Bread in the Form of Squashed Rolls

I've always had a floppy experience working with yeast. In Food Tech in Year 9, as a fun end-of-the-year project, we all made some bread. SC and I wanted to make chocolate cheese bread but we weren't allowed to because the combination was apparently ridiculous. We proofed our dough (chocolate and pistachio, a much more conservative combination) in the bottom of the oven, with yeast from the same packet as that of the other groups.

After baking, our asterisk-shaped dough had morphed into a small and stiff blob (insert joke here). It was like vaguely-chocolate flavoured hardtack (seabiscuits!). Conversely, everyone else had fluffy, poofy bread. So, I haven't cooked with yeast since then (except when my mum makes man[2] tou[2] (馒头) - steamed buns. It appears that I will never be able to make or taste the magnificent  creation called chocolate cheese bread.

I know a lot about the yeast we use for cooking. S. cerevisiae. They like to grow at 30 degrees C, and they replicate every 90 minutes. They can have a leu2 selectable marker, because they need leucine. Histone chromatin modifications alter viability and growth, with H4K16 and H4K5 being the ones I researched. I'm also sick of smelling them.

Despite all this scientific knowledge, I still can't bake with them. Or maybe I just picked up a bad batch of yeast. Certainly, the yeast isn't dead, because there were bubbles in the sponge (the yeast+ warm water + sugar mixture), and the dough DID rise and nearly doubled in size.

The brand of active dry yeast that I used was Hodgson Mill. Last month, my croissants failed with them too (but that might've just been because I accidentally killed the yeast during the sponge-making? It did rise a bit).

As I sit here chewing this semi-dense lump of cooked dough with puny air bubbles, I wonder what went wrong. Was it the recipe? I let it rise for 30 minutes longer (1 h as opposed to 30 mins), so did that mess up my bread? I used oil instead of butter, but that shouldn't have affected anything. I think it's time I go and bought more yeast. Real bread must be made, soon.

Yeast bubbling, with a dollop of oil.

Bubbles. I'm not sure whether there is enough live yeast.

The dough, after 1 cup of flour.

After 15 minutes of rising in my bedroom.

After 45 more minutes of rising outside in the sun, covered. The dough has risen, and it felt super soft and spongy and..."correct" textured? I've never touched correct bread dough before, but it felt like a soft marshmallow pillow!

After cutting and rolling the dough...doesn't look too promising.

After 30 more minutes of rising, in the oven with boiling water. Looks like it might work!

After baking. The rolls have shrunk. DECREASED IN VOLUME. HOW COME!? This was a huge disappointment.

I end up with something resembling soda bread. It's a bit crumbly, slightly dense, has little holes, and is not the expected fluffy dinner roll.

Bubble Tea Cake - Updated!

Below: Left: Cake Assembly Version II, Right: Cake Assembly Version I

Want cookies? Check these out!

Last time, my bubble tea cake had way too much baking soda, so I remade it today to ensure that my recipe is valid, with less baking soda. Here is the complete updated recipe with some helpful notes and pictures! The back-story: I had a dream in which I was icing a bubble tea cake. It turns out that no one has publicly documented online a bubble tea cake before, so I made one!

This is the brand of tapioca pearl that I use; it's $1.98 in Chinatown. It's an instant-cook brand because I have had a bad experience with the one you have to cook for hours. Each bag contains about 2 cups. I used the cheapest available (read: low quality, in this case) Pu-erh tea. I think that black tea would have been the best; Pu-erh  tea has a nice smell and a slightly burnt taste, in my opinion. However, I drank a lot of black/green tea during school, and I wanted a change.

INGREDIENTS for ONE 9-inch (23 cm) diameter round pan of cake 2-3 cm in height

6 tbsp tea leaves (I used loose Pu-erh tea leaves, although traditional bubble tea uses black tea. You can use whatever you like)
4 cups of water

1 large egg
1/4 cup of brown sugar + 1 tbsp
1/2 cup white sugar +/- some to suit your taste
1 tsp oil (use peanut oil if you want a peanut flavour)

1.5 c all-purpose flour (I used 1.25 c white flour and 0.25 c wheat germ. You can also use 1 c white flour and 0.5 c whole wheat flour)

0.5 tsp baking soda

2 tbsp vinegar (I used balsamic because that's all I had, but any vinegar should work)

1 dry cup of instant pearl milk tea (bubble tea) tapioca pearls
1 cup confectioner's (powdered) sugar

Bubble tea straw

METHOD (<1.5 hours total working calmly)

0. A few hours before you start the cake, heat up 4 cups of water and your tea leaves (without sugar). Keep this on a small simmer until the tea is way beyond the desired strength. After cooling, pour out 180 ml (3/4 cup). Leave the rest of the tea in the pot. You may need to use more or fewer than 6 tbsp of tea leaves, depending on the type of tea and your preferred strength.

