Rainbow cake

I felt like a challenge one day so I decided to make a rainbow cake. 

And what a challenge that was! 

I used a chiffon sponge recipe which wasn't the best idea as I have deflated the batter when I tried adding flavour & colour gel to it and mixing it to combine. 

I also used a 7inch flan case to bake each layers individually. 

This took so long as I only have 2 flan cases and a tiny portable oven to bake one sponge at a time. 

In total, I have spend 1 and a half hours just baking them. 

I made red & pink sponge in strawberry flavour, purple in yam flavour, yellow in vanilla, green in pandan flavour & blue was plain as I don't have a blueberry essence. 

I whipped up fresh cream and sliced thin strawberries, kiwi & peach between layers. 

I will try to make this again but changing the sponge for a butter one. 

But overall for a 1st attempt on a Rainbow cake, I think I've done a pretty good job. 

 Don't you think? 

One tall slice please!

My daughter found an old birthday card and we compared it. 

French Macarons

 

Before you start, if you prefer a step by step guide which I have made for reference.

Click here to take a look at my method to the making of French Macarons. 

French Macarons recipe:

You need  a template of circles drawn about 3.5cm, I drew mine with a piping nozzle.

Place it under a piece of baking paper on a baking tray.

 Ingredients:

50g ground almonds

40g icing sugar

7g cocoa powder 

(or just replace 7g of almond meal if you want all white macarons)

45g caster sugar

40g egg whites (*aged for 2 days, optional)

Nutella for the filling

Method:

Sift the ground almonds, cocoa powder and icing sugar together and discard and large bits of almonds that don't pass through the sieve. Set aside.

Whisk egg whites till soft peak then gradually add the sugar and whisk till you get stiff peaks.

Add your dry ingredients to your meringue and now you have entered the macaronage stage. 

Now for the macaronage technique, which I have learned to follow carefully after I failed my first batch by over mixing. 

They say this is the crucial part of the process, under or over mixing your batter can affect the results of your macarons.

You need to mix the batter and spread it against the sides of the bowl to deflate some of air in the meringue, keep mixing until you get a smooth, shining batter. 

Around 40-50 folds and you should have a batter that flows like volcano lava. 

If you get this right, then feets should appear on your macarons when baking. 

Now fill your piping bag and pipe onto the baking paper with your template under it. 

Once it's done, tap the macarons on the work top 2-3 times to remove any trapped air bubbles.

Let them rest for 30 minutes or depending on the humidity in your room. 

They need to form a skin so they no longer stick to your fingers when you touch it. 

This is also another crucial part which I have  learn from my mistake because if you don't dry it out it will crack in the oven. 

 Bake in a preheated oven at 130c for about 15minutes.

Let it cool before you remove it from the baking paper.

Match up your macarons to the same size then pipe Nutella and sandwich together. 

 

* you can use fresh egg whites with this recipe, I have tried both and leaving my egg whites out in a bowl covered with kitchen towel in room temperature for 2 days. I can't really see the difference or maybe I just haven't noticed it! The reason for this the experts say is to evaporate the moisture in the egg whites which results in a stronger shell and better texture. 

You can try this and tell me your findings. 

Happy baking. :)