Calamansi Souffle Cake

This Asian inspired cake is super light and melt in your mouth, it is easy to make and require just a few ingredients. The citrus flavor from calamansi gives this cake a very unique touch.

I got this dwarf calamansi tree a while ago and since then it has been given us loads and loads of little citrus fruits which according to Wikipedia it is a hybrid between mandarin orange and kumquat. . In spite of the seeds in it I love how easy is to squeeze the fragrant juice out of it. Often I add to water or use as a lemon in salad and cooking, in another words, anywhere you use lemon I sometimes substitute for calamansi.

Now you can see how the idea of making calamansi cake was born…the recipe is based on Orange Lemon Sponge Cake from Jeannetay’s Blog, which by the way has amazing recipes for cake and bread.

Oh! Before I forget, the batter is baked in a water bath (bain-marie), therefore the light and moist texture of the cake resembling cotton…so plan and make sure you have all the necessary tools ready.

Since I love everything mini I used 2 mini angel food cake pans and one 4” round pan.

Ingredients:

3 large eggs, separated
45 g cake flour
⅛ teaspoon salt
25 canola oil
35 g calamansi juice (or lemon juice)
⅛ teaspoon cream of tartar
40 g sugar (10 g + 30 g)

Method:

Sift flour and salt together and set aside.

Preheat oven to 350F

In a large bowl whisk the egg yolk together with the sugar (10g), oil until creamy and the yolk turns light yellow. Add the calamansi juice and whisk well. Add the sifted mixture of flour and combine well without over mixing. Set aside.

Whisk egg white in a medium bowl until foamy then add cream of tartar, slowly add the remaining 30g of sugar. Whisk until firm peaks form.

Add approximately ⅓ of the egg white meringue to the bowl containing the egg yolk mixture with flour and mix gently until the egg white are totally blend in. Add another ⅓, and fold into the batter. Finally add the last ⅓ portion of the egg white to the cake batter folding gently to not deflate the air in the meringue.

Pour the batter into a prepared 6”pan (round or square, lined with a parchment paper on the bottom) or a 2 mini angel pan (4.5”) plus a round 4” pan.

Bake for 20 minutes at 350F. Remove from the oven and unmold the cake by flipping on a plate or wire rack and let it cool.

If you enjoy this Asian inspired cake recipe, please take a look at Cotton Soft Cheesecake or Pumpkin Cream Cheese Cake recipes.

Did you know that calamansi is packed with vitamin C? Like all the other citrus fruit, calamansi contains high levels of vitamin C and antioxidants. It is very popular in Phlippines combined with soy sauce and used as marinade or dipping sauce.

Thank you for visiting Color Your Recipes…have a colorful week!

Simple and Nutritious Black Rice Bowl

Have you ever tried black rice? Black rice has a nutty and slightly chewy texture as compared to regular rice and it is packed with nutrients…

I had black rice once in a local restaurant, since the black rice was mixed with white rice and quinoa, I could not tell the “real” texture of it. Well, I got very curious and it is when the search for the black rice started…after checking into a few stores I finally found it at Sprouts, one of my favorite places to buy organic vegetables and fruits. I was so happy to find organic black rice selling by the bulk and yes, it is a bit more expensive than your regular white rice, but so worth the extra cost.

Nothing especial needed to cook the black rice, the ratio that I used was 1:2, 2 cups of water or any liquid for 1 cup or rice. I used the rice steamer and it was super easy.

It was weird…first because the rice is really black, second, when rinsing it, the water came out pretty dark and slowly changed to somewhat purplish. Once cooked, the rice has a mix of black and dark purple color, super interesting. Now the texture it was what got me hooked to it…mild nutty and slightly chewy…a great combination of texture…not to mention that black rice because of the color is rich in antioxidant anthocyanin, the same antioxidant found in berries such as blueberries, raspberries and cranberries.

For this recipe you will just need a few ingredients…I went with Kielbasa sausage just because I was in a hurry and it was just there… please feel free to use whatever vegetable you have in your refrigerator such as broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, etc…

Ingredients:

2 Kielbasa sausages, sliced
1 red onion
1 head cauliflower, cut into small pieces of approximately 1 ½ in
Salt and pepper to taste

Method:

In a wok or frying pan under medium heat place and sausage and stir fry until both sides of the sausage as lightly browned. Set aside.