A. Cake Batter!

1. Mix sugars, egg, oil, and tea in a giant bowl. It will look extremely ugly.
2. Mix flour(s) and baking soda in another bowl.
3. Pour 1/4 of the liquid stuff into the dry mixture and mix until there are no more lumps, using figure 8s. Add another 1/4, mix, and another 1/4, mix, then the last 1/4 and mix until smooth. You will have a batter that is a bit thicker than pancake batter. Leave this batter alone while you prepare the tapioca pearls. The batter does not taste great when raw.

2. Tapioca Addition & Cake Batter!
4. Remove loose tea leaves from the pot, and pour tapioca pearls and one tbsp of brown sugar into the leftover tea. Turn on the heat to high. Cover for around 3-5 minutes, until all the pearls have risen to the top and taste good. 

5. Then, turn off the heat and fish out the pearls(I used a tea strainer). Fold them into the batter, trying not to get too much extra tea into the batter. You should stir the batter after putting in a spoonful of tapioca, because the tapioca is hot, and we don't want cooked chunks of egg in our cake.
6. Grease your baking dish using a butter wrapper from your stash in the freezer!

7. Quickly fold the vinegar into the batter. You will hear a small hissing noise due to the vinegar reacting with the baking soda. When the vinegar is evenly incorporated, pour the cake mixture into your pan.

 (note the bubbles -->)

8. Bake in an unpreheated oven for 20 minutes at 350 degrees F on the middle shelf. Then, stick a fork into the cake, and if it comes out clean, it's cooked! The cake does not rise significantly.

9. Place hot cake onto a cutting board. Alternatively, you can wait until the cake has cooled by cooling it on a metal cooling rack. The cake should be super spongy and springy.

10. On the cutting board, place the rim of a glass jar on the cake and cut out a hexagon around the jar using a really sharp knife. Cut with all your strength, as the tapioca pearls are really sticky! Cut four of these hexagons (yes, it's possible!).


11. Trim each hexagon into a circle. Preferably, each circle gets a tiny bit smaller (to emulate a bubble tea cup).
3. Cake Assembly version I
11. In a mug, mix 3 tbsp tea with 1 c of confectioner's sugar to make a tea glaze. If you want a LESS runny glaze, use 2 tbsp tea. I used 3 tbsp.

12. Place the circular cakes on top of each other on a pretty plate, starting with the smallest. Spoon glaze between each layer (yes, it drips!).

13. Glaze the top of the cake, then stick your bubble tea straw through all four layers so that your cake won't topple over.

14. Eat by grabbing off chunks by hand! Drink leftover tea! The cake must be consumed within 4 hours. If left longer, the tapioca balls will dry out, as do most tapioca products not submerged in liquid. 


4. Cake Assembly version II
11. Fill a (bubble tea) cup 1/2 of the way with bubble tea cake chunks (leftover from Assembly I or just... in general).
12. Add tea, sugar, and milk in whatever ratio you want. You should add the milk first if the tea is still hot/warm and you're using a plastic container.
13. Drink "bubble tea cake"-flavoured bubble tea (using straw to suck up the tapioca and cake)!



5. Pudding Cake
If you want a more moist cake, you can add 240 mL (1 cup) of tea, instead of 180 ml. You follow the instructions as before, and you still bake it for 20 minutes at 350 F, middle rack. However, as this cake is really moist, you should NOT upturn it onto a cooling rack or cutting board. You can NOT assemble it to look like a bubble tea cake. Use a non-metal spatula to cut it into wedges and serve with icing or green tea ice cream.


Other Notes
1. Click Here for notes about ingredients/taste!
2. 0.5 tsp baking soda was definitely enough; the cake doesn't really rise, but it is still crumby and relatively light. There isn't much fat in it either!
3. The cake I made today was a bit to moist and pudding-like because I put too much tea into the batter.
4. The tea has to be REALLY strong; I used stronger tea this time, but you couldn't really taste it. Perhaps it's just the type of Pu-erh I got (the cheapest one)...
Maybe the Rickshaw brand (green metallic packaging) of black tea would've fared better. It sure tastes better.
5. Of course, other options include using coffee, hot chocolate, coconut juice, or other teas. One could probably even use taro powder, or green tea powder.
6. My friends liked it!
7. To see my first version (i.e. inception of bubble tea cake in this world)  with more bubble-tea-container pictures, click here.


Smile! :)

Bubble Tea Cake!

In the evening of the 19th day of the 6th month of the 2012 year since the flying spaghetti monster was born, PIE-314 invented bubble tea cake.

