Mandarin orange chiffon "oranges" by Phay Shing

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mandarin orange chiffon "oranges"

Recipe is adapted from http://smallsmallbaker.blogspot.sg/2012/02/mandarin-orange-chiffon-cake.html. This recipe makes only a small portion, enough batter for 4 "oranges" and one small cake, so you may want to double or triple it.

Ingredients:

1 egg yolk (65g egg)

6g caster sugar
10g vegetable oil (I used canola oil)
14ml freshly squeezed Mandarin orange juice
1 tbs orange zest
17g cake flour
1/8 tsp baking powder

Orange gel food colouring

Meringue:

2 egg whites
16g caster sugar
1/12 tsp cream of tartar

Decoration:

Compound white chocolate, finely chopped

Green tea powder

Steps:

1. Preheat oven to 160°C

2. Whisk egg yolk and caster sugar until well combined. Add in oil, followed by orange juice and zest.

3. Whisk sifted flour and baking powder into the batter bit by bit until there is no trace of flour.

4. In a clean bowl, beat egg whites and cream of tartar with an electric mixer. When soft peaks are formed, gradually add in sugar and beat until stiff peaks are formed and the bowl can be overturned without the meringue falling out.

5. Add 1/3 of the meringue into the egg yolk batter and mix well. Fold in gently but quickly the rest of meringue in 2 additions until there is no trace of egg whites. Tap the bowl a few times on the table to release any trapped air bubbles in the batter.

6. Spoon batter into round-bottomed glass bowls (mine were about 8cm in diameter and 6.5cm in height). Fill the glass bowls until they are about slightly more than half full.

7. Bake for 15 minutes, then lower the temperature to 150°C for another 10-15 minutes.

8. Invert the bowls immediately onto a cooling rack. Let the cakes cool completely before GENTLY unmolding by hand as the cakes are very soft and fragile. Store the cakes in an airtight container to prevent them from drying out.

9. In order to shape the cakes into orange shapes, begin by using a citrus juicer to make an indent at the top of the hemisphere. Hold the juicer in place for several second before releasing it. If you find that the indent is not deep enough, repeat this step.

10. Next, gently gather/ pinch in the bottom of the hemisphere if it flares outwards too much to look like an orange, and place the cake on a paper cupcake liner.

11. Make the "wrinkles" at the top of the orange by using the back of a butter knife to imprint 5 indents. Hold the cake by cupping it with one hand and press the back of the knife firmly on the cake. Rock the knife gently forwards and backwards, and side to side to make the imprint. Repeat if necessary to ensure that the imprints do not disappear.

12. Divide the white chocolate into 2 portions and place them in small bowls. Place the bowls in a small saucepan of hot water and keep stirring until the chocolate melts and flows easily. Add some green tea powder to one of the bowls and stir until the powder and chocolate are well combined and smooth. You may pipe the "stem stubs" onto the oranges using piping bags but I prefer to use a toothpick to apply the chocolate for such a small volume. Draw a star in the middle of the orange using the green tea white chocolate. When it has set, add a drop of plain white chocolate at the center of the "star".