Taro Cake

Filled with straight-up taro puree (lightly sweetened), frosted with sweetened whipped cream.

The cake turned out to have a mochi-like texture - quite moist and chewy - maybe there was too much liquid or taro in the cake. However, it was well loved by the mochi-fans in the house. Taro-fans were pleased too. Goes great with jasmine tea.

Taro Cake 
adapted from this pumpkin cake recipe

1 cup all-purpose flour (120g)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2/3 cups white sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/4 teaspoon taro (yam) extract
1/4 cup whole milk yogurt
1 cup super smooth lightly sweetened taro puree

Preheat oven to 350F. Butter an 8 inch cake pan and line with parchment. Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside. In a large bowl whisk together the sugar and eggs. Blend in oil, taro extract, yogurt, and taro puree. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Spread batter into prepared cake pan. Bake in the preheated oven for 35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Allow to cool.

Super Smooth Lightly Sweetened Taro Puree

1.25 lbs peeled taro
3 tablespoons sugar

Cut the taro into 8 medium sized chunks. Place in a medium saucepan and fill with water to submerge 3/4 of the height of the taro chunks. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 20 minutes until taro is soft when poked with a chopstick. Remove taro from water and let cool (reserve the water in the pot). When cool, puree in a food processor, adding water as necessary. Add 3 tablespoons of sugar and puree until smooth (about 2-3 min, small chunks may still be there). Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a large bowl.

To assemble the cake: Cut a 6-in round from the center of the 8-inch cake. Carefully slice in half through the middle to get two layers. Place on a rotating cake stand. Spread about 1/2 cup of Super Smooth Lightly Sweetened Taro Puree on top and sandwich with the second layer. Whip up some cream with sugar (use about 3 tablespoons with 1 cup of cream) and use to frost the sides and top. I used a Gateau St. Honore tip for the decorations and attempted to cover up the ugly parts with plums disguised as roses.