Monday 3 August 2015

Condensed Milk Cotton Cake 炼乳棉花蛋糕


This is a light, soft, moist and not-so-sweet cake, which is best consumed cold. My family likes this cake very much and finished it up within one day :)

Yield: one 6" or 15 cm cake
Mould size: 6" diameter, 3" height
Baking temperature:
170 degree Celsius for 40 minutes with upper heating coil;
150 degree Celsius for 20 to 30 minutes with both heating coils.

Ingredients
All ingredients in room temperature 
Using nett 60g Omega 3+6 egg

3 egg yolks 蛋黄
30g beaten egg 蛋液

35g salted butter 有盐牛油
50g cake flour, sieved 低筋面粉,过筛
50g condensed milk 炼乳

3 egg whites 蛋白
40g fine sugar 细砂糖

Directions
1. Line a 6" round cake mould with parchment paper at the base. 


2. Mix egg yolks with beaten egg. Set aside.

3. Heat butter till small bubbles start to appear at the bottom of the melted butter.

4. Pour the flour into the hot melted butter. Fold to mix with a spatula.


5. Add in the condensed milk to combine.

6. Add the (5) to (2). Cover and set aside.


7. Beat egg white till frothy, for about 30 seconds. Add in the sugar, in 3 batches.

8. Beat at medium high speed at the start and reduce to low speed towards the end of the process. Beat the meringue till almost reaching the stiff peak stage. The standing meringue has a slight dip at the tip.

9. Scoop about 1/3 of the meringue into the yolk batter at (6). Fold to mix.

10. Pour the yolk batter back to the remaining meringue and fold to mix into a smooth batter.



11. Pour the batter into the 6" round cake mould. Lightly bang the cake mould a few times to remove any trapped air bubbles in the batter.



12. Place the cake pan in a tray of 1cm-deep hot water. 
Steam-bake the batter in a preheated oven set at 170 degree Celsius with only the upper heating coil for 40 minutes at lower rack of the oven. 


After 40 minutes, reduce the oven temperature to 150 degree Celsius with both upper and lower heating, for another 20 to 30 minutes. The original recipe which uses eggs of 50 to 55g in weight, suggested 20 minutes. However, the eggs I used have a weight of about 60g, so I extended the baking time to 30 minutes.
If the cake brown too fast, cover it with an aluminum foil.

End of baking.

Oven temperature and baking duration may differ based on individual oven. 

13. Remove the cake with pan from the oven and drop the pan with the cake from a height of about 5 cm for about three times. This is to prevent the cake from over shrinking during the cooling period.

Then let them cool down on a cooling rack for about 15 ~20 minutes, or till the cake slightly shrink away from the wall of
the cake mould.
While the cake is still warm, runs a silicon spatula along the edge of the cake. Remove the cake from the cake pan and cool down on a wire rack. This is to prevent accumulation of moisture at the base of the cake.







You may want to dry up the sides of the cake by keeping it in the warm oven for about 15 minutes. Turn on the oven to 90 degree Celsius for 2 minutes.


14. Slice the cake and enjoy :)


The cake tastes nicer after keeping in the fridge for about 2 hours :P


Recipe adapted from the wonderful sharing by 
with great appreciation <3


61 comments:

  1. Another lovely cake from you again Ngai Leng. I know I like this cake already. Mind if I ask why you didn't line the whole base of your baking pan? Any particular reason? Thanks for sharing.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Haha, Veronica, you raised a very good question. I used an old photo for this. That's was for another cake which needed to be inverted to cool. I leave a small gap just to let the cake hold on to the base to prevent it from falling off too fast.
      For this cake I have the base fully covered by the parchment paper. Sorry for the misleading photo ><

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    2. Hi NgaiLeng, thanks for the clarification. No apologies needed ;-)

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    3. Haha, I've updated with a right photo ^^

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  2. Replies
    1. Haha, thank you Mary for stopping by my blog. You so cute :)

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  3. Silly question but what kind of knife do u use to cut this gorgeous cake? Beautiful slice!

