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Easy Vanilla Buttercream Cake

Still Life Shot of Vanilla Buttercream Cake with Palette Knife Florals

I know this blog is all about Southeast Asian recipes, but once in awhile we’re allowed to not take things too literal, right? My daughter’s fifth birthday happened sometime last week, and she had been asking me to make her the yummiest vanilla birthday cake. Incidentally, vanilla is also her favourite flavour! Unlike previous years where we custom ordered her cakes, we broke with tradition this time and went rogue with a homemade cake.  

I don’t know about you, but every time I bake a cake or a pie I feel like it’s taken a lot out of me haha. I was thoroughly zoned out after this gig in the kitchen. The original recipe is from Sugar Geek Show’s moist vanilla cake recipe, but I adapted it. It was hands down the most delicious, classic vanilla cake I’ve ever tasted. And can you believe it, it was my first time baking a proper buttercream cake and using a palette knife to make those flowers! Hard work, but so worth it after because my little one was so so happy! 

I pondered between a smooth frosted cake or a rustic one, going with the latter in the end because it makes it seem more natural. Also bought a bunch of eustomas to decorate the cake. It just make the cake seem so girly after—perfect for my sweet little preschooler. 

Still Life Shot of Vanilla Buttercream Cake with Palette Knife Florals

Easy Vanilla Buttercream Cake

Deborah, Saveur Malaisie
I loved how incredibly simple and moist this cake is. For a delicate and fine crumbed cake with a firm, even structure, I used the reverse creaming method. This method is helpful when you are making a layer cake. This recipe makes a 3 tier, 8" x 2" round cake.
Recipe adapted from https://sugargeekshow.com/recipe/vanilla-cake/.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 45 minutes
Course Birthdays, Breakfast, Celebrations, Dessert, Special Events
Cuisine American
Servings 8 people

Ingredients
  

For The Cake

  • 283 g full cream milk room temperature (divided - 113g to mix with the oil, 170g to mix with the eggs and vanilla)
  • 85 g sunflower oil or any vegetable oil
  • 1 tbsp vanilla extract
  • 3 large eggs room temperature
  • 368 g cake flour sifted
  • 368 g castor sugar sifted
  • 14 g baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp fine sea salt Note: If you're using salted butter, you can omit the salt. Keep the quantity of butter same, regardless if it's salted or unsalted.
  • 227 g unsalted butter softened to room temperature

For The Buttercream Frosting

  • 454 g icing sugar sifted
  • 113 g egg whites room temperature
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 454 g unsalted butter softened to room temperature
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1-3 drops pink gel food colouring, or any colouring you prefer

Instructions
 

  • Grease your cake pans with baking spray or butter. I placed parchment papers in them for easier release. 
  • Add oil to the milk, stir then set aside. Add eggs and vanilla to the other portion of milk. Whisk well to combine.  
  • Measure flour and sugar, then place them into the bowl of your mixer. Add baking powder, baking soda and salt. Mix at low speed 1. 
  • Gradually add the chunks of butter. Mix until the batter looks like coarse sand.
  • Add milk + oil mixture then adjust speed to medium 2. Whip for 2 minutes. Scrape down the bowl as you go along to ensure even distribution of dry and wet ingredients. 
  • Turn speed to low. Slowly pour in the milk + egg mixture. Mix until just combined until the batter is thick. It shouldn’t be runny.
  • Preheat oven to 168C. Divide batter into cake pans, filling each pan 3/4 full. Gently shake and tap the pan on a table to burst air bubbles and even out the surface of the batter. Bake for 30 minutes until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
  • Remove cakes from the oven. Tap them again to release air and prevent shrinking. Let cool on a cooling rack. 
  • Remove cake layers from parchment paper and wrap them in plastic wrap then place them in the fridge for 30-35 minutes to firm up. If you're not frosting them immediately, you can keep them overnight in the fridge or freezer. Just make sure to take your cake out of the fridge a few hours before you plan on frosting it.
  • Make your frosting by combining egg whites and icing sugar on low speed. Adjust to high and whip for 5 minutes. Add vanilla and salt.
  • Add butter and whip until batter is curdled. Keep whipping on high for 8-10 minutes until it turns white, light and shiny. Turn to low speed and mix for another 20 minutes for smooth, creamier buttercream. 
  • Divide the frosting to 3 large bowls. Add colouring, adjusting the intensity as you like. I opted for 3 colours - white, and two shades of pastel pink.
  • Remove chilled cakes from fridge. Shave away the brown bits and trim the dome off with a serrated knife until they stack nicely and level. Fill them with frosting in between layers and frost the outside of the cake. 
  • With the remaining frosting, decorate the outside of the cake with buttercream flowers. I used a palette knife to create these floral shapes with different shades of pink. 

