Matthew's Chocolate Cake - Blind Baking with Tray: Pilot episode

Hi guys!

I trialled a new series called "Blind Baking with Tray" on my instagram (@bakingtraybakes) yesterday where I get a special guest to bake, while I instruct them. So essentially they are "baking blind" because they don't know what the method is ^^ They will just have to rely on my instructions and their instinct! Haha! 

The name of the series is also a pun because to "blind bake" is to bake a pie shell/pastry shell before adding the filling. Just a play on words~

Yesterday's special guest was my HUSBAND! Mr. Chin ^^" I have to say he did a really good job!! Maybe we will see more of him in the future!

I saw this recipe on Bread Ahead Bakery's Live instagram bakes (@breadaheadbakery)! They have baking tutorials every day at 2PM UK time! It's awesome! Go check them out if you can! Oh and the owner of the bakery is Matthew which is why the cake is called "Matthew's Chocolate Cake".

Matthew's Chocolate Cake
Recipe from Bread Ahead Bakery

Ingredients

CAKE
185g self-raising flour
2g baking powder
30g cocoa powder
140g caster sugar
4g bicarb soda
210g milk
210g vegetable oil
3 medium eggs (150g)
40g golden syrup (or honey)
50g roasted walnuts, chopped (optional for decoration)

CHOCOLATE GANACHE
175g thickened cream
200g dark chocolate
1g salt
25g unsalted butter
(Note: I used half of this recipe and it was plenty of ganache ^^)

1. Preheat oven to 170oC, fan-forced (or 180oC, fan-forced if making cupcakes). Grease and line baking tin (I used a rectangle loaf pan).
2. Place dry ingredients (self-raising flour, baking powder, cocoa powder, caster sugar and bicarb soda) in a large bowl and whisk to combine.
3. In a separate bowl add the eggs and whisk. Add the rest of the wet ingredients (vegetable oil, milk and golden syrup) and whisk until combined.
4. Add the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir until all combined.
5. Pour into lined cake tin and bake for 30-40 minutes (check at 30 minutes as each oven is different). If making cupcakes, bake at 180oC for 14 minutes. Allow to cool before decorating with ganache.
6. To make chocolate ganache, place cream in small saucepan over medium heat. When it just comes to the boil, remove from heat and add dark chocolate and stir until chocolate melted.
7. Add in pinch of salt and butter and stir until smooth.
8. Allow to cool/thicken before icing the cake. You can place ganache in fridge to speed up cooling process.
9. Decorate cake with ganache and add nuts or berries (optional).

This recipe is great for first time bakers! Happy baking!! Till the next episode...

Eggfree baking: Raspberry Blackout Cake

It was my supervisor's birthday this week so birthday cake baking time!!! One of my friends is currently on an egg-elimination diet as her daughter is egg allergic (aww.. poor girl) so I wanted to make a cake that was EGG FREE. I have previously made an eggless chocolate cake but was also looking for something a little different.

I found this recipe from a vegan baking blog and my first impression was YUM!!! The photo looked awesome!! A 3 layered chocolate cake with chocolate ganache dripping off the sides....and bright pink raspberries carefully placed on top! I only make a 2 layered cake and unfortunately didn't have any fresh raspberries around so used frozen.  My cake is also NOT vegan because I used cow's milk.. but you could always use almond or rice milk like in the original recipe :) But I have to say the cake was super moist! and had the perfect amount of sweetness.

If you are wondering about the egg substitute, the raspberry jam actually helps bind the cake together in place of the egg.

Raspberry Blackout Cake
Recipe adapted from Cookies and Candids

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups plain flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp bicarb soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
285g raspberry jam (reserve 1/2 cup for batter)
2 tsp vanilla essence
1 cup caster sugar
Fresh/frozen raspberries for decorating

Chocolate ganache
100g dark chocolate melts
80ml thickened cream

1. Preheat oven to 180oC. Grease and line 2 8-inch round cake pans.
2. Sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, bicarb soda and salt. Set aside.
3. Combine milk, oil, 1/2 cup raspberry jam, vanilla and sugar in large bowl and mix with electric mixer until jam mostly dissolved (small clumps are ok).
4. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients in batches and mix until everything is incorporated.
5. Divide batter between prepared pans and bake for 35-40 minutes or until skewer inserted into center comes out clean. Remove from oven and let cook in pans.
6. To make chocolate ganache, place chocolate and cream in bowl and melt over double boiler. Allow to cool and it will thicken.