Tea flavoured cake with tapioca pearls. In my previous blog post (Bubble Tea Cookies), I talked about WHY I put bubble tea bubbles (henceforth referred to as "tapioca pearls") in my baking. In short, I had a dream a bunch of days ago in which I was icing a bubble tea shaped cake, with vibrant orange icing. The tapioca pearls had been cooked into the cake. I made tapioca pearl cookies yesterday to see whether tapioca pearls could be baked, AND THEY CAN!

So, today, I made a spongy, chewy cake to match the texture of the tapioca pearls inside (actually, I made two by accident, since most of this was improvised). Excuse me for the imprecise measurements; as I am subletting in Philadelphia, I lack a lot of my kitchen tools.

UPDATE: I improved the recipe on the 24th of June, so go there for the recipe! I've crossed out the things that don't apply anymore here.

INGREDIENTS for ONE 9-inch (23 cm) diameter round pan of cake that is about 3 cm in height

2 tbsp tea leaves (I used loose Pu-erh tea leaves, although traditional bubble tea uses black tea. You can use whatever you like)

1 large egg
1/4 cup of brown sugar
1/2 to 2/3 cup white sugar +/- some to suit your taste
1 tbsp oil (optional)

1.5 c flour (I actually used 1.25 c white flour and 0.25 c wheat germ. You can also use 1 c white flour and 0.5 c whole wheat flour)

0.5 tsp baking soda

2 tbsp vinegar (I used balsamic because that's all I had, but any vinegar should work)

1 dry cup of instant pearl milk tea (bubble tea) tapioca pearls
1 cup confectioner's (powdered) sugar

Bubble tea straw

METHOD (~1.5 hours total working calmly)

0. A few hours before you start the cake, heat up about half a pot of water and your tea  leaves (without sugar). Keep this on a small boil until the tea is beyond the desired strength. Then, pour out 150 ml and let it cool. Leave the rest of the tea in the pot. (I messed this up today; it should take at least 10 minutes)

A. Cake Batter!

1. Mix sugars, egg, oil (optional), and tea in a giant bowl.
2. Mix flour(s) and baking soda in another bowl.
3. Add 1/3 of the liquid stuff into the dry mixture and mix until there are no more lumps, using figure 8s. Add another 1/3, mix, and then add the last 1/3 and mix until smooth. You will have a batter that is a bit thicker than pancake batter. Leave this batter alone while you prepare the tapioca pearls. The batter will not taste good uncooked.


2. Tapioca Addition & Cake Batter!
4. Remove loose tea leaves from the pot, and pour tapioca pearls and one tbsp of brown sugar into the leftover tea. Turn on the heat to high. Cover for around 3-5 minutes, until all the pearls have risen to the top and taste good. 

5. Then, turn off the heat and fish out the pearls(I used a tea strainer). Fold them into the batter, trying not to get too much extra tea into the batter.
6. Grease your baking dish using a butter wrapper from your stash in the freezer!
7. Quickly fold the vinegar into the batter. You will hear a small hissing noise due to the vinegar reacting with the baking soda. When the vinegar is evenly incorporated, pour the cake mixture into your pan.

8. Bake in an unpreheated oven for 20 minutes at 350 degrees F on the middle shelf. Stick a fork into the cake, and if it comes out clean, it's cooked!

9. Place hot cake onto a cutting board. Alternatively, you can wait until the cake has cooled by cooling it on a metal cooling rack.

10. On the cutting board, place the rim of a glass jar on the cake and cut out a hexagon around the jar using a knife. Cut with all your strength, as the tapioca pearls are really sticky! Cut four of these hexagons (yes, it's possible!).


11. Trim each hexagon into a circle. Preferably, each circle gets a tiny bit smaller (to emulate a bubble tea cup).


3. Cake Assembly version I
11. In a mug, mix 2 tbsp tea with 1 c of confectioner's sugar to make a tea glaze.
12. Place the circular cakes on top of each other on a pretty plate, starting with the smallest. Spoon glaze between each layer (yes, it drips!).

13. Glaze the top of the cake, then stick your bubble tea straw through all four layers so that your cake won't topple over.

14. Eat by grabbing off chunks by hand! Drink leftover tea! The cake must be consumed within a few hours. If left overnight, the tapioca balls will dry out, as do most tapioca products not submerged in liquid. (SP was hugging me while I took this photo; therefore, it is blurry)

4. Cake Assembly version II
11. Fill a (bubble tea) cup 3/4 of the way with bubble tea cake chunks (leftover from Assembly I or just... in general).
12. Add tea, sugar, and milk in whatever ratio you want. You should add the milk first if the tea is still hot.
13. Drink "bubble tea cake"-flavoured bubble tea (using straw to suck up the tapioca and cake)!