Notes

Storage tips:
As cold cakes can taste dry, make sure to take them out of the fridge a few hours before serving. Buttercream is stable at room temperature for 24 hours. I wouldn't recommend storing your cake for longer than one and half weeks in the fridge. 
 
 
Keyword Birthday Cake, Buttercream Cake, Classic Vanilla Cake, Layer Cake

If you made this dish, let me know by tagging @saveurmalaisie on Instagram.  

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Eggless Pandan Kaya Butter Bundt Cake

I have been craving cake these days, not quite sure if it’s due to work stress, anxiety or something else. I don’t know, do you bake when you are stressed? I’ve never thought I’d derive immense pleasure from sifting flour and whisking egg whites. It’s a nice kind of rush when the very act of baking forces you to focus and put your consciousness in the present. Somehow, the routine, mundane act of preheating the oven, measuring ingredients and following recipes makes for a good distraction away from the phone and computer. I want to be in control again, so I allow my sense of smell, touch, taste and sight to take over just in this precious sacred space of an hour and a half. And towards the end, when the oven door opens to envelope you in a warm hug, you’re rewarded with something so tangible, you feel like you’ve carried a child inside you for nine whole months and that child is now fully baked and ready to come out and meet you.

Here’s a recipe for an easy eggless Bundt cake you can make for yourself this week.

Eggless Pandan Kaya Butter Bundt Cake

Deborah, Saveur Malaisie
If you're craving an airy, moist and eggless cake, this pandan kaya butter Bundt cake is super easy to make. Why pandan kaya? Because I'm Malaysian, and we're obsessed with pandan and kaya (a type of coconut jam)! And you know what's even better? It's got mocha buttercream frosting! I'm not a fan of heavy, rich and cloyingly sweet frosting, so you're in luck because I definitely toned down the amount of icing sugar I used for this recipe.
If you're vegan, you can replace butter with coconut oil, and whole milk or yoghurt with non-dairy milk like soy or almond milk.
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Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 50 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 10 minutes
Course Breakfast, Dessert, Tea
Cuisine Fusion, Malaysian, Southeast Asia
Servings 9 inch Bundt pan

Equipment

  • Electric cake mixer
  • Hand whisk
  • Measuring cups
  • Digital kitchen scale
  • Oven (with top and bottom heating function)
  • Baker's Joy Baking Spray (with flour)
  • A Bundt pan
  • A cooling rack
  • Some piping tips and piping bag

Ingredients
  

FOR THE BUNDT CAKE

Dry ingredients

  • 360 g cake flour sifted, (highly recommended instead of all purpose flour; you'll get a softer cake)
  • 2 tsp baking powder (please verify the freshness of your baking powder; for best practice, use within 6 months to 1 year)
  • 2/3 tsp baking soda (please verify the freshness of your baking powder; for best practice, use within 6 months to 1 year)

Wet ingredients

  • 161 g salted butter softened to room temperature then chopped into smaller pieces
  • 129 g fine sugar
  • 315 g plain yoghurt (I used non-fat; you can use whole milk or low fat too)
  • 100 ml pandan kaya paste feel free to increase the amount as you like if you prefer a richer, pandan kaya taste

To make pandan kaya paste, see link in the instructions below.

