The Ninja Baker - Chiffon Cake Recipe

Hong Kong Chiffon Mini Cakes, #BundtaMonth

NinjaBaker — Mon, 02 Sep 2013 05:57:47 +0000

The Silk Road started with one Chinese Emperor Wudi’s dream. And one General Zhang Qian’s courage to carry out the vision. They committed themselves to build better understanding between the East and the West in 2 BC. Despite a journey fraught with mishaps and encounters with nomadic rebels like the Xiongnu - whose goals were less than lofty - the project captured the hearts of many and the Emperor’s dream endured. Today, the Silk Road is known for the many exchanges of products from all over the world for Chinese silk.

Xian, China
(Photo Credit)

Via the avenue of food and fun facts, my dream is also to build a bridge between the East and the West. The world, I think, is a little nicer to live in when there is appreciation for an understanding of different viewpoints and cultures. I’m not alone. Amy of Utry.it consistently shares lovely stories of Hong Kong cuisine and culture.

Today’s Hong Kong Chiffon Mini Cakes for the #BundtaMonth group (scroll down for details) is adapted from Amy’s Utryit recipe. I increased the sugar content for the mini cakes and garnished the goodies with a Triple Sec orange liqueur buttercream.

Hong Kong Mini Chiffon Bundt Cake

Despite the extra sugar, the tartness of the grated orange took center stage. Topped off with the sweet (think birthday cake) frosting, the mini Bundts drew great applause from this Ninja Baker. Hope these mini cakes draw rave reviews at your home, too.

Hong Kong Chiffon Mini Cakes

Adapted from Amy's Utry.it recipe for Orange Chiffon Cupcakes.

The Ninja Baker's Hong Kong Chiffon Mini Bundts contain a bit more sugar and are topped with Triple Sec liqueur buttercream flowers. Thanks to the generous zest of fresh orange, the cake is still quite tart. Combined with the sweet frosting the mini Bundt is a kiss of bliss!

Ingredients:

1 and 1/2 cups of cake flour
1 teaspoon of baking powder
Pinch of salt
4 large eggs, separated
1 cup of sugar, divided in half
1/4 teaspoon of cream of tartar
4 tablespoons butter, melted
Zest of 2 oranges
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon orange extract
1/2 cup fresh orange juice
1/2 cup softened butter
1/2 cup vegetable shortening
4 cups powdered sugar, sifted
1 tablespoon meringue powder
3 tablespoons Triple Sec liqueur

Directions:

For the mini Bundts:
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

Coat mini Bundt molds well with cooking spray. Generously dust with Japanese panko bread crumbs.

Sift the cake flour and baking powder into a large bowl. In a stand mixer bowl whisk the egg whites, salt and cream of tartar. When soft peaks appear, add half of the sugar in a continuous stream. Beat until stiff peaks form.

Gently scoop the egg white mixture into a clean bowl. Beat the egg yolks and the remaining sugar together until a light lemon color appears. Mix in the butter, orange zest and extracts until well combined.

Starting and ending with the flour mixture, add about 1/3 of the flour/baking powder followed by some orange juice. When thoroughly combined, carefully fold in the stiff egg whites – about 1/3 at a time.

Divide the cake batter amongst the mini Bundt molds. Bake for 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean. Cool.

For the Ninja Baker’s Triple Sec Buttercream:
Cream the butter and vegetable shortening until well combined. One cup at a time, sift the powdered sugar over the mixture. Add the meringue powder. After 2 cups, pour in 2 tablespoons of Triple Sec. Sift in the remaining powdered sugar followed by the 3rd tablespoon of orange liqueur. If the frosting is too thick, add more Triple Sec. And if it is too thin, add a tiny bit more powdered sugar.

With different sized star tips, pipe flowers onto the cooled mini Bundts.

Here are a few more fancy party-style Bundts from stellar bloggers in the food blogosphere. The hosts of this fabulous buffet of cakes are Anuradha of Baker Street and Lora, the Cake Duchess. They are celebrating a one-year anniversary of #BundtaMonths so we all brought our best Bundts to the party.

Banana-Caramel Bundt Cake by Felice at All That's Left Are The Crumbs
Caramel Latte Bundt Cake by Heather at Hezzi-D's Books and Cooks
Chocolate and Wine Bundt from Holly at A Baker's House
Cinnamon Chocolate Bundt Cake by Alice at Hip Foodie Mom
Devil's Food Bundt Cake with Caramel Glaze by Lora at Cake Duchess
Hong Kong Chiffon Mini Cakes by Kim at Ninja Baking
Lemon Frangipane Bundt Cake by Paula at Vintage Kitchen Notes
Little Bundt Pound Cakes by Renee at Magnolia Days
Oreo Stuffed Chocolate Bundt Cake by Anuradha at Baker Street
Red Velvet Chocolate Chip Bundt by Anita at Hungry Couple
Rose Mini Bundt Cakes by Veronica at My Catholic Kitchen
Simple Orange Bundt Cake by Kathya at Basic N Delicious
Streusel Apple Bundt Cake by Laura at The Spiced Life
Triple Chocolate Mini Bundts by Stacy at Food Lust People Love
White Chocolate Bundt with White Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting by Sandra at Sweet Sensations
Funfetti Pudding Cake by Kate at Food Babbles

Here’s how you can be a part of Bundt-a-Month:

Simple rule: Bake us a fancy Bundt
Post it before September 30, 2013
Use the #BundtaMonth hashtag in your title. (For ex: title could read – #BundtaMonth: Fancy Bundt)
Add your entry to the Linky tool below
Link back to our announcement posts

Even more Bundt fun! Follow Bundt-a-Month on Facebook where we feature all our gorgeous Bundt cakes. Or head over to our Pinterest board for inspiration and choose from hundreds of Bundt cake recipes.