In the same pan stir fry the onion until soft, do not overcook, set aside together with the sausage.

Add vegetable oil to the pan and the cauliflower, stir until desire consistency. Once cooked, return the sausage and onion to the pan. Mix well and serve over rice.

I hope you enjoy this simple and yet so tasty rice bowl using black rice.

Did you know that black rice is also known as forbidden rice or purple rice? The dark purple color is due to the high content of anthocyanins. Black rice contains more protein when compared to other rice varieties and is a good source of iron.

Thank you for stopping at Color Your Recipes…have a colorful day!

Sweet Milk Raisin Bread

This sweet bread is almost like a dessert…very rich, buttery, cottony with a touch of raisins in it, and stays fresh for days…

I try to avoid making this kind of bread as I cannot settle for just one slice…but here I am again with another version of it…the bread is so soft, light and yet rich at the same time…I love eating it by peeling the crumb as it come out so thin, almost like paper sheets…very addictive. I must admit that this recipe requires a bit of work, but so well worth it!

I used tangzhong or water roux method as in many of my bread recipes. If you like baking bread you must give this method a try…

This method is widely used in Asian baked goods, as the bread using this method are moist, light and remain fresh and soft longer than the ones using conventional method. One of the hypotheses is that some sort of gelatinization occurs when a small portion of pudding paste made with flour and water is added to the dough and traps the moist.

Ingredients:

Tangzhong or water roux

40 g bread flour
200 g water

Bread

600 g bread flour
100 g sugar
8 g salt
20 g dry milk powder
8 g yeast
2 eggs minus 1 tablespoon for egg wash (107g egg minus 12g)
150 g heavy cream
30 g water
50 g butter
100 g raisin
2-3 tablespoons brandy
Swedish pearl sugar

Method:

Water roux or Tangzhong

In a small pan, mix all the ingredients of water roux, place in a low heat and stir constantly until the temperature reach 65C (150F), or if you do not have a thermometer, cook until ripples form. Set aside to cool by covering with a plastic film. Please see here.

Bread dough

Before starting the bread dough soak the raisins in brandy, stir once in a while so the raisins are in contact with the brandy.

Place all the cooled water roux and all the ingredients listed under dough into a mixer except for the butter. Mix until all the ingredients are together, it will be slightly sticky.

Increase the speed to number 2 and continue to mix for 5 minutes.

Add the butter and continue the mixing until the dough is smooth and comes out of the mixing bowl; this will take approximately 15 minutes. You will notice that the dough will no longer be that sticky.

Place the dough into a medium to large bowl. Cover and let it proof until the size triple from the original size.

Now it is time to shape the dough…

Drain the raisins and set aside.

Knock back doughs and split the dough into two portions and each portion to 10 small balls. Flatten the balls using a roller pin, spread some raisins on it and fold into thirds. Roll it like a Swiss roll and flatten again with the roller pin. Place the flatten Swiss rolls side by side in the loaf pan.

Let the dough rise until triple of its original size.

Just before placing the loaves in the oven, prepare an egg wash with the tablespoon of egg with 2 drops of water and 1 drop of vanilla extract (if desire).

Bake in a preheated oven of 350F for approximately 25 minutes.

Remove from the oven and flip the bread into a wire rack to cool. Slice according to your like.

Store the bread in an airtight container.

I hope you enjoy this bread recipe using tangzhong method.

Did you know that raisins are rich in iron and potassium? Moreover, raisins are high in fiber but should be eaten in moderation due to its sugar content.

Thank you for stopping by Color Your Recipes…have a colorful day!

Pandan Infused Coconut Milk Sticky Rice with Mango

This is a very simple recipe for the Thai inspired dessert made with sticky rice and served with fresh mango…a must try…

We often order this dessert when eating at the local Thai restaurant, and I always felt guilty in ordering a dessert that was so easy to make…but somehow never came around until a few weeks ago when reading Simple Gluten Free Kitchen post I then decided that I could not wait anymore, so this post it totally inspired by Balvinder…

If you have not had this dessert you must try it, even my husband that was not brought up with sticky rice loves it…

Ingredients:

1 cup glutinous rice or sticky rice
1 can coconut milk
Pandan leaves, fresh or frozen
1 pinch salt
3 to 4 tablespoons sugar
Fresh mangoes

Method:

Cut the pandan leaves to approximately 4 by ½ in. Tide a knot and place in a pan with the coconut milk. Bring to almost boiling and turn to simmer for 15-20 minutes.

