CAKE RECIPES WITH AN ASIAN TWIST

This week is National Cake Week, and what better way to celebrate the week than by trying new cake recipes.

We’re not bringing just any cake recipes to you, but recipes with an Asian twist to them.

We’ve looked for the best recipes that are out there that will challenge our taste buds, yet satisfy our cake needs.

The White Chocolate Chai Spice Cake by Maurine Dashney is a must try.

We’ve mentioned this recipe before, but had to add it again to our list of cake recipes with an Asian twist.

You can’t go wrong with white chocolate and the flavour of chai fused together, that will create a luxurious tasting spice cake.

Ingredients

• 1 2/3 cups flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup butter, cut into pieces
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 egg whites
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 cup white chocolate chips, melted*
• 1–2 TB ground Chai tea

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
2. In a medium-sized bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
3. In a larger bowl, beat the butter at a high speed, and gradually beat in the sugar. Then, slowly beat in the egg whites.
4. Now you will gradually be adding the dry mixture and the milk to the butter-sugar-egg mixture. To do this, alternate mixing in some of the dry mixture, followed by some milk, followed by some dry mixture… You get the picture. Do that until you’ve incorporated the dry mixture and the milk completely. Just don’t over-mix here.
5. Finish by incorporating the vanilla, white chocolate, and Chai.
6. If you’re making cupcakes, pour the batter into greased or lined cupcake wells until each is about 2/3 full and bake for 17 to 22 minutes. If you’re baking a cake, pour the batter into a greased 9″ round cake pan and bake for 30 to 40 minutes. Rely on the toothpick test here for a perfect cooking time— a toothpick inserted into the middle should come out with some crumbs on it.
7. Coat with a buttercream frosting for a sheer taste of heaven.

Egg-less Sponge Cake

Many Asians don’t include eggs in their diet, so we’ve found the perfect basic Egg-less Sponge Cake recipe that you will make the perfect base for any type of cake you wish to make.

Ingredients

• 200g sweetened condensed milk
• 140g self-rising flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp baking soda
• 60ml melted butter
• 1 tsp vanilla teaspoon
• 75ml water

Method

1. Sieve the flour, baking powder and baking soda together.
2. Mix the flour mixture, condensed milk, melted butter, essence, and water and beat well.
3. Pour the mixture into a greased and dusted 6-inch diameter round tin.
4. Bake in a hot oven at 200 degrees C (400 degrees F) for 10 minutes.
5. Then reduce the temperature to 150 degrees C (300 degree F) and bake for a further 10 minutes.
6. The cake is ready when it leaves the sides of the tin and is springy to touch.
7. When ready, take out from the oven and leave for 1 minute.
8. Invert the tin over a rack and tap sharply to remove.
9. Cool the cake on a wire rack

Gajar ka Halwa Cake (Indian Carrot Cake) by Myheartbeats.com 

Ingredients

• 4 cups carrots, grated
• ¼ cup golden raisins
• ¼ cup cashews, roughly chopped
• ¼ cup pistachios, roughly chopped
• 5 tablespoons melted ghee
• 2 cups almond flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon cardamom powder (freshly ground cardamom is best!)
• 3 eggs, whisked
• 2 tablespoons raw honey

Method

1. Preheat oven to 350 °F.
2. Add carrots, raisins, cashews, pistachios and ghee into a bowl. Mix well.
3. In another bowl, add almond flour, baking soda and cardamom and stir until well combined.
4. Add the carrot mixture to the bowl and combine well – then mix in the honey and eggs.
5. Pour into a 9-inch springform pan and bake at 350°F for 30 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.
6. Optional coconut drizzle: warm coconut butter and drizzle. Mix in some coconut oil if the butter is too thick.

By Amy Lehal