Korean Job Discussion Forums

[mercury]

Finally, found the perfect recipe for us living in Korea. The frosting is AWESOME, dont need powder sugar (which is hard to find here). If you try this you can make buttermilk by adding about a tea spoon of lemon juice to a cup of milk and letting it set. Just ate a huge piece with a tall glass of milk!

oh.....used hershey chocolate squares for the semi sweet chocolate.


For cake layers
3 ounces fine-quality semisweet chocolate such as Callebaut
1 1/2 cups hot brewed coffee
3 cups sugar
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups unsweetened cocoa powder (not Dutch process)
2 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
3 large eggs
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups well-shaken buttermilk
3/4 teaspoon vanilla

For ganache frosting
1 pound fine-quality semisweet chocolate such as Callebaut
1 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
1/2 stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter

Special equipment
two 10- by 2-inch round cake pans





Make cake layers:
Preheat oven to 300��F. and grease pans. Line bottoms with rounds of wax paper and grease paper.
Finely chop chocolate and in a bowl combine with hot coffee. Let mixture stand, stirring occasionally, until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth.

Into a large bowl sift together sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. In another large bowl with an electric mixer beat eggs until thickened slightly and lemon colored (about 3 minutes with a standing mixer or 5 minutes with a hand-held mixer). Slowly add oil, buttermilk, vanilla, and melted chocolate mixture to eggs, beating until combined well. Add sugar mixture and beat on medium speed until just combined well. Divide batter between pans and bake in middle of oven until a tester inserted in center comes out clean, 1 hour to 1 hour and 10 minutes.

Cool layers completely in pans on racks. Run a thin knife around edges of pans and invert layers onto racks. Carefully remove wax paper and cool layers completely. Cake layers may be made 1 day ahead and kept, wrapped well in plastic wrap, at room temperature.

Make frosting:
Finely chop chocolate. In a 1 1/2- to 2-quart saucepan bring cream, sugar, and corn syrup to a boil over moderately low heat, whisking until sugar is dissolved. Remove pan from heat and add chocolate, whisking until chocolate is melted. Cut butter into pieces and add to frosting, whisking until smooth.

Transfer frosting to a bowl and cool, stirring occasionally, until spreadable (depending on chocolate used, it may be necessary to chill frosting to spreadable consistency).

Spread frosting between cake layers and over top and sides. Cake keeps, covered and chilled, 3 days. Bring cake to room temperature before serving.

[wwidgirl]

If only there was a recipe for chocolate cake that didn't require an oven.

[mercury]

[desultude]

Thanks for the good recipes. I do have some powdered sugar, but that ganache still looks great.

Last Saturday I made a coconut lemongrass cake with coconut, lime, lemongrass buttercream. I made up the recipe for the cake, and it requires fresh lemongrass, so I won't bother to post it. It came out good, but needs a bit of tweeking.

Mercury, don't you find the baking powder here a bit too salty?

[mercury]

[desultude]

I brought it back from Thailand, and a friend brought me some from Canada, so I am stocked and am happy to make birthday cakes for everyone- such fun!

I get a lot of crap from a very few small minded posters here about my age, but I swear I could smuggle anything anywhere. so thank the gods for ageist, sexist stereotypes! (Not that powdered sugar is illegal, or anything else I bring back, but I never get asked anything, so I figure that I could bring whatever I wanted. )

The coconut lemongrass cake recipe is not yet ready to share. I think I will try separating the eggs and whipping the egg whites and cut back on the leavening next time to cut down on the salt. Also, I think I was overly cautious about the lemongrass, and will increase that next time.

It's really fun, I haven't done any really creative cooking for a while. I think on Saturday I am going to try homemade falafel (not from a mix!) and homemade pita.

[Hollywoodaction]

[desultude]

[bijjy]

I LOVE baking so I was disappointed to find that my apartment (and all other weigook's apartments around here) doesn't have an oven!

I was starting to think that Koreans just don't have ovens (or dryers?) until I saw this thread! How did you guys happen to have ovens?

[kermo]

Where in blazes do you get baking powder or baking soda? If I thought I could get my mitts on that, I might invest in a nice oven.

[jade]

Powdered sugar can be found at Haddon house supermarket or at the red door in Itaewon, also in big bags at bakers alley in Dongdamun along with baking powder ect. Also Homeplus sells baking powder ect.

[sheba]

[mercury]

here is one more recipe, but it needs unsweetened chocolate, the icing is AWESOME, and again, no powder sugar. Sometimes I put it on a white cake.


____Chocolate Cake____

Two 9 inch round pans

Preheat oven at 350 degrees

*Prepare the following custard*:THIS IS THE KEY STEP FOR THIS CAKE!

Cook and stir in a double boiler (Or use a large saucepan filled with about 3 inches of water and place the smaller saucepan filled with the ingredients below):

4 oz Bakers brand unsweetened chocolate (or another brand if Bakers brand is not available where you live)

1/2cup milk (2% or whole)

1 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed

1 egg yolk (use large eggs)

Remove from heat when thickened. Let cool. (Custard may thicken a little once it is cooled)

In another bowl (or on wax paper)

Flour mixture

Sift before measuring:

2 cups cake flour

Resift with:

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

set aside



In another bowl

Butter mixture

Beat until soft:

1/2 cup unsalted butter

Add and cream until light:

1 cup sifted sugar

Beat in one at a time:

2 egg yolk

Set aside

In another bowl

Milk mixture

Mix together

1/4 cup water

1/2 cup milk

1 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract

Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture in three parts, alternating with the milk mixture

Stir the batter until smooth after each addition.

Stir in the chocolate custard. (may make the batter look ��speckled��

Whip until stiff but not dry (will make soft peaks): 2 egg whites

Fold them lightly into cake batter. Bake in greased pans for about 25 minutes.



_________Butter Cream Frosting_________

Prepare the following paste. Cook and stir over low heat in a heavy sauce pan:

*Do NOT stop stirring or you WILL get lumps!*

5 tablespoons regular flour

1 cup milk (2% or whole)

When thickened, remove from heat and cover with a piece of waxed paper. The paper should be directly on the paste to prevent crust from forming on the top. Let cool completely. In a bowl beat the following:

1 cup butter

1 cup granulated sugar

Add the paste to the butter mixture and beat until fluffy. Add:

1 teaspoon pure vanilla

Continue to beat until fluffy.

Once your cake is completely cooled, you can put the icing on.

(If you have baked the cake a day ahead of time place the icing in the refrigerator until you are ready to serve the cake. Beat it one more time before putting on cake.)

Remember the main ingredient in the icing is BUTTER so if serving in a warm climate do not put the icing on the cake until you are ready to serve it!

[mercury]

[desultude]

My oven is a little thing I got at Costco. It is a Rival convection oven. I find that it works well for most everything, but since it is pretty small, I was pushing its limits with 2 layers of a cake. Next time I will have to bake one layer at a time. It cost over 150,000, which would be way too much in the States. But I am soooo happy to be able to bake once in a while, that I am just happy to have it.

Over the weekend, baked lasagna. Carrefoure now has De Cecco lasagna noodles! I'll make a lasagna with a lot of basil from my garden. Yummmmmmy!