Root Cake Food

TARO ROOT CAKE (WOO TUL GOW)

Steps:

• In a small bowl, soak the scallops in 1/3 cup cold water for about 2 hours, or until softened. Drain, reserving the soaking liquid. Remove and discard the small hard knob from the side of the scallops. Finely shred the scallops.
• Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, soak the mushrooms in 1/2 cup cold water 30 minutes, or until softened. Drain and squeeze dry, reserving the soaking liquid. Cut off and discard stems and mince the caps. In a small bowl, soak the dried shrimp in 1/3 cup cold water for 30 minutes, or until softened. Drain, reserving soaking liquid. Finely chop shrimp and set aside.
• Cut the bacon into 3 equal pieces and place in a 9-inch shallow heatproof dish. Bring water to a boil over high heat in a covered steamer large enough to fit the dish without touching the sides of the steamer. Carefully place the dish in the steamer, cover, reduce heat to medium, and steam 15 to 20 minutes, or just until bacon is softened and there are juices in the dish. Check the water level from time to time and replenish, if necessary, with boiling water. Carefully remove the dish from the steamer and set aside to cool.
• Meanwhile, wearing rubber gloves, peel taro root and cut into 1/2-inch cubes to make about 7 cups. In a 4-quart saucepan, combine the taro root, 1 teaspoon salt, and about 1 1/2 quarts cold water, and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer 15 to 20 minutes, or until taro has turned a pale lavender color and is just tender when pierced with a knife.
• Remove the bacon from its dish and reserve the juices in the dish. Cut off and discard the rind and thick layer of fat underneath. Cut the remaining meat into paper-thin slices and then finely chop. In a 14-inch flat-bottomed wok or skillet, stir-fry the chopped bacon over medium heat for 2 to 3 minutes, or until meat releases fat and just begins to brown. Add the minced mushrooms and shrimp, and stir-fry 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in pan juices from the bacon and remove from heat.
• Drain the taro in a colander, reserving the cooking liquid. Return the taro to the saucepan, add the bacon and mushroom mixture, and stir to combine. In a large bowl, combine the rice flour and the reserved mushroom, scallop, and shrimp soaking liquids, stirring until smooth. Stir in 1 cup of the reserved hot taro broth. Pour this batter over the taro mixture in the saucepan. Add the remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and stir until combined. Consistency will resemble that of thick rice pudding. Pour the mixture into a heatproof 8-inch round, 3- to 4-inch-deep, straight-sided bowl, such as a soufflé dish.
• Bring water to a boil over high heat in a covered steamer large enough to fit the dish without touching the sides of the steamer. Carefully place the dish into the steamer, cover, reduce heat to medium-low, and steam 1 hour, or just until cake is set and is firm to the touch. Check the water level and replenish, if necessary, with boiling water. Carefully remove the bowl from the steamer and cool on a rack about 1 hour. Cover and refrigerate at least 3 to 4 hours.
• Run a knife along the edge of the cake to loosen sides. Place a cake rack over the bowl and invert to unmold. Flip the cake right-side up onto a cutting board. Wrap the cake in plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to use.
• When ready to eat, cut the cake into quarters. Cut each quarter crosswise, not into wedges, but into two 2-inch-wide strips. Cut each strip crosswise into scant 1/2-inch-thick slices. This is the typical way of slicing a cake Chinese style.
• Heat a 14-inch flat-bottomed wok or skillet, over medium heat until hot but not smoking. Add just enough vegetable oil to barely coat the wok. Add the taro cake slices in batches and cook for 2 to 3 minutes per side, until golden brown. Serve immediately with oyster sauce.

OLD FASHIONED ROOT BEER FLOAT CAKE

Steps:

• Make the Cake: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour 2 (9-inch) cake pans and line the bottoms with parchment paper.
• In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter; then add the sugar and continue mixing until light and fluffy.
• Meanwhile, sift together the cake flour, baking powder, and salt.
• With the mixer on low speed, gradually add the water and eggs to the butter mixture until blended. Mix in the root beer extract and vanilla. Alternately add the flour mixture and milk to form a smooth batter.
• Pour the batter into the prepared pans and bake until just set, about 30 to 40 minutes. Let cool in pans for 5 minutes, and then invert onto cooling racks to cool completely before frosting.
• Make the Frosting: In a standing mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, combine the confectioners' sugar and butter. Mix on low speed until well blended; then increase speed to medium and beat for another 3 minutes. Add the cream and vanilla and continue to beat on medium speed for 1 minute more, adding more cream if needed to reach spreading consistency.
• To decorate the cake: Place 1 cooled cake layer on a cake stand, frost the top surface, and chill for 15 minutes (or freeze 5 minutes). Place the second cake layer on top, inverting it to create a flat top, and push down on it slightly. Frost the sides and top with a thin layer of frosting to hold in any crumbs (called a crumb layer), and chill 30 minutes or freeze 15 minutes.
• Apply a second layer of frosting to finish off the cake, swirling the frosting a bit. Place 12 elbow straws in the cake around the top, and place colored streamers around the edge of the cake flowing down to the base.

