Chocolate Meringue Cake

I had this craving for brownies AND pavlova over the weekend so a date was set Saturday night. Just me, my mixer and the oven. 

It is such a great mash-up of my two favorite desserts: chocolatey, cakey layer topped with crisp meringue softened with softly whipped cream. The strawberries added the fresh element that paired together with both the cream and chocolate. I'm sure other berries would work well, maybe even fruits in season. 

It was such an easy cake to whip up. The longest wait was spent for the cooling of the cake which is needed before the whipped cream is added. The finished cake is impressive, making others think more time and effort was spent. 

I didn't realize I had ran out of berries late Saturday night so cake was assembled and enjoyed after Sunday supper. My family was happy to enjoy this with me. And my sons now call this a "just because" cake. 

Chocolate Meringue Cake

adapted from The Joy of Baking

Chocolate Layer:

4 large egg yolks

175g AP flour

60g cocoa powder

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

152g butter, room temperature

130g granulated sugar

1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

110g milk, room temperature

Meringue Layer:

4 large egg whites

1/4 tsp cream of tartar

175g granulated sugar

Chantilly Cream:

480g heavy whipping cream

45g granulated sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to325F. Prepare two 8-inch springform cake pans by oil spray and lining with parchment then spray again.

Sift flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt into a medium bowl, set aside.

In a mixer with paddle attachment, cream butter over medium-high speed, adding sugar a tablespoon at a time. Once added, keep mixing until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.

Reduce speed to medium and add egg yolks one at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping bottom of bowl.

Reduce speed to low. Add cocoa-flour mixture in 3 batches alternating with milk and beat until just combined.

Place batter into your prepared pan. The batter will be thick, it helps to smooth out with an offset spatula, set aside.

In a clean mixer with whisk attachment, beat egg whites in medium speed with cream of tartar until frothy. Turn speed to high and beat until stiff peaks form.

Evenly divide meringue between the two pans, smoothing tops. Bake for 24-28, switching sides halfway through. Transfer in rack to cool completely.

To make the Chantilly cream, place cream, sugar and vanilla in a chilled bowl and whisk until soft peaks form.

To assemble: place one layer of cake, meringue side up on a serving plate. Spread half of the cream and add berries in an even layer. Top with second layer of cake and repeat. Best served the day it's assembled. Cake can be kept in the refrigerator for a day.  

Fresh Fig Ice Cream with Blue Cheese Cookies

 

It's been many years now that my family have been enjoying our neighbor's bounty of figs; we are truly lucky to have friends willing to share them with us. Our neighbor have several trees of Black Mission variety in his property, also ones he grew from cuttings he brought in from his home country that have finally started to bear fruit this year. So for weeks,my family and I would feast on figs every single day.

We eat them fresh as is, or with cheese and crackers for a snack. We also make our usual jam to be enjoyed months later. And every year, I try new recipes using figs for my family to enjoy. We've already made Fig Newton and Fig Bars which is always a hit with my kids. I've also baked them into a Fig and Almond Cake before and just recently paired them with goat cheese to make Cheesecake Muffins.

Fresh Fig Ice Cream is a totally different way of enjoying figs. A simple recipe, basically a fig jam blended with cream, but it's the coldness on your tongue and added creaminess that makes this a really decadent treat.

I also baked some blue cheese cookies to enjoy with the ice cream for an added savory component. They also added another texture, crisp edges and soft centers of the cookies -- I loved the combination of two together.

I played around and made some ice cream sandwiches but with mixed results. I think because I placed the assembled ice cream sandwiches back in the freezer and the cookies hardened. This made it difficult to bite into and resulted in the ice cream being squeezed out from the sides. Next time, they just need to be enjoyed right away.

