A Filipina's unabashed chronicle of her adaptations in the American kitchen. Includes step-by-step photos on how to make pan de sal, ensaymada, pan de coco, siopao, hopia, pandelimon, pianono, atsara, crema de fruta,etc., and if you are lucky, you will find videos too!
My
MIL shared a piece with me. I loved it. She shared the recipe with me,
which was originally a Rhubarb Sour Cream Cake. I used homemade butter,
and home-ripened (soured) cream instead of store-bought sour cream. I
added 1/2 t almond extract to the recipe as well, lessened the sugar.
My husband is not a big fan of desserts/cakes with blueberries. But he
LOVED this so much he had at least 3 servings after the first bite. I
baked this last night.
I had to bake another batch today. My sons loved it too and I brought some to work. Needless to say my co-workers loved it too.
Blueberry sour cream cake has quickly become a fave in our home...not gluten-/wheat-free, though...
Ingredients and Instructions: Preheat oven to 350 deg F. Grease your baking pan.
Mix together wet ingredients: 1-1/2 c sugar (I did not fill the measuring cups) 1/2 c melted butter 1 cup sour cream 1 egg 1 t vanilla 1/2 t almond extract
In a separate bowl, mix together dry ingredients: 2 cups flour 1 t baking soda
Mix together the wet and dry ingredients.
Add the frozen blueberries.
Sprinkle the topping: 1/2 c brown sugar 1 T cinnamon
Cinnamon-sugar on top
Bake for 35 to 45 mins. Cover with paper towel when cooling.
Uncut yema cake. Top frosting is quite runny, just like how photos on the internet looked like.
While on the Harcombe Diet, I attempted making yema cake as a birthday gift to my friend, and I never experienced craving for the sugar. I was quite resistant! Haha! but I did cheat later during the party to get a good taste of my creation. I guess the amount I took (about 1 tbsp) was not enough to judge it, so I am taking my friends' words for it. They said it was good.
I got the recipe for Chocolate Kahlua Cake from The Cake Mix Doctor
, but instead of the coffee Kahlua, what I had were Hazelnut Kahlua 1 L
and Torino Chocolate Syrup. So I changed the original 3/4 c Kahlua into 1/4 c hazelnut Kahlua and 1/2 c chocolate syrup. And for the glaze, instead of 1/4 c Kahlua, I used espresso (prepared using Tassimo), which was around 1/8 cup, so to make it 1/4, I mixed it with half Hazelnut Kahlua and half Chocolate Syrup.
An fb friend, Ella, recently sent me a box of ripe mangoes, and I went crazy looking for dessert recipes using mangoes. First thing that came to mind was mango mousse cake because, when I made mini-brazo de mercedes with mango mousse sauce, my in-laws and another American guest were raving about the mango mousse. I ended up sending some home with them.
It was my first time (can you imagine???) making carrot cake. My fb friend Venus shared her recipe with me, describing it as moist. I made this for the first time because I was able to harvest tons of carrots this summer! And true to her promise, this recipe is so moist and good, my older son was saying even without the frosting it would still be good!
I had fun decorating!
For the icing, I used the recipe for cream cheese frosting in pumpkin whoopie pies because I did not have lemon on hand. I used Wilton food coloring (the ones that come in small tubs), placed some of the icing in a ziploc bag to pipe out the "carrots" and the "leaves." I had to mark first where I would make the slices and placed a "carrot" on the top of each slice. I had more of the colored icing so I added "carrots" to the sides as well.
Venus posted her recipe and share with us fb friends, with the amounts in terms of weight. I converted them to the most convenient/closest volume measurements and came up with the following:
Ingredients: Cake --
2 & 1/3 cup all purpose flour
1 tbsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp cinnamon powder
1 &1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1 &1/2 sticks (1&1/2 cups) butter
3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
3/4 cup white sugar (you may opt to use less if you find this too sweet especially with the addition of the icing)
3 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
4 cups grated carrots
1 cup chopped dates/raisin (I used dates - they are also sweet)
1 cup crushed almonds/cashew/pecans/peanuts (I used almonds)
Instructions:
Pre-heat oven to 350 ºF.Lightly butter a 13"x9"x2" baking pan. Line with waxpaper. Set aside.
Using electric mixer, beat butter and the two sugars in a large bowl until blended. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla extract.
Sift dry ingredients together in a bowl. Add to sugar mixture. Add carrots, dates, and almonds. Beat well. Pour batter into prepared pan, bake for 45 minutes or until done. Cool and prepare frosting.
Beat cream cheese, butter and vanilla extract in small mixer bowl on medium speed until fluffy. Gradually beat in powdered sugar until light and fluffy. Frost the cake when completely cooled. Leave some icing for the "carrots."
Add enough food coloring to achieve the desired color for the carrot tubers and to the leaves. Have fun decorating, and ENJOY eating!
Once upon a time, I craved for custard cake and I was then very very inexperienced with baking chiffon or sponge cakes. In my haste to give in to my cravings, I improvised using a cake mix I had in my pantry, and leche flan, and the result is here in this post.
As I have learned in the past years about baking more complicated types of cakes that involve whipping eggwhites, I finally had the gumption to bake custard cake, when one of my readers, jun m., commented on that post about it and offered his tip:
The cake used in custard cakes found here in the Philippines is simply Chiffon Cake with some minor changes in the original chiffon cake recipe you would usually find in recipe books/the internet. Instead of the usual 2 1/4 cups of sifted cake flour, use 2 1/2 cups. Omit the salt as well. You can also add a tablespoon of grated calamansi rind for flavor. Pour the custard mixture (over the cooled caramel) in the pan then pour the chiffon cake batter. The batter will float on top of the custard mixture! Bake it in a baine marie. jun m.
