Out & About #1175 | Cipriani Cake Attempt + Black Sesame Madeleines

Over a month has passed since I last undertook a baking project - but who's counting right?

The decision to gradually re-introduce rhythm into my daily routine commenced with the idea of a Black Sesame Madeleine. However, as any diligent reader ought to predict, weekend spur-of-the-moment projects rarely entail one singular creation.

​1) Cipriani Cake Attempt

​Beyond a standalone item, such as a madeleine, I decided I was well overdue for sponge-making practice.

​​A) Genoise

Although I could have adhered to the ever-easy Victoria sponge recipe, I figured that a genoise would assume the appropriate re-entry point into baking, for it relied on aeration technique rather than chemical leavener for its rise.

Ingredients:

• 3 egg whites
• 70 g granulated sugar

• 3 egg yolks
• 8 g honey

• 76 g cake flour
• 30 g milk
• 25 g canola oil

• ​1 tsp vanilla extract

​Yield: One 6 in cake, three layers of approx. 1.5-2 cm thickness

Bake at 330 F for 30 mins.

Although Sunday notes in her recipe that genoise can be tricky for beginners, I never really found that to be the case. Practice makes perfect, of course, but one should be mindful of the following factors:

1) Clean bowls
Ensure that all bowls are clean and free of residue before commencing. When in doubt, blast the bowl with detergent and hot water and wipe dry.

2) Egg white contamination
Not all eggs will harness a perfectly intact yolk, so be careful when separating eggs. It is recommended to use a "separator bowl" to prevent ruining the entire batch if one yolk was broken. More often than not, I ignored this recommendation, for it increases the number of dishes.
Instead, I take to scraping out strands of broken yolk with egg shells and adding a pinch of cream of tartar (lemon juice or vinegar work as well) for insurance. This approach works adequately for sponge cakes, however I would likely start over if making meringue for an Italian or Swiss buttercream or macaron base; some recipes are stricter than others.

3) Meringue
Depending on the desired texture, the recipe may specify adding sugar to the egg white all at once or in stages (typically three additions). Adding all the sugar at once forms a softer meringue, and usually assumes the technique for soft cakes where the meringue isn't intended to provide structure and cracks are to be eliminated where possible - ie. Japanese Soufflé Cheesecake. The gradual addition of sugar intends to build structure. In this case, the the proteins slowly bind with the sugar crystals to form a glossy, airy component that can then be used to aerate cakes. My preferred approach is to to start beating the egg whites on high speed until frothy, add sugar in 3-4 additions and beat on medium speed, and finish the process at low speed to prevent overbeating. Once the surface is glossy and uniform, and a peak holds on the beater, the meringue is done.

B) Crème Diplomate

Traditionally, the Cipriani Cake utilizes a vanilla pastry cream for a cohesive appearance with the torched meringue exterior. Given that I had approached the recipe with the sheer aim of practicing genoise, I hadn't contemplated the cultural intentions too deeply. Without a moment's hesitation, I had altered the cream to be a faintly chocolatey one with the substitution of cocoa powder for AP flour.

Ingredients:

• 90 ml milk
•  ̶1̶/̶4̶ ̶v̶a̶n̶i̶l̶l̶a̶ ̶b̶e̶a̶n̶ ̶f̶o̶r̶ ̶i̶n̶f̶u̶s̶i̶o̶n̶ 5 g vanilla bean paste

• 25 g granulated sugar
•  ̶4̶ ̶g̶ ̶A̶P̶ ̶f̶l̶o̶u̶r̶ 5 g cocoa powder
•  ̶4̶ ̶g̶ 6 g cornstarch
• 1 egg yolk​

•  ̶1̶8̶0̶ 200 ml cold heavy cream

Directions

1. Combine milk and vanilla bean or vanilla bean paste/extract) in a medium saucepot. Gently warm the milk, allowing the vanilla to infuse.
2. In a medium heatproof bowl, whisk together egg yolk, sugar, cornstarch, and cocoa powder.
3. Once the milk mixture comes to a low simmer, remove from heat and slowly add into the egg yolk mixture, whisking to prevent scrambling. Whisk with caution to prevent splashing of the hot milk and strive to whisk away from yourself - ie. counter-clockwise motion - where possible. Once 2/3 of the milk mixture has been gently incorporated, add the rest of the mixture and whisk once more until homogenous. Transfer the custard base back to the saucepot and cook over medium heat until thickened.
4. Transfer to heatproof bowl. Cover tightly with cling film and let chill in the refrigerator until at least room temperature.
5. Once the custard is cool to the touch, whip heavy cream until slightly frothy. Add in custard and whip to medium-firm peaks. The consistency should be sturdy but still spreadable. Note that Sunday's approach involves adding the custard directly to the cream and whipping. I did not adhere to these directions in fear that any residua heat from the custard would prevent the heavy cream from aerating.
6. Set aside until ready to assemble the cake. If your kitchen is warm, store in the fridge while working.

​Assembling the cake was straightforward. That said, I wish I had cut the cake layers more evenly. Too exhausted to obtain my levelling bars, I merely portioned out the layers using visual judgement, resulting in a somewhat thin middle layer and thicker top and bottom layers. Thankfully, this blunder was not at all obvious in the final product.

In hindsight though, I would have avoided frosting the exterior of the cake layers, including the surface, for the cream disintegrated and oozed out from underneath the meringue layer when torched.

C) Meringue Exterior

The goal was for the cake to adopt the appearance of Baked Alaska, which relies heavily on the ability of meringue to seal and insulate the chilled cake.
Withered with the day's happenings thus far and with mini marshmallows on hand, an alternative approach was utilized: Melting store-bought marshmallows to spread (pipe?) over the surface. Online sources had pointed towards the addition of "a splash" or "few tablespoons" of water to improve fluidity. These utterly vague amounts did not provide any more guidance beyond that butter was preferable to water for my purposes.

Ingredients:

• 130 g marshmallow
• 30 g water

​A starting quantity of 13 g of water had rendered a somewhat stiff, tacky consistency, so I continued to microwave the marshmallows and add water. By the point it dawned on me that 30 g was too much, the marshmallow mixture had already become too fluid. Tackiness had been minimized, but so had structural integrity.

Using a piping bag was totally unnecessary, for the meringue flowed over the cake without any resistance at all! By the time I had distributed and torched the meringue, the cake began to adopt the appearance of Frosty the Snowman - a charred puddle that somehow bore similarities to a patterned top hat. Any cream spread along the circumference had began to liquify underneath, pooling into the meringue ominously. The marshmallow had not fully sealed the underlying components.

Truthfully, homemade meringue would have been easier to shape and handle, but the thought of compiling Swiss meringue was not at all appealing in the later afternoon hours. Had I used less water, store-bought marshmallows should have clung to the edges as intended

Before chilling

After chilling

​Needless to say, I was eager to sample my creation. Despite the gooey, marshmallow casing and soft, oozing cream, I dug into the specimen. Let it be known that refrigerating overnight was the correct approach, for the 8-hour chill allowed the marshmallow to solidify and cream to stabilize once more. Both slicing and eating were rendered easier for the cake was no longer at risk of collapse. As always, it was all a matter of patience! - an attribute I do not naturally possess.

2) Black Sesame Madeleine

Assuming the primary creation of the weekend, Black Sesame Madeleines emerged from an adaptation of Sunday Baking's foolproof madeleine recipe. The inclusion of black sesame paste seemed straightforward in theory, however I was unsure whether the ingredient would be treated as a stabilizer or an oil, for the unmixed ingredient appeared to serve both roles. Erring on the side of caution, a mere 16 g was added.

Ingredients:

• 2 eggs
• 1 egg yolk
• 80 g granulated sugar
• 30 g honey
• 16 g black sesame paste
• 125 g AP flour
• 5 g baking powder
• 110 g unsalted butter, melted
•  ̶1̶0̶ ̶g̶ 24 g milk (by accident!)
•  ̶1̶ ̶t̶s̶p̶ 10 g vanilla extract

• 300 g white chocolate couverture
• 30 g black sesame seeds (or as desired, for garnish), toasted

Yield: 20 madeleines; 16 no chill + 4 chill

Notes

• It is highly advised to mix the black sesame paste with either the egg mixture and/or the melted butter to ensure any bits that settled to the bottom of the jar are readily incorporated into the batter. As a consequence of failing to adhere to this step, there were noticeable lumps in my batter, even with meticulously mixing. Although the textural difference was not distinguishable in the final product, a uniform makes for better rise and flavour.
• The scanty quantity of black sesame paste was inadequate in establishing a nutty profile for the treat. However, the tempered white chocolate coating, in conjunction with the plentiful portion of toasted black sesame seeds, was more than enough in solidifying its status as a concoction harnessing black sesame.
• Chill the batter! Even if the chill time is only a brief 30 mins, the result is a better rise, improved shape, and batter that pipes easily and beautifully in the mould. The first 16 madeleines were baked immediately after mixing, while the remaining four were baked after an approximate thirty-minute rest in the refrigerator. Despite being the same batter, there were noticeable differences in the final appearance.
• A yield of 20 madeleines indicates that the cavities were filled to the appropriate level. Overfilling can cause spreading without rise, while underfilling fails to achieve the desired shape.​\
• Black sesame seeds should be toasted at 350 F for 3-5 mins, and no longer than 5 mins to prevent burning!
  

My first attempt at tempering had failed miserably. The madeleines never unmoulded and the black sesame seeds were ultimately discarded.

​​A second attempt was made the following day. Although I had accidentally allowed the temperature to fall to 28.5 C (lower than the 30 C specified on the bag), I had somehow succeeded!

​Despite horribly unclean edges, the crunch was phenomenal. Air pockets had formed where the black sesame seeds were dispersed in the mould, though this was hardly noticeable to the naked eye.

​Leftover chocolate was formed into solid chocolate Miffy, using my HEMA mould from Amsterdam. These were adorable to observe, though the details difficult to distinguish due to the all-white hue.

​An alternative to forming the shell shape in the mould was to simply coat the backs with white chocolate then liberally sprinkle on toasted sesame seeds. This method intensified the nuttiness tremendously, accentuating the robustness of black sesame seeds. Oddly enough, coating and leaving to set at room temperature preserved the pale profile of the white chocolate couverture; those that set in the fridge in the mould were a tad yellow by comparison.

Regardless of the garnish, I was thankful that my new office mates welcomed the treats with open arms!