The Baking Clubby

[BunBun 5]

Any pic of your carrot cake without decoration and cream?

55g dessicated coconut -> must add this? I hate dessicated coconut.

[xaleysan 2]

Any pic of your carrot cake without decoration and cream?

55g dessicated coconut -> must add this? I hate dessicated coconut.

No leh, I forgot to take picture of the inside. But it looks similar to the picture from the book...

You can leave the coconut if you don't like it. I have eaten some carrot cakes that don't have this. I like it though.

Weiwei,

you can do a simple one, cover the cake with fresh cream.

Buy non-dairy whipping cream (can get from Phoon Huat).

Chill your mixing bowl and beaters in the fridge till they are cold. Then beat the whipping cream till they are double in volume and are spreadable on the cake (preferably place your mixing bowl over a bowl of ice while beating).

A little goes a long way e.g. 200g is more than enough to cover a 6" cake and also fill the layers.

Do note that cakes covered in fresh cream must be refrigerated.

Alternatively, you can use buttercream. I use swiss meringue or italian meringue buttercream for my cakes.

Swiss meringue buttercream recipe

Hope this helps!

[weiwei 0]

No leh, I forgot to take picture of the inside. But it looks similar to the picture from the book...

You can leave the coconut if you don't like it. I have eaten some carrot cakes that don't have this. I like it though.

Weiwei,

you can do a simple one, cover the cake with fresh cream.

Buy non-dairy whipping cream (can get from Phoon Huat).

Chill your mixing bowl and beaters in the fridge till they are cold. Then beat the whipping cream till they are double in volume and are spreadable on the cake (preferably place your mixing bowl over a bowl of ice while beating).

A little goes a long way e.g. 200g is more than enough to cover a 6" cake and also fill the layers.

Do note that cakes covered in fresh cream must be refrigerated.

Alternatively, you can use buttercream. I use swiss meringue or italian meringue buttercream for my cakes.

Swiss meringue buttercream recipe

Hope this helps!

thanks xaleysan!! will try tonite =) Btw, can know wat the different between no-dairy n dairy whipping cream? can i keep in fridge the additional whipped cream? if can, how long can last?

enjoy ur day

regards,

weiwei

[xaleysan 2]

Dairy contains butterfat (usually indicated on pack as 36-40% fat), and non-dairy contains vegetable oil. Actually both can be used for filling and covering cakes, just that non-dairy will hold up better.

I keep my unused whipping cream in airtight containers or in a few layers of sandwich bags tied tightly. I had no problem with them keeping up to 2 months. If you are not using a lot, can get those smaller 200ml packs.

Be careful it will splatter! So start on slow speed, or cover briefly with a cloth. If you do choose to use dairy one, do not overwhip otherwise it will curdle and you will get butter liao.

[weiwei 0]

Dairy contains butterfat (usually indicated on pack as 36-40% fat), and non-dairy contains vegetable oil. Actually both can be used for filling and covering cakes, just that non-dairy will hold up better.

I keep my unused whipping cream in airtight containers or in a few layers of sandwich bags tied tightly. I had no problem with them keeping up to 2 months. If you are not using a lot, can get those smaller 200ml packs.

Be careful it will splatter! So start on slow speed, or cover briefly with a cloth. If you do choose to use dairy one, do not overwhip otherwise it will curdle and you will get butter liao.

hi, thanks u so much for the detail explanation.. =) had trying out last nite ^_^

post some photos for sharing =P

[xaleysan 2]

Hehe, sorry ah. My reply came too late. Wow. so many nice cupcakes with big juicy strawberries!

Would like to share the cheesecake brownie and oreo cheesecake I made last week. The recipes can be found in my blog.

[graceakaclouds 1]

hi all baking enthusiasts

i have been lingering ard this thread but unable to make much contributions

anyhow, tiking of doing chocolate fondue....yeah, before putting it into the 'fountain'....any idea how to boil or heat the chocolate such tat it won't burn or overheat?

