rose's Heavenly Cakes, Page 199: Almond Shamah Chiffon
Initially i wanted to be lazy and just use ground almonds instead of grinding it myself. However, i changed my mind and decided to follow Rose's instruction to toast & grind the sliced almonds . Since it is impossible for me to get Wondra flour here, i used the substitute as provided by Rose under her "note"... use the grams version cos that's what i learn in school and it's so much easier imo.
8 egg yolks measured only 145g so i used 155g of eggwhites instead. Not sure if that makes any difference..but i thought i might as well balance the difference. Since my spring-form pans are dark non-stick ones, i baked at 155C for 22mins. My oven can only take in one 9" pan, second pan had to wait. I was worried that the wait will cause the batter in the second pan to deflate. In the end, the 2nd cake turned out alright, still as soft & light. Folding in the meringue with a balloon whisk was very tiring..my wrist ached quite a bit.
Amaretto Syrup was easy to make and i am delighted to say that i have amaretto in my pantry this time..yay! I'll be getting Bourbon soon. LOL! After i brushed the chiffon cakes, i still have lots of syrup left. Am i suppose to brush them all or what? I figured i don't really like too wet sponge cake, so i brushed only a little.
I didn't make the Raspberry Jam Whipped Cream but instead i made the Raspberry Mousseline (page 149). I used raspberry preserves cos i can't find the seedless ones at all!! Hence you can see a lot of black dots on my buttercream. LOL! Oh and another thing, fyi Rose's Raspberry Mousseline is only good to cover the entire cake just exactly - no wastage! No extra left for making decorations either and I really had to scrimp on the buttercream in order to cover the entire cake! LOL! I had to scrape every last drop and i'm not kidding! Hahahaha! I didn't follow the mousseline buttercream exactly because weather here is pretty hot & humid at 28c-30c, so i just took the butter from the fridge and in less than 2 mins the butter is already soft and i add to it to the meringue piece by piece. Oh..i used salted butter cos i didn't want the buttercream to be too sweet cos of the sweet raspberry preserves.
Verdict? I L-O-V-E the cake!! The cake is so light and soft with strong almond flavor and when paired with the raspberry mousseline cream is heavenly!! Absolutely YUMMY! :9 Everyone in my family loves the cake. I left the cake in the fridge and next day brought some slices to my office colleagues, all said it's delicious except one said is a bit dry. I think probably it's because the fridge absorbed some of the moisture in the chiffon and partly also i didn't brush enough syrup, but i like my sponge/chiffon cake dry though. I still have left over syrup which i guess if anyone wants the cake more moist can brush it on. :P
17 comments:
Looks great!
My gosh this looks delicious! Great pictures.
Thanks Mendy & Vicki!
Vicki, did you bake this cake? I didn't see it on your site yet!
P.S. Faithy, I am SO impressed with your baking portfolio. I've just had a look through your photos and they are amazing.
Thanks Vicki for your kind words! btw, i just added you on twitter! :D
Faithy - beautiful cake! It's delicious, isn't it? I didn't expect it to taste that good. Also, you take very good pictures. My food picture taking skills needs to be improved!
Faithy - what did you use to "carve" the design of the mousseline? would you mind sharing?
Hi Jenn! Thanks! Most of the photos here are taken by my daughter. She has an eye for such things. :)
I used the 'comb' - decorator's comb? Not sure what it's call..it's like a comb where you can comb the sides of the cake to make it into lines/wavy lines etc..so i just comb it around since there wasn't enough buttercream to do any decorations.
It looks beautiful. From the photos it doesn't look dry at all. Pretty soft and moist. What a great idea to use raspberry buttercream. I love the specks from the raspberry seeds throughout (gives it character). And the little decoration you did on top of the frosting (the criss cross pattern). I'll try to bake this one this week (I know it's late but I won't be getting my counter top until tomorrow).
Hi Hanaâ! It's only dry after you refrigerate it, i find. Maybe that's why must brush more syrup which i was pretty stingy about..lol! But i kept the leftover syrup in case i needed to brush more later..LOL!
No wonder! I've been checking your site a few times to see if you have baked the cake. And Vicki's site too. Yes, you should try, i think you'll love the cake. And do remember to take some photos of your new kitchen! :) Can't wait to see your photos! :D
wow - the cake looks absolutely perfect!
Thanks Juanita! :)
Faithy - when you whip cream, it's not smooth and stiff? I wonder if it's the humidity over there? It's pretty dry where I am.
Hi Jenn! Ya..you are right, probably the humidity here. It's hot and humid here. Usu. when i whip cream i have to turn on aircon and have a pot of ice below the bowl...and then the cream can be whipped but it is not as stiff as what i see on your photos...i can only do stiff whipped cream with non-diary.
Faithy - it's not fair isn't it? Here with the dryness and the high altitude we have the opposite problem: it's so easy to overwhip!
Gorgeous cake - I love the look of the seeds in the icing!
Looks great. Looks fluffy and creamy in the mouth.
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