Desserts / Matamis

Banana Bread

Banana Bread

  The Philippines grows so many kinds of bananas and they are turned into all sorts of delicacies (turon, maruya, chips etc.) but the banana bread is not so popular and I guess its because no one has come up with a recipe that tickles the palate of the Pinoy. In Australia where the banana bread is a cafe staple, everyone knows the banana bread and is a favourite. I came up with this recipe to please daughter, Elaine. My mother in law, Inez, says that it’s the best banana bread she has ever tasted. Hopefully the Pinoy with come to appreciate this version of the banana bread.   Ingredients: 1 ¼ cups (250 grams) sugar ½ cup butter – softened 2 large eggs – lightly beat to mix 1 ½ cups mashed bananas – Lakatan or Latundan or Cavendish (you cannot use Saba) ½ cup sour cream or buttermilk (you can use ½ cup evaporated milk soured with 1 teaspoon vinegar) 1 teaspoon vanilla or banana essence 2 ½ cups (350 grams) all purpose flour 1 ½ teaspoons baking soda ½ teaspoon baking powder 1 teaspoon salt 1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts Procedure Preheat oven to 350ºF (180ºC) Grease and flour 1 loaf pan or line loaf pan with baking paper. In a small mixing bowl, mix together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set aside. Put one tablespoon of flour with the nuts and toss to coat the nuts with flour. Set aside. In a large mixing bowl, using the paddle attachment, place butter inside bowl and at slow speed beat butter till light and fluffy; occasionally scrapping sides. Gradually add the sugar and continue mixing till well blended and fluffy; scrape sides to mix well. Slowly add the eggs and continue mixing till well blended. Add the mashed bananas with the banana essence; mix well. Beginning and ending with the flour mixture, divide the flour mixture into four, and add ¼ of the flour mixture into the banana mixture; beat till you don’t see any flour and then place â…“ of the sour cream. Mix till you don’t see the cream. Continue alternating the flour and sour cream procedure. When all the flour has been blended in, add the nuts and mix well. Pour the mixture into the loaf pan. Bake for 1 hour or till the toothpick tester comes out clean. Remove from the oven and place over wire rack to cool. Slice into desired cuts. Serve with...

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Malacañang Roll (Chocolate Fudge and Meringue Roll)

Malacañang Roll (Chocolate Fudge and Meringue Roll)

I first became acquainted with this delicious roll from my grandparents majordoma, Florencia (Esia) Guiao. She was commissioned to bake this roll every family sunday gathering. All the while, I thought it was my great grandmother, Luisa Fernandez Lichauco, who invented this cake. But when we had our first grand Lichauco reunion, I then found out, that it was her sister, Cornelia Lichauco, who invented it. It was called Malacañang Roll, because their family used to live near the Presidential Palace – Malacañang. I have tweaked the recipe to make the roll more moist. If making a roll seems daunting, you can divide the batter into two round cake tins and it will still taste the same. You can fill and top the cake with fudge and meringue. Cream Sponge Cake Ingredients: 4 eggs – separated 1 tablespoons lemon juice 1 ½ tablespoons cold water 1 teaspoons vanilla extract 1 cup (200 grams) sugar – divide into ¾ cup and ¼ cup 1/4 teaspoon fine salt 1 cup (140 grams) cake flour – sifted 1 ¼ teaspoons baking powder Cream Sponge Cake Procedure: Preheat oven to 325ºF (165ºC) Line with baking paper jelly roll pan 10-inches by 15-inches by 1-inch high (26cm by 38cm by 2.5cm high) or 2 baking pans 9-inch diameter round by 2-inches high (23cm by 5cm high) In a medium sized mixing bowl, place egg yolks, lemon juice, cold water, and vanilla extract; beat until thick and pale; about 8 minutes. Gradually add ¾ cup of the sugar and blend well. Set aside. Beat the egg whites separately until foamy, add the salt, and continue beating until the whites form soft peaks. Gradually add the remaining ¼ cup of sugar and beat until stiff but not dry. Gently stir a fourth of the whites into the yolk mixture. Spoon the remaining whites onto the yolk mixture. Sift flour and baking powder in a separate bowl. Carefully fold in flour/baking powder mixture into egg mixture. Spoon into prepared pan and level off. For roll – bake 10 to 12 minutes. For round tins – bake 15 to 20 minutes or till toothpick comes out clean To un-mold jelly roll sponge: Over cooling rack, place tea towel (katcha cloth) and open up to spread as large as jelly roll tin. Generously dust flour all over tea towel. When you take jelly roll sponge out of oven, place on another rack to cool for 5 minutes. Then when cooled down, turn out into prepared tea towel. Remove the baking paper. Let cool for another 5 minutes. Gently roll, lengthwise and let cool for 20 minutes and then unroll. When fudge is ready, spread all over the inside of roll. Then...

