3 kid-friendly recipes for cake, cookie and parfait

Huen Su-Yin is the pastry chef with a cake shop called Delectable by Su. She recently published her first book entitled How I Built My Cake Shops: The Delectable Story which catalogues her cake-making trajectory from budding interest to burgeoning passion to full-time business.

Huen still makes and bakes cakes but has a team helping her and has changed her culinary perspective dramatically since getting married and having kids (she has two young sons).

She is now on a mission to make more child-friendly desserts, things that children would instantly fall in love with.

Here are three of her recipes.

LEMON BERRY RAINBOW CHEESECAKE

Serves 8 to 10

For the base
120g crushed digestive cookies or
graham crackers or butter cookies
90g unsalted butter, melted

For the cheesecake
500g block cream cheese, softened
200g whipping cream
160g caster sugar
10g gelatine dissolved in 1/4 cup
hot water

Lemon Berry Rainbow Cheesecake.

For the rainbow colouring
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 drop liquid yellow food colour
5g strawberry preserve
5g blueberry preserve
1 drop liquid purple food colour
sprinkles, for decoration
fairy floss, for decoration

To make cookie base

Roughly mix crushed cookie crumbs and melted butter together. Press into the base of a greased 15cm (6”) springform pan. Set aside in the chiller to set.

To make cheesecake

Beat cream cheese in electric mixer until smooth. Add in cream, sugar, dissolved gelatine and beat until combined. Divide mixture into 3 equal portions in separate bowls. Mix lemon juice and yellow food colouring in one bowl; strawberry preserve in another bowl and the last bowl with blueberry preserves and purple food colour.

Pour bowl contents onto cookie base starting with purple at the bottom, strawberry in the middle and lemon on top, smoothing the layers out gently to create an even surface. Chill in refrigerator overnight or until set.

Unmould gently from springform and decorate with sprinkles and clouds of fairy floss before serving.

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Soft & Chewy Rainbow Cookies

SOFT AND CHEWY RAINBOW COOKIES

Serves 10 to 12

320g all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
225g unsalted butter, softened
180g caster sugar
1 egg
1/2 tbsp pure vanilla extract
100’s and 1000’s or sprinkles for rolling

Roll in sprinkles and stick a lolly stick into the cookie.

To make cookies

Preheat oven to 170ºC. Line baking tray with parchment paper.

Combine flour, baking powder and baking soda in a small bowl. With an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add in egg and vanilla extract. Slowly add in flour mixture and mix on low until mixture begins to ball up into a dough.

Put sprinkles onto a small plate for rolling. Scoop 1 heaped tablespoon dough and roll into a ball. Roll balls in sprinkles until completely covered.

Place dough balls on cookie sheet about 5cm (2”) apart. Press down lightly. Bake for 10 minutes until edges are lightly browned.

For lollipop cookies

After rolling in sprinkles, stick a lolly or ice-cream stick into the ball before placing on tray and flattening. Bake as instructed.

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Lychee Strawberry Chia Trifle Pudding.

LYCHEE STRAWBERRY CHIA TRIFLE PUDDING

Serves 6

For the sponge cake

110g self-raising flour
1 tsp baking powder
2 eggs
130g unsalted butter, softened
110g caster sugar
1 tbsp vanilla extract
2 tsp milk

For the strawberry mousse
1 punnet fresh strawberries
2 tbsp sugar
200ml whipping cream
2 tbsp powdered sugar

For the layered ingredients
20g chia seeds soaked overnight in 100ml water
1 punnet fresh strawberries, halved
1 tin of canned lychee in syrup (drained)

To make the cake

Pre-heat oven to 160ºC. Line two 15cm (6”) round pans with baking paper.

Sift the self-raising flour and baking powder in a large bowl. Add the remaining ingredients and beat until thoroughly mixed. Pour into the baking pans and bake for 30-35 minutes. To check if the cake is cooked, insert a skewer and if it comes out clean, the cake is ready. Leave to cool in the tins for about 10 minutes and then move to a wire rack to cool completely.

Then cut each cake horizontally into two equal halves. Best to make this one day in advance and store in the refrigerator wrapped in cling film or in airtight container.

To make the strawberry mousse

Wash and dry the strawberries. Dice them into small pieces. Place the diced strawberries and sugar in a blender and mix until pureed. Set aside.

In a mixing bowl, combine the cream and powdered sugar and use an electric mixture to whip into soft peaks.

Once you have soft peaks, gently fold the strawberry puree into the cream, until everything is well combined. If you’re not using the mousse right away, cover and refrigerate overnight, until ready for use.

To layer and assemble

Start with a 3-4 litre jar or bowl – preferably with rounded edges around the top and food grade so it doesn’t chip. Pyrex bowls will be perfect for this.

Layer sponge, bloomed chia seeds, strawberry mousse and fruits alternately until the top; finish with a generous dollop of mousse. Leave to set for 3-4 hours in the refrigerator before serving.

Source : Star2.com