Fresh Fig Ice Cream
adapted from David Lebovitz, recipe in Serious Eats

2 pounds (1 kg) fresh figs (about 20)
125 ml (1/2 cup) water
1 lemon
150 g (3/4 cup) granulated sugar
250ml (1 cup) heavy cream
1/2 tsp freshly-squeezed lemon juice, or more to taste

1. Cut stems off the figs and cut into 8 pieces. Place figs in a medium pan with water and zest from lemon. Cover pot and bring to a boil over medium-heat. Stir occasionally and cook until they are tender, about 10 minutes.
2. Remove lid, add the sugar and continue cooking. Keep stirring until thickened or has consistency of jam. Remove from heat, let it cool completely. Transfer to a blender of food processor and puree to desired consistency (I left mine with little chunks of figs, you may process until smooth).
3. Add cream and lemon juice to blender and combine. Taste for flavor, add more lemon juice if you needed.
4. Place in the refrigerator to chill completely. Freeze following your ice cream makers instructions.

*Fresh Fig Jam can be made by following above recipe, using only the first four ingredients and follow instructions up to step 2.

Blue Cheese Cookies
adapted from :pastry studio:

175g (6 oz) blue cheese, softened
56g (4 Tbsp) butter, softened
80g granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
180g (1 1/2 cup) flour

1. Place blue cheese, butter, sugar and salt in a food processor and blend until creamy.
2. Add flour and pulse until it comes together. Remove and form into two disks of dough.
3. Cover completely with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator to chill overnight.
4. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
5. Roll dough into 1/4-inch thick and cut out cookies using cutter, about 2 inches in size.
6. Place in a parchment-lined baking sheet, bake for 15-18 minutes, or until edges are golden.
7. Transfer to wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container.

Blackberry-Pecan Snack Cake for The Cake Slice

This will be the last month The Cake Slice will be baking from the book Cake Keeper Cakes by Lauren Chattman. I have not been very active this year with our baking group due to work so made sure I made time this weekend to bake Blackberry-Pecan Snack Cake.

It just happens that my mother-in-law was also throwing a small party this weekend and she had put me in charge of desserts. I know that she adores fruits and streusel in her baked goods so made this cake for her.

The recipe asked for blackberries but blueberries or raspberries may also be used. I happen to have all three so decided to put a combination of all three berries. A simple recipe that uses only a little bit of butter with sour cream giving it richness. The batter is spiced by cloves and nutmeg while the streusel has cinnamon along with chopped pecans.

The party got a little hectic but was able to take a quick picture of the desserts table. Along with the Blackberry-Pecan Snack Cake front and center, I also baked Peanut Butter & Jelly Mini Muffins, Guava & Cheese Pastries, Leche Flan, Cheesecake with Blueberry Sauce, Coconut Sandwich Cookies with Passion fruit Cream and Brownies. My husband joined in the baking fun by making Cream Puffs and Seven-Layer Gelatin.

The cake was quickly eaten even with the assortment of other desserts on the table. I was glad I made time to bake this cake.

The Blackberry-Pecan Snack Cake recipe can be seen at Amazon, just click the "look inside" the book function.

Peanut Butter and Jelly Muffins

It has been one of those weekends, very busy but enjoyed every minute of it! My mother-in-law had a small party at her house and she put me in charge of desserts. I was very excited to get baking and actually spent a whole day and a half baking treats. (I took a quick picture and shared it on Twitter.)

One of the treats are these Peanut Butter and Jelly Mufins, a simple and easy recipe with flavors that appeal to any kid, especially the young at heart.


Peanut Butter and Jelly Muffins
makes 24 mini muffins

The original recipe uses milk and a teaspoon of lemon zest, I used yogurt and vanilla. I also added a few sprinkles, just a little something since these were bound for a party after all. :)

245g (1 3/4 cups) all-purpose flour
100g (1/2 cup) sugar
15g (1 TBSP) baking powder
5g (1/2 tsp) salt
2 eggs
160ml (2/3 cup) whole milk yogurt, room temperature
1/3 cup butter, melted
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 grape jelly
sprinkles, optional

Prefheat oven to 375F degrees
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt to combine.
In a small bowl, beat eggs. Mix in yogurt, butter and vanilla.
Add the wet ingredients over the dry ingredients. Quickly stir to combine but do not overbeat.
Spoon batter into muffins tins halfway. Add peanut butter jelly in the center. Cover with more batter until its filled to top. Place a few sprinkles, if using.
Bake for 15-17 minutes or until it pass toothpick test.
Remove from oven, let cool in pans for 5 minutes. Remove from pan and serve.

