Father's Day cake 栗子蛋糕

My father-in-law loves Chinese snakes and pastries, especially the ones with nuts. Today is the Father's Day in US, so I am going to make a chestnut cake for him. I found this recipe on the web, and it is so delicious. I used to be terrible with chiffon cakes. I remember when the first time I made a chiffon cake, my husband to me, "Honey, the taste is good, but the texture is like rubber." True, it was very rubbery, I couldn't even separate the cake with a fork. Then I read a lot of articles and try many time, finally my chiffon cakes taste so soft, like tofu!
 

The secret is the egg white meringue. First to make sure to beat it until firm or stiff peaks form, then to mix it quickly with the rest of the ingredients.

This cake tastes great! It is all chestnut from inside out. It has chestnuts in the cake itself, the filling and the frosting. And it taste very soft and light. Everybody loves it! My work is done here.

My in-laws have a big vegetable garden in their backyard, and they work very hard in the garden everyday. The whole family get together on weekend for dinners, and my father-in-law is the chef. We all went out to a newly opened Chinese buffet to celebrate the Father's Day. We had the cake as the dessert after. I am glad he likes the cake.

Ingredients (a 7-in springform pan):

Cake:

• Egg 4, separated
• Chestnut 60 g, cooked
• Sugar 80 g
• Olive oil 60 mL (= 4 Tbsp)
• Rum 1 Tbsp
• Milk 3 Tbsp
• All-purpose flour 80 g
• Vinegar 1 tsp

Chestnut filling:

• Chestnut 270 g, cooked
• Chestnut frosting 1 cup

Chestnut frosting:

• Chestnut 120 g, cooked
• Whipped cream 2 cups
• Confectioner's sugar 100 mL (use the measuring cup, at 100 mL mark)
• Rum 1 Tbsp

Instructions:

1. Grind up the chestnuts in a food processor.

2. Beat the egg yolks and sugar (40 g) together until pale yellow and the volume increases a little.

3. Add in the olive oil, 1 Tbsp at a time. Beat in the milk and rum.

4. Gently mix in the flour and the chestnuts. Set aside.

5. Add 1 tsp vinegar to the egg whites and beat until the meringue starts to form. 

6. Add in half sugar (20 g) and beat on high speed until you can feel the resistance increases.

7. Add in the rest of the sugar (20 g) and beat on high speed until firm peaks form.

8. Mix 1/3 of the meringue with the flour mix. Mix from the bottom of the bowl and as you come to the surface, turn your wrist.

9. Mix with the rest of the meringue until no obvious meringue seen. 

10. Pour it into the springform pan. Should be clean on the bottom and sides, do not use non-stick spray. Smooth the top a little. Bang on the counter to release trapped bubbles before put it in the oven.

11. Bake at 350 F (180 C) for 30 min.

12. Take it out and invert immediately on a rack to let cook completely. (That's when we went to the buffet.)

13. Cut the completely cooled cake into three pieces. I use toothpicks to help me level the cake.

14. Prepare the chestnut frosting. The chestnuts have to be finely grind up, because later it would be easier to decorate the cake and won't clot up the piping tips.Put all ingredients in a big bowl and whip the cream until it doesn't move when inverted.

15. Spread the chestnut filling. (You want to be able to taste the chestnuts, so I just paused a few time using the chestnuts to break them in small chunks but not too fine. Then mix it with the 1 cup chestnut frosting.)

16. Decorate with the chestnut frosting and whole chestnuts.