True, my Nanay told me that what she remembers from her long-ago baking lesson about making this custard cake was that the cake batter floats on the leche flan. She taught the recipe to our bakers back when we had a bakery in the Philippines, then forgot about it. As such, it used to be one of my favorite merienda item which was quite expensive than the usual ensaymada or pianono.
So with that comment left by jun m., once again the craving kicked in, and I searched for a basic lemon chiffon cake recipe without hard-to-find special ingredients, and used that recipe as a basis, with some changes in the ingredients. I had to say the the outcome after the first try was enough to make me stick to the recipe.
Of course for the leche flan part, I used my never-fail leche flan recipe (at least for me and my friends and relatives), which can be found here.
Right after baking, my sons and I tried the individual servings baked in ramekins. It was good.
I chilled the one baked in 13x9 inch pan before inverting, which to me was even better than the warm and freshly baked! Best on the third day even! So this is definitely one Pinoy cake favorite that we can prepare up to 3 days ahead of time. And I have to add that my American in-laws loved this Pinoy-style cake (they even preferred it over the usual cake with frosting).
Ingredients for chiffon cake:
5 eggs, separated while cold
¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
½ cup sugar
2/3 cup cake flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
4 tablespoon oil
6 tablespoon whole milk
1 teaspoon lemon extract
1 tablespoon grated lemon rind (You may prepare your own, although I used a KAF brand here)
Instructions for the whole custard cake:
1. Caramelize white sugar in the pans (the amount of sugar is approximately about 1 cup to 1&1/2 cup for the 13x9.) UPDATE as of 11/6/11: I have found an easier, quicker and more convenient way of caramelizing sugar in the microwave. It takes less than 5 minutes. Place 1 cup sugar in pyrex glass, add enough water to wet all (about 2-3 tbsp maybe), then microwave for 5 minutes on high. As soon as you reach 3 minutes, keep your eyes on it, as it boils and turns to light amber to golden amber to dark amber. Stop at your desired color. Watch the video below to see how I do it. WARNING: Caramelizing sugar is VERY VERY HOT and might make your glass bowl EXPLODE. Make sure you are using microwavable bowls or cups that have no nicks.
Let cool and harden. Place the pan/s in bigger pan/s with cold water, such that water will reach about 1 inch up the sides of the prepared pan/s. (This is bain marie method, or steam bath.) Tip: It is better to use more than required than discover you used very little. Why? If you use very little, that caramelized sugar dissolves somewhat after baking, which gives the syrup that drips when you invert. If you use too little, you create some sort of a vacuum that somehow sucks the leche flan as you invert the cake, then creates some wrinkle, or a rough appearance of the leche flan in case this actually reaches the pan at some spots where the caramel dissolves completely. If you use more than enough, those spots will not be there, there will still be caramel that is not dissolved and you will have enough syrup so that the cake will slide off smoothly upon inverting, leaving you with a smooth top, not wrinkly. And if you do have a good layer of hard caramel remaining, you can still use this pan for leche flan. Tip:Aluminum pans are perfect for this purpose because you can cook the sugar directly in it.
2. Prepare the leche flan mixture in the blender and set aside.
The recipe/method for the flan can be found here. Basically, the ingredients are 4 whole eggs 1 can condensed milk (14-oz) 1 can evaporated milk (15-oz) 1 tsp vanilla plus few drops of McCormick lemon extract essence) Tip: Do not pour this mixture right away into the caramelized pan. Prepare the chiffon cake batter first before you pour the leche flan mixture into the caramelized pan. Why? If you pour early, then proceed to prepare the cake batter, then that leche flan will start dissolving the caramel (remember that this caramel is still sugar). So do it when you are really ready to bake.)
3. Prepare the cake batter.
Separate the eggs while still cold (they separate easier when cold). Add the cream of tartar to the egg whites and let sit at room temperature (the eggwhites whip more beautifully when at room temp.)
Sift flour, baking powder and salt into a small bowl. Make a well at the center and add the liquid ingredients and lemon rind. Add 1/4 cup sugar at the sides with the flour. Start beating with a hand mixer from the center going outward so that the dry ingredients are slowly incorporated. Beat until well blended.
Beat the egg whites using a clean and dry beater until it foams, then gradually add 1/4 cup sugar and continue beating until it forms soft peaks (I read somewhere that overbeating might cause the cake to be brittle. I want my cake to be more satiny soft and not have the dry feel. The main reason for this beating of egg white is to enable incorporation of air into the cake to make it light and airy, of course, which is a characteristic of any chiffon or sponge cakes.
Gently fold the egg whites to the batter using a spatula, make sure that you mix very gently. I found a special kind of whisk to do this in less time, distributing the bubbles evenly.
Pour the leche flan into the prepared pans. (In subsequent batches I made, I used the exact 1 recipe of leche flan with 1 recipe of the chiffon cake in a 13x9 pan, which gave me the ratio of leche flan to cake that I like...just the right amount.) Pour cake batter on top of the leche flan mixture. Because the cake batter has a lot of air incorporated in it due to the whipped egg whites, it floats. Bake these at 325 °F for 20 to 25 minutes for the individual ramekins, and about 45-50 minutes for the 13x9 (ovens have varying heat, so if it is your first time to bake a certain recipe, keep watching during the last few minutes of baking.