Doughnut Muffins for Muffin Monday

Ever since I joined Muffin Monday, I find myself looking forward more enthusiastically to Mondays. I mean a little baked good can really get your week to a great start. This week's recipe is Doughnut Muffins, the easiest recipe so far.

The original recipe makes about 10 regular-sized muffins. I decided to make mini muffins to mimic the doughnut holes and I yielded 24 minis. These muffins were just slightly sweet, baked with cinnamon and nutmeg, and dipped in more cinnamon sugar once they come out of the oven.

What made baking these muffins really fun for me was the option of adding a jam filling. I went crazy and added what I have in my pantry: candied kumquats, chocolate chips, passionfruit jam and pumpkin butter. :)

While they were baking, I thought to put different toppings so my family will know what's inside. Chocolate ganache for the kumquat, powdered sugar on the chocolate chips, sprinkles on the passionfruit and cinnamon sugar on the pumpkin butter ones.

My boys had lots of fun baking (and eating) these doughnut muffins that they've already requested to bake more this week. They have also made a list of fillings they want to want to try like peanut butter and grape jelly, Nutella, strawberry preserves and peach jam.

I wanted to try adding bacon jam myself. :)

Doughnut Muffins

250g (1 3/4 cup) all purpose flour
10g (1 1/2 tsp) baking powder
3g (1/2 tsp) salt
3g (1/2 tsp) ground nutmeg
2g (1/4 tsp) ground cinnamon
150g (3/4 cup) sugar
80ml (1/3 cup) oil
1 large egg, lightly beaten
180ml (3/4 cup) milk
fillings: jams, preserves, chocolate, Nutella

cinnamon-sugar topping:
1/4 cup melted butter
50g (1/3 cup) sugar
8g (1 tsp) ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350F degrees.
Prepare muffin pans, either with pan spray of liners.
In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, nutmeg and cinnamon.
In a small bowl, combine sugar, oil, egg and milk. Stir mixture into the dry ingredients.
Fill pans halfway with batter, add half a teaspoon of desired fillings, top with more batter until 3/4 full.
Bake for 15-17 minutes or until toothpick test comes clean.
Remove from pan and brush tops with melted butter then dip in cinnamon sugar mixture.

Muffin Monday is an initiative by Baker Street. A culinary journey of sharing a wickedly delicious muffin recipe every week. Drop in a quick line to join her on her journey to make the world smile and beat glum Monday mornings week after week.

Coffee Cake Muffins for Muffin Mondays

I can't believe it's been so long since I've posted! I was unexpectedly called to work in short notice and as always, it took longer than planned. I ended up working four weeks straight (mostly 16-hour days) with only a total of two days off. This surely got this little old blog of mine neglected.

So when work finally ended Thursday, I was excited to start cooking and baking again in my own kitchen. Annapet of The Daily Palette and Malou of Skip to Malou suggested I bake muffins with them. I've seen how much fun they've been having putting their own spin on a muffin recipe so of course I said YES.

This week we are baking Coffee Cake Muffins from Martha Stewart. These little cakes are moist and really tender due to sour cream and not only topped but also filled with crumbly streusel. A little mishap when I baked them yesterday, not realizing the recipe yields 12 jumbo size or 24 standard size muffins, I only used 1 standard muffin pan that only holds a dozen so you could probably just imagine the mess that ensued putting double the batter in one muffin pan.

