August 21, 2015
Fabulous Friday Flavour: Lychee Rainbow Chiffon with Mint Frosting
It’s been some intense weekend last week when we had to hustle along in preparation for Spud’s belated birthday celebration. It obviously included me being on my feet for hours on end in the kitchen, cooking and baking to prep up for our little gathering with a few friends.
Spud has specifically requested for a rainbow cake and like last year, she wanted to decorate the cake herself. Having spent too much time at work for 2 weeks at a stretch, how could I even have the heart to say no? I just couldn’t!
This is when I realized that I am just becoming like my mom, who, no matter how knackered she is after a long day at work, she’d have no qualms whipping them up whenever her kids asked her to cook or bake them something. She may not do it immediately, but it’s a guarantee that she’ll oblige in a matter of days the moment we kids open our mouth and told her we feel like eating XYZ. My brother and I have been lucky that way.
Inspired by last week’s success of my Rainbow Chiffon on Monthly Mystery Munchies #4, I decided that I’ll make another rainbow chiffon. Not just another rainbow chiffon, though, but a Lychee Rainbow Chiffon complete with pink mint frosting!
Spud wanted so much to help out with the baking itself, and while I was quite reluctant to, given the delicate ingredients used (egg whites!!!), I allowed her to put the ingredients into the mixing bowl or pass the necessary ingredients/ utensils to me. I also let her choose her colours and sequencing the colours for layering. She was happy with that, and happier at the prospect of being able to decorate her own cake again. Mind you, she didn’t even mind being called away from watching My Little Pony!
We had a great bonding time together, and she’s got her friend helping her out with the cake decoration. Nothing like making a child happy with a home-made birthday cake that was yummy but messy and completely imperfect!
This recipe has been tweaked a little bit as I used extra eggs for volume and I had rammed up the taste with Lychee extract for the cake and topped it with a good layer of light cream cheese for the frosting. It went by quite quickly.
That was my mommy’s redemption moment. The smiles I got was well-worth all the exhaustion I felt!
- 8 large eggs, separated plus 1 additional egg white
- 2 1/4 cups (225 grams) sifted cake flour
- 1 1/2 cups (300 grams) superfine white (castor) sugar
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup (120 ml) vegetable oil or safflower oil
- 3/4 cup (180 ml) low-fat milk
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon pure lychee extract
- 3/4 teaspoon cream of tartar (use to stabilise whipping of egg whites and allow them to reach maximum volume)
- 3-4 tbsp cocoa powder
- Colouring: I used blue, red, orange, green
- 8 ounces Mascapone Cheese
- Half cup Icing sugar
- 2 cups whipping cream
- 1/2 teaspoon of lychee extract
- 1/2 teaspoon of mint extract
- A few drops of coloring
- Separate the eggs and place the whites in one bowl and the yolks in another. Cover with plastic wrap and bring them to room temperature (about 30 minutes).
- Preheat the oven to 170 degrees C and have ready a 10 inch (25 cm) two piece tube pan (ungreased).
- In the bowl of your electric mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, place the flour, sugar (minus 3 tablespoons or 42 grams), baking powder, and salt. Beat until combined.
- Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and add the egg yolks, oil, milk, vanilla extract and lychee extract. Beat about one minute or until smooth.
- Get ready empty bowls to separate the batter in #4, enough to accomodate the colours you need to use for the cake
- In a separate bowl, with the whisk attachment, beat the egg whites until foamy. Add the cream of tartar and continue to beat until soft peaks form. Gradually beat in the remaining 3 tablespoons (42 grams) of sugar and beat until stiff peaks form.
- Apportion the whisked egg whites into the batter in #6 equally. Add drops of colouring to each of the bowl. I also added in cocoa powder to one of the bowls for that subtle chocolate taste
- With a large rubber spatula, gently fold the egg whites into the batter just until blended (being careful not to deflate the batter).
- To layer, pour the mixed batter (with egg whites folded in) one colour on top of the other until all the batter is used up into the ungreased tube pan.
- Bake for about 55 to 60 minutes, or until a wooden skewer inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. (When lightly pressed the cake will spring back).
- Important: Immediately upon removing the cake from the oven invert the pan and place on a bottle or flat surface so it is suspended over the counter.
- Let the cake cool completely before removing from pan (about 1 1/2 – 2 hours).
- To remove the cake from the pan, run a long metal spatula around the inside of the tube pan and center core. Invert onto a greased wire rack. (I used an already detacheable mould for easy removal of the cake)
- This can be stored in an airtight container for a few days at room temperature or for about a week in the refrigerator. This cake can also be frozen for a couple of months.
- Whisk cream cheese into a mixing bowl
- Add sugar, slowly until it becomes creamy
- Add in the whpping cream, lychee extract, mint extract and a few drops of red colouring. Whisk till it appears light.
- Store it in the fridge until it is ready to be used
- It is important that you do not over-beat the whipping cream
Awwwwww….
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That looks amazing! She did a great job decorating and I bet you got some brownie points, mommy! Always a good thing 🙂 It so little to make the kids happy. Thank you for sharing at Thursday Favorite Things and happy belated birthday to the beautiful girl! Hugs
I meant to say: * it takes so little…..ugh, typing too fast and checking it….sorry
hahaha, I did it again….*and NOT checking it…I quit 🙁
Hahahaa! I had to read the 3 comments a few times to get what you mean.I have a tendency for that, too. :p Oh yes, I think she did a great job. She enjoyed it so much and she was such a gracious host too – making sure everyone had a piece of her cake. It was really messy though, but I’m actually OK with it. I’m sure we’ll find ants’ nests around the house soon enough. Wishing you a wonderful week! *hugs* 😀