[BunBun 5]

Hmm there are fondue pots you can get from department store - those are the type where you can put tea-candle (those kind of aromatherapy candles, just get the white candle with no aroma) to heat the fondue pot. That should do the trick.

hi all baking enthusiasts

i have been lingering ard this thread but unable to make much contributions

anyhow, tiking of doing chocolate fondue....yeah, before putting it into the 'fountain'....any idea how to boil or heat the chocolate such tat it won't burn or overheat?

[xaleysan 2]

I think the chocolate for fondue is also different and they will not burn easily. In phoon huat, you can find chocolate that is for fondue purposes.

[ynove 0]

Hi xaleysan and baking clubbers!

i just jumped onto the baking bandwagon recently. just bought the Tefal Activys OV1002 convection oven 26L. and you're right, it's a bit small!

if any of you, like xaley, have used this before, maybe you can help?

saw your earlier post:

I use a Tefal 26L tabletop oven (mine is the old model w/o fan). It's been serving me very well but it can a be a bit small sometimes so lately I also purchased a Delonghi tabletop oven.

I've been hunting for a roasting pan (with a rack inside) which can fit into the oven... and I can't!

Most roasting pans can't fit into my oven - they're slightly too big. Do you know of any?

Also, have you tried baking cakes or cupcakes in this oven? I'm excited about baking cupcakes and layer cakes.. but this oven can only fit a 6-muffin tray or a single cake tin, it seems!

thinking of getting a second rack. when i need to bake cupcakes or layer cakes, it's not good to leave the cake batter standing for 30min while waiting for its turn to get into the oven, right?

Actually two racks will not fit two cupcake tins. The space between the two racks is not enough for the cake to rise.

Have you tried - will it fit two 2-inch-tall cake pans - one on each level - if i get an extra oven rack?

thanks

[ynove 0]

Hi graceakaclouds,

i think you're asking about how to first melt the chocolate before putting it into the fondue pot?

some options you have:

1) you have to use the 'steaming' method. boil water in a saucepan, then put a bowl on top to gently melt your chocolate chips. if you heat directly, you'll burn the chocolate. See this video by Epicurious.

2) some pots come with a 'stack-able' pot on top to do this eg. i have tupperchef (by tupperware) stainless steel pots which are designed for this.

all the best!

hi all baking enthusiasts

i have been lingering ard this thread but unable to make much contributions

anyhow, tiking of doing chocolate fondue....yeah, before putting it into the 'fountain'....any idea how to boil or heat the chocolate such tat it won't burn or overheat?

Edited July 28, 2010 by ynove

[xaleysan 2]

Hi ynove!

*warning! lengthy post!*

I don't think there is any roasting pan that suits this oven size. Last time, I also searched high and low for pans that fit.

But if you really want to roast, you can get a square pan (with low sides) and a metal steaming rack (the kind we put in wok/pans to steam things) and use it as a roasting pan. For some recipes, depending on the flavours, you can put sticks of carrots/ lemongrass etc under the meat and act as racks.

For cookie pans, I found only Willow brand could fit into it. Mine is silver aluminium pan, u can find at some Cold Storage (item 1708/9 from this site and item 1610 from here). The non-stick ones seemed to be discontinued here. Phoon Huat also have some rectangular trays that might fit.

Do bring along measuring tape to measure before u buy, because I realised that Willow's dimensions for the same product sometimes changes when they have new labelling. Also for some other brands, the dimensions listed on the box could be "internal" dimensions of the tray, so I measure to play safe before buying.

I've baked cakes, cupcakes, breads, pastries, meats, baked rice, almost everything with my Tefal oven. The posts in my blog before Dec 2009 were all using this oven and I still use it now, though less often.

For cupcakes/muffins, you can use those more solid cupcake cups (instead of paper liners) and put on a cookie tray. Or you can put paper liners into small aluminium baking cups and then onto a tray. That can make about 10-12, but do test the hot/cold spots of your oven and rotate your trays halfway accordingly.