So today, I decided to bake them again using the correct proportions and they came out so much better. I ended up using yogurt for the sour cream since I had used it all from the previous batch. This time, I also added a few sprinklings of Sugar, Chocolate & Coffee Beans before placing them in the oven. I bought this new item, a grinder gadget from Trader Joe's. Basically a pepper mill-type grinder filled with sugar crystals, chocolate and coffee beans. It produces coarse grinds of all three that gives you a little something crunchy-sweet with hints of chocolate and coffee. (though they looked like they were sprinkled with salt and pepper!) I have been putting it on every thing lately, from ice cream and yogurt to buttered toast and cereal. So if there's a Trader Joe's near where you live, I recommend you get one and try it for yourself.

Also want to share you my new cake stand. I know this style have been around awhile but I finally found one (and for a steal, too) so decided to get it as a gift for me for working so hard this past month. The best feature is that I can put different kinds of ribbons through it to match the treats I've baked. Also perfect since I now have another way to use my collection of vintage ribbons. :)

Muffin Monday is an initiative by Baker Street. A culinary journey of sharing a wickedly delicious muffin recipe every week. Drop in a quick line to join her on her journey to make the world smile and beat glum Monday mornings week after week.

Lychee Mousse Cake

Though I have been absent here for a couple of months, I've been baking up plenty of cakes. Last month, my youngest son turned seven and I baked him his request for a pineapple cake. This month alone, six people I know celebrated their birthdays. They all love to receive a cake since I've started the tradition several years back of baking birthday cakes. This Lychee Mousse Cake was especially baked for my sister-in-law.

Lately, I've been experimenting with my go-to Chiffon Cake recipe and adapting it to different flavors. I like to pair the chiffon cakes with a similar lighter fillings and found mousse to be perfect. So far these past weeks I've made pineapple (for my son's Pineapple Chiffon Cake), strawberry, chocolate and vanilla (for my niece's Neapolitan Banana Split Chiffon Cake), and peach-mango (for my other niece).

I've even gone and baked a Turon Chiffon Cake. This was just to satisfy a craving for turon when I found myself stuck at home without lumpia wrappers. This one didn't have a mousse filling but turned out a success so hope to bake another one soon to share with you.

But for now I'd like to share you my Lychee Chiffon Cake. The cake were baked in cake pans instead of the traditional angel cake or tube pans. The airy Lychee Mousse was filled in between the two cake layers and more mousse were spread on top. The cake was then finished with a little whipped cream and left for a few hours in the refrigerator to set. I made the cake in the morning and we enjoyed it after my sister-in-law's birthday dinner.

I used canned lychees since they are readily available. Realizing the canned lychees had a tinge of peachy color from the canning process, I added a few drops of red food coloring which gave the yellow cake batter (yellow from the egg yolks) a salmon-peachy colored hue which complemented the lychees a little.

I have already made plans to make this cake again. Next time I will try adding a mirror glaze like the ones I always see on those fancy patisseries.


Lychee Mousse Cake
make 9-inch cake

For Lychee Cake:
1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 Tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup vegetable oil
5 large eggs, separated
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 cup lychee syrup (from the canned lychees)
1/2 tsp. cream of tartar
few drops of red food color, optional

For Lychee Mousse:
1 cup lychee
1/4 cup lychee syrup (from canned lychees)
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup sugar
2 egg whites
1/2 TBSP gelatin
1 cup whipping cream

Whipped Cream Frosting:
2 cups whipping cream
2 TBSP sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract


For Lychee Cake:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Use pan spray or butter to grease bottoms of two 9-in pans. Line them with parchment paper. Do not grease the parchment or sides of pans.

In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt; set aside.

In a small bowl, add oil, egg yolks, vanilla, and lychee syrup; mix to combine. Add to flour mixture and whisk until smooth.

In another large bowl, beat egg whites and cream of tartar using an electric mixer until stiff peaks form.

With a rubber spatula, gently fold beaten egg whites into batter just until incorporated. (DO NOT OVER MIX or you will deflate the air bubbles and cake will not be light and airy.) Add food coloring is using.

