Starting 2014 with a Trio of Filipino Cakes

Happy New Year!

As promised several times, I am now posting the basic chiffon cake recipe which I use for my Filipino-flavoured cakes. I used the recipe from this blog but tweaked it a bit as I wanted to experiment. I'm sorry if I had to repost the recipe. I have also gone through other cake recipes but this is by far the best. I have attempted making an ube cake years ago but it wasn't as good as I thought it was at that time. I have also tried bringing the cakes at work to introduce the Filipino flavours to my colleagues (yes I'm the only Filipino there) and I was happy that they liked them (cakes were gone so fast and some even had a second slice).

Lately, the ube cake is in demand during the holiday season (you can see some of the orders from my other blog) but this year, I slowed down with the cake orders as it was too much and too exhausting last year. At least this time, I was able to prepare a good meal for my family without having to rush for noche buena.

You can also use half of the ingredients if you wanted to make a smaller cake of 6". I also use the same recipe for cupcakes although you just have to watch out that they don't shrink (I'm not sure if the problem if with my old trusty oven but I cover them with foil once they are out of the oven so that they don't shrink too much).

Chiffon Cake

2 1/4 c self-raising flour
3 tsp baking powder
3/4 c sugar
1 tsp salt

7 egg yolks
1/2 c vegetable oil
2/3 c coconut milk (for ube and pandan cakes); 1/2 c milk (for mango cake)
1/2 cup grated ube (purple yam)/frozen ube (for ube cake)*
1 tsp ube/pandan flavouring  (for ube and pandan cakes)
1/2 tsp violet or green gel paste (for ube and pandan cakes)

7 egg whites
1/2 tsp cream of tartar
3/4 c sugar
drops of violet or green gel paste (for ube and pandan cakes)

*For the frozen ube, I divided the contents into 3 parts and use one part for one 8" cake; that way, the ube isn't too overpowering and would not affect the fluffiness of the chiffon cake.

Preheat oven to 170 C. Prepare two round pans (I used 8" but you can use 9"; the only reason I use 8" is both pans can fit into my small oven at one time thus saving energy) and 1 small pan for the cake crumbles used for decoration (for ube cake only). Line bottoms with baking paper and sprinkle the pans with a little water. Do not grease.

In a large bowl, sift together all dry ingredients (first 4) and combine well. In a separate bowl, mix the wet ingredients (second set above) and add to dry ingredients. Beat with electric mixer or by hand just until smooth and well blended (I've just beaten them by hand).In a separate bowl, beat egg whites and cream of tartar on high speed until frothy. Gradually add in sugar and beat until stiff peaks are formed. Gradually and gently fold in egg whites into flour mixture until very well combined. Divide batter equally into prepared pans.Bake for about 45 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean. Invert pans into wire rack immediately and cool completely.

Cream Frosting (For Ube and Pandan Cakes)

1/2 of 300g Philadelphia cream cheese (soft cheese in the UK)
2 c double cream (or 1 big tub of double cream)
1/2 c icing sugar
*1 teaspoon vanilla extract (if you want white frosting)
*1 teaspoon ube/pandan flavouring & 1/2 teaspoon violet/green gel paste (if you prefer ube or pandan-flavoured frosting)
1 12 oz jar of macapuno (preserved coconut sport)

Combine the cream cheese, double cream, sugar, vanilla/ube/pandan extract and colouring in a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer. Fit the mixer with the whisk attachment and mix on medium speed until smooth. Continue whipping on high speed until the cream can hold a stiff peak.

Place the first/bottom layer and spread whipped cream onto the cake layer. Scatter the macapuno strips evenly. Top the cake with the second layer and spread frosting to cover top and sides of cake. Remember to leave some frosting for your borders.

FOR UBE CAKE ONLY: Crumble the last cake on the small pan. You can crumble the cake by hand or by using a food processor (again, I only crumbled by hand). Gently stick the crumbs to the cake top and sides until it is fully covered. It is good to place a large newspaper in your work area as this will be a bit messy due to the crumbs. Place macapuno in the center of the top of the cake. Using the remaining frosting, pipe on the top and sides of the cake. You may also decorate the cake with cherries on top.

Cream Frosting (For Mango Cake)

2 c double cream
4 tbsp icing sugar
4 tbsp mango puree (or mango pulp here as what it says in the can)
mango bits*
yellow food colouring (if desired)

Combine the double cream, sugar, mango puree, mango bits** and colouring in a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer. Fit the mixer with the whisk attachment and mix on medium speed until smooth. Continue whipping on high speed until the cream can hold a stiff peak.

Place the first/bottom layer and spread whipped cream onto the cake layer. Scatter the mango bits evenly or put some mango puree if you don't have fresh mangoes. Top the cake with the second layer and spread frosting to cover top and sides of cake. Remember to leave some frosting for your borders. Place some mango bits or puree in the center of the top of the cake. Using the remaining frosting, pipe on the top and sides of the cake.

*I'm not using this at the moment as there are no fresh mangoes available here. I've tried the canned mangoes but they are not that good as the mangoes inside are too soft and more of the hairy pulp. I also used honey mangoes from Pakistan as they are closer to the mangoes we have back in the Philippines. I could not find fresh Filipino mangoes here, I found some before but there were from Thailand and man, they were so pricey.

**You may leave out the mango bits in the end after you have reserved some frosting to be used for piping decoration later (as it would be hard to pipe with the mango bits getting stuck in the nozzles). Please also leave some mango bits for decoration. For now I am only using mango puree/pulp.

SOME MORE TIPS:
I have tried putting mango puree/flavor unto the cake but I noticed that there is an after taste so I decided to ditch them and just stick with the plain chiffon. The original recipe calls for cold water but I changed it to whole milk as I think it adds to the fluffiness of the cake (after I noticed that the ube and pandan cakes tastes better with the coconut milk). I am also on the process of trying buttercream frosting with the mango cake but I'll keep you posted if it's okay as I will still be making it tomorrow. I have used this recipe by the way for the buttercream frosting. I hope mine's a success tomorrow (or rather later as it is the wee hours of the morning as of press time).