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Lenguas de Gato (Cat’s Tongue Cookies)

Lenguas de Gato (Cat’s Tongue Cookies)

Most specialized bake shops in the Philippines carry this delicate cookie. It is a Spanish cookie but since we were ‘once upon a time’ a Spanish colony, this must have rubbed off on us. It’s supposed to be shaped like a cat’s tongue but other bake shops have shaped them into thin discs. The secret of this cookie is the butter that one uses. Use the best butter that is available so that the flavor comes out and it’s good to the last crumb. Lenguas de Gato are a delicate butter cookies; an old fashioned afternoon delight. Memories of my grandmother, Natividad ‘Naty’ Lichauco de Leon, and her afternoon mahjong games comes to mind. Coming home from school, I would find her with her friends scrambling the mahjong tiles on the gaming table, and I would sit beside her and try to figure the game out. I never learned to play this Chinese tile game, but memories of Mama Naty’s afternoon delight linger in my mind. Ingredients: 1 1/2 cups (335 grams) butter – cut into cubes 1/2 cup (115 grams) margarine – cut into cubes 2 cups (400 grams) sugar 6 egg whites (3/4 cup) 2 tablespoons evaporated milk or powdered milk 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 3 1/2 cups (490 grams) all purpose flour 1 cup finely chopped cashew nuts (optional or for another type) Pre-heat oven to 350ºF or 180ºC Baking cookie sheets lined with baking paper Procedure: In the mixing bowl of an electric beater, using the paddle of mixer, slowly cream the butter and margarine until well blended. Add the sugar, 1/4 cup at a time, alternately with egg whites, beating well after each addition. Do not hurry; it must be well blended before adding sugar or egg white. Blend in the vanilla and the milk; blend well. At the slowest speed of the mixer, mix in the flour, 1/2 cup at a time. Mixing well before adding the next 1/2 cup. Add nuts if desired. Fill a medium sized pastry bag, fitted with a 1/4-inch round tip, half full of batter. Press 3-inch strips of dough, one inch apart on lined cookie sheets. Bake 5 to 10 minutes or until lightly browned around the edges. Place on cooling rack and let cool for 5 minutes and with metal spatula, remove from sheet and continue to cool in another cookie sheet. When totally cool, store in an air tight...

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Kalamay na Duman aka Kalamay na Pinipig (Green Sticky Rice Cake)

Duman is the gold edition of malagkit rice (sticky rice). The best duman is grown in Santa Rita, Pampanga. Planted during the rainy season, it waits for the cold weather of November and December before it is harvested. Duman is actually immature sticky rice. The rice is harvested while is it still immature and green. It is hand harvested; hand roasted; hand pounded; hand sifted, and therefore costs a mint! The cost of one ‘pati’ (about 3 kilos) of this young rice is equivalent to a fifty kilo sack of ordinary rice. Whoever thought of this process must have been a real gourmand and a glutton for work. One can eat the duman, raw, just as it is. The usual way one eats duman with is steaming hot chocolate. In a cup of hot chocolate, one sprinkles about 1/2 cup of the duman into the chocolate and then slowly spoons it into the salivating mouth. The other method of eating duman is to get newly harvest palm (sasa) juice that has been warmed and the duman sprinkled on it too. The reason that duman is so expensive is that only a few know how to do this and that they can only harvest it in its prime, which is only a few weeks. There is also available the ‘over the period’ kind but it’s already the stage when the rice begins to harden and cannot be eaten raw. There is also the fake kind, people color the ‘pinipig’ (as it’s also known) green. The true color of duman is a pale yellow green. So once a year, we were able to taste this precious sticky rice. There were times when I had more than I could eat and that is when I started to experiment with this. I know very well that you will not be able to do this; the basic ingredient is prohibitive and only comes out once a year for a few weeks. But then I wanted Filipinos to know that such a dish exists and it can only be found in the Philippines. During my catering days, I would serve this and got requests to serve it again and had to turn them down because of it’s unavailability. I would just say, try again next year. It is very easy to make but hard to find. There is a saving grace in all this, one can freeze the duman even for a year. Wrap the duman in wilted banana leaves; then wrap with foil; wrap with Manila paper; then place in a resealable plastic bag; then freeze. The secret is keeping the duman moisture free. If you want to eat it raw, take the amount...