Divide into 2 prepared pans. Bake until a toothpick inserted into center of cake comes out clean, about 20-22 minutes.

Invert pans on cooling rack and let it cool completely, about 1 1/2 hour.

For Lychee Mousse:
Place lychee and syrup together in a blender or food processor and puree. Pour into a large bowl and set aside.(A)

In a small pot on medium heat, boil water and sugar until it turns into a syrup, about 5 minutes. Do not let it turn color, syrup should still be clear. Meanwhile beat egg whites to soft peak. Then gradually add in sugar syrup in a slow steady stream until stiff peaks form. Be careful with the hot syrup. Set aside.(B)

Whip the cream until soft peaks form, do not overbeat. Set aside.(C)

In a small bowl, soak gelatin in 2 tbsp of water for about 5 minutes to bloom. Then melt the gelatin in the microwave 15-20 seconds. Stir and add into the lychee mixture.(A)

Fold in the egg white (B) and whipped cream (C) into lychee-gelatin mixture (A) until just combined.

Whipped Cream Frosting:
Chill the mixing bowl and whisk you will be using by placing in the freezer, about 10 minutes.

Add very chilled whipping cream in bowl along with sugar and vanilla. Whip until soft peaks form.

Cake Assembly:
Place one layer of cake on cake board. Spoon about 2/3 of lychee mousse. Spread evenly up to 1/2 edge of cake.

Top with the other cake layer and spoon the remaining mousse.

Decorate the sides of cake with whipping cream frosting.

Place in refrigerator to chill until set, 4-6 hours but overnight preferable.

Ginataang Bilo-Bilo for Kulinarya Cooking Club

This month's theme for Kulinarya is White to correspond for the wedding month of June chosen by Adora of Adora's Box and Diona of Tita Flips. 

I made Ginataang Bilo-Bilo, a snack or dessert that consists of tubers like sweet potatoes, yams and cassava plus tropical fruits like saba (or burro) bananas and jackfruit. It may also include sago (tapioca) pearls and all are simmered in sweetened coconut milk that produces a creamy sweet confection.

They are sometimes called Ginataang Halo-Halo due to similarities to the assorted ingredients you would find in the popular shaved ice treat. But once you put little chewy nuggets of glutinous rice, it somehow gets renamed Ginataang Bilo-Bilo to let you know you'll be getting something extra special.

My children all loved having these little rice balls, especially after I made Ube-Coconut Rice Balls. They especially liked forming them with their little hands, just like the way I remembered when they played with Play-Doh. And while we are cooking them, I especially never tire of watching their surprised faces once the balls float to the top of the boiling water.

I remember eating bowlfuls of this growing up. My family would always make them by the pot. We served ourselves, ladle them out into bowls to enjoy straight away. This way is especially good for warming up during the cold and rainy season. But during the humid, hot summers I would place my bowl and in the fridge (in the freezer if I'm being impatient) and wait a little while to enjoy and savor each spoonful. When eaten cold, the coconut milk thickens even more giving it an almost pudding-like consistency.

This treat is naturally gluten- and dairy-free and very easy to make. Glutinous rice flour is available in Asian markets and Asian aisle of major supermarkets. Do not let the term glutinous confuse you, it does not have gluten. This only means that the rice flour is made from a sticky type of sweet rice.


Ginataang Bilo-Bilo
serves about 6

1/2 cup dried sago pearls
1/2 light brown sugar
3/4 cup glutinous rice flour
1/4 cup water (more, if needed)
2-13.5 fl. oz. cans coconut milk
1 small cassava/yucca, peeled and cubed
1 medium sweet potato, peeled and cubed
6 pods jackfruit, chopped
3 saba bananas, quartered lengthwise and chopped
1/2 cup sugar (or more to taste)


Prepare the sago pearls:
Place sago in a medium bowl and fill halfway with water. Over high heat, bring to a boil. Lower heat to medium-low and let it simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally to avoid sticking together. Strain the sago and rinse under cold water. Check for doneness. If still hard and chewy, repeat process or until the center of each pearl becomes translucent. Drain and rinse under cold water. Place sago back in pot with 1/2 cup brown sugar and 2 cups of water. Heat until sugar dissolves. Turn off heat and let it cool. Set Aside.