IMHO, getting a second rack will not help. Because the oven is small, if there are 2 racks, they will either be too near the top/bottom heating coil, other than not enough space to rise. It's true leaving your batter too long is not good, but for cupcakes and muffins, there is no significant difference from my experience. For sponge cakes, put them in a single tray and bake all at once, and then split them into layers afterwards.

I would recommend getting an oven thermometer too, as manual dials tend to become unrealiable over time.

Hope these help!

[ynove 0]

Hi Xaley and all

You're a genius! I've been looking for help regarding this oven for some time. Especially your tip about solid cupcake liners. Thanks for your lengthy explanation.

Roasting pan

I found a suitable one by Scanpan, but it's to expensive to invest in one small roasting pan when a much cheaper alternative exists, like the one you mentioned. For roasting, what kind of pan is better? Ceramic (Corningware), glass (Pyrex), cast-iron, aluminium, or dark non-stick pan?

Batter left too long?

I thought cakes and cupcakes will not rise and become dense if the batter is left aside too long. Especially when the baking soda and/or vinegar goes and into the batter and the chemical reaction starts - which is what gives us fluffy, well-risen cakes.

Pan size conversion

For a recipe that calls for two 9inch by 2inches tall pans for layer cakes, would you recommend that I bake this cake in a single 10-inch springform pan? Just checking out pan size conversions here by allrecipes.com.

Oven probe

As for oven thermometer, I've read about remote oven probe thermometers. Do you know where I can buy this? This contraption can stick a probe into a roasting meat in the oven, then you can read the temperature off a unit on your countertop remotely. The one you're talking about is the leave-in oven thermometer right?

I don't think there is any roasting pan that suits this oven size. Last time, I also searched high and low for pans that fit.

But if you really want to roast, you can get a square pan (with low sides) and a metal steaming rack (the kind we put in wok/pans to steam things) and use it as a roasting pan. For some recipes, depending on the flavours, you can put sticks of carrots/ lemongrass etc under the meat and act as racks.

...It's true leaving your batter too long is not good, but for cupcakes and muffins, there is no significant difference from my experience. For sponge cakes, put them in a single tray and bake all at once, and then split them into layers afterwards.

I would recommend getting an oven thermometer too, as manual dials tend to become unrealiable over time.

Edited July 28, 2010 by ynove

[xaleysan 2]

Hey Ynove,

ya Scanpan is pretty ex. Depends on how often you would use it, I do not roast whole chicken (only parts), so I would not buy it. Oh ya, I forgot, you can also use the pan that comes with the oven? Correct me if I'm wrong, for roasting, the meat is not directly on the pan, so all materials should be fine?

Cake batters depend on the leavening agent and also on the technique. Honestly, the muffins I made by creaming method turn out fine even after they sat for some time. But for chiffon/light sponge cakes, they have to be baked immediately.

For your 9" cake, what type of cake is it? If it is a more dense cake and would not rise too much, a 10" pan would result in a cake that's not very high. Maybe you could try a smaller version first and test out the oven at the same time?

I've read about probe thermomters, think Phoon Huat has one but I don't know how good it is. I use the simple one, just put inside the oven.

[ynove 0]

hi xaley

For the cake, i was thinking of baking a layered red velvet cake. it's a sponge, i guess?

maybe i should go for a 9" springform pan? hmm.

which phoon huat you went to? i checked out the one in toa payoh and hougang, didn't see the oven probe thing leh.

Cake batters depend on the leavening agent and also on the technique. Honestly, the muffins I made by creaming method turn out fine even after they sat for some time. But for chiffon/light sponge cakes, they have to be baked immediately.

For your 9" cake, what type of cake is it? If it is a more dense cake and would not rise too much, a 10" pan would result in a cake that's not very high. Maybe you could try a smaller version first and test out the oven at the same time?

I've read about probe thermomters, think Phoon Huat has one but I don't know how good it is. I use the simple one, just put inside the oven.