Meanwhile wash the sticky rice until water is clear.

Remove the pandan leaves from the coconut milk. Pour the coconut milk infused with pandan leaves and measure 1 ½ cup. If necessary add water to complete the volume. Pour the coconut milk back to the pan and add the rice. Place under high heat until boil, then turn to simmer and cook for another 10 minutes.

When all the coconut milk is absorbed into the rice, add the sugar and let it stand for 10 more minutes.

To serve, peel the mangoes and cut into slices or cubes. Serve the warm sticky rice with the mango.

If you enjoy this Asian inspired dessert, you might want to take a look at the Thai Red Rubies in Coconut Milk Infused with Pandan recipe.

Did you know that sticky rice or glutinous rice in spite of the name does not contain gluten? Usually rice contains amylose and amylopectin, glutinous rice have very little of amylose and high amounts of amylopectin, which is accountable for the sticky texture.

Thank you for stopping by Color Your Recipes…have a colorful day!

Air Fried Taiwanese Black Pepper Chicken

These little chunks of chicken are so tasty and totally addictive…they all come with lots of flavors and are a favorite in Taiwanese cafes…

I love this chicken, and with the help of the air-fryer I am not worry about of the fat that come with it…the original recipe calls for deep fry, since I have been avoiding deep frying at home I would only get this chicken when eating out. Well, no more of ordering this chicken now that I can use the air-fryer and get the same crispy chicken. I like to use chicken thighs for this recipe since it has a bit more of fat therefore more flavor.

This chicken is very often found in Taiwanese cafes and are sort of appetizer/snack…finger food. I usually serve as appetizer or accompanied by a big bowl of salad if I want to use as a main dish. So here is how I make…

Ingredients:

1lb chicken thighs, no skin and bone
¼ to ½ teaspoon Chinese 5 spice powder
Pinch sugar
½ tablespoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon cooking wine
½ tablespoon soy sauce
Salt
Black pepper (freshly ground) as much as you like
All-purpose flour for coating

Method:

Cut the chicken into small pieces of approximately 1 ½in.

In a medium bowl, place the chicken and add the salt, sugar, sesame oil, Chinese 5 spice, cooking wine, soy sauce and the black pepper. Marinate for at least 30 minutes.

In a deep plate place the all-purpose flour and coat each piece of chicken. Make sure that each piece of chicken is well coated with the flour.

In the meantime set the air-fryer to 350F. Once the temperature is reached, add the chicken to the basket and set it to cook for approximately 10 minutes. Shake the basket in between the cooking time.

Remove the chicken from the air-fryer and serve hot.

I hope you enjoy this simple recipe for the very popular Taiwanese black pepper chicken adapted for air fryer.

Did you know that ½ cup of dry black-eyed peas are low in fat and provide more than 20% of the daily recommended amount of fiber?

Thank you for stopping by Color Your Recipes…have a colorful day!

Oatmeal Molasses Sandwich Bread

This is a very soft, fluffy and lightly sweet oatmeal molasses sandwich bread which uses water roux or tangzhong method, therefore the bread stays fresh for many many days…

I always wanted to try using molasses in my baking, but somehow never got into it until I bumped into a bottle of molasses when looking for something else in the market isle. No surprise that bread was the first item that came to my mind…so here it is another adaptation of the bread recipes that I usually use, tangzhong method.

Tangzhong is a roux made with water and flour and it is added to the rest of the ingredients. The pre-cooked roux adds a sort of gelatinization to the bread, therefore keeping it soft and fluffy for many days. This technique is widely used in Asian bread making.

Since it was my first attempt using molasses, after searching intensively the internet I decided to base my recipe from BudgetBytes. The bread came pretty soft and fluffy, I just felt that the molasses was overwhelming, so next time I will reduce the amount of molasses to ⅓ cup. Although when sharing the bread to some of my co-workers, they like it and enjoyed the strong molasses flavor in the bread, so it is up to your personal taste.

This recipe was based on Budget Bytes.