Prepare the bilo-bilo:
In a small bowl place rice flour. Stir in water and mix thoroughly. If needed, add water a tablespoon at a time until dough comes together. Dough should be firm but pliable. Shape a piece into a log shape about 1/4 inch in diameter. Cut 1/4 inch piece off the log and shape into balls. Set aside.
Bring a pot filled halfway with water and let it boil. Once it comes to a rolling boil, lower heat to simmer and drop the rice balls, several at a time. Take them out as they float to the top. This takes about a minute to cook.

Prepare the Ginataan:
Place coconut milk and cassava into a medium-sized pot and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Lower heat to low and let it simmer covered for 5 minutes.
Add the sweet potato and jackfruit. Stir in and let boil. Cover and let simmer 5 minutes.
Next to add is the bananas and sugar. Stir to combine and let it come to a boil another 5 minutes. Taste for sweetness, you may add more if you prefer it sweeter. Check for doneness of the cassava and potatoes and let it simmer until done. Do not let it boil over high heat, the potatoes may fall apart.
Add the sago (without the brown sugar syrup) and rice balls and simmer until heated through.

Enjoy right away warm. Any extra can be placed in the refrigerator and eaten cold.

Ube-Coconut Rice Balls

#TaytoRiCo.

Huh?

It's a Cooking Challenge concocted up right on Twitter by @jmfield, @DailySpud and @TangledNoodle to come up with a dish, sweet or savory, that consists of potato (Tayto), Rice (Ri) and Coconut (Co). I was definitely up for the challenge.

Right away I wanted to make Ginataang Bilo-Bilo (sometimes called Ginataang Halo-Halo) since all three are well represented in this dish: cubed ube (purple yam), or kamote (sweet potato) for Tayto part; bilo-bilo (balls made out of glutinous rice, same as mochi) for Ri part; and sweetened gata (coconut milk) for Co part.

I got called in to work this week so cooking for this challenge got sidetracked. The night before the challenge is due, I gathered all my ingredients and realized my husband had used the last of the canned coconut milk! The only other coconut in my pantry is dessicated coconut. So now this has become a real challenge, indeed.

Since I was pressed for time (this was all done yesterday morning, the day we post on the challenge), I ended up just roasting the ube. I mashed it up and used it to fill the bilo-bilo which are now the size of doughnut holes (double their usual size). They were cooked in simmering water. Once they floated up (a sign they are done), the balls were ladled out and rolled in dessicated coconut.

All this was done early in the morning for about an hour. While talking pictures, the boss called asking me to come in earlier. I left for work and didn't get back home until midnight last night. So my post is a day late but overall it was plenty of fun.

They came out better than I expected. The chewy rice balls gave way to a soft, creamy ube surprise. The dessicated coconut gave it a crunchy texture and the flavor went great with ube as they always do.  Next time though I would make it using sweetened coconut since it was not at all sweet, all the sweetness came from the roasted ube. The kids and I ended up dipping this in sugar in between bites.  Ube Halaya (a jam of sorts using purple yam) would also make a great filling. And probably the best would be to use freshly grated coconut mixed in with sugar and sesame seeds (just like palitaw).

Ube-Coconut Rice Balls
makes about 20

small purple sweet potato (about 6 ounces)
1 1/2 cups glutinous rice flour
1/2 cup lukewarm water (or more as needed)
1 cup dessicated coconut
sugar to taste

1. Roast ube in preheated 425F degree oven for 30-35 minutes or until soft to touch. Let cool, scoop out of the skin and mash with fork.