FOR THE MOCHA BUTTERCREAM FROSTING

  • 227 g salted butter softened to room temperature then chopped into smaller pieces
  • 1 packet 27g Starbucks VIA Ready Brew Caffè Mocha with Cocoa
  • 5 tsp hot water
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 16 g cocoa powder
  • 301 g icing sugar sifted

Instructions
 

For the Bundt cake

  • Whisk all the dry ingredients together. Set aside.
  • To make the pandan kaya paste, check out these tips by Sonia of Nasi Lemak Lover.
    https://nasilemaklover.blogspot.com/2010/05/homemade-pandan-kaya.html
  • To help your cake release easier from your pan post-bake, grease your Bundt pan with some oil and then dust with flour and tap out any excess. Or you can speed things up with a non-stick baking spray. Hold it 6 inches from your pan and spray an even, light coating on the inside of your pan.
  • Preheat oven to 180 C (350 F). Put softened butter and sugar in a mixing bowl that comes with your cake mixer, then using a paddle attachment, cream both ingredients for one minute at a high speed of 5 or 6. Alternatively, an electric hand mixer does the job too on medium speed. Once both ingredients have come together nicely, lower the speed to 4 then add yoghurt and mix until combined.
  • Switch your mixer to low speed. Add the dry ingredients, alternating two tablespoons each with the pandan kaya paste. Mix until well incorporated, achieving a thick batter. Do not over mix.
  • Pour the batter into the Bundt pan, then smoothen the surface with a spatula. Lightly tap the Bundt pan on a smooth surface covered with a cloth (to avoid damaging your Bundt pan) to break any air bubbles. Put the pan into the preheated oven, on the 3rd rack in the middle of the oven. Bake for 50-55 minutes. Check doneness by inserting a toothpick into the cake; if it comes out clean, your cake is fully baked.
  • Remove cake from the oven. Once the pan has cooled down slightly, gently invert it on a cooling rack to release the cake. At this point, you can prepare your buttercream frosting.

FOR THE MOCHA BUTTERCREAM FROSTING

  • Dissolve one packet of Starbucks VIA Ready Brew Caffè Mocha with Cocoa in 4 teaspoons of hot water. Let cool.
  • Mix softened butter, coffee mixture and vanilla in a cake mixer on medium speed.
  • In a separate bowl, whisk cocoa powder and icing sugar together until well combined.
  • Add cocoa powder and icing sugar mix to the butter, coffee and vanilla combination earlier. Mix well until sugar is incorporated.
  • Decorate your cake however you like, using the piping tips and piping bag.

Notes

Best practices for storing your cake: 
  1. You can store it at room temperature up to 3 days in an air-tight container. Alternatively, leave it whole or cut it into smaller slices, then cling wrap and store in an air-tight container and it goes into the fridge for one week maximum. Avoid storing it longer than a week, otherwise the cake will loose its moisture. 
  2. The cake may harden once it's in the fridge. To soften, place it at room temperature for 30 minutes to an hour before serving. Or you can reheat it in a microwave for a few seconds. 
Keyword Birthdays, Bundt Cake, Buttercream, Cake, Chocolate, Coffee, easy, Eggless, Flavour, Kaya, Mocha, Pandan, Pound Cake, Recipes, Special Occasions, Vegan friendly

If you made this dish, let me know by tagging @saveurmalaisie on Instagram!

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Thai Red Rubies Dessert with Jackfruit Slices

I have said it before, and I’ll say it again: Thai cooking has my heart. Even though I’m not Thai and I have nil knowledge about Thai heritage foods, I cannot ignore my Southeast Asian sister country up north. Thailand’s intricate and flavourful food culture is like none other, and it stands all on its own. Where Malaysian food is a cross-pollination or amalgamation of different cultures, Thai food to me, is like an exotic-er version of Chinese food, and it can go to extremes–I find them either ultra-sweet, salty, sour or ultra-spicy. But if you ask any Thai, they will tell you they strive to achieve a fine balance between these four flavours. When I visited Rawai in Phuket for the first time, I was stunned by the amount of sugar-filled containers that occupied each table in every restaurant I dined at. So I always make it a point to request for “less sugar, please” whenever I order food or drinks. I’m not sure if it worked 100 percent of the time, but I’m comforted at least by the fact that I made my stand.

