May 31, 2007

Embracing my Oriental roots..

I've made quite a number of sculpted cakes...3D cakes covered in fondant..layered with butter cream, royal icing, mascarpone...liqour...chocolate ganache...*sigh*...how very 'western' of me~ :P *laughs* What happened to the good ol' Sponge layers layered with whipped cream and fruit toppings?
If you live amongst the Chinese/Korean/Japanese..you probably have an idea of what I mean by an 'Asian' Birthday cake. Check out your local Chinatown bakery. These sponge birthday cakes are churned out like hot cakes! They're in every birthday celebration...even those on TV! *laughs*
A logical reasoning (well...in my point of view at least) for this would be because "our" palate is more acquainted to sweetness from fruit...in comparison to rich and dense cakes such as chocolate mud cakes or sugary icings. They do often taste real good after a big meal...it's a light and satisfying dessert, however I often frown at the layer of gelatin over the top is often made too thick. It's not too tricky to do...and if you've had you re fair share of "fruit-sponge-cakes" you'll know...all of them taste almost identical *laughs*
Well..Johnny had a birthday party last weekend and I was invited! With my current "about-to pass-out-from-exhaustion" workload...I couldn't have possibly sculpted a cake! *laughs* I have one prep-ed for this weekend as well! *faints* I wish I had more time though...Johnny is such a fun guy...he's a pharmacist...but a very witty and humorous one~I know my selection of fruit isnt exactly the 'ideal' oriental combination, but berries are my favourite thing!!! Go for kiwi's, cherries and peaches for a more 'authentic' look.

Mango Sponge Layers

2 9inch sandwich sponge cakes
(bake these LINK, or buy 2 unfrosted sponge layers from your local bakery; I sometimes see them in Woolworths here in Australia)

3/4cup whipping cream+2 tsp gelatin powder (available at baking stores)
1/2 cup icing sugar
2 tins canned mango
(Use 4 large fresh mangoes if you can find them) *sigh* seasonal fruit can be difficult

1tbsp gelatin powder + 1/2 cup warm water (stir well)
fruit of your choice


Whip the cream and and gelatin in a large bowl with an electric mixer or a balloon whisk. Gradually add in sugar and whip till soft peaks form. Lay out 2 sponge layers, and brush each lightly with a couple strokes of syrup from the canned mangoes.

Dice 1/2 cup of mango into small cubes and slice the rest of the mangoes into thin 1/2 cm slices. Spoon out 2 tbsp of whipped cream into a separate bowl; add in the diced mangoes. Stir gently.
Sandwich both sponge layers with the mango+cream filling in the center. Cover the entire cake with a thin layer of the rest of the whipped cream. Doesn't matter if its messy.

Arrange the fruit! ....you might want to plan ahead with this...mango doesn't go with EVERything..but if you don't like mango, go with peaches...*shrug* whatever floats your boat.
Tip: use LOTs and loTS of different contrasting colours to make it interesting.

When you're done, brush a generous amount of gelatin liquid all over the fruit, making sure you get the tiny corners and edges. This gives it a good shiny sheen and helps keep the fruit from browning/going bad.This cake needs to be kept refrigerated. It should be good for 3-4 days of storage in the fridge

11 comments:

Leder family said...

I love your delicious recipe, could I publish it on our Daily Recipe Blog? We have every day a new recipe for: General recipes, Breakfast, Low Carb, Low Fat, Desert... It would be so great to add yours! http://daily-cook-book.blogspot.com

daphne said...

was just wondering, where do you buy the cake base (as in the gold plate thing)?

M said...

this looks so tempting, wish i could steal a slice...

Anonymous said...

wow. you're always amazing me with your recipes, suyin! your cake looks very professional! =)

as an asian, i definitely know what you're talking about re sponge cakes!!

i liked the fact that you went and bought a sponge cake - i was half afraid that your recipe requried us mere amateurs to bake a sponge cake!

i can't wait to try to make this for my family!

Anonymous said...

Hi Su Yin! I love the stuff you bake/make. It's all really awesome stuff! Just saw this Skoda ad, and thought of the stuff you make! It's a car cake! Not sure if you've seen it before, but yeah. Check it out! :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uwswkJZEdS4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rb3tlVlJhgY&mode=related&search=

Su-Yin -Décorateur said...

leder family: heya~ so nice to hear from you..sure thing! it'll be an honor to be published on your blog :)

daphne: hmmm those are masonite boards...i get them from speciality cake stores

michelle: It went down our tummies too quickly! haha

bureaucrat: Its reaL easy! haha i baked my own sponge here...but it's so easy to just run out and buy one :P hehe

mae: I WATCHED IT! OMG! I Wwatched it 1000 times :P HAHA..i love it! love it to pieces! wish I could make something like that one day :P

Hungry Hamster said...

You are amazing! Always making everything look so easy!
I will have to try out the mango cake one day! Thanks for the great recipe!

Hungry Hamster said...

Hey Su yin,

I was wondering about the gelatin powder that you whip with the whip cream. Do you need to melt it first? Or just put it straight in with the cream?

Thank u so much!

Su-Yin -Décorateur said...

i droopped it straight in ;)

Hungry Hamster said...

thank u so much!
good luck on your exams!

The Overworked Barista said...

Dropping by, Lotteria, is owned by the Lotte. I could of sworn it was a japanese company, but the reason they have the koala is that their company started by selling those filled koala cookies you find in hexagon boxes.

MMmm Koala Cookies =D

I think I would just live near a convience store in japan if I could. I'm amazed by their vending machines.

*shakes fists at his home in ohio*