Possibly Helpful Notes:
The cake is unlike normal sponge cake, brownies, or normal bakery cake products. It is super chewy, EXTREMELY pliable (see image below - the cake bounces back to its original shape even after denting it with my spoon), gooey, and sort of gluten-y. It's a little like steamed cake, actually. Of course, you can substitute your own cake recipe for my recipe. However, the problem with using, say, a Victoria Sandwich cakewith tapioca pearls is that the pearls may sink to the bottom of the pan, and leave craters on the cake surface. Also, a bunch of butter cake recipes don't even need liquids. A muffin or quick-bread recipe may fare better.

I actually wanted to use 100% whole wheat flour for this recipe, but I was lugging some 10 pounds of food and drink back from Chinatown and Trader Joe's on one shoulder and one hand, and carrying an extra 5 pounds of flour for 30 minutes would've been quite unbearable. I don't know for sure scientifically, but I think that whole wheat flour would've made a thicker batter (more...fibre; more gelatinous? Cellulose maintains cell structure), and would've helped the tapioca pearls stay in the batter. I threw in some wheat germ for that and the sorta health reason. I am really glad that the pearls were well-distributed! Perhaps using 100% white flour would still render this result; I will try again once all this cake has been eaten. Note the dents in the bottom and tops, though.

I used way too much baking soda in my batter, and not enough sugar. Again, this was a "well-educated guess" recipe. I may actually just use 0.5 tsp of baking soda next time, and see whether I get the same amount of rise. However, to mask the baking soda taste (although SP can't taste it), you can just use Assembly method II and smother it with sugar, tea, and milk.

To obtain loose leaf tea, tapioca pearls, and bubble tea straws, go to Chinatown! :) I got my straw at Mayflower bakery after buying a delicious snowball (red bean paste inside rice mochi thing that has the texture of an Invisibility cloak, that promptly got squashed on the way back). I also didn't have much counter space. The green parts of the kitchen are all occupied areas. :(

I am extremely satisfied to be the first (at least, I think/hope I am) to document on the internet the incorporation of tapioca pearls into a baked cake.

Orange Rock Cakes!

I don't know about you, but rock cakes were well-established in my childhood.  I knew what they were, like I knew of the existence of pancakes. I assumed that everyone had seen/eaten a rock cake before, especially with the popularity of the Harry Potter series. I made them in Food Tech, and I remember that my partner and I ended up with the honey version of the recipe, and our rock cakes were too doughy and bland. Other groups had varying amounts of sugar, and we all tried to get chunks from the group that made rock cakes with the highest ratio of sugar. I think that Ms. Revans was trying to teach us that we could vary sugar content to make healthier foods, but I don't think the message sunk in. I never used to be obsessed with food. Maybe it should've stayed that way.

THE KITCHEN SMELLS AMAZING! If I could capture smells for my blog, I'd have you room smelling like sweet, buttery dough right now. It's a distinct orange-rock-cake smell, highly unlike the aroma of chocolate chip cookies, and definitely distinct from the whiff of orange cake.

I got my rock cake recipe from Baking for Britain. I've been meaning to try this recipe for at least 2 (?) years, and today, because I wanted to make something British (to remind me of the lack of Britishness in New Jersey), I settled on this. AND NOW I HAVE A FRAGRANT KITCHEN!

The changes I made were:
1. Whole wheat flour instead of white flour

2. 50 g sugar instead of 75 g 

3. Raisins instead of candied peel and rind, because I didn't want to use an orange

4. Orange juice instead of an orange because the 2.84 L bottle expires in a month (we have 1.5 L left)

5. Baking time of 11 minutes at 350 F/180 C in an unpreheated oven on the lower shelf and then leaving the rock cakes in the oven (off) for some 30 minutes.

I remarked that one tablespoon of orange juice really DOES make a difference to the consistency of the dough. Before I put in the last tablespoon, the dough was slightly crumbly and dry. After merely ONE tablespoon of juice, the dough was gooey-er and stuck better together. Also, per usual for the winter, there were lumps of butter in the dough. This isn't a big deal, though, because [next part is highly unscientific and is highly speculated] when the rock cake is baking, the butter will melt and all that liquid will infiltrate the flour-y parts, so the end result is still a rock cake. When I was scooping the dough onto the pan, it smelled just like the rock cakes I made in Food Tech. I'm not really sure when else I've consumed rock cakes, but I know I definitely have, several times in my life.

They taste crunchy the way a rock cake should, yet have a springy, barely-moist center, have a great texture due to the whole wheat flour, aren't too sweet (the raisins add a nice touch), and are, as Baking for Britain says, "craggy".

25 (24 pictured, since I had already eaten one...) rock cakes that *drumroll* rock!


UPDATE:: 6 Jan 2012: Made two more batches of these because my mum loves them. Also, squeezing 1.8 batches onto that cookie pan above actually works! (The dough doesn't expand).