2. In a medium saucepan, fill halfway with water and put to boil over high heat.

3. Meanwhile In a medium bowl, place rice flour. Stir in water and mix thoroughly. Add water a tablespoon at a time until dough comes together. Dough should be firm but pliable.

4. Pull one teaspoonful of dough, flatten into 3-inch circle and place about half a teaspoon of ube in center. Gather the edges onto itself to seal. Rub between the palms of your hands to make a ball.

5. Once water boil, lower heat to simmer and drop in rice balls a few at a time. Once it floats, ladle out and roll in coconut. Serve warm or room temperature with sugar for dipping.

Online Bake Sale for Japan

Today I am participating in an Online Bake Sale for Japan organized by Sabrina of Tomato Tart. 

I will be making Strawberry Polvoron and Green Tea Polvoron. I made them extra cute and shaped them into Hello Kitty, hoping they get lots of bids which means more money raised to give to Second Harvest Japan.

I made Strawberry Polvoron before here. I will be sending a dozen Strawberry and another dozen Matcha Green Tea to the highest bidder. Some will be shaped like Hello Kitty, covered in white candy melts. Also bow-shaped ones, just like the ones Hello Kitty wears. :)

I will also be making my Scrabble Cookies. Delicately crisp Meyer Lemon Sugar Cookies cut to the size of Scrabble letter tiles. I will provide 100 "letter tile" cookies with the accurate letter distribution so you can actually play Scrabble with them, if you like.

Please make sure to check out and bid for Annapet of The Daily Palette Lenguas de Gato.
Also Tina of Pinay in Texas made Food of the Gods.
Jean of Lemons and Anchovies baked Chocolate Chili Bites.

Please log in to Twitter and follow #OnlineBake4Japan and please bid. Thank you.

UPDATE April 5, 2011: The Online Bake Sale raised $8269 -- three times the amount goal we set out! Thank you to everyone; I am very honored to be able to participate in this project. I am eagerly waiting for Sabrina to email me the person(s) that got the winning bid. If that's you, please leave me a comment, I am dying to find out.

Search for Pop-Tarts

My husband's favorite treat growing up are Pop-Tarts and of course he wanted our children to enjoy them like he did growing up. I don't like them very much (shh, don't tell him) for I find them too sweet for my taste. My husband and I can agree there are way too many unnecessary ingredients in these toaster pastries. So when he gets a craving, we usually buy this organic brand but this gave me a little project to search for a homemade version. This was my first try.

I started with a pate brisee and filled them with apples I've diced and simmered with some sugar, a little cinnamon and a vanilla pod taken out from my mason jar-filled homemade extract. The tops were brushed with some egg whites and baked for about 25 minutes.

Although they came out great, I can't really call them Pop-Tarts-toaster pastries. They were more hand pies or empanadas. I think a different dough is needed that's not too flaky and a little more crumbly. I'd probably use a jam or pureed filling since they came out "dome-y" as my boys said (after they inhaled them!). Next time, I'd like to glaze them and sprinkles, too.

If you have a recipe, please leave me a comment. Do you like Pop-Tarts? What's your favorite flavor? What fillings would you like to see in one?

Conversation Heart Brownies

Just a little something to let you know I'm back! While you wait while I work on more recipes to post, just a reminder that I am on Twitter. Follow me @carolineadobo and let's get this conversation going! :)

I used the brownie recipe in Thomas Keller's ad hoc cookbook (my favorite at the moment) baked in a heart-shaped silicone pan. I'm sure your favorite brownie recipe will work. Then cover in some candy melts once cooled. A simple treat to have for Valentine's Day.

Oh, and have a Happy Monday! ;)

Ube Chiffon Flan Bundt Cake

If you ask a Filipino what their favorite dessert is, more than likely their answer would be Leche Flan and/or anything with Ube (Purple Yam). I love them both so I didn't hesitate to put them together in this dessert so you get to enjoy two sweets at once: Ube Chiffon Flan Bundt Cake.