Spreading jam and ganache on the layer of cake~

7. When cakes have cooled fully, spread one layer of cake with thin layer of raspberry jam. Drizzle with a layer of chocolate ganache. Place the other layer of cake on top and pour over ganache. Decorate with raspberries.

So give it a go! Whether you are egg allergic or have just ran out of eggs :)

Cream cheese swirled chocolate bundt cake! Another farewell cake :(

Another farewell.. =( This time for a friend who finished her PhD :) so I guess it's kind of exciting~ she went back to Malaysia so decided to make a cake for her. This cake was inspired by this chocolate bread I tried from THE DOUGH COLLECTIVE in Sydney. I hope this place comes down to Melbourne! They have all kinds of bread, but one of the best is the Double Chocolate Finger Roll - chocolate bread with chocolate chips and chunks of cream cheese. It's DELISH!

Cream cheese swirled Chocolate Bundt Cake
Recipe adapted from Baker Street

Ingredients

Cream Cheese Swirl
1/4 cup caster sugar
250g cream cheese, softened at room temp
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla

Chocolate cake
2 cups plain flour
1 1/2 cups caster sugar
1 cup water
1/2 cup cocoa powder
113g unsalted butter, softened
3 eggs
1 1/4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp bicard soda
1 tsp vanilla essence

Glaze
4 tbs icing sugar
2-3 tbs milk

1. Preheat oven to 180oC and grease bundt tin.
2. For the cream cheese batter, beat the cream cheese and sugar with electric mixer until well combined. Add in egg and vanilla and beat until smooth. Set aside.
3. For the chocolate cake, combine all ingredients in large bowl of stand mixer. Beat at low speed, scraping the bowl often until all ingredients are moistened. Increase speed until well combined.
4. Pour ~3 cups of batter into bundt tin. Spoon cream cheese layer over batter without touching sides of pan. Cover with remaining batter.

creating a swirled pattern

5. Bake for 45-50 minutes or until skewer inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan for 30 minutes then remove and cool completely.
6. For the glaze, mix sugar and milk together in small bowl until you reach a spreadable consistency. Drizzle over cooled cake.

Cream cheese centre! YUM!

Ok so it's not much of a "swirl" but more of a "chunk" of cream cheese~~ but still yummy ^^ I think I'm in a bundt cake phase~ Been looking up many bundt cake recipes so stay tuned for more :)

The FACS cake - for all the science nerds out there!

I don't think many people will get this post.. it's a bit of a science "inside-joke" but nonetheless I want to share it with all of you XD

My friend left 2 weeks... off to pursue a new and exciting job! So although it is sad and I will miss her... I'm also excited for her! and it's not like I can't go visit and vice versa! haha! So this cake was made for her farewell!

I can't take any of the credit because she once showed me a picture of a cake that she suggested I make, but I guess I never had the opportunity to make it, until now! It's a FACS cake~ FACS stands for .. (ok .. nerd time!) Fluorescence-activated cell sorting. It's basically a method to distinguish different cells based on their markers and then you use this machine to analyse them. (I know all you can hear me say is "blah blah blah" xD so let's get to the recipe!!!)

I used my trusty One Bowl Chocolate Cake recipe (all credits go to I bake for you). After letting the cake cool, I frosted with vanilla icing and then went creative with my icing pen and sprinkles! Lots of fun :D

The whole lab had a laugh and enjoyed the cake and said it was really moist (yay!). Although I'm not a professional cake decorator, I do enjoy the occasional cake design =p

Death by Salted Caramel!!!

