InterContinental Singapore’s pastry chef Ben Goh has come a long way since his first foray into baking, when he helped his grandmother separate egg yolks from whites and beat butter for kueh lapis in his hometown of Kulai, Malaysia.
In March, he placed third in the prestigious international pastry championship Mondial Des Arts Sucrés held in France. Some of his award-winning creations, such as an Earl Grey chocolate mousse with apricot compote and sea salt chocolate crumble, are available as part of The Lobby Lounge’s new Classic Afternoon Tea set inspired by Frances Hodgson Burnett’s Secret Garden.
In March, he placed third in the prestigious international pastry championship Mondial Des Arts Sucrés held in France. Some of his award-winning creations, such as an Earl Grey chocolate mousse with apricot compote and sea salt chocolate crumble, are available as part of The Lobby Lounge’s new Classic Afternoon Tea set inspired by Frances Hodgson Burnett’s Secret Garden.
Indulge in an afternoon tea session at The Lobby Lounge.
He shares that he gets his inspiration from his life experiences and travels. For this Strawberry Lemon Pound Cake, he was inspired by an afternoon in Paris. Tired after a long day of sightseeing, he’d stopped at a nondescript café and ordered a lemon pound cake to go with his usual espresso. It arrived at his table, topped with fresh strawberries and raspberry jam.
“What I expected to be just a little pick-me-up turned out to be one of the most memorable meals I had on that trip,” he says. “The simple pound cake blew me away — it was rich and buttery, with the perfect balance of acidity and delicate sweetness.”
His creation incorporates strawberries,raspberries and yuzu into a traditional lemon pound cake, topped with lime marshmallows for a sweet and mildly tart flavour combination.
“What I expected to be just a little pick-me-up turned out to be one of the most memorable meals I had on that trip,” he says. “The simple pound cake blew me away — it was rich and buttery, with the perfect balance of acidity and delicate sweetness.”
His creation incorporates strawberries,raspberries and yuzu into a traditional lemon pound cake, topped with lime marshmallows for a sweet and mildly tart flavour combination.
Strawberry Lemon Pound Cake
For the lemon pound cake:
250g butter
200g sugar
50g trimoline
25g cream
50g egg
50g cake flour
4g baking powder
1g salt
55g lemon peel
25g lemon confit
Zest of two lemons
Zest of one lime
1. Beat butter, sugar, and trimoline together before adding the cream and eggs in.
2. Add cake flour, baking powder and salt into the mixture and mix well.
3. Fold the lemon peel, lemon zest, lime zest and lemon confit into the batter.
4. Bake at 170°C for 45 minutes.
For the lime marshmallow:
(A)
300g sugar
70g lime puree
105g trimoline
(B)
80ml water
70g lime puree
150g trimoline
28g gelatin
1. Mix all the ingredients from (A) together. Heat in a saucepan until the mixture reaches 110°C and remove from heat.
2. Add the ingredients from (B) into the saucepan and whip on low speed for 5 minutes.
For the yuzu syrup:
444ml water
93g yuzu puree
250g sugar
93g strawberry liquor
1. Stir the yuzu puree and sugar in the water.
2. Bring the mixture to a boil before removing from heat.
3. Once cooled, stir in strawberry liquor into the mixture.
For the strawberry confit:
195g trimoline
315g frozen wild strawberries
645g strawberry puree
60g sugar
22g pectin NH
15g gelatin
15g yuzu juice
1. Mix all the ingredients well in a saucepan and boil it for 3 minutes while continuously stirring.
For the yuzu curd:
216g yuzu puree
420g sugar
360g egg
9g gelatin
540g butter
Zest of 3 yuzus
Zest of 3 limes
1. Mix the yuzu puree, sugar and eggs together before heating it to 82°C.
2. Stir in the gelatin and leave it to cool to 50°C.
3. Blend the butter into the mixture and finally, fold in the yuzu and lime zests.
For the strawberry chocolate dip:
300g strawberry chocolate
200g white chocolate
50g cocoa butter
10g corn oil
180g dehydrated raspberries
1. Melt the strawberry chocolate, white chocolate, cocoa butter and corn oil over a bain-marie before removing it from the heat.
2. Stir in the dehydrated raspberries.
To assemble:
1. Brush the yuzu syrup over the lemon pound cake.
2. Pipe the strawberry jam in the middle of the cake, then freeze it for 30 minutes.
3. Remove the cake from the freezer and dip it in the strawberry chocolate dip.
4. Pipe the yuzu curd on the top of the cake.
5. Cut the marshmallow into rounds with diameters of 1 inch and decorate the cake with marshmallows and fresh strawberries.
For the lemon pound cake:
250g butter
200g sugar
50g trimoline
25g cream
50g egg
50g cake flour
4g baking powder
1g salt
55g lemon peel
25g lemon confit
Zest of two lemons
Zest of one lime
1. Beat butter, sugar, and trimoline together before adding the cream and eggs in.
2. Add cake flour, baking powder and salt into the mixture and mix well.
3. Fold the lemon peel, lemon zest, lime zest and lemon confit into the batter.
4. Bake at 170°C for 45 minutes.
For the lime marshmallow:
(A)
300g sugar
70g lime puree
105g trimoline
(B)
80ml water
70g lime puree
150g trimoline
28g gelatin
1. Mix all the ingredients from (A) together. Heat in a saucepan until the mixture reaches 110°C and remove from heat.
2. Add the ingredients from (B) into the saucepan and whip on low speed for 5 minutes.
For the yuzu syrup:
444ml water
93g yuzu puree
250g sugar
93g strawberry liquor
1. Stir the yuzu puree and sugar in the water.
2. Bring the mixture to a boil before removing from heat.
3. Once cooled, stir in strawberry liquor into the mixture.
For the strawberry confit:
195g trimoline
315g frozen wild strawberries
645g strawberry puree
60g sugar
22g pectin NH
15g gelatin
15g yuzu juice
1. Mix all the ingredients well in a saucepan and boil it for 3 minutes while continuously stirring.
For the yuzu curd:
216g yuzu puree
420g sugar
360g egg
9g gelatin
540g butter
Zest of 3 yuzus
Zest of 3 limes
1. Mix the yuzu puree, sugar and eggs together before heating it to 82°C.
2. Stir in the gelatin and leave it to cool to 50°C.
3. Blend the butter into the mixture and finally, fold in the yuzu and lime zests.
For the strawberry chocolate dip:
300g strawberry chocolate
200g white chocolate
50g cocoa butter
10g corn oil
180g dehydrated raspberries
1. Melt the strawberry chocolate, white chocolate, cocoa butter and corn oil over a bain-marie before removing it from the heat.
2. Stir in the dehydrated raspberries.
To assemble:
1. Brush the yuzu syrup over the lemon pound cake.
2. Pipe the strawberry jam in the middle of the cake, then freeze it for 30 minutes.
3. Remove the cake from the freezer and dip it in the strawberry chocolate dip.
4. Pipe the yuzu curd on the top of the cake.
5. Cut the marshmallow into rounds with diameters of 1 inch and decorate the cake with marshmallows and fresh strawberries.