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Polvoron (Milk and Flour Cookies)

Try and whistle with Polvoron in your mouth – puffftff! Or say “Sally sells sea shells by the seashore”! Remember those childhood games when one would put a piece of Polvoron in the mouth and then try whistling? It is also a favorite ‘pasalubong’ (home coming gift) when we travel abroad to visit relatives and friends. Why, cause it’s so tedious to make. All that pressing and wrapping! but when one does it with family or friends, it’s actually a time to bond and exchange gossip. Yes, one can just buy the commercial type but there’s nothing to compare a home made Polvoron made with love and laughter. Ingredients: 900 grams (6 1/2 cups) all purpose flour 5 cups (1 kilo) sugar 400 grams powdered full cream milk 1 cup (225 grams) butter 1 cup Star margarine 1 cup margarine 2 cups finely ground cashew nuts – optional Procedure: In a heated oven at 300ºF or 160ºC or in a wok over low fire, roast flour, mixing and turning until cooked. The flour must smell roasted; it will be slightly brown. This takes about 1/2 hour more or less. Remove from oven or fire. Blend in sugar and milk; mix thoroughly. Add butter, margarines and nuts if desired. Mix thoroughly again. Using a Polvoron press, mold Polvoron by filling the press and pressing hard. Place on a cookie tray till ready to wrap. Cut different colored Papel Japon (tissue paper) into 5-inch or 6-inch squares and wrap each Polvoron individually. Place one piece at the center and fold over one side; then the other side and then twist the ends to close. Notes: Since the Polvoron is so fragile, some cooks like to bake the finished pieces in preheated oven for about 10 minutes to allow the butter to melt into the flour and be more manageable. It does come out a bit like a cookie and harder to say “Sally sells sea shells…..”. You can also bring it back to the fire, after mixing in the margarines and continue to cook over very low fire for about 10 minutes. The procedure above is the old fashioned way of baking...

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Ginataang Halo-Halo (Mixed Fruits in Coconut Cream)

What is more heartwarming than a bowl of Guinataang Halo-Halo for merienda! There is nothing like this warm afternoon delight. There are versions of this in Chinese or Thai cuisine, but like they say it’s chalk and cheese. Ingredients: 8 cups cold water 4 mature coconuts – grated 6 tablespoons cornstarch (corn flour) 2 cups (400 grams) sugar 2 cups diced (1/2-inch) sweet potato (kamote); yellow or purple – blanched in hot water for 10 minutes 1 cup cooked sago 6 ripe saba bananas – cooked with skin and diced 1/2-inch 1/2 cup fresh, ripe jackfruit (langka) – sliced into 1/2-inch squares 400 grams malagkit flour paste – make into 1-inch marble sized balls (to make your own paste, use 300 grams malagkit flour (sticky rice flour) and slowly add 1/2 cup water more or less. It must make a very dense paste looking like clay) Procedure: Place the grated coconut in large bowl. Pour in 2 cups of water on coconut and with hands, squeeze out the juice onto another clean bowl with strainer. Set this aside. Add another 4 cups of water and do the same but use another bowl for the second squeeze. Set aside. Add another 2 cups of water and do the same; place in the same bowl of the second squeeze. In a measuring cup, place cornstarch and add 1/2 cup of coconut milk from second-third squeeze and dissolve cornstarch. In a large porcelain or ceramic coated pot, or glass cooking pot, pour in the second-third squeeze of coconut milk and dissolved cornstarch. Place pot over medium flame and bring the mixture to a boil; stirring frequently. When boiling, add sugar and mix thoroughly; continue boiling. Add the sweet potato, rice flour balls, sago, bananas, and jackfruit. When mixture is slightly thick, about 5 to 10 minutes, add the first squeeze of coconut milk. Bring to a slow boil for 5 minutes then remove from heat. Do not overcook or the fruits will be mushy. Note: Because of the coconut milk, this dish does not keep well. It’s good until the next day, kept in the...