As soon as I saw this cake recipe, I knew I HAD to bake it! Just had to find some time because it would take a little while. So when ANZAC day came around.. it was time to bake!!! =D =D

This was my first time making salted caramel - it's always been on my to do list but I had a fear of burning it >_< Surprisingly, this recipe was simple and straightforward so I didn't end up having burnt caramel ^^"

There were about 2 tablespoons of the salted caramel leftover so I thought to myself, 'I'll just finish it off with some icecream'... BAD IDEA! It was SICKENLY SWEET!!!! >_______<" but I finished it off, to my regret! Never doing that again!
So lesson learnt - Just take one piece of cake! It will be enough :)

Chocolate Salted Caramel Layer Cake

Recipe adaped from Baker's Corner 

Ingredients

1½ cups (225g) plain flour, sifted
1½ cups (330g) caster sugar
1 ½ cups (180g) Cocoa powder, sifted
2 tsp bicarb soda
1 tsp baking powder
2 eggs
¾ cup (190mL) buttermilk or milk
¾ cup (190mL) warm water
¼ cup (60mL) vegetable oil
2 tsp vanilla essence

Salted Caramel
1 cup (220g) caster sugar
1 tbsp glucose
½ cup (125mL) thickened cream
2 tsp salt
70g cold butter, chopped

Chocolate Ganache
100g dark chocolate melts
80ml thickened cream

1. Preheat oven to 180°C/ 160°C fan forced. Grease and line two 20cm round cake tins with baking paper.
2. Combine flour, sugar, cocoa powder, bicarb soda and baking powder in large bowl. Add eggs, buttermilk, warm water, oil and vanilla essence. Beat on low speed with electric mixer until well combined.
3. Divide batter between pans. Bake for 45 minutes or until skewer inserted into middle comes out clean. Allow cake to cool (~20 mintues) before turning out onto wire rack.
4. For caramel, combine sugar, glucose and 1/2 cup (125ml) water in medium saucepan over high heat. Cook, without stirring, for 15 minutes or until sugar is golden.
5. Remove from heat and carefully pour in cream, whisk until smooth. Return to heat and cook for further 2 minutes.
6. Pour caramel in medium bowl, whisk in salt, cool for 15 minutes. Slowly whisk in butter and cool completely.

Salted caramel!!!! =D

7. Make ganache by placing chocolate and cream in heat proof bowl over pot of simmering water. Stir until smooth and allow to cool.
8. To assemble, cut each cake in half horizontally to form 2 layers. Transfer 1 layer to serving platter, spread 1/3 of caramel on top. Top with another cake layer and repeat with remaining cake layers, leaving top uncovered. Refrigerate for 1 hour or until set. Frost tops and side of cake with chocolate ganache.

2 layers of chocolate cake~

Assembling the cake! The caramel drips into all the small crevices for a deliciously moist cake

Completed cake!!!

DIG IN!!!!!! =D =D

I also made a mini version for my supervisor who was going away on maternity leave ^^

Mini chocolate and salted carmel layer cake

Baking without eggs!!

I received an order to bake a birthday cake for a friend's work mate. She suggested for me to bake a chocolate cake. "Easy" I thought.. until I heard that he was allergic to eggs... and potentially gluten intolerant.. and maybe milk intolerant... and maybe even allergic to nuts!! >_< Maybe this wouldn't be as easy as I thought and I wouldn't want to be responsible... just in case my cake causes an unwanted allergic response >_______<

But... thank God in the end it was just eggs he was allergic too =p

Was looking up recipes on the net and found this recipe for Eggless Chocolate Cake which seemed quite simple...

So if you have anyone that is allergic to eggs.. try this cake out! (it also doesn't contain milk... if you don't add the ganache.. or just make a chocolate glaze out of chocolate and butter; and don't add the nuts if they are allergic)... OR if you just don't have any eggs in the house =p no excuse for not baking!

Eggless Chocolate Cake
Recipe adapted from Tori Hawthorne

Ingredients
100g butter
3 tsp golden syrup
300ml boiling water
1 tbs vanilla essence
300g self raising flour
100g brown sugar
30g cocoa powder
1 tsp bicarb soda
50g walnut crumbs (for decoration)

Chocolate ganache icing
100g dark chocolate
80ml thickened cream

1. Preheat oven to 160oC. Grease and line 20cm round cake tin.
2. Place butter, syrup and vanilla into heavy bowl or saucepan. Add 300ml boiling water and whisk with fork to mix.
3. Sift flour, sugar, cocoa and bicarb soda into large bowl. Pour in the butter mixture  and whisk until you have a smooth batter.
4. Pour into prepared tin and bake for 45-55minutes until cake is risen and bouncy to touch (I advise to check at 40 minutes because my cake was done. You don't want it to be too dry).
5. Cool in tin for 15 minutes before turning out onto wire rack.