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    Replies
    1. Hi Jade Foo, no question is silly, it's a step closer to understanding better ^^
      I used a long bread knife to slice the cake :)

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  4. Replies
    1. Hi Sharon, 谢谢你,有您在部落格的指引,我才能烤出这样漂亮的蛋糕 :)

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  5. Hi Ngai Leng
    I tried this recipe today but ran into problem at the last stage. My oven dun have top heating , only top n bottom. So decided to just try baking using that for 40 mins. After 40mins, the top is nicely brown n I turn to 150 to bake for 15 mins. However, the bottom 1/3 is not bake. Wet n thickened alrdy. After tt I covered with aluminium n bake another 20 mins + 20 mins, still unable to n I gave up. I wonder is it becos after I put the cake tin into the hot water bath, I didn't put into the oven immediately? ? Can u advise?

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    Replies
    1. Hi Alice, so sad your cake didn't turn out well. The thick dense layer at the bottom was a sign of insufficient heating at the base during baking. Since your oven only have one heating mode, maybe you can bake at 150 or 160 degree Celsius for about 1 hour. Yes, you need to send the cake in hot water into the oven as soon as you have finished filling the batter into the cake mould. Try to turn on your oven when you start to prepare the meringue, so you won't have to wait for the oven to heat up. Hope this info helps :)

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  6. Hihi any tips in making meringue?? My egg white always turn out watery. Beat using high speed though. Thanks in advance!

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    Replies
    1. Hi sockshaha, to whip up egg white, it's advisable to use a stainless steel mixing bowl. From my experience, it's difficulty to clean the plastic mixing bowl to a grease-free stage.
      All the equipment from mixing bowl to the whisks must be dry and grease-free. And be careful not to let the yolk "contaminate" the egg white. If you observe these "rules", you should be able to get your meringue right :)

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  7. Hi Ngai Leng, I'm new to baking. If I dnt hv condense milk at home, can u replace it with butter or evaporated milk? If can, what's the qty needed? TIA

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  8. Hi Ngai Leng, I'm new to baking. If I dnt hv condense milk at home, can u replace it with butter or evaporated milk? If can, what's the qty needed? TIA

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Wendy,
      Sorry for the late reply. Since condensed milk is one of the main ingredients in this recipe, it's not advisable to find replacement for it. I knew a FB friend using evaporated milk, and the result was not satisfactory.

      Delete
  9. Dear Ngail Leng, may I know how come my Condense Milk Cotton Cake is so flat and thin layer like pancake, not able to raise? It's look so difference from yours, tall and flurry. What has gone wrong? Pls kindly enlighten me.
    Thanks & regards
    Ivy

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Ivy,
      I believe the main reason lies in your meringue. If your meringue did not reach the almost stiff peak stage, the meringue would disintegrate when you fold it to the yolk batter. To get the meringue right, it's advisable to use a stainless steel mixing bowl instead of a plastic mixing bowl. Hope I have given you a right answer :)

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  10. Hi Ivy,
    I used 35g butter and 50g of flour but still very watery, then i added 45g of flour to make it thick but not as thick as urs. is the measure correct? thanks

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi, I believe you did not heat up your melted butter to the desired temperature, ie, between 65 degree and 75 degree Celsius. The flour only can start to absorb more liquid after it has reached above 65 degree C. Below that it would not be able to absorb that amount of liquid. You must wait until small bubbles started to form at the bottom of the melted butter, before you start to add in the flour :)

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    2. thanks! this round I manage to do it as photo above. By the way, i seem to bake 40 minutes only and inside is dry. but the bottom got a hard layer . does this means still need to bake longer? thanks!