Checking for doneness can be done with toothpick (If toothpick comes out clean, it is done.). My preferred method is tapping with finger (I use the spring-back action and the hollow sound as my gauge.) This is because I usually do not remember to get more toothpicks once we use them up. :)
My American family loves anything custardy when freshly baked. I prefer them chilled because somehow, it smells more eggy when still warm.
I have been working on the video above for the past month...dumudugo ilong ko trying hard to prepare video, but here I am plugging away because there are those requesting videos instead of just slideshow of photos. I hope my efforts are appreciated. Nakakasama ng loob pag me nag-iiwan ng comment sa videos ko that are not only unappreciative, but very demeaning. If you don't like my videos, which are mainly prepared to clarify my instructions in this foodblog, and not to entertain or to stand alone, just do not make any comments on them, lalo na kung ikaw mismo ay walang kontribusyon na maitutulong sa madlang Pilipino. Hindi naman po ako professional videographer nor a chef nor a culinary expert. Just sharing what I am learning as I adapt in my American kitchen and try to keep the Filipino traditions alive and to provide solutions to my cravings. Such comments are so discouraging to bloggers like me whose main reason to blog is to share FREE KNOWLEDGE gathered from our own efforts of research to spare others from going through the hardships of what we went through. I (and other food bloggers) could have chosen to keep my recipes within my family to be passed on from generation to generation, but I am not that selfish.
Pasensya na po at naghinga pa ako ng sama ng loob dito...
Last time I worked, one of the CNA's came at 2PM and brought a tin can of cookies and bars. I had a taste of some of them, but this one really made me ask for a recipe. She did not have the recipe on hand, and just described the ingredients somehow, but promised me that she would write it down sometime and leave a copy in my mailbox.
You see, there was a time I was in a baking frenzy making "bars" using the recipes on Nestle and Hershey's chocolate websites, but after tasting several of them, I was sick all too soon with the sweetness, and I had a tough time cutting through the bars that they did not look at all like the ones in the photos (must be something I did wrong, but the results discouraged me from making them again). I cut them bite-size (because I could not tolerate a big chunk) but they lasted a whole month with nobody in the household taking a second serving. I chucked the whole batch then...hard and dry already. What a waste.
On the contrary, that goodie bar was something that I had to restrain myself from getting some more, so as to leave enough for the other co-workers. It was that good.
Well, as soon as I got home, despite the start of a migraine attack, I dreadfully faced the glare of my laptop to look for a recipe with the few ingredients I remembered my co-worker told me it had. This one came close. So last night I baked it (without the almond toffee bits because I mistakenly got a package of milk chocolate toffee bits instead and opted to just leave that out). The result???
It was the right recipe although it seemed sweeter.
After baking it for 45 minutes (because I was afraid the 50 mins recommended might dry up the whole thing), I let it stand overnight, with the pan resting on a cooling wire rack, the top protected by a sheet of paper towel. It was still super moist by the time I cut it (completely cold then) and I made a mental note to bake it for the full 50 minutes next time). I had a hard time cutting through because it was sticky, but nevertheless, it was so good, crunchy at the bottom and gooey at the top. After cutting them into bite-size pieces, I let them stand with enough space in between to further dry up the pieces.
The kids loved these. They munched quite a lot when they came home from school. They said, "This is really good!"
I let hubby taste it and he liked it alright. He said his mom made something like it when he was a child, but it was called Congo squares and with chocolate bits. However, he told me not to bother with those, because as long as I make the cookies that I made today with a cookie press, he'd be happy (I will post about it next).
Cake:
1 (18.25-ounce) box yellow cake mix
1 large egg
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
Filling:
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 (16-ounce) box confectioners' sugar (you may want to try to mix in 12 oz first and taste the dough if you don't want it too sweet; optional to save some for sprinkling on top)
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
1 cup almond toffee bits (optional)
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a 13 x 9 x 2-inch baking pan.
2. With an electric mixer stir together the butter, cake mix and 1 egg. Spread into the greased pan and pat down. (I used a hand mixer.)
3. Still using an electric (hand) mixer, beat the cream cheese until smooth. Beat in the eggs and vanilla. Add the confectioners' sugar and beat well. Reduce the speed and slowly pour in the butter. Mix well. Fold in the toffee bits (I did not).
4. Pour filling onto cake mixture and spread evenly. (Optional to sprinkle some confectioner's sugar on top). Bake for 50 minutes. Don't be afraid to make a judgment call on the cooking time, because oven temperatures can vary. You want the center to be a little gooey, so don't bake it past that point!
Before I start, may I please request for one of my readers to please send me some more of pandan paste (as in the slide show below) or the canned pandan extract (that I used in buco pandan salad)? I would gladly pay for them (just could not find them here). My previous supply was sent by a co-blogger, stel of babyrambutan.net, and my present pandan and buco-pandan extracts were sent to me by Deb from California. Thanks to them, but I do not feel like requesting from them again. Dyahe....
The pandan chiffon cake recipe I have below is courtesy of my online friend Helen in Australia. I made it for the first time last Friday to bring to my friend Fe's birthday celebration last Saturday.
