Chinese Style Chestnut Filled Cake Food

CHINESE-STYLE CHESTNUT FILLED CAKE

Steps:

• Cake: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 7" round baking pan and dust lightly with flour.
• Beat egg whites until stiff peaks form.
• Beat egg yolks lightly and fold into egg white. Blend well.
• Sift together flour and salt. Add 1/3 flour mixture to egg mixture and mix well using light, swift actions. Repeat with the remaining flour mixture, mixing well after each addition.
• Add vanilla essence. Add melted butter and blend quickly.
• Pour batter into prepared baking pan and bake for 25 minute.
• Remove from oven and allow to cool on a rack.
• Filling:Place chestnuts in a saucepan and add enough water to cover them. Cook until soft. Drain, reserving the water.
• Mash chestnuts.
• Use 1/2 cup chestnut water or plain water to cook sugar. Then add butter, vanilla essence and milk to this.
• Add sugar and milk mixture to chestnuts and mix well.
• Slice sponge cake into two layers.
• Force chestnut filling through a potato masher and pile the strands of chestnut onto one cake. Place the other half over the chestnut filling, and pile the remaining chestnut filing on top of this.
• Cover with whipped cream. (I normally just sandwich all the filling between the two layers and serve decorated with dusted icing sugar, chocolate curls and some extra chestnuts.

FRANKFURTER KRANZ (BUTTERCREAM FILLED CAKE)

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Cream butter with sugar until light and fluffy.
• Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
• Mix in grated lemon rind.
• Sift flour again with cornstarch and baking powder.
• Gradually stir in butter-egg mixture until thoroughly blended.
• Butter and flour a cake ring mold and tap out excess flour.
• Pour batter into pan.
• Bake in the lower half of oven for 45 minutes to 1 hour-test with a toothpick.
• Cool in pan on a rack.
• Praline topping or Krokant----------------.
• Place the butter and sugar in a fry pan over low heat, and stir constantly until the sugar is lightly browned and melted.
• Stir in nuts and pour onto a greased or buttered flat serving plate.
• When cold and hard, crack praline topping into small pieces.
• Butter Cream Filling---------------.
• Over low heat, cook sugar, water and cornstarch, stirring until dissolved.
• Bring to a boil, and stir until mixture forms a soft ball when dropped in cold water-238°F on candy thermometer.
• VERY slowly, stirring constantly, in a very thin stream, pour boiling hot syrup inches.
• If you add the boiling syrup to quickly it will scramble the egg yolks-so pour in the thickness of a thread, stirring vigorously.
• Beat until mixture cools and is smooth.
• Cool completely.
• Beat softened butter into the cooled creme, adding your favorite flavoring, 3 to 4 tbsp rum, arrack, kirch or fruit liquor, or 1 tbsp vanilla extract, or 2 and 1/2 oz melted and cooked semi sweet baking chocolate, or 1/2 cup ground hazelnuts.
• Cut cake into 3 layers.
• Spread 1 cup of buttercream filling onto bottom and middle layers, saving enough to cover outside of cake.
• Stack layers and spread rest of filling on top and all sides.
• Sprinkle praline topping or Korant on top and sides of cake.
• Chill at least 24 hours before serving.

WATER CHESTNUT CAKE

Steps:

• Grease a 9-inch square cake pan.
• Pour boiling water into a wok over high heat, add sugar and stir to dissolve. Add chopped water chestnuts and mix well. Add water chestnut powder mixture. Turn heat under wok to low. Stir mixture continually in one direction for 5 to 7 minutes, until mix is very thick and pasty.
• Pour water chestnut mixture into greased pan. Place pan on a rack in wok. Add 8 cups boiling water, cover and steam for 40 minutes until it sets firmly and becomes translucent. Replenish boiling water after 20 minutes. Turn off heat, remove cake pan from steamer. Allow to set 4 minutes. Slice immediately and serve.
• This is a most unusual cake. When freshly steamed and sliced, it has the consistency of a firm jelly. As it cools, it becomes very much like an aspic. It can be frozen either whole or in slices. To reheat, allow cake to return to room temperature, then steam for 10 minutes or until heated through. It will become more jellylike again. Eat it just as if it had been made fresh.
• It can be pan-fried as well, but it must be cooled and refrigerated overnight preferably (not frozen) before doing so. To pan-fry, cut cooled cake into slices 2 inches square, 1/2 inch thick, and pan-fry in the same manner as turnip cake.