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    3. Good to see some improvements in your cake.
      The dense layer at the base was an indication that the base was not hot enough that cause the batter to settle there. You'll have to use very hot water from the flask, and send it immediately into the oven once you have poured into the outer pan. The oven must be preheated for 10 minutes at least.

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    4. Argh! Baking every single steps is important! I didnt put hot water! miss out the words. hehehe...thanks!

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    5. You're welcome:) Hopefully, your next cake will be a success ^^

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  11. Hello, you're absolutely clever making this tall and without cracks cake. Wonderful. Also, could you explain further on this step "13. Remove the cake with pan from the oven and drop the pan with the cake from a height of about 5 cm for about three times. This is to prevent the cake from over shrinking during the cooling period."? Do you mean you drop the cake together with pans 3 times once you get it oout from oven?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Hankerie for nice comment :)
      Yes, you'll have to drop the pan with the hot cake still inside for three times :)

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  12. Hi, just wondering the size of the cake pan, 6" looks a bit too small...can i double the ingredients amount and use a 10" pan?
    Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi, I'm not sure about the appropriate cake pan size to use if you're going to double the recipe volume. I understand that an 8" pan will take about 5 eggs quantity, so 10" maybe a bit too big for an 6 eggs recipe :)

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  13. Hi, the skin on top of my cake always look wrinkly not like yours so smooth. Is it because my oven temp is too hot?

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    Replies
    1. Hi Lilian, from my past experience, if there are too much moisture in the batter, it will form steam during baking. The steam would tend to push the cake top very high during baking. When the cake cools down, without the support of the steam, the top would tend to wrinkle. So maybe you can heat the butter longer to evaporate the liquid in the melted butter, or reduce the beaten egg quantity to 25g, or slightly reduce the oven temperature by 5 to 10 degree C. Hopefully, these solutions help :)

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    2. Thank you. I shall try it out

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    3. Thank you. I shall try it out

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    4. Glad to share with you. Happy baking :)

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  14. Hi, the skin on top of my cake always look wrinkly not like yours so smooth. Is it because my oven temp is too hot?

    ReplyDelete
  15. Hi Ngai Leng, for individual cup cakes,still require water bath?

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  16. Hi Ngai Leng, for individual cup cakes,still require water bath?

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  17. My round pan 9.25 inch diameter is too large to do water bath. Is the recipe good to do in a 9x5 inch loaf pan? Thanks

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  18. My round pan 9.25 inch diameter is too large to do water bath. Is the recipe good to do in a 9x5 inch loaf pan? Thanks

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi, sorry I'm not sure whether the loaf pan will give the same smooth top as the round cake pan. My recipe fits an 6x3" round cake pan well. If you double the quantity, it can fit an 8x3" round cake pan. Based on the surface area, your 9x5" loaf pan has a slightly smaller surface area than an 8" round pan. You can fill the pan with batter till it reaches about
      1 1/2" below the rim of the pan. Bake the remaining batter in cupcakes or smaller pan.
      Hope this info helps :)

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  19. hello! is it necessary to add the 30g beaten egg?? if i dont add it will it affect the final product alot? Thank you!

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  20. Hi...dear...i try to made this recipe today, I don't know why ...well I'm new to this kind of cake. When I try to fold the meringue to yolk batter. Then the batter becomes very bubbly. Do you have any idea why that's happened? So the cake becomes very coarse cause all the bubbles. Thanks in advance

    ReplyDelete
  21. Hi...dear...i try to made this recipe today, I don't know why ...well I'm new to this kind of cake. When I try to fold the meringue to yolk batter. Then the batter becomes very bubbly. Do you have any idea why that's happened? So the cake becomes very coarse cause all the bubbles. Thanks in advance

    ReplyDelete
  22. Hi Linda, oh so sad to hear this �� From my past experience, if the egg was not too fresh, like it had been kept in the fridge for
    more than 2 weeks or so, the meringue tend to be weak. When I started to fold in the meringue, most of the bubbles would burst.