Helen cuts the sugar and coconut milk in half per her preference. I used the exact amounts stated in the procedure and still found the cake a bit less sweet than I had anticipated, although the sweet frosting made up for it. Fe, however, is like Helen in that she always cuts her sugars in half whenever she makes cakes, rolls, or kakanin. It is a matter of preference, so feel free to experiment with yours.
The pandan butter-coco-cream frosting was something I made up basing on some online recipes I found.
(The chocolate writing on the frosting was melted semi-sweet morsels that I piped out to write onto a parchment paper then cooled. Too bad it broke when I was trying to stand it up on the cake, so we just laid it down.)
Just this afternoon, Fe called me to ask whether I had posted the recipe yet, because she only had a slice of our leftover (We had two cakes, a white cake from my friend Ana, and this one, so Fe ended up with leftover of both. She had half of pandan cake left that Saturday). Then her son had finished the rest of the leftover, so now she wants to bake one.
Thanks, Helen, for this delightful pandan chiffon cake recipe!
Ingredients:
-Batter-
2 cups cake flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1 cup sugar or to taste
1/3 cup oil
6 egg yolks
1 cup coconut milk
1 tsp pandan extract (I used paste)
-Pandan Butter-Coco-Cream Frosting-
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
1/2 cup coconut milk
1 tsp buco pandan extract (McCormick)
2-4 cups confectioner's sugar (depends on how sweet you want it)
Instructions:
Sift dry ingredients together (up to 3 times, ideally). Mix well.
Make a well at the center then add oil, yolks, coconut milk and pandan paste. Mix well.
Beat egg whites with vinegar until soft peak forms. Add sugar slowly while beating, beat until stiff but still glossy (do not overbeat).
Add a little of the meringue to batter mixture and blend well, before slowly folding in the rest of the batter into the beaten whites.
Pour into an UNGREASED bundt pan or angel food cake pan (no grease apparently helps keep the volume fluffed up by helping the cake cling onto the walls).
Bake at 350 deg F for 45-50 minutes.
After baking, invert onto a wire rack WITHOUT REMOVING THE PAN. Let the cake COOL COMPLETELY before easing it out of the pan. You may use spatula to let the cake loose. (Again, these apparently help keep the chiffon cottony fluffy.)
Note: The emphasis I made in the procedures were tips I read about AFTER I made the cake. My chiffon cake was quite dense but still of satiny texture, and maybe I should have read more on those tips to maximize its volume and make it lighter.
For the icing, heat up the coconut milk on medium, stirring constantly until creamy. Let cool.
Cream the softened butter with 2 cups confectioner's sugar and pandan flavor, and add the coconut milk gradually. Taste if you like the sweetness already. If not, add some more sugar to taste. If it becomes to thick, you can thin to your desired spreading consistency by adding a little (about 1 tbsp increments) of regular milk or cream (if you have run out of heated coconut milk).
Let cake cool completely before spreading the pandan icing/frosting.
One of the desserts I prepared for July 4th. Made with layers of (from bottom to top):
Mamon (Filipino chiffon cake) White Chocolate Pudding and Cream Cheese (recipe courtesy of MaMely; she suggested white choc pudding instead of vanilla. I got it from a post that she has now deleted so I cannot provide the link. I did not print out the recipe then because I was just using the laptop while making it.) Blueberries and Strawberries
However, my son made a Florida Citrus Cake that he displayed minutes earlier than I did the flag cake, so by the time this cake arrived on the table, the FCC already was almost gone and the eaters were already scooping out the soft vanilla ice cream. Only 3 slices were eaten from this cake. Sigh! Oh well, I just wanted to be in the spirit of the July 4th.
I first tasted this when I visited my friend Fe, and I never thought I'd like pumpkin cakes of any sort, but I loved this, so I asked for the recipe. It was actually the recipe on which I based my ube cake roll.
Ingredients:
Cake 3 eggs
1 cup sugar (white)
2/3 cup canned pumpkin
3/4 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cinnamon
Filling1 cup confectioner's sugar
4 tsp butter
8-oz cream cheese (softened at room temp)
1/2 tsp vanilla
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 375º F.
Mix dry ingredients together except sugar. Beat eggs and sugar until creamy yellow and frothy. Add pumpkin puree and blend well. Add dry ingredients and beat until just blended. Pour onto a 15 inch x 10 inch jelly roll pan
Bake at 375º F for 15 to 18 minutes or until done. Meanwhile, place paper towels (or flour sack) on the countertop and generously sprinkle confectioner's sugar. When the cake is done, flip onto the sugared paper towels (or flour sack) and peel off parchment paper. Roll up like jelly roll both the cake and the towel and cool off completely.
Prepare the cream cheese filling by blending all ingredients well. Chill until ready to spread.
Unroll and spread filling then roll up again. Wrap with foil and refrigerate. Slice when ready to serve.
Chocolate-hazelnut roulade was what I had in mind when I learned of the previous LaPiS theme Swirl n Twirl. I had been wanting to bake it since I saw the photo in Hannaford's fresh magazine. While I loved the consistency of the cake (basically a sponge cake) and the taste of the hazelnut filling, I was not too pleased with the mocha whipped cream icing. So even if I will post here the same recipe (I modified the filling), I do not recommend the icing. I probably would settle for the chocolate icing that I have been using in my favorite cake to prepare for birthdays.
