Yam (Taro) Fudge Cake for Mum's Birthday

Lately, I seem to be losing my inspiration for writing. I do have things that I want to pen down but somehow there is a barrier when it comes to translating these thoughts into words. Maybe I am suffering from a writer's block, even though I am hardly a writer myself. Nevertheless, I am still determined to blog my baking adventures down for my own reference.

Originally, I wanted to make fondant cupakes for my mum's birthday, thinking that it would be a good opportunity to practice on fondant making. Due to time constraint, I switched to making a yam fudge cake instead. 

Instead of piping the usual rosettes around the borders, I tried doing shells this time round. Prior to this, I had a few opportunities to practice piping shells on baking paper. This could be done with you have leftover cream and have no idea how to use them. Individually, the shells did not turn out neat but the overall effect looked not too shabby.

Normally, I do not have much ideas on how I want to decorate my cakes. The idea of using fruits for decoration struck my mind and I used strawberries and sliced canned peaches to fill the centre of the cake. Even though it meant spending a bit more just for the sake of decorating, the outcome is much better than I had anticipated and I do think the additional expenditure is well justified for the occasion.
 
Yam Fudge Cake (Recipe adapted from Delicious Cakes by Amy Heng)
Serving size: Makes one 9 inch round cake.
Taste and texture: Yam and coconut fudge with soft chiffon sponge layers. 

Equipment and Materials:

• 9 x 3 inch round tin
• 10 inch round cake board
• Cake leveller or long serrated knife
• 9 inch round cake ring
• Balloon whisk/ wire whisk
• Rubber spatula
• Handheld beater/ stand beater
• Baking paper
• Wire rack
• Wooden skewer
• Flour sieve
• Star piping tip (Wilton # 22)
• Piping bag
• Coupler for piping
• Mixing bowls

Chiffon Sponge: 

• 70g egg yolks
• 60g castor sugar
• 80ml water
• 100ml corn oil
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 120g cake flour
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 160g egg whites
• 1/2 tsp cream of tartar
• 65g castor sugar

Making the chiffon sponge:

Prepare Oven - Preheat oven to 160 degrees C.

Prepare flour mixture - Sift cake flour, salt and baking powder in a large bowl. Whisk to combine and allow the dry ingredients to be evenly distributed.

Making the egg yolk batter - Place egg yolks and 60g caster sugar in a large mixing bowl. Whisk egg yolks and sugar until sugar is dissolved. Add in oil, water and vanilla. Mix well with a wire whisk. Add in the flour mixture and mix to obtain a smooth batter.

Beating egg whites - In a clean metal mixing bowl, beat egg whites and cream of tartar on low speed. Increase speed slowly to medium-high and beat untill egg whites are at soft peaks. Add 65g of sugar gradually and beat untill egg whites are stiff and still moist. This is when the beaters are lifted, the egg whites will form peaks that are upright and not drooping. Egg whites will resemble whipped cream. The entire bowl of whites will not drop out when the bowl is overturned. Do not over-beat or the egg whites will become dry and clumpy.

Folding in egg whites - Using a balloon whisk, fold one third of beaten egg whites into egg yolk batter gently to lighten and combine. Fold in the rest of the beaten whites to combine. Final batter should be foamy and uniform in colour with no streaks of egg white present. Folding egg whites gently using a balloon whisk will prevent egg whites from deflating too much.

Baking the sponge cake - Pour batter into a greased and lined 9 x 3 inch round pan and bake at 160 degrees C for 30 -40 minutes. Test doneness using a skewer or toothpick. When the cake is done, the inserted skewer will come out clean. Cake will shrink from edges and in height on cooling. Unmould sponge cake and leave to cool upright on a wire rack.

Yam Fudge:

• 410g yam (taro), steamed/boiled and mashed
• A little purple colouring
• 1 tbs + 1 tsp agar agar powder (1 pack of cap swallow globe agar agar powder)
• 80g green bean flour
• 850ml coconut milk (from 1 litre pack) mixed with 150ml water
• 75g sugar

Making the yam fudge:

Place yam, purple colouring, agar agar powder, green bean flour, coconut milk mixture and sugar in a blender. Whizz the ingredients until it becomes a smooth mixture. Pour the mixture in a saucepan and heat it over medium low flame until the mixture thickens, stirring the mixture constantly. Remove saucepan from heat. Set aside for use. Mixture will thicken further on cooling.

Assembly:

Slicing sponge cake - Slice sponge cake into 3 even layers using a cake leveller or long serrated/palette knife. Slice off the part that has domed.

Preparing the layers - Using the removable base of a round tart tin or a round cake board, slide the tart tin base or cake board under a sponge layer and carefully transport it onto a 10 inch round cake board. This method of transferring is to prevent the sponge layer from breaking. Place a 9 inch round cake ring over the sponge layer. There should a gap between the perimeter of the cake and the tin.

Pour 1/3 of the prepared yam fudge (still hot) over the first sponge layer. Allow the yam fudge to fill the gap and level the fudge as evenly as possible.

Place the second sponge layer over the first yam fudge layer, similarly using a cake board or tart tin base to help with the transfer. Pour another 1/3 of the yam fudge over the second sponge layer and level the fudge. 

Lastly, place the final sponge layer over the second yam fudge layer. Pour the remaining 1/3 of the yam fudge over the third sponge layer and level the fudge as evenly as possible. Transfer cake ring supported by cake board to a cake box and bring it to the refrigerator to chill. Allow a chilling time of 4 hours or longer until yam fudge sets.

Unmoulding finished cake: To unmould the cake, wrap a warm kitchen towel around the cake ring or use a hairdryer to briefly heat up the exterior of the cake ring. Take care not to apply too much heat using the hairdryer. Remove cake ring slowly (upwards) and steadily. Bring un-moulded cake back to the refrigerator to firm up before decorating and cutting.

Decorations: Decorate with whipped cream and sliced fruits as desired. If you are using canned peaches, ensure the peaches are well drained. 

Instagram link: http://instagram.com/bakertanbakes