Black sesame chiffon

I have wanted to bake this since about 2 years ago but never got down to it because I could not find a recipe for it. All the recipes I came across were for small pans but nothing suited the 25-26" pan I had. I had come across this recipe: http://greencilantro.blogspot.com.au/2013/07/black-sesame-chiffon-cake.html. It claimed that it was for a 10" pan. However, the ingredients only used 4 eggs, which didn't seem plausible for such a big pan unless it was going to come out really flat. I multiplied the proportions to 7 eggs (which my favourite blogger seems to recommend for 25"pans) and it came to something quite ridiculous e.g. way too much liquid, and way too much sesame seed powder.

As such, I decided to adapt from my favourite and most successful chiffon blogger and used this recipe for cocoa chiffon http://thedomesticgoddesswannabe.com/2014/11/chocolate-chiffon-cake/

I initially thought of reducing the cake flour because from past experience with this recipe, it was very dense. But after the flour went in, the resulting batter seemed too thin to hold up the sesame seed powder. In the end, I more or less followed the recipe but with a few tweaks.

Rising tall with a few cracks

Ingredients (for 26 inch pan)

7 eggs, separated

190g sugar

42g black sesame powder

224g cake flour

¾ tsp baking powder

½ tsp salt

120 ml oil (½ cup)

192ml fresh milk

Beautiful! Pardon the air pockets.

Method

1) Prepare the black sesame seeds. Toast in a pan until lightly roasted. Let cool and pulverize in a food processor. 

2) In a small bowl, combine the following dry ingredients: cake flour, salt, baking powder, and black sesame powder.

3) In a big bowl, beat the egg yolks with half the sugar until the sugar has mostly dissolved. Add the oil and beat until paler in colour. Pour in the milk and whisk to incorporate.

4) In three batches, sift in the dry ingredients and fold in gently. Ensure no lumps.

5) In a very clean bowl, beat the egg whites until foamy. Add the sugar in three additions and beat till stiff peaks.

6) Add ⅓ of the meringue into the yolk batter to loosen. With the next third, fold it in until no streaks of white remain. Finally, pour the batter into the remaining ⅓ meringue and this time, fold very carefully until no streaks remain.

7) Pour into the chiffon tin, making sure to distribute the batter throughout the tin. Concentrate on the sides rather than the centre. For some reason, the cake seems to rise more in the middle centre funnel than along the sides. Using a spatula, making slashes in the batter to dispel the air bubbles and especially run the spatular along the rim (as you can see in the picture, I wasn't totally successful in this area). Drop the cake tin onto the countertop from a 10 cm height. Repeat a few times to dispel the big air bubbles. 

8) Bake at 170 deg C for 65 minutes. After about 45 minutes, you can tent with foil if it gets too brown, or turn down the temp to between 160 to 165 deg C.

9) Remove from the oven and immediately invert over a can to keep the cake elevated. When completely cool (about 3 hours in winter!), unmould by literally carving out the cake from the tin. 

10) Serve with the top inverted onto a plate - the flat bottom has now become the top. This hides the cracked top.

Fudgey peanut butter brownies

This is truely the best brownie recipe that I've tasted. I'm not sure if it has to do with the peanut butter, but it was really fudgey. First time busting out my new square tin!

This link is instructive :http://www.sbs.com.au/food/article/2017/02/05/bakeproof-brownies

It explains that fudgey brownies have more oil and higher cocoa to flour ratio but cakey ones have more flour and cocoa and less fat. Brown sugar and extra egg yolks up the fudginess factor with shorter baking time. Less sugar however means less crust ie less crispiness. More cocoa or high content choco means more bitter.

https://cafedelites.com/2016/08/28/best-fudgy-cocoa-brownies/

The peanut butter swirls were my addition. The recipe calls for a baking time of 21 mins but the top was still not set even after 23 minutes, but by 25 minutes, the sides and top had gotten a bit too dry even after I removed them from the pan almost immediately. Perhaps 24 minutes would be perfect if I left them in the pan to cool?

Ingredients (for a 20 inch square tin)

½ C melted butter

1 tbsp oil

1 ⅛ C sugar

2 large eggs

2 tsp vanilla extract

½ cup flour

½ cup cocoa powder

¼ tsp salt

Method

1) Prepare a square tin by lining with parchment. Pre-heat to 175 deg C.

2) Using a whisk, beat the sugar, salt, melted butter and oil really well.

3) Add the eggs and vanilla and beat very well with a whisk until it is lighter in colour.

4) In another bowl, combine the flour and cocoa and ensure that they are well mixed.

5) Soft the flour and cocoa into the wet mixture. Use the whisk to fold in but do not beat.

6) Pour the batter into the prepared tin. Use the spatula to smooth out the top.

7) Bake for 23 to 25 mins, checking after 23 mins. The top should be set and should no longer jiggle.

8) Remove from the oven and let it cool slightly in the tin. If it is too soft, it looses it shape after removal from the tin. Remove from the tin when it has cooled down. Let it continue to cool on a wire rack.

9) Once completely cool, cut up. I sliced mine into 24 pieces but its usual to do 12.

Update: Slightly different recipe that mostly double the portions yet still fits into the same size pan

https://bakingamoment.com/simply-perfect-brownies-from-scratch/