Thanksgiving 2010 Asian Mixed Fruit Cream Cake

It seem like yesterday we were ringing in 2010 and blowing horns and whistle and now Thanksgiving 2010 had already gone by. In less than a month Christmas will be here and followed by 2011. Many in my family will agree that 2010 was not a year for us and we wish and hope for a better 2011. Nonetheless, I am thankful for the people in my lives and make use with what I have today. For the good things I appreciate them and for the unfortunate things I am still thankful because it gives me an opportunity to learn and grow.  Just like the saying “The happiest of people don’t necessarily have the best of everything they just make the most of everything that comes along their way”.

Thanksgiving 2010 was like no other for me. This was the very first year that I took on a big task of cooking the entire feast for my family. In previous years I usually contribute some dishes and pack them along when I join the party. This year Thanksgiving feast included five dishes: Chinese Roasted Pork Belly with Crackling, Roasted Chicken, Pig Ear Salad, Stir-Fried Green Beans with Dried Shrimp, and the Asian Mixed Fruit Cream Cake. Advance preparation was needed and I had to haul many things from my kitchen to my Sister R house.  I had some sou-chef helping me as well. Thanks to my helper, Sister S and my nephews. Also thanks to Sister R for allowing me to use her kitchen and cleaning up after.

When I took on this task I knew right away what my most challenging dish was going to be. I even mention about it on Facebook hoping that it can ease my nerves and push me forward to give it my best shot. I’ve been wanting to try and make the Asian Mixed Fruit Cream Cake that you are most likely to find as Asian, especially Chinese bakery. The difference with Asian and Western cakes is that Asian cakes tend to be light, sweet and fluffy whereas Western cakes tend to sweeter and richer in butter and cream.

I thought I prepared myself well in advance with several recipes and reading on different variation. I did not want to make a practice cake because it would be too much for me to finish all by myself and so I waited until this occasion. Well, if any of you follow me on Facebook you know what happened when I tried to put my cake together. There was a bit of mishap and I had to do some last minute changes.

The first problem, I bake the cake using the recipe I jot down but I double it thinking it was not enough. It baked fine but it was not as soft and fluffy as I thought it would be. I let it sit until the next day and that was when I decided to toss it out because it was just too hard. It rarely bounce up when I pressed on it. I think I know what the mistake was. When doubling the recipe I did not use a large enough bowl to mix the cake batter. Therefore it did not mix thoroughly and properly. Perhaps there wasn’t enough air incorporated? I will wait until I can get the recipe to work before sharing it with you.

Quick Fix – For what ever the reason is I still had to come up with a working cake batter. Off to the store I went and picked up a store bought cake mix for Angel Food Cake. I actually wanted a sponge cake mix but did not see it on the shelf. I also did not have the right kind of cake pan and did not want to buy any at the moment so I bought a disposable 3-pk pie pan instead. Bake the Angel Food Cake according to the instructions on the back but divided into two pie pan. The cake fluffed up beautifully with soft of the touch texture. It taste wonderfully as well. Light and sweet. The problem with using Angel Food Cake is that because of it’s soft and fluffy texture it is very delicate. You have to be cautious when handling it and especially when layering it in half. Because I used a pie pan instead of a cake pan I had to trim around to make it even and stack-able. The trimmings did not go to waste, matter of fact there wasn’t even enough to go around for taste test.

The 2nd problem I encountered, since I had a lot on my plate I wanted to prepare the cake in advance, the night before. When using fresh whipped cream I was told to not do it too far in advance because it have a tendency to fall flat unless there is some sort of stabilizer. I used the unsweetened unflavored gelatin as a stabilizing agent. I do not have any experience working with gelatin beside the one that comes in those small jell-o maxing kit. Wanting to get it to dissolve fast I added boiling water and began to stir. It did dissolve alright but I did not allow it to cool down enough before I added to my already whipped stiff peak cream. Well, if you ever whipped fresh cream before you know that it is important to keep everything cold. Adding anything that is warm will cause it to deflate. Sister S tried to whip it back up and we kept waiting and waiting but it did not come back up. We then transfer it to the fridge hoping to whip it again after it get colder.

Quick Fix – It was already 9PM and I really don’t have much time left too sit and wait and see if we can really salvage the whipped cream again so Sister B and I went to the store to pick up another carton of heavy whipping cream. Lesson learned and this time I tempt the gelatin with warm-hot water. Success! We began to assemble the cake. The fun part was decorating and it wasn’t until we began to add the fruits that Sister S and I began to feel proud of our work. I couldn’t stop snapping pictures.

While it looks pleasing to the eyes I still had my fingers cross because I was unsure of how the final taste would be like. Turns out everybody loved it and my Parents and siblings are already placing orders for their birthdays and suggest that I make this again for upcoming family feast. In the meantime I will try to work on a recipe for the cake mix.

Start with a box of Angel Food Cake mix and bake according to the direction on the package. I divided into 2 pie pan. Once bake allow to cool completely.

Simple Syrup Ingredients
½ cup water
¼ cup sugar
1 cinnamon stick
½ of a lemon, seeds remove
added separately:
1 oz. (standard shot glass) of triple sec

Method:
To make the sugar syrup, combine the water, sugar, cinnamon stick, and lemon in a saucepan, and heat to boiling. Remove from heat and let cool. Stir in triple sec and set aside.

Whipped Cream Frosting Ingredients
3 cups heavy whipping cream
2 oz. triple sec or to taste
1 ½ teaspoon unflavored gelatin dissolve in 3 tablespoons cold water over simmer water or warm water
¼ cup powder sugar

Method:
In a chilled metal bowl, whip the heavy cream on high speed with an electric mixer using a whisk attachment. When cream begins to thicken, add triple sec. and ¼ cup powder sugar and gelatin mixture now if stabilizing. Continue to beat on high speed until fully whipped.

Filling and Topping
1 jar Smucker’s Raspberry Jam
sliced almonds
fresh raspberry
cantaloupe ball
kiwi slices
mandarin segments

How to assemble the cake:
Lay a large platter or plate with wax paper around the edges. This is to make for an easy clean up.

If using a pie pan, trim the edges to form an even circle. Layer each cake in half. You should have a total of 4 layers.

For each layer spread some simple syrup before you decide to add jam, cream, fruit of nuts. Spread just enough to moisten but do not make it soggy. Arrange fillings according to your taste.

Once you are done with the filling frost the cake with the whipped cream. Start from the top and spreading all around the cake.

Slice nuts makes a tasty crust and also hide any frosting imperfections. Arrange topping according to your liking. Store it in the freezer until ready to serve.

Basically this Asian Mixed Fruit Cream Cake turned out to be a short cut recipe. Like Sandra Lee always says “Start with 70% store-bought (or found), add 30% of your own tasteful touches, … Best of all, you get to take all the credit.” Be creative and use what every filling and topping you like.