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Wishing you silk-smooth roads which lead to happiness.

The Ninja Baker

© ™ Watkinson 2012

The Ninja Baker has guest blogged and contributed recipes to numerous food sites. These additional recipes can be found here.

Tags:

Chiffon Cake Recipe

Silk Road

#BundtaMonth

Maple Pecan Chiffon Cake with Brown Butter Icing, #CakeSliceBakers

NinjaBaker — Mon, 19 Aug 2013 16:55:38 +0000

Do maple syrup, pecans and butter bring forth any fond memories for you? My mind flies to Sunday mornings and stacks of pancakes. Maple syrup, toasted pecans and butter murmur comfort and sunny chitter-chatter around the breakfast table.

Pancakes with Maple Syrup (Photo Credit)

The nostalgic ingredients are also the stars of this month’s Cake Slice Baker’s group challenge. Maple Pecan Chiffon Cake with Brown Butter Icing from Julie Richardson’s Vintage Cakes was the recipe chosen by the bakers. The creator of always-picture-perfect cakes, Paloma King of The Coffee Shop blog leads the group. (She is also one of the sweetest lady leaders in the food blogosphere.)

Maple Pecan Chiffon Cake with Brown Butter Icing

As sophisticated sounding as the title implies, the making of this Vintage Cakes recipe is fairly simple. And the result is a maple pecan chiffon that combines grownup textures with child-friendly tastes. The cake is fluffy and light like an angel food cake. The dense, concentrated brown butter topping offers a fine contrast.

A Slice of Maple Pecan Chiffon for the Cake Slice Bakers

Although the recipe may yield enough for a whole cake, I’m glad I only frosted the top of the cake. The brown butter is definitely buttery. While I love the stuff slathered on toast, I confess it’s not my favorite flavor for frosting. But, it is the perfect accent to smooth on top of this maple syrup infused cake.

Maple Pecan Chiffon Cake with Brown Butter Icing

As sophisticated sounding as the title implies, the making of Julie Richardson's Vintage Cakes recipe is fairly simple. And the result is a maple pecan chiffon that combines grownup textures with child-friendly tastes. The cake is fluffy and light like an angel food cake. The dense, concentrated brown butter topping offers a fine contrast.

Ingredients:

Cake Ingredients:

2 ¼ cups sifted cake flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon sea salt
¾ cup brown sugar, firmly packed
6 egg yolks
½ cup canola oil
½ cup maple syrup (the real kind if possible)
¼ cup water
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
8 egg whites (at room temperature)
½ teaspoon cream of tartar
½ cup granulated sugar
½ cup finely chopped pecans, toasted

Brown Butter Icing Ingredients:

4 cups sifted powdered sugar
1 cup unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
½ cup heavy cream
(plus a few more tablespoons for thinning if needed)
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Pinch of salt

Directions:

Cake Directions:
Preheat an oven to 325 degrees. Line the bottom of a 10-inch angel food cake pan with parchment paper. (Do not grease or flour.)

Sift the flour, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. Whisk in the brown sugar by hand.

In another bowl, with a clean whisk, combine the yolks, oil, maple syrup, water and vanilla.

With the whisk attachment of a stand mixer, on medium speed whip the egg whites until foamy. Sprinkle in the cream of tartar. Increase the speed and whip until soft peaks appear. Slowly add the sugar in a steady stream on medium speed. Turn the mixer to high and whip until the egg whites are firm (not stiff.) Look for glossy peaks.

Add a third of the egg whites into the batter with a spatula. (The challenge is to combine well but not over mix.) Gently add in the rest of the egg whites. Fold in the pecans.

Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan. Bake for 55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. (A few crumbs are all right.)

Invert the cake pan on a bottle (or use a pan with legs.) Cool the cake completely. Slide a frosting spatula around the rim of the pan. Carefully slide the cake out and frost.

Brown Butter Directions:
Place the sifted sugar into a clean bowl.

Over medium heat, melt the butter in a saucepan. Allow the butter to change from a lemon to a chestnut color. Swirl the pan to ensure even heating. Remove the pan from the heat once a nutty sort of scent emerges. Pour the melted butter into the bowl with the sugar.

Add the cream, vanilla and salt. Whisk until smooth.

You can use the mixture immediately as a glaze or wait for 30 minutes or more until the icing firms.

You’ll see gorgeous variations on the recipes from the Cake Slice Bakers listed here.

Wishing you treats which tickle happy memories.

The Ninja Baker

The Ninja Baker has guest blogged and contributed recipes to numerous food sites. These additional recipes can be found here.

Tags:

#CakeSliceBakers

Maple Syrup

Chiffon Cake Recipe