Another thing that I would change in the way I prepared this is to beat the cream cheese only after 30 minutes of it in room temp. The way I made it, I soaked the pack in hot water, then got it out and let sit for more than 30 minutes in room temp. It made the filling a tad runny, and I think that was the reason why the roulade looks "collapsed". Or maybe I should have chilled the filling a bit before spreading on the cake. Oh well, lessons learned... Ingredients: Cake 5 Tbs cake flour 2 Tbs Cornstarch 2/3 cup Dutch processed unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted, divided into two 1/3 cup 1/8 tsp Cinnamon, ground 1/4 tsp Salt 1/2 tsp baking powder 1/4 tsp Baking Soda 4 ea Large eggs, separated 3/4 cup Sugar, divided 1 tsp Vanilla extract
Hazelnut Cream Filling 1/2 cup Hazelnuts, toasted and finely chopped 8-oz cream cheese 2 cups Confectioners or powdered sugar, sifted 3 Tbs Hazelnut liqueur (I found Kahlua brand) 1 tsp vanilla extract
Mocha Whipped Cream 3 Tbsp Unsweetened cocoa powder, plus 1 cup Heavy whipping cream 1/2 tsp Instant powdered coffee dissolved in 1 tsp Hot water
Instructions: 1. Position a rack in center of oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Lightly coat a 10 x 15-inch jelly roll pan with vegetable spray or solid shortening. Line pan with baking parchment, and then spray or grease parchment. Dust parchment with flour and tap out excess flour. 2. Sift together flour, cornstarch, 1/3 cup of the cocoa, cinnamon, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Set aside. 3. In large bowl of an electric mixer, whip 4 egg whites until foamy (reserve yolks). Gradually add ½ cup of the sugar while whipping to peaks that are stiff but not dry. Scrape whites into another bowl, set them aside (don't worry, they won't deflate), and return unwashed bowl and beater to mixer. 4. In same bowl, whip yolks, vanilla, and remaining ¼ cup sugar together until thick and very pale in color (3 to 5 minutes or more, depending upon type of mixer used). By hand with a rubber spatula, fold about one-third of whipped whites into yolks to lighten them. Sprinkle on and gently fold in about one-quarter of flour-cocoa mixture; fold gently to maintain batter volume. Alternately fold in remaining dry mixture and whipped whites until batter is fairly even in color; don't worry if there are a few streaks of white. 5. Scoop batter onto prepared pan and spread into an even layer. Bake 12 to 15 minutes or just until top is springy to the touch and a cake tester in center comes out clean. Don't over bake or cake will dry out too much to roll without cracking. While cake bakes, set a dish towel flat on counter and sift on remaining 1/3 cup cocoa, making a rectangle about 10 by 15 inches. (Note: After use, shake out towel over sink and wash in cold water - cocoa won't stain towel.) 6. As soon as cake is baked, invert it over sifted cocoa on towel. Lift off pan and peel off parchment. With a serrated knife, slice off a scant 1/8-inch strip around all crisp cake edges so that it will roll easily. Fold one short end of the towel over a short end of the cake, and roll them together. Set aside, seam down, on wire rack until cake is cold, about 1 hour. 7. Make the filling. Start by toasting the hazelnuts. Spread hazelnuts on a baking sheet and toast in 325 degrees F oven until fragrant and beginning to brown, 8 to 10 minutes. Let cool. 8. In large bowl of an electric mixer set on medium-high, blend cream cheese and confectioners' sugar until completely smooth. Add liqueur and vanilla and blend. Taste and adjust sugar or liqueur if needed. Finely chop nuts and stir in. 9. When cake is completely cold, unroll it and spread evenly with hazelnut cream filling. Re-roll cake and place seam side down on a plate. Dust surface with confectioners' sugar, or prepare a Buche de Noel. 10. Make the Mocha Whipped Cream. Sift together cocoa and confectioners' sugar. In a medium bowl, combine cream and dissolved coffee (mix coffee granules in hot water). Use an electric mixer to whip cream. As soft peaks begin to appear, gradually add sugar cocoa mixture. Whip until peaks become a little firmer, but be careful not to over beat - about 3 minutes. Gently spread mocha whipped cream over prepared roulade. Run fork tines in cream along length of log. Keep refrigerated until ready to serve. May be prepared a day in advance and refrigerated. Just before serving, sift on a faint dusting of cocoa.
Well, at least"Special Mamon na mala-Goldilocks" was my first thought when I tasted this milk sponge cake the first time I made one for the base cake of crema de fruta. And I was not the only one who had the same opinion. The latest comment I received for crema de fruta was from Joy Leaming, who said the cake itself tasted like mamon from Goldilocks.
I had been studying for my NRP certification on Friday, but I so badly wanted to be able to make something to enter in this week's LaPiS theme: MELTed bliss. I had been teasing my kids with the photo of this delectable and easy to bake chocolate dessert, but I told them they would have to wait because I needed to study for my certification. My stepd offered to bake it the other night, but it was too late (at 10 pm) and I told her she could make it the next day (yesterday). She started measuring, but got confused with the instruction (I asked her to take note of "divided" measurements for white sugar and cocoa), so she gave up. My older son volunteered then. And this was his product. I am two chapters away from finishing the DVD "textbook" and I thought I could use a break by blogging about it.
I am so proud of him! Taken from my Hershey's Classic Recipes cookbook, the recipe can be found online.
Ingredients:
* 1-1/4 cups granulated sugar, divided * 1 cup all-purpose flour * 1/2 cup HERSHEY'S Cocoa, divided * 2 teaspoons baking powder * 1/4 teaspoon salt * 1/2 cup milk * 1/3 cup butter or margarine, melted * 1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract * 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar * 1-1/4 cups hot water * Whipped topping
Instructions:
Slideshow below is not a step-by-step series since my son was the one whipping it up while I was studying...I took the photos when it was done.