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Buko Lecheas Gulaman (Young Coconut with Lychees in Gelatin)

Among Asians, the Coconut tree is known as ‘the tree of life’. From the roots to the fruits, one can find a multitude of uses. The trunk is used as building material; the leaves as roofing material or made into a ball for ‘sipa’; the ribs of the leaves are dried and turned into ‘walis tingting’ (garden broom); the imaginative exporters turn the dried ribs into baskets and the heart of the coconut into that oh so delicious ‘lumpiang ubod’ (heart of coconut spring roll). Even the flowers and the stems are dried and used as decorative items. From the young green coconut comes that refreshing ‘Buko’ juice (young coconut juice) and from the mature brown coconut that much used coconut milk (gata), copra, decicated coconut, and coconut gel ‘nata de coco’. The freak of nature ‘macapuno’ (coconut string), so good with halo-halo and as a topping to Leche Flan. What a wonderful work of creation! The Maker must have been truly inspired or is it a sample of the works of creation and we just have not found their uses? Ingredients: 2/3 cup (135 grams) white sugar 2 tablespoons powdered gelatin 1 cup cold buko (young coconut) juice 1/2 cup lychee juice (from the liquid in the can of Lychee) 1/2 cup canned lychee fruit – cut into quarters 1 1/2 cups buko meat, scraped into 1-inch string pieces 2 cups buko juice 3 drops red food color 1 cup whipping cream, slightly whipped for topping Procedure: In a small saucepan, combine sugar, gelatin, 1 cup cold buko juice and lychee juice. Let stand for the gelatin to expand. About 15 minutes. Over low fire, stir mixture constantly until sugar and gelatin completely dissolve. About 5 minutes. Remove from fire. In a medium sized mixing bowl, pour in gelatin mixture. Stir in lychee fruit, buko meat, 2 cups buko juice, and red food coloring. Using a 6 cups capacity serving dish, pour the mixture and let to set in refrigerator; about 2 to 3 hours. One hour before serving, whip the cream and spread on top of set gelatin mixture and chill for about an hour and then...

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Petite Fortune (Cashew Macaroons)

Petite Fortune (Cashew Macaroons)

There is this belief that the best way to a man’s or anyones heart is through the stomach. Before World War II, when my father was courting my mother, the ‘aphrodisiac’ that my mother prepared for my father was Petite Fortune. I would only taste it when a grandaunt (Rosario Arnedo Gonzalez) would bring some to the Sunday lunch that my grandmother (Rosario Valdes Gonzalez) hosted. As a child, I would stuff these bite sized jewels into my pockets and slowly gobble them up. They tasted absolutely heavenly! At that time I didn’t know how to cook nor bake or even have the guts to ask ‘how did you make them?’ When Lola Charing Arnedo Gonzalez (to distinguish her from my Lola Charing,since both were Gonzalez) passed away, I found that out the bake shop Hizon’s made them. When I would have the craving for them, I would go to Hizon’s Bake Shop and have my fill. I hardly let any bake shop or restaurant, get away with them being the only ones to fulfill my heart’s cravings. In due time, through research and experimentation, I finally came up with my own version, since I didn’t ask for the recipe from either of them. My husband, Stan, would say “these are so addicting; you can never have just one or two; you want more and more!” See! the old adage is true. Ingredients: 350 grams cashew nuts – slightly toasted in oven; cooled and finely ground; use a food processor or nut grinder 135 grams (2/3 cup) caster sugar 50 grans (1/3 cup) confectioner/icing sugar – sift well 1 whole egg 1 egg white 1/8 teaspoon salt 55 grams (1/4 cup) butter – melted 6 tablespoons thick cream Special Equipment: 50 pieces 1-inch diameter patty pan liner (tiny cup cake paper) 2 patty pans with 12 holes each (cup cake tray for tiny cup cakes with 1 1/5-inch holes) Procedure: Preheat oven to 300ºF (150ºC). In a mixer bowl, place all the ingredients. Using the paddle attachment of mixer, mix the ingredients for about 5 minutes; till well blended. Scoop 1 1/2 teaspoons of the mixture into each patty pan liner. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove from oven, cool in pan for 5 minutes and remove from pan and cool on baking rack. Store in air tight jar or package them in containers. Note: These scrumptious bites make good gifts; specially for the Christmas season since they keep well even if they are not...