I first learned about the awesomeness that is Flan Cake from Tracey of Tangled Noodle last year when she posted her birthday cake recipe that combined a creamy coconut flan atop an airy mocha chiffon cake. I never even thought this was possible. Sure, I've added cream cheese to my flan before that resulted in Leche Flan Cheesecake. But this combined two totally different flavors and textures; and somehow both layers complemented each other. Very awesome.

I used my Leche Flan recipe and Banana Chiffon Cake recipe substituting ube for the banana. Well, technically I didn't use ube in this recipe since fresh ube is not available in the US. So for this flan cake, I used purple sweet potato (sometimes called Okinawan sweet potatoes) that I oven-roasted until cooked through and put through a ricer. As noted by Jun-Blog, purple sweet potatoes make a worthy substitute for ube. (And while I am being technical here, those orange-fleshed tubers sold as yams are NOT but really belong in the sweet potato family. A wiki search on yam explains more. Also, ube is not the same as taro.) If purple sweet potatoes cannot be found, I'm sure imported prepared ube halaya (in jars, available in Asian markets) can be used.

While preparing the chiffon cake batter, I was disappointed to see the vibrant purple color of the sweet potatoes turn into yucky cement-color gray when mixed with the yellow yolks so I resulted to adding in several drops of ube extract to recover some of the color and I'm sure this added even more ube flavor. The usual chiffon cake recipe makes for one bundt cake. The addition of flan to the pan means less cake batter so this recipe yielded me one big bundt cake and a smaller llanera (flan mold).


Ube Chiffon Flan Bundt Cake

For Flan:
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup water
12 egg yolks
1 can evaporated milk
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 tsp vanilla
pinch salt

For Ube Chiffon Cake:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 Tbsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
2 medium purple sweet potatoes, roasted and passed through ricer, 3/4 cup
1/2 cup vegetable oil
7 large eggs, separated
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 Tbsp. Ube extract
3/4 cup cold water
1/2 tsp. cream of tartar

Make the caramel. Mix sugar and water together in a small saucepan and stir until sugar dissolves. Bring mixture to boil in medium high heat until golden brown in color. Then pour into bundt pan and llanera. Swirl caramel around until it covers the bottom and sides of pan. Set aside to cool.
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Bring a pot full of water to boil needed for bain marie.
In a bowl, stir egg yolks. Add both milk and vanilla extract and salt. Stir to combine completely. Pour mixture through a strainer and set aside while you prepare the chiffon cake.

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt; set aside.In a medium bowl, place sweet potatoes, add oil, egg yolks, vanilla, ube extract and water; mix to combine. IF UBE IS LUMPY, PASS MIXTURE THROUGH A FINE STRAINER. Add to flour mixture and whisk until smooth.
In another large bowl, beat egg whites and cream of tartar using an electric mixer until stiff peaks form. With a rubber spatula, gently fold beaten egg whites into batter just until incorporated. Set aside.

Pour about 2 cups of leche flan mixture into the caramel-lined bundt pan. Put the remainder (about 1 cup) into the llanera.

Spoon the chiffon cake batter into the bundt pan. DON'T WORRY, THE CHIFFON CAKE BATTER WILL STAY FLOATING ON TOP OF LECHE FLAN. Fill only up to 2 inches from top of pan. Pour remaining batter in the llanera.

Pour boiling water into a bigger pan that would fit both the bundt and llanera. This is your bain marie, place the cake pans in and bake for 30 minutes. Check doneness of cake by inserting toothpick; the llanera should be ready since it smaller. Take out to cool. The bundt will need another 15-25 minutes. Check doneness by using toothpick. Take out of oven and let cool completely.
Cover top with plastic wrap and place in refrigerator to chill at least 4 hours, preferably overnight.
To serve, invert onto a plate and enjoy!

November 15 is National Bundt Day. Mary, The Food Librarian has been celