Chef Kevin Yang
Chef Kevin Yang MARKET Calgary For Chef Kevin Yang at MARKET Calgary, baking is both chemistry and what he likes to call “science-y art.” So when it comes to Christmas baking, he likes the element of surprise and is known for his playful savoury desserts including this yam cake recipe.
Salt-baked Vanilla Yam Cake with Bourbon Spiced Eggnog Buttercream Serves 12
Yam Puree “Cold eggs make your cakes lumpy”
By baking the yam on a bed of salt to create a puree, Yang says it makes the root vegetable fluffier, which matters when it comes to cake. “The salt acts as a medium that transfers and holds the heat so it bakes more evenly.” Make sure your eggs are also at room temperature before adding them to the mix, says Yang. “Cold eggs make your cakes lumpy.” A quick fix: soak the eggs in warm tap water out of the fridge for about 5 minutes. “Instead of butter, I also like to work with olive oil in my cake,” says Yang. While butter adds richness and makes it more crumbly, he says olive oil adds an interesting complement to the yam flavour and leaves the cake more dense and moist. While Yang made his bourbon-spiced eggnog from scratch, store-bought eggnog will also do. 18
450 g evenly sized yam 3 cups kosher salt
Spread kosher salt evenly on a baking tray, rest the yam on top and bake at 325º F for 30 minutes or until fork tender. Once cool, scrape the yam out and smash it with fork and set aside. For Kevin Yang’s full Bourbonspiced eggnog buttercream recipe, visit culinairemagazine.ca
Vanilla Yam Cake 400 g yam puree 93 g buttermilk 1½ tsp (5 mL) vanilla paste or extract 112 g olive oil 345 g granulated sugar 2 eggs, room temperature 245 g all-purpose flour 6 g baking soda 3 g ginger powder 3 g cinnamon 2 g nutmeg Pinch of clove
1. Combine yam puree, buttermilk and vanilla paste or extract and set aside.
2. Combine flour, baking soda, spices, sifted.
3. In a mixing bowl, add olive oil and
sugar, with a paddle attachment mix on medium speed until it comes together into paste for about 3 minutes.
4. Add one egg at a time, make sure
to scrape the side between the eggs, continue mixing for about 2 minutes or until the mixture becomes light and fluffy.
5. With the mixer on low, incorporate half of the dry ingredients, mix until done, scrape the side, then add half of the yam puree, again mix till incorporated, scrape down again, and repeat with other half of ingredients.
6. Grease an 8” cake pan lined with
parchment paper; add the mixtures then hold the cake pan about 30 cm off the counter and drop to get rid of extra air bubbles, repeat 2 more times.
7. Bake at 325º F for 20-30 minutes. Lynda Sea is Culinaire’s digital media editor. You’ll never hear her say no to pie, especially if it’s apple. Follow her on Twitter at @lyndasea