1. Heat oven to 350°F. Combine 3/4 cup granulated sugar, flour, 1/4 cup cocoa, baking powder and salt. Stir in milk, butter and vanilla; beat until smooth.
2. Pour batter into ungreased 9-inch square baking pan. Stir together remaining 1/2 cup granulated sugar, brown sugar and remaining 1/4 cup cocoa; sprinkle mixture evenly over batter. Pour hot water over top; do not stir.
3. Bake 35 to 40 minutes or until center is almost set. Remove from oven; let stand 15 minutes. Serve in dessert dishes, spooning sauce from bottom of pan over top. Makes about 8 servings.
As I mentioned before, my first attempt at ube roll failed. So I tried a second time. I based the recipe below on a pumpkin roll recipe from epicurious, but I used 5 eggs only because that was all I had in my fridge, and they were jumbo anyway (recipe called for 6 large eggs). I also omitted the spices and replaced it with pandan essence plus the food coloring. I goofed, though, in that I broke the yolk of one egg, so I just placed the whole thing along with the rest of the egg yolks, and I was left with only 4 egg whites to whip up to make the sponge.
this at a night when it seemed like we were all in a party mood. I brought leche flan (as requested by one of our ED techs, Gloria), and Michelle brought this so I could have a taste. I loved it! It's perfect for coffee! Best of all, it is so easy to make.
Michelle made sure I had at least one slice left to take home to have my husband taste it. I could not help but eat the last piece, and I even scraped the plate clean.
So I baked this last night, finally...after I stressed out having my TNCC training and getting my certificate by passing the practical and written tests (yehey!). Baking (and cooking) has become a therapeutic activity for me. As I was waiting for the last minutes, I made coffee...then I frosted, sliced a piece although it was still too warm (couldn't wait!) and had my husband taste it...Approved!
The next day, my older son was telling me, "Ma, you should make this more often. It's so good, I already had probably 8 slices." INGREDIENTS:
Cake: 4 eggs 3/4 cup water 3/4 cup oil 1 pkg yellow cake mix 1 small pkg lemon instant pudding and pie filling mix (4 servings)
Glaze: 1/6 cup frozen orange juice concentrate 1 tbsp melted butter 3/4 cup confectioner's sugar
PROCEDURE: Preheat oven to 325 deg F. Pour all ingredients into a well-greased and floured tube pan (I borked here...looks like I failed to grease and flour well enough that some of the cake stuck to the pan. I covered with frosting.). Bake for 50 minutes or until done. Meanwhile, prepare the glaze by blending well. Glaze the cake while still hot.
Thanks to Celia K for her crema de fruta post, I thought this would be good alternative to the usual chocolate cake that my hubby always prepares for anyone's birthday in our family. I wanted for my in-laws to have something to look forward to during birthday celebrations, and not only to bring their gifts and greetings to the celebrant.
I deviated from CeliaK's method by preparing my own sponge cake. Why? Because when I told hubby about my plan, he grimaced a bit, saying that sponge cake is usually rubbery, chewy, tough and dry...and that he preferred the crumbly type of cakes. BUT he said, "if that's what you want, then go on. It's your birthday anyway."
Good thing I found a sponge cake recipe with this promise: " While most sponge cakes are light and somewhat dry, a sponge cake made with milk, has a softer more tender texture." The recipe is that of Boston Cream Pie which I got from Sarah's baking911 site.
Here's the recipe for the sponge cake:
Milk Sponge Cake 1 cup sifted cake flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup milk
3 tablespoons unflavored vegetable oil
3 large eggs, room temperature
1 egg yolk, room temperature
2/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
Instructions:
Adjust rack in lower third of oven and preheat to 350 degrees. Line a 9-inch springform pan with parchment or waxed paper; do not grease. Sift flour, baking powder and salt. In a small bowl add the the milk and oil; do not be concerned that they do not blend together.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk the eggs, yolk and sugar to combine. Using an electric mixer at medium speed, whip the egg mixture until it is light ivory in color and very fluffy, about 6 minutes. Add the vanilla toward the end of whipping. Using a rubber spatula, fold in the flour mixture in two additions. Pour the milk mixture down the side of the mixing bowl. (It will sink to the bottom of the bowl under the batter.) Gently fold until the milk mixture is thoroughly incorporated. Pour the batter into the pan. Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until the cake is golden on top and it springs back when lightly pressed in the center. Remove pan from oven to a wire rack until cool.
While baking the sponge cake I prepared the custard. Comparing CeliaK's custard filling with that of the Boston Cream Pie Recipe, I noticed the only difference in the ingredients were the amounts, and the inclusion of rum in the latter. I thought it would not hurt to follow that in BCP since I used a springform pan, so that the custard would just be enough to cover the top of the cake. I just eliminated the rum. I leave to you to include it or delete it from this custard filling recipe from baking911. Boston Cream Filling Only half of this rich, thick pastry cream, lightened with whipped cream is needed for the dessert. Enjoy the remaining filling with fresh fruit.
1 cup milk
1/2 cup sugar, divided
3 egg yolks
3 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon each dark rum and vanilla
1/2 cup heavy cream, whipped
In a small bowl whisk to combine the egg yolks and 1/4 cup sugar, then the flour. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine the milk and 1/4 cup sugar and heat just until it comes to a boil. Remove, and pour half of the hot liquid over the yolk mixture, stirring to combine. Pour the yolk mixture back into the saucepan, and bring it to a boil again, stirring constantly. When it is thick and smooth, remove the pan from the heat and pour the mixture into a large bowl to cool. Cover surface with plastic and refrigerate. When ready to assemble the dessert, stir in the rum and vanilla until smooth, then fold in the whipped cream.
Then while cooling the custard, I sliced the top off the cake as soon as it was cool enough to do so. I just thought this would create more traction for the pudding and the fruits, plus it gave me an excuse to taste the cake. And guess what I discovered: It tasted like that of Special Mamon Tostado (almost like the Goldilocks' Mamon but without that greasy unpleasant film that it leaves on your palate). I had hubby taste it too, and he said it was not what he expected of sponge cakes as it was not tough.
Next I prepared the gelatin. I used Knox unflavored gelatin and then followed the instructions on the packet using 2 envelopes. While it was cooling in the fridge, I started assembling the fruits (peaches, Mandarin oranges and Maraschino cherries) over the custard that I poured on top of the sponge cake. Then I placed inside the fridge covered with a plastic wrap to let them chill for about an hour, and then poured a thin film of gelatin. I let that thin film set for about 30 minutes, sort of like laminating the surface, acting like a seal, before I poured more gelatin to cover the fruits completely. Let the gelatin set. (It was a minimum of 3 hours from the approximated time of serving, but feel free to make this several hours earlier). (Note: I made a mistake before of pouring the gelatin while it was still very liquid, and the cake, custard and fruits were room temp. The gelatin seeped through the cake and soaked it, making it tough when the cake cooled completely. Believe me, you don't want to make the same mistake again.)
My visitors were intrigued by it. I served it very informally as such; only separating the sides off from the pan using a small silicone spatula, then gave them each a slice of the cake. No, the number of cherries did not correspond to my age (wish it did!) . They all said it was different and good. None was left (there were 13 of us in all; no leftover on their plates!) at the end of the day (much to my older son's dismay). Any Filipina can hold her head up high when serving this dessert to a foreign crowd.
I bought it because it was on sale. I was thinking last night of what to have for dessert to accompany a New England Boiled Dinner in which I used a pork shoulder for meat. So I was looking at the instructions for this mix and the photo of a variation caught my attention. I thought I'd follow that instead, and I added red wine just 'cause I had two opened red wine bottles that I must consume as fast as I can. My husband got excited and had to lick the dough even as I was placing it in muffin cups. As supper was served, I had a plate of this ready on the table and everyone was looking longingly for them. Nobody was disappointed. It was soooo good!
Ingredients:
1 box Ghirardelli Dark Chocolate Brownie Mix
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup vegetable oil
(optional) 1 tbsp cabernet sauvignon (red wine)
2 eggs
1 cup (8-oz) cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 deg F. In a medium bowl, stir together brownie mix, water, oil and 1 egg until moistened (about 40 strokes). Line muffin tin with paper cups and lightly spray with nonstick cooking spray. Spoon batter into muffin cups, filling 2/3 full. Using electric mixer, mix cream cheese, sugar, 1 egg and vanilla on medium speed for 1 minutes or until smooth. For each cupcake, place rounded tablespoon of cream cheese mixture on top of batter. Bake 28-32 minutes. Makes 16 cupcakes.
a molten lava cake. Shortly after I made the kraftfoods' version, I saw this in a McCormick ad in bon appetit magazine, and I was intrigued because of the addition of red wine - cabernet sauvignon. I have always been fascinated with the flavors of foods cooked/baked with wine, so I tried this one out. It was good, too, but lacking immediate comparison between the two recipes, I could not really tell if it was better. But since now I have a whole bottle of red wine to use, I probably will make this more often, aside from using the red wine in beef recipes. Ingredients: 4 ounces semi-sweet baking chocolate 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter 1 tablespoon Cabernet Sauvignon or other red wine 1 teaspoon McCormick® Pure Vanilla Extract 1 cup confectioners' sugar 2 eggs 1 egg yolk 6 tablespoons flour 1/4 teaspoon Cinnamon 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
2. Microwave chocolate and butter in large microwavable bowl on HIGH 1 minute or until butter is melted. Whisk until chocolate is completely melted. Stir in wine, vanilla and confectioners' sugar until well blended. Whisk in eggs and yolk. Stir in remaining ingredients. Pour batter evenly into prepared custard cups.
3. Bake 13 to 15 minutes or until sides are firm but centers are soft. Let stand 1 minute. Carefully loosen edges with small knife. Invert cakes onto serving plates. Sprinkle with additional confectioners' sugar. Serve immediately.
Make Ahead: The chocolate mixture can be prepared up to 10 hours ahead of time. Pour the batter into prepared custard cups; cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate. Bring to room temperature for 30 minutes before baking. Type rest of the post here
working in PI in a busy Pasay-Makati area, this Custard Cake (Filipino style) was available in the nearby cheap bakeries, NOT in the more expensive ones, yet I loved it. It tasted good and was very affordable. My mother used to make them too when we had our own bakery, although when I ask my Nanay now for how-to's and recipes, she cannot recall anymore because of lack of practice.
In the past few days I had been experimenting with caramelizing sugar using microwave , then I could not take my mind off of what to do with my mini baking pans with caramel. I was considering preparing flans, or making bread pudding, or trying this custard cake. One morning that I woke up too early for my interview at another hospital, I (crazily) proceeded with baking these (and was done in time for preparation for my interview). I did not come up with the familiar taste I would have wanted to recreate, but I got approval from my kids and (most importantly) my hubby, so I will stick to this recipe from now on.
For the flan topping: Caramelized pan Leche flan mixture enough to create thin layers of flan for topping (I will show you later what to do with the rest of the leche flan mixture, aside from making them into leche flan)
Pre-heat the oven to 350 deg F. Put caramelized pans into bigger pans with water enough to cover the sides of your smaller pans up to the level of leche flan. Pour a thin layer of leche flan ONLY WHEN THE OVEN IS READY. Bake the flan for 15-20 minutes (depends on how hot the water you use for water bath) until flan is jelly-like wiggly at the center. Meanwhile, prepare your ingredients for the cake.
For the yellow pound cake:(I followed the instructions at the side of the box)
1 box Yellow cake mix 1 small vanilla instant pudding and pie filling mix 4 eggs 1 cup water 1/3 cup vegetable oil
Combine dry ingredients in one big bowl. Combine the liquid ingredients in another bowl. MIX ONLY WHEN FLAN IS READY. Beat these together for two minutes at medium speed then pour on top of baked flan. Continue baking these for 25-50 minutes depending on what size pan you used (I made small ones the size of custard cups and a bigger one in an 8-inch round pan so I had two different baking times).
Once done, let rest on a cooling rack for about 10 minutes. Loosen the sides with a spatula and invert onto a plate (or a bigger pan).
Now for your own preference, maybe instead of the pound cake recipe (I found this too heavy for me), you might want to experiment with plain yellow cake.
It just so happened that I was looking at different chocolate recipes from a Hershey's book to prepare for celebrating Nov 8th. I was planning to make a Florida citrus cake that my co-worker recently brought to work and that I loved, but I asked hubby first.
Me: Honey, would you be interested in a lemon-type cake that I can prepare for our anniversary? Him: Nah...I am not fond of lemon cakes. Yellow cake with chocolate frosting would be good, though. Me: Or maybe you would prefer chocolate cake with chocolate frosting?... Him: That would be even better.
Well, thinking that he was probably referring to the boxed yellow cake and Duncan chocolate frosting when he mentioned that that was what he would like, I was not really looking forward to preparing something from the box when it was a special occasion. Although we plan to go out of town this coming week for a major celebration (no kids!!!), I did want to prepare something special (as in, from scratch) on the day itself.
So I was browsing through the photos in that Hershey's book and this Classic Boston Cream Pie caught my attention. It did look close enough to a yellow cake with chocolate frosting, but it has something else that I LOVE: custard. However, my husband is not a fan of custard like my leche flan (though he likes the custard in eclair, and had been hinting for years that he would love to have those). So, on the day before our anniversary...
Me: Honey, would you be interested in Boston Cream Pie? Him: Sure. My grandmother used to make those.
Ok, I got the go signal, although his response somewhat appeared lukewarm to me (it might have been because he was tired. He and the boys had been splitting and piling wood, while I cleaned out the upright freezer in preparation for our fresh meat supplies for the coming year).
When it was finally done and served, hubby's face was priceless. He even closed his eyes to savor his slice. Mmmmm...
My boys, needless to say, loved it. Older boy said, "Ma, are we having Christmas or Thanksgiving here? You should make this and show off, errr, ah, let them taste this." Younger son said, "Yeah, Ma, this is really good! Mmmm!!!"
Cake:
1/3 cup shortening
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1-1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup milk
1. Heat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour one 9-inch round baking pan.
2. Beat shortening, sugar, eggs and vanilla in large bowl until fluffy. Stir together flour, baking powder and salt; add alternately with milk to shortening mixture. Pour batter into prepared pan.
3. Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until wooden pick inserted into center comes our clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pan to wire rack. Cool completely.
4. Prepare RICH FILLING. Using long serrated knife, cut cake horizontally into two even layers. Place 1 layer on serving plate, cut side up; spread filling over layer. Top with remaining layer, cut side down. Prepare DARK COCOA GLAZE. Pour glaze over top of cake, allowing glaze to drizzle down sides. Refrigerate several hours or until cold. Cover; refrigerate leftover dessert. 8 to 10 servings.
Stir together sugar and cornstarch in medium saucepan; gradually add milk and egg yolks, stirring until blended. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture comes to a boil. Boil and stir 1 minute. Remove from heat; stir in butter and vanilla. Cover; refrigerate several hours until cold.
DARK COCOA GLAZE
3 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons butter or margarine
3 tablespoons HERSHEY'S Cocoa
1 cup powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Heat water and butter in small saucepan over medium heat until mixture begins to boil; remove from heat. Immediately stir in cocoa. Gradually add powdered sugar and vanilla, beating with whisk until smooth; cool slightly. About 3/4 cup glaze.
, but instead of the coffee Kahlua, what I had were Hazelnut 
and Torino Chocolate Syrup. So I changed the original 3/4 c Kahlua into 1/4 c hazelnut Kahlua and 1/2 c chocolate syrup. And for the glaze, instead of 1/4 c Kahlua, I used espresso (prepared using Tassimo), which was around 1/8 cup, so to make it 1/4, I mixed it with half Hazelnut Kahlua and half Chocolate Syrup. 
