Chocolate Banana Swiss Roll

Haven't been able to bake much this month, I really miss baking. I miss dreaming about the different flavour combinations and concoctions, shopping for ingredients and putting them together into pretty and delicious desserts. There's something about baking that makes it a highly therapeutic activity and gives me a sense of accomplishment every single time. I wish I'll have more time and opportunities to bake in the months ahead...I have so many more things to accomplish still!

I saw a bunch of bananas sitting at the kitchen counter and decided at a whim to make this Chocolate Banana Swiss Roll. I'm pretty sick of the overly sweet desserts outside and was craving for a rustic and homely cake. Besides chiffons, swiss rolls are the next item on my list of homely cakes...and plus, they are quick to put together and easy on the palate!

I was undecided on whether to use my leftover Van Houten chocolate chips or opt for the more luxurious Valrhona Caraibe for this. Eventually, I decided to use the latter...no point using the cheaper chocolate especially since it's for my loved ones' consumption. The cake turned out pretty tasty, not too sweet! Though I'd like it more if the sponge was more moist and the bananas more sweet and ripe. Perhaps brushing some sugar syrup over the sponge will help? Any other suggestions ? Else I might just try that next time :).

Ooooh...I am also submitting this to Aspiring Bakers #5 - Fruity March (Mar 2011) hosted by Jess from Bakericious!

Am digging into a slice right now...will leave you with the recipe in the meantime :).

Chocolate Banana Swiss Roll

adapted from Eggplant10

Ingredients:

[Sponge]

25g unsalted butter, melted

45g cake flour, sifted

80g egg yolks

25g castor sugar

20g cocoa powder, sifted

10g cold water

120g egg whites

60g castor sugar

10g corn flour

[Chocolate Whipped Cream]
160g whipping cream
90g chocolate, chopped
4 tbsp milk

Preparation:
[Sponge]
1. Whisk egg yolks with castor sugar over a double boiler until it becomes a pale and thick mixture.
2. Add sifted cocoa powder and cold water and whisk till well incorporated.
3. Beat egg whites in an electric stand mixer till foamy, slowly add the castor sugar and corn flour and beat till stiff peak form.
4. Fold 1/3 of the meringue into the egg yolk and cocoa mixture until there are no more traces of egg whites left, then fold in another 1/3, followed by the last 1/3 of the meringue.
5. Fold in the sifted cake flour, followed by the melted butter.
6. Pour the batter into a line sheet pan and level. Bake at 180 degrees Celsius for 13 minutes. Cool on the wire rack until ready to use.

[Chocolate Whipped Cream]
1. Whip the cream until soft peak form.
2. Melt the chocolate and milk over a double boiler and mix till smooth.
3. Fold the melted chocolate mixture into the whipped cream and chill till ready to use.

[Assembly]
1. Spread a layer of whipped cream onto the sponge. Line the bananas on top of the whipped cream and roll.
2. Chill in the refrigerator till ready to serve.

Mango Mousse Cake - Happy Birthday to ME!

Happy Birthday to ME!

Haha I'm quite amused by this myself but I actually baked myself a birthday cake! I've been so soooo busy over the past two months that I hardly had time to rest, much less for baking. I probably did some simple bakes like financiers and chiffon cakes but didn't have the extra motivation or energy to take pictures and post them up here...haha.

Anyway, this year's birthday was a blast! Most of it made awesome by a very special someone. I really appreciate the thought and effort that goes into the little details, to make this occasion an extra special one for me. God is really really good, I had awesome company to celebrate my birthday with, and have extraordinary memories for keeps too! I wish I can slowly savour every moment, every person, every experience :).

Because this was a "rushed" cake given my pretty crazy schedule, I decided to go with a simple Mango Mousse Cake. Mum bought some really sweet and juicy mangoes a while ago and I decided to go with what I had on hand instead of the initially-planned Fruit Rouges cake. I put this together in under 3 hours and I think it looks pretty decent!

For today's dinner, I went to The Line at Shangri-La Hotel with my family. We are so stuffed that we can't even eat one more slice of cake! I guess we'll have to wait till tomorrow to cut the cake then...hence no pictures of the sliced cake as of now. I made this using a much-raved about recipe from Rei's blog. I tested the mousse and it tasted good! I hope the overall cake will taste alright too!

Ooh...I can't resist sharing these pretty pink tulips I received for my birthday with you too...so lovely!

I am submitting the Mango Mouse Cake to Aspiring Bakers#5 - Fruity March ( Mar2011) hosted by Jess from Bakericious. Recipe follows...

Mango Mousse Cake

adapted from All The Matters

Ingredients:

[Sponge Cake ]

(A)
2 egg whites
40g fine sugar
(B)
2 egg yolks
30g fine sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla essence
50g milk
24g corn oil
68g cake flour (sifted)
1/4 Tsp bicarbonate of soda (sifted)

[Mango Mousse]

8g gelatine sheets
25g hot water
150g whipping cream
1.5 tbsp icing sugar
200g mango puree (if refrigerated, bring to room temperature)
140g diced mango

[Mango Glaze]
100g mango puree (bring to room temperature)
3 gelatin sheets
3 tbsp boiling water


Preparation:

[Sponge Cake]

1) Prepare and line a 7 x 7 inch baking tin. In a clean bowl, whisk egg white until foamy. Slowly add sugar and whisk till stiff peak form. 

2) In another bowl, whisk egg yolks and sugar till pale and fluffy.

3) Add vanilla essence, milk and corn oil to egg yolk mixture then fold in the sifted flour mixture.

4) Fold in the egg yolk mixture into egg white mixture.

5) Bake at 150°C for around 30 minutes or till skewer comes clean. Let the cake cool and slice horizontally 2 slices and trim them into 6 x 6 inch square.

[Mango Mousse]

1) In a mixing bowl, whip whipping cream with icing sugar to soft peak state. Refrigerate to chill.

2) In a small bowl, dissolve gelatine sheets in hot water. When the gelatine is fully dissolved, add to mango puree. Add rum to the mixture. Mix well.

3) Add the mango mixture to whipped cream. Mix well until incorporated.

4) Use a 7 x 7 inch cake ring, place a layer of cake and pour in mango mousse, or use a large piping tip to pipe the mixture. Do take note of the corners. Add mango cubes and cover them with some mousse. Let it slighty set for about 10 minutes in the fridge.

5) Lay another cake layer and pour the remaining mousse. Let it set for 30 to 45 minutes in the fridge.

[Mango Glaze]

6) Dissolve gelatine in hot water. Mix in mango puree. Wait till the mousse is set and the topping is cooled, arrange sliced fruits, if using, pour in the topping carefully. Let the cake chill for at least 3 hours before removing the cake ring.

Yields a 7 by 7 inch square cake.