Bosch x Chef Yamashita – Baking (Media Invite)

Bosch collaborated with one of my favourite pastry chefs based in Singapore, Chef Yamashita, for a cooking demonstration at Gain City‘s new Megastore in Sungei Kadut this afternoon. Using Bosch appliances, chef prepared from scratch Black Sesame Soy Bean Chiffon Cake and Zunda Roll Cake

I tend to prefer Japanese pastries over western ones because the texture is lighter and the sweetness level is milder. In Osaka you can find good cakes everywhere – Hankyu Umeda basement alone is overkill. In Singapore, Japanese style cakes are not common but thankfully still existent thanks to Chef Yamashita (who is trained in Osaka!). I’ve been a big fan of Chef Yamashita ~~stalking~~ following him as he moved from Flor to his very own shop at Tanjong Pagar. If you haven’t tried his cakes, please read about it here and try it someday. Anyway, it’s such an honour to be able to learn from the Chef himself the tricks behind making chiffon cake and Swiss roll cake today!

Though I hate to admit this, I’m quite lousy at cooking and baking even though I have keen interest in these activities. Most of my cakes fail to rise nicely and the most I could do (without being too #fail) is cupcakes, cheesecake, carrot cake or better still, no-bake cakes. These do not require much beating of eggs or whipping meringues so it eliminates the step which I am terrible at. I always fail to know what is considered the right peaks for meringues or “pale” for eggs or egg yolk mixtures. I can never get it to double in volume. Unfortunately, for cakes, this is the key to a light fluffy texture – the air is manually beaten in, and it isn’t credited to leavening agents like baking power for the fluff. I never dared to try chiffon cakes (this one requires meringue, bane of my life!) and for swiss roll, I tried once but failed. The swiss roll pan I bought years ago is still lying around, being used as normal a baking tray for roasting cashew nuts, which is an insult to what it’s made for.

With the live demonstration, I got to see and feel for myself what the right texture is and I’ve come to a comforting conclusion that perhaps it’s not entirely my fault – it’s the mixer! Chef Yamashita demonstrated using a Bosch MaxxiMUM SensorControl mixer and it was able to whisk the eggs so well, it looked like an impossible task with my $59 noob level cake mixer (which I shall not name). Though it’s disheartening to know that I will not be able to make cakes like Chef Yamashita’s standards, it was heartening to know that I’m not born handicapped at egg whisking – I simply lack the right equipment. Yay! 😀

Chef Yamashita with Bosch MaxxiMUM SensorControl

The special thing about this mixer is the Sensor Control. It can sense the optimum stiffness of cream and egg whites so you won’t have to worry about mistakes in whipping and will always have the perfect whipped cream/ meringue! I have over/ under whipped my cream and egg whites countless times and resulted in wastage. If only I had this machine long ago…

This is available from Bosch or authorised retailers like Gain City for $1699. Learn more about it here.

In future I’ll definitely get one of those power cake mixers and bake legit cakes, but for now, I’ll just have to satisfy my love for light Japanese pastries at Chef Yamashita’s patisserie.

Black Sesame Chiffon Cake

4 egg yolks
30g sugar
40g olive oil
80g soy bean milk (unsweetened)
10g black sesame paste
110g plain flour
3g baking powder
35g sesame powder

Tip: For Matcha flavour, replace sesame powder with 35g matcha powder and increase soy bean milk to 95g. Sesame paste can be excluded.

1. Flour, baking powder and sesame powder was sifted twice and set aside.

Hi, I’m Chef Yamashita’s newest apprentice…

Ok not really. Passed the egg yolk and sugar mixture back to Mrs Yamashita eventually to be beaten professionally.

2. Egg yolks and sugar was beaten together until thick and creamy. A pale colour must be obtained.

3. Mix sesame paste and soy bean milk together.

4. Place egg whites and sugar into the BOSCH MaxxiMUM SensorControl and whisk until soft peaks form.

Final meringue

5. While meringue is whisking in the machine, add olive oil and soy bean milk mixture into egg yolk mixture.

6. Mix 1/3 of meringue into egg yolk mixture and combine well with rubber spatula. Add in flour mixture and mix well. Add in remaining meringue and mix well again.

7. Transfer batter into 17cm chiffon cake pan.

8. Bake in preheated 170⁰C oven and bake for 30 – 40minutes.

The Bosch oven looks really sleek with that touch screen.

9. Remove cake from oven, place mould upside down and let cake cool completely.

10. Run a knife/ offset spatula around the sides and base of mould to release cake.

Chef icing the cake.

A beautiful Christmas chiffon cake done!

The second item is Zunda Roll Cake. I was more interested in this one because it’s VERY rare to see Zunda in Singapore. It’s very common in Sendai and I had it in various forms when I was there! Zunda mocha, zunda taiyaki (the best taiyaki I’ve ever tried too)… Zunda is basically sweetened edamame (immature soy beans) paste. The result is something sweet yet slightly savoury.

Zunda Roll Cake

6 eggs
190g sugar
75g milk
40g unsalted butter
145g flour

Whisk eggs and sugar lightly in a heatproof bowl over a pot of simmering water and whisk constantly in large strokes until mixture reaches 40⁰C.
Transfer bowl to Bosch MaxxiMUM SensorControl and whisk at high speed until mixture doubles in volume.
Sift flour twice.
In a saucepan, heat butter and milk to 80⁰C till well combined and remove from heat.
When egg mixture has doubled in volume, add in sifted flour while turning the bowl of whisked eggs and fold in until fully incorporated.
Mix in melted butter and milk while slowly pouring it in. Mix thoroughly.

7. Prepare baking pan (deep oven tray is used for this amount) lined with parchment paper leaving a 2cm overhang. Pour in batter and smoothen surface gently using a flat scraper, in one direction.

8. Bake in preheated oven at 180⁰C for 10 – 12minutes until surface of sponge is brown. Sponge will spring back when pressed when it’s done.

9. Place sponge on wire rack to cool for 30minutes. Peel off parchment paper at the bottom by flipping the sponge over on a cutting board. Flip sponge back upright for use.

Zunda Cream

200g cooked edamame (weight after peeling from pods and removing skin)
30g sugar
30g fresh cream
300g Chantilly cream (500g 35% fat fresh cream + 35g sugar)

1. In a food processor, blend peeled edamame and fresh cream until a smooth paste is obtained.

2. Mix sugar into edamame paste to get zunda.

3. Prepare Chantilly cream by whipping cream and sugar in the Bosch MaxxiMUM SensorControl (it will automatically stop when cream is perfectly whipped!).

4. Mix zunda and Chantilly cream to get zunda cream.

5. Spread zunda cream on roll sponge placed on baking paper and roll up tightly with help of a ruler.

Again, chef iced the cake to make it look like it could be $10 per piece!

Chef Yamashita also kindly provided an array of pastries for us participants to enjoy during the interval and early Christmas presents in those pretty boxes for every participant to bag home. Feeling the festive vibes already with this set up.

Cupcakes, sake jelly, cookies and butter cakes for tea time.

Favourite part of the session (besides eating that zunda roll) was to have pictures together with Chef Yamashita, my favourite pastry chef in Singapore.