Ingredients:

Water roux or Tangzhong

50 g bread flour
250 ml water

Oatmeal Molasses

500 g bread flour
100 g oatmeal, finely grinded
175 g molasses (½ cup)
7 g salt
7 g yeast
6 g vital gluten
95 ml water
50 g butter (room temperature)

Method:

Water roux or Tangzhong

Oatmeal Molasses Dough

Place all the cooled water roux and all the ingredients listed under dough into a mixer except for the butter. Mix until all the ingredients are together, it will slightly sticky.

Increase the speed to number 2 and continue to mix for 5 minutes.

Add the butter and continue the mixing until the dough is smooth and comes out of the mixing bowl, this will take approximately 15 minutes. You will notice that the dough will no longer be sticky.

Place the dough into a medium to large bowl. Cover and let it proof until the size triple from the original size.

Now it is time to shape the dough…

Knock back the dough and split into approximately 8 little balls and let it rest for 5 minutes on the counter.

Flatten the ball making sure that the air is removed and fold into thirds, then roll it like a Swiss roll.

Place the Swiss rolls into the Pullman (4 each) pan and let it rise until triple of its original size.

Cover the pan and bake in a preheated oven of 350F for approximately 25 minutes.

Remove from the oven and flip the bread into a wire rack to cool. Slice according to your like.

Store the bread in an airtight container.

Did you know that molasses is a by-product of sugar extraction? The good news is that molasses contains some vitamins and minerals which cannot be found in refined sugar.

Thank you for stopping by Color Your Recipes…have a colorful day!

Ahi Tuna Poke, Raw Fish Salad

Get a fresh piece of sashimi grade ahi tuna and you are ready for a nice treat…simple and super easy ahi tuna poke (raw fish salad) recipe…

We are pretty addicted to poke since we discovered a while ago…poke places are popping up like crazy in our area, even Costco sells it…we have tried many places and they all have their specialties…I am okay with the Costco one, but the portion are humongous…which often is not suitable for our little family of two, and it does not taste the same the next day…so I decided to make my own…the one that I am sharing here today is pretty basic, you can really add what you like and come up with your own recipe…saltier, spicier, greener, crispier…as you see, so many option.

If you are not into raw fish, I totally get it, but if you enjoy sashimi you might want to try poke. I like to serve poke with white rice or even with crackers.

Ingredients:

½ lb ahi tuna, sashimi grade
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 green onion, finely chopped
½ teaspoon sesame oil
½ teaspoon sriracha
1 teaspoon roasted sesame seed

Method:

Cut the ahi tuna into approximately ½ inch square and place in a small bowl. Add the green onion on it.

In a small bowl, mix together the soy sauce, sriracha, sesame oil together.

Pour the sauce in the tuna and mix gently. Sprinkle the roasted sesame seeds and serve.

Did you know that poke is a Hawaiian verb? It means “slice”, “cut”.

Thank you for visiting Color Your Recipes…have a colorful week!

Dark Rye and Flaxseed Sandwich Bread

Don’t you love when you have a bite of bread and you cannot tell that it is a “healthy version” of it?

Well, I found the perfect combination of dark rye and flaxseed meal in this recipe. If it was not for the color and the little flaxseed meal specks you would not say that this sandwich bread contains “healthy ingredients”, in another words, if you close your eyes and eat the bread you would definitely say that it is “white” bread…

Because we like so much bread, I am constantly testing different ratios between white flour and “so-called” healthy flours therefore feel less guilt when gobbling through a loaf of bread…the big challenge is for the bread to looks of whole grain and taste like white bread.

Since rye flour and flaxseed meal contain less and no gluten I had to replace the “missing” gluten so it will not compromise the formation of air bubbles which triggers the dough to raise.

This recipe will make 2 loaves, and to achieve perfect square loaves I baked them in these USA Pullman Loaf Pan.

Ingredients:

Water roux or Tangzhong

50 g bread flour
250 ml water

Dark Rye and Flaxseed Dough

550 g bread flour
60 g dark rye flour
30 g flaxseed meal
80 g sugar
8 g salt
8 g yeast
8 g vital wheat gluten
50 g whipping cream
160 ml water
60 g butter (room temperature)

Method:

Water roux or Tangzhong

Dark Rye and Flaxseed Dough

Place all the cooled water roux and all the ingredients listed under rye dough into a mixer except for the butter. Mix until all the ingredients are together, it will slightly sticky.

Increase the speed to number 2 and continue to mix for 5 minutes.

Add the butter and continue the mixing until the dough is smooth and comes out of the mixing bowl, this will take approximately 15 minutes. You will notice that the dough will no longer be sticky.

Place the dough into a medium to large bowl. Cover and let it proof until the size triple from the original size.

Now it is time to shape the dough…

Knock back the dough and split into approximately 8 little balls and let it rest for 5 minutes on the counter.

Flatten the ball making sure that the air is removed and fold into thirds, then roll it like a Swiss roll.

Place the Swiss rolls into the Pullman (4 each) pan and let it rise until triple of its original size.

Cover the pan and bake in a preheated oven of 350F for approximately 25 minutes.

Remove from the oven and flip the bread into a wire rack to cool. Slice according to your like.

Store the bread in an airtight container.

If you enjoy this Asian inspired bread recipe you might want to look at Sweet Milk Bread with Raisin recipe.

Did you know that gluten is formed when these two proteins glutenin and gliadin form a bond? Moreover, gluten gives bread a chewy texture and traps carbon dioxide during fermentation.

Thank you for stopping by Color Your Recipes…have a colorful week!

Raindrop Cake

How can a dessert made of almost 99.8% of water be so trendy? The answer…it is all in its texture…

When I first saw these raindrop cake (which in my opinion it is not a cake per say, cake in my view should contain flour or its substitutes) I was fascinated by its shape and the notion of its pureness…upon reading the ingredients, I immediately could imagine its textures as I had worked with agar-agar, both in the kitchen and in the lab. The trick is to have the right ratio of water and agar-agar to achieve a very soft almost running gel. A little extra of agar-agar the “cake” will turn into a flavorless jelly, a little “too little” and the “cake” will not hold its shape. Therefore the amount of agar-agar is very critical.

After searching through the internet I found that the ratio of agar-agar to water varied from 0.25% to 3% meaning that in 1 cup (250ml) of water the amount of agar-agar varied from 0.625g to 7.5g…yes, you read it right…so here is where my “experiments” started…

I started with the percentage that I used to use when working in the microbiology lab, 1.5%…then went down drastically since it gave me a jelly ball so hard that I could almost throw on the floor and it would bounce back. I taper down to 0.5%, then to 0.25% (not bad) but wanted to push lower and went to 0.1% which the gel barely set…finally decided to add a bit more and went for 0.2%. Yes, it did work! My notes reminded me of my lab notebook with all the calculations since I was varying the amount of water as well. As a result of all these “experiments” I just can tell you that you have to do your own “experiment” since the consistency will depend entirely on the quality of the agar-agar you use. The nice thing is that you are literally playing with water…

When I presented raindrop cake to my husband he loved it…the “cake” melt almost instantly in your mouth, the combination of the slightly sweet, rosy aroma just give you a clean, pure, light and refreshing feeling…something that it is hard to describe, somehow stir your senses…very hard to explain…now I kind of understand the hype over this particular dessert. With this said, I think that the most important thing besides achieving the correct texture the taste should match its “clean” look…then everything comes is harmony…magical!

Instrument and Ingredients:

Scale, a good one
Water (I used filter)
Agar-agar
Sugar (optional)
Flavoring component, I added rosewater in this particular one, and in the future I plan to add orange blossom water, cucumber infused water, mint infused water, strawberry infused water…and my list goes on and on…

Method:

Weigh the agar-agar and place in a small pot. Add a little water until the agar-agar is totally moist. Heat the remaining water and pour over the agar-agar.

Place the water with agar-agar in the low-medium heat. Stir constantly until all the agar-agar is dissolved. Add sugar and the flavoring.

Pour into the mold and let it refrigerate for 1 hour.

Unmold the “cake” and serve with something sweet such a maple syrup, simple syrup…

I added rosewater on the agar-agar mixture once it was all dissolved and ready to be pour into the molds. Just before serving I grated a bit of pistachio (to give some color contrast) and drizzled simple syrup made with organic crystal sugar.

I hope you enjoy this fun recipe using molecular gastronomy technique…for more recipes like this please check on Honey Caviar or Coconut Panna Cotta with Mango Sphere recipes

Did you know that agar-agar was discovered in Japan? Agar-agar is a derivative from seaweed and has no calories, no sugar, no carbohydrates, no fat, and packed with fiber. Agar-agar if vegetarian and a great substitute for gelatin.