Cake cooked... cracked a little ><

Chocolate ganache icing
To make chocolate ganache icing, heat chocolate and cream in a bowl (double-boiler) until melted and well combined. Pour into smaller bowl and leave to cool at room temperature (it will thicken when cool). If not using for a while, place in the fridge.

Assembly
Cut cooled cake in 2 pieces. Spread half the ganache on the bottom half. Sprinkle with walnut crumbs. Place second layer on top and ice with chocolate ganache. 
Decorate as you like. I placed 2 chocolate macarons on top and sprinkled the border with walnut crumbs :)

Cake sliced, filled with chocolate ganache and walnut crumb

Finished cake =D

It's been really fun baking for others ^^ nearly feels like a real "business" hehe...

Got 5 min to spare? Make a CAKE!!!

Yes that's right!! Now there is NO excuse to say that you don't have time to make a cake =p

Was at my cousin's new house and wanted to bake something for the first time in the kitchen! but we also had limited ingredients and time. So we were flipping through this collection of recipes made by her work place where everyone puts in their best and well tested recipes and found a recipe for 5 Minute Chocolate MUG Cake. It claimed to only take 5 minutes! :O Yes 5 minutes!!!!!

Amazingly... it worked a treat!!! The good thing about it is that it only uses 1 mug and 1 spoon (less washing) and you can get your chocolate fix in 5 minutes!! So give it a go~~ If you have guests coming over unexpectantly.. this is PERFECT! You just need a mug and microwave :)

5 Minute Chocolate Mug Cake
Recipe adapted from Elizabeth ________ >< forgot who! sorry!

Ingredients
4 tbsp self-raising flour (if you only have plain flour, add 1/2 tsp bicarb soda/baking powder)
4 tbsp caster sugar
2 tbsp cocoa powder
1 egg
3 tbsp milk
3 tbsp oil
1/2 tsp vanilla essence
3 tbsp chocolate chips (optional.. we didn't have any but it would have been delicious with them!)

1. Add dry ingredients to mug and mix well. 
2. Add egg and mix well. Add milk and oil and mix to combine. Add vanilla and choc chips and mix.

Looks like hot chocolate XD

3. Place mug in microwave and cook for 3 minutes at 1000 watts (high). The cake will rise over the top of the mug but DO NOT BE ALARMED. 

Cooking in a microwave~

Looks like souffle! haha

4. Allow to cool in mug a little, and tip onto a plate if desired (or just eat straight out of the mug!)

TA DA!!! =D =D

Tastes great with a spoonful of vanilla icecream =)

Looks like normal chocolate sponge cake! Very light and fluffy ^^

Mmmm icecream~~

Think about all the variations you could do!! Green tea... vanilla... blueberry... orange! the list is endless ^^ So go on! by the time you read this post you could have made this cake XD

Just ONE bowl - chocolate cake

Everybody loves an easy, delicious recipe that doesn't use too many dishes right? (coz who loves washing up after baking >__<) so here is a really tasty CHOCOLATE CAKE!!! everything in one bowl!!! and about 10 minutes to actually make!! =D

Made this for collegues farewell :)

Ingredients:

200g self-raising flour
150g caster sugar
34g cocoa powder
2 eggs
175ml milk
125g butter, melted

1. Preheat oven to 160oC
2. Place all ingredients in a large bowl and blend on low speed to combine using an electriv mixer
3. When combined, mix on medium speed for a few minutes (for airation ^^)

MMmm i could just eat it like THAT!

4. Line a cake tin and pour mixture in. Bake for ~30 minutes
5. Make chocolate ganache and ice cooled cake :)

Chocolate ganache:
150ml cream
375g cooking chocolate

Melt cream and chocolate in a heat proof bowl placed on top of a bowl with simmering water - as the French say "bain marie"

also had leftover batter for cupcakes ^^

Pre-iced... don't worry too much about the cracks .. that's what the icing is for right? :P

Chocolate cupcakes :)

TA DA! finished product!! glistening :) :)

Recipe modified from http://i-bake-for-you.blogspot.com/2010/05/monkey-business.html