Taro Mochi Cake

I was in the mood to make a mochi cake but wanted to change it up.  I remembered this recipe that used ube (purple yam) in the mochi cake.  I am impartial with ube, but I am a HUGE fan of taro root, so I thought I’d incorporate it into a butter mochi cake recipe.  I love the chewiness of mochi and the stickiness and flavor of taro; I wonder what the result will be…

Check out the verdict at the end of the post!

Taro Mochi Cake

Inspired from here.

Ingredients

2 cups peeled and diced taro (makes 1 ¾ cup mashed)

½ cup butter, room temperature

1 cup sugar

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup coconut milk

2 ¾ cup glutinous rice flour

1 tsp baking powder

Directions

1.   Steam taro until a fork easily pierces.  Puree in a food processor or mash with a potato masher.

2.   Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

3.   In a bowl, cream butter and sugar until fluffy.

4.   Add eggs and vanilla, and beat until smooth.

5.   Add coconut milk and beat until smooth.

6.   Add glutinous rice flour and baking powder, and mix until incorporated.

7.   Add taro puree and mix until smooth.

8.   Pour into a baking dish lined with parchment.  Bake for 1 hour and 4 minutes or until a toothpick comes out mostly dry (a very small amount of dough on the toothpick is OK).

Pureed taro.

Before baking.

After baking.

Verdict: These were soooo good! The edges were crusty and the middle was chewy with a great taro flavor! I couldn’t stop eating these so I had to give them away to family and friends before I ate the entire pan in 1 day.  I think it would be good with red bean paste incorporated into the batter (maybe a layer of red bean in the middle) too!  For those new to baking with glutinous rice flour, note that the middle will be sticky – this is normal and desirable.

S'more Cake

It was the boyfriend’s sister’s birthday and I was itching to do some baking.  I had bought a bag of giant marshmallow because they were novel, even though I had no idea what I was going to do with them! I had also bought a cooking torch.  These things resulted in my decision to make a s’more cake! (Plus it’s summer aka s’more season).

Check out the verdict at the end of the post!

I used the following recipes to make a 5 inch round as a gift.  Since I had left over batter, I made a 7 inch round, too.

S’more Cake (parts below)

Graham Crumbs (make first)

Adapted from Milk Bar Cookbook

Ingredients

2 ¼ cup graham cracker crumbs

¼ cup + 2 Tablespoon milk powder

3 Tablespoon sugar

¾ cup salted butter, melted

¼ cup + 2 Tablespoon heavy cream

Directions

1.  Spread graham cracker crumbs on a baking sheet and toast at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes or until it deepens in colour.

2.  Mix graham crumbs, milk powder, and sugar in a bowl.

3.  Mix melted butter and heavy cream, then add to dry ingredients.  Mix with a spoon until you get chunks of crumb.  Store in airtight container until ready to use.

Graham crumb

Chocolate Cake

I halved the recipe from here.

Before pouring the batter into the pans, I pressed a total of 1¼ cup graham crumbs into the bottom of the pans.

I baked the 5 inch cake at 350 degrees for 36 minutes, and the 7 inch one for 41 minutes.

Graham crumbs in baking pans.

Before baking.

After baking.

Graham Frosting

From Milk Bar Cookbook

Ingredients

The remaining graham crumbs from the above recipe (total minus 1¼ cup)

1 cup homo milk

¾ cup room temperature butter

2 Tablespoon packed brown sugar

2 Tablespoon icing sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

Directions

1.  Puree graham crumbs and milk in a blender until smooth.

2.  In a bowl, cream butter, both sugars, and cinnamon until fluffy.

3.  Pour in the contents of the blender and mix until uniform. Keep in the fridge if not using immediately.

Frosting ready to go.

Toasted marshmallows

One bag of extra large marshmallows.  Regular marshmallow would also work.

Cut in ½ or ¼ and lay on a baking sheet.  Toast using a cooking torch.

First batch of toasted marshmallows.

Assembly

1.  Slice cakes into 3 even layers.

2.  Cut and tape firm acetate or plastic into a ring the size of the cakes.  Place it on the plate you’ll be serving it.

3.  Place a dollop of frosting on the middle of the plate.

4.  Place bottom layer of cake in the acetate ring.

5.  Spread graham frosting on the cake.

6.  Place toasted marshmallow on top to cover the cake.

7.  Place the middle cake layer on top, and repeat layering.

8.  Refrigerate cake before peeling of acetate for clean sides.

Step 3.

Step 5.

Step 6.

Step 7.

Verdict:  This cake was really tasty with a nice balance of flavors!  The birthday girl really liked it! I brought the larger cake to work and my colleagues went crazy over it!  It was devoured quickly!  The frosting is a bit salty which balances out the cake, but if you don’t like the sweet-salty combo, use unsalted butter.   I think the toasted marshmallows made the cake, while the chocolate cake has a deep chocolate flavor, which I always look for in a chocolate cake.