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Mango Samurai (Filipino Mango Crepes)

Many moons ago, there use to be competitions among the hotels in Manila as to who could come up with delectable desserts. My memory is a bit slow as to which hotel came up with this delicious dessert but that is how I came to make my own version. One would say that crepe is French, but we do have our fresh lumpia wrapper that is made of crepe, therefore, we could say that this Mango Crepe is also Pinoy.   Crepes – makes 8 pieces of 8-inch crepes Crepes Ingredients: 2 whole eggs 70 grams (1/2 cup) all purpose flour 50 grams (1/4 cup) melted butter 1 cup fresh milk 1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg Crepes Procedure: In a blender, place all the ingredients and mix till batter is smooth. Let stand in refrigerator for about 4 hours. Using a non-stick frying pan, pet pan on medium heat. When a drop of water dropped on pan sizzles and rolls, pan is ready. Pour 1/4 cup of the mixture into frying pan and make sure that you fill the bottom of the pan by tipping and tilting the pan, covering any holes left with a drop of batter or just by tilting in that direction. The lift the crepe by using a spatula and see if it is slightly brown and then flip over slowly and cook the other side till also light brown. Place cooked crepe on baking or plastic paper, separating each with the paper and stacking them one on top of the other. Cover top with another baking/plastic paper. Set aside. Sauce Ingredients: 21 egg yolks 3/4 cup (150 grams) sugar 1 cup cream 2 cups fresh milk 1/3 cup orange liqueur – Cointreau or Grand Marnier   Sauce Procedure: In a double boiler, place the yolks and sugar and mix tell blended and then pour in the cream and milk. Fill the double boiler bottom with just 1 inch water and put over medium heat and place top part. Mixing continuously, cook the sauce till it is slightly thick; the sauce coats the back of a wooden spoon. Remove from the top from the base and continue stirring till slightly cool; then add the orange liqueur. Set aside. Filling Ingredient: 4 to 6 ripe yellow mangoes – the best of course is the Carabao mango – peel and slice into 1-inch cubes Assembly Procedure: Use a 14-inch by 8-inch by 2-inch high serving dish. Take one crepe and place on a plate. Arrange 1/3 to 1/2 cup of cubed mangoes on the middle of the crepe and just roll up. Place on one side of serving dish, crosswise; repeat and place rolled crepes beside each...

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Brazo de Mercedes

When I was a very young child, and asked my grandmothers’ cook what was for dessert and she said “Brazo de Mercedes”, my minds’ eye saw this enormous lady’s arm on a dish being served. This woman’s arm sure tasted so good because brazo meant arm in Spanish-Filipino. Now I know that it is a rolled meringue with egg yolk (yema) filling. Ingredients: 12 egg whites 1/4 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon cream of tartar 1 1/2 cups (300 grams) sugar Filling: 3/4 cup (150 grams) sugar 1/4 cup (35 grams) all purpose flour 1/2 cup (112 grams) butter 6 egg yolks 1/2 teaspoon zest of lime – optional Procedure: Preheat oven to 350ºF (180ºC) Line a 12-inch by 14-inch by 1-inch baking pan with baking paper or foil Beat egg whites with cream of tartar and salt until foamy, then add sugar gradually in four additions, beating until stiff but not dry. Spread evenly in pan. Bake for 15 – 20 minutes or till the top is a light golden brown Turn out on a cheesecloth dusted with a mixture of powdered and granulated sugar; half and half (about 2 tablespoons each); on top of cooling rack. Let cool for 2 hours. While waiting for the meringue to cool, make the filling. Spread evenly with filling, leaving 1-inch space on all sides. Leave until the filling is very cool but not refrigerated. Roll lengthwise into a 14-inch cylinder. Cut two pieces of waxed paper and place on each end of roll to prevent filling from leaking out. Filling Procedure: Combine sugar, flour, and butter in a double boiler over low fire and stir until sugar is totally dissolved. Add egg yolks, zest and cook, stirring constantly until mixture coats a wooden spoon. An old fashioned way to test if it’s ready is to place water in a small dish and drop a bit of the filling into the water and it’s ready when you can almost make a little ball with it. Be careful not to overcook or it will be difficult to spread...

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