Thai Red Rubies Dessert with Jackfruit Slices

Deborah, Saveur Malaisie
Today, I’m sharing with you a vegan-friendly and dairy-free recipe of Thai Red Rubies (tub tim grob ทับทิมกรอบ), a classic Thai dessert. These reddish “jewels” are water chestnuts dyed in natural beetroot colouring and coated in a soft and chewy tapioca gel, then served ice-cold in a syrup infused with pandan scent and coconut milk. In my recipe, I strive to go for a healthier option hence less sugar, so I used palm sugar (gula melaka) which has a lower glycemic index compared to refined white sugar.
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Prep Time 45 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 10 minutes
Course Dessert
Cuisine Southeast Asia, Thai
Servings 4 people

Ingredients
  

  • 1 can whole water chestnuts I used fresh ones which I bought from the supermarket, about 150g
  • 2-4 tsp beetroot powder/juice
  • ¼ - ½ cup tapioca starch sifted
  • ½ cup sugar or palm sugar (gula melaka) if using palm sugar, shave it first
  • 1½ cup water or fresh jasmine water
  • 6 pandan leaves washed and knotted
  • A dash rose water or orange blossom water, optional add just a little at a time as the flavouring can be strong (I omitted these though)
  • ¾ cup coconut milk
  • ¼ cup water
  • ⅛ tsp salt
  • Slices of jackfruit or young coconut meat
  • Shaved ice I make them using a blender

Instructions
 

  • Make fresh jasmine-infused water by filling a basin with water, then fill it with fresh jasmine flowers. Cover and leave overnight.
  • Cut water chestnuts into about 1 cm cubes then carve into balls. If you’re using fresh ones, wash them then remove outer skin first.
  • In a bowl of water, add chestnuts and colouring until the water is bright red (about 1 and half teaspoon). Or add less for lighter colour. Stir and put aside.
  • Boil 4 pieces of pandan leaves in water for 10 minutes. Add sugar and stir to dissolve. Chill completely.
  • Add coconut milk, salt, water and 2 pieces of pandan leaves in a pot and let boil for 5 minutes. Set aside.
  • Drain chestnuts and place in a mixing bowl. Sprinkle 2 tbsp of tapioca starch on the chestnuts and toss to coat. Add more and toss again until all pieces are completely coated in starch (whitish looking) and are not sticking together. For a thin coating, use ¼ cup. For thicker coating go with ½ cup.
  • Transfer them to a strainer and shake off excess starch. Prep a bowl of ice water for chilling the rubies after cooking.
  • Sprinkle half of the rubies into a pot of boiling water, then stir. Boil for 2-4 minutes until they float. Scoop out a small amount with a slotted skimmer then dunk them into the bowl of ice water. The coating should settle into a clear gel. If there are white, uncooked starchy spots on the rubies, return them into the pot and boil for another minute. Once done, fish out the remaining rubies and place them in cold water.
  • Drain the rubies once cooled. They last only for a day or two outside the fridge (do not refrigerate otherwise it will affect the texture). They’re best consumed immediately.
  • Scoop rubies into a bowl, add jackfruit and/or young coconut meat. Top with syrup and coconut milk—2 parts syrup to 1 part coconut milk should suffice. Add ice, stir it around so it's really cold, and enjoy!
Keyword Dessert, Red Rubies Dessert, Sweet, Tub Tim Grob

If you made this dish, let me know by tagging @saveurmalaisie on Instagram!

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Hello there! I'm Deborah

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