    If the meringue had been kept too long before adding to the yolk mixture, may also cause this problem.

    If the meringue was not properly whipped up, may lead to this problem too.

    Sorry I'm not a true expert in giving you the right advice, hopefully my sharing benefits you a bit ��

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  23. I hope you could give me the ingr. In cup measurement? Dont have weighing scale. Thanks

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    Replies
    1. Hi, sorry I'm not familiar in using cup for my baking measurement. Based on the conversion table I obtained from Google, I came up with the following measurements based on US cup size.
      60g egg = extra large egg
      30g beaten egg = 2 tbsp
      35g salted butter = 3 tbsp
      50g cake flour = 1/2 cup
      50g condensed milk = 2.61 tbsp
      40g fine sugar = 1/4 cup remove 2 tsp
      Hope this helps 😊

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  24. Hi,
    I have 2 attempts but unsuccessful. 1st attempt I used aluminium foil tray and placed it inside another baking tray with water on a large tray. The 2nd attempt the top has alot of bubbles marks, maybe I tap the tray too many times. I baked for the 1st 40 minsbwith top heat, the top turn brown already and with the next 20-30 mins with top n bottom heat, the cake didnt rise at all like yours. Not sure which steps I did wrongly.

    For your guidance please.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi, so sorry to learn about your two failed cakes. I think you have either under-whipped your meringue or have over-mixed your batter. Both or either one may have caused part of your meringue to loose the air bubbles which resulted in a lot of bubbles appearing at the surface of the cake. There shouldn't be a lot of conspicuous bubbles in the batter. It's okay if a few appears. Over-mixing or prolong mixing will cause part of the meringue to collapse. This maybe the cause of your cake not raising tall.
      The water bath needs not be too big. Just slightly bigger than the cake pan will do.
      Hope my answer helps 😊💕

      Delete
  25. Hi, I just tried your recipe and my cake turned out to have 'jelly" type base. It was basically the egg though, but like steamed style. Can I know is it normal?

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    Replies
    1. Oh Lynn 😳, I think most probably you didn't mix the butter-yolk batter and meringue well. This may have caused the heavier butter-yolk batter to settle at the base of the cake pan. Hopefully, you remember to turn on both the top and bottom heating elements when you reduce the oven temperature to 150 degree C 😬

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  26. Goh,can I steam this instead of baking?

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    Replies
    1. Hi Kristina, I think it should be able to be baked by steaming. However, the cake may lack the caramelised aroma. Try to steam at low temperature or else the top may crack 😊

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    2. Also would it still have the cottony texture that it has despite of being steamed?

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    3. Most steamed cakes would have a soft and moist texture. I think the cake should have a cottony texture if it is not over-steamed. If the cake has been over-steamed, it may become dense and compact. So it is best to steam at low heat over a longer duration instead of high heat :)

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  27. Hi there...your cake is really pretty but I have a couple questions regarding the process of baking it.

    The thing is my can only do either broil or bake....the broil part is easy coz it needs abt 40 min to bake the upper part of the cake using the upper coil according to the recipe.

    BUT...the second part which it needs to be baked using both and lower heating for abt 20-30 min...that's my problem hehehee... I can only use one at the time..either broil or bake...

    Can you help me with this matter? I'd appreciate if you could...thank you for your help and your time ��

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Lina, thank you for liking my cake :) The baking method described in the recipe is mainly for oven which has a relatively hotter lower heating element which tends to cause the cake to crack in the surface. To overcome the constraint of your oven, you can use “Baking” function, turning on both your upper and lower heating elements, and bake at 170C for about 10 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 150C and continue to bake for about 40 minutes. But the crust may have pale colour.Hope the suggestion works for your oven :)

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  28. could you please convert to cups? thank you

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  29. hello could you please convert to cups?

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  30. Hi. Can I ask. Do you mean this whole recipe is using about 4 eggs? Because I saw u put 60g omega+6 eggs. Thanks.

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