ROOT BEER FLOAT MUG CAKES

Steps:

• For the root beer glazed nuts: Preheat the oven 350 degrees F. Arrange the nuts in a single layer on a baking sheet. Roast, tossing halfway through, until the nuts are fragrant and toasted, 6 to 8 minutes. Remove and allow to cool.
• Bring the root beer, cinnamon and kosher salt to a boil in a small saucepan over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium-low and allow to simmer until reduced by half and thickened, about 10 minutes.
• Place the toasted nuts in a large bowl and pour the reduced root beer over them. Toss thoroughly to combine; spread out onto a baking sheet, sprinkle with the flaky salt, then allow to cool thoroughly. The glazed nuts can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 weeks. Makes 4 cups.
• For the root beer ice cream topping: Bring the root beer, granulated sugar and salt to a boil in a small saucepan over high heat. Boil for 1 full minute, then reduce the heat to a simmer and stir until the sugar and salt dissolve. Stir in the butter, cocoa powder, nutmeg and star anise until completely smooth. Simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, then pour the root beer mixture into a heatproof bowl or glass measuring cup. Store at room temperature up to 3 days. Makes 1 cup.
• For the root beer mug cakes: Stir together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt in a small bowl. Whisk together the root beer and sugar in a second small bowl, then add the oil and vanilla.
• Slowly whisk the flour mixture into the root beer mixture until just combined - do not overmix. Divide the batter between two 8-ounce mugs or small microwavable bowls. Microwave until the cake rises and sets, 1 1/2 to 2 minutes. Allow to cool slightly.
• To serve, top each mug cake with small scoop of vanilla ice cream, drizzle with the root beer topping and sprinkle with the glazed nuts.

BEETROOT CAKE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Make the first batch of sponges by greasing and lining two 20cm round tins. Gently melt 125g butter and 100g chocolate together in a saucepan. Mix 250g flour, 250g sugar, 1 tbsp cocoa, ½ tsp bicarb and ¼ tsp salt in a large mixing bowl. Whizz one egg with 100g yogurt and 200g beetroot in a food processor or blender until fairly smooth. Put the kettle on.
• Tip the beetroot mix into the dry ingredients along with the melted chocolate mixture and 150ml boiling water, then stir to combine. Stir in half the food colouring, if using, and divide the mixture between the tins. Bake for 25 mins until a skewer poked into the centre comes out clean. Leave the cakes on a wire rack to cool completely.
• Repeat Steps 1 and 2 to make two more sponges - or if you're lucky enough to have four 20cm sandwich tins, you can bake in a big batch all at once.
• To make the frosting, briefly beat together the cream cheese and butter, then beat in the icing sugar and vanilla. Use a little to sandwich the cooled cakes together, then swirl the rest all over the sandwiched cakes and decorate with sweets, if you like. Sit the cake somewhere cool (not the fridge) to set a little before serving.

ROOT BEER BUNDT CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Generously spray the inside of a 10-inch bundt pan with nonstick cooking spray; alternatively butter it, dust it with flour, and knock out the excess flour.
• In a small saucepan, heat the root beer, cocoa powder, and butter over medium heat until the butter is melted. Add the sugars and whisk until dissolved. Remove from the heat and let cool.
• In a large bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, and salt together.
• In a small bowl, whisk the eggs until just beaten, then whisk them into the cooled cocoa mixture until combined. Gently fold the flour mixture into the cocoa mixture. The batter will be slightly lumpy -- do not overbeat, as it could cause the cake to be tough.
• Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 35-40 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through the baking time, until a small sharp knife inserted into the cake comes out clean. Transfer the pan to a wire rack to cool completely. Gently loosen the sides of the cake from the pan and turn it out onto the rack.
• To make the frosting, pulse all ingredients in a food precessor until smooth and shiny. I don't have a food processor, so I just made it like regular frosting. I cut the butter into the dry ingredients and then stirred in the root beer. Use a spatula to spread the frosting over the crown of the bundt in a thick layer and allow to set.

CHINESE TARO ROOT CAKE (WOO TUL GOW)

Steps:

• In a medium bowl, soak the mushrooms in 1/4 cup cold water until softened (30 minutes).
• In another bowl, mix flour and starch in water.
• Heat 9-inch round pan with a little oil.
• Stir-fry taro with shoyu, oyster sauce, and salt for a few minutes.
• Mix taro into flour mixture.
• Add pork.
• Pour into oiled pan.
• Drain and squeeze mushrooms dry.
• Cut off and discard stems and mince the caps.
• Top cake with garnishes.
• Bring water to a boil over high heat in a covered steamer large enough to fit the pan without touching the sides of the steamer.
• Carefully place the pan into the steamer, cover, reduce heat to medium-low, and steam just until cake is set and firm to the touch (45-60 minutes).
• Cool and cut into slices.

ROOT BEER FLOAT CAKE I

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 10 inch Bundt pan.
• In a medium bowl, stir together the cake mix, 12 ounces root beer, oil and eggs until smooth. Pour batter into the prepared pan.
• Bake for 35 to 40 minutes in the preheated oven, until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool cake in pan for 15 minutes before inverting onto a wire rack to cool completely. Poke holes in the cake with a skewer at 2 inch intervals. Pour Root Beer Glaze evenly over cake.
• To make the Root Beer Glaze: combine the confectioners sugar and 3 tablespoons of root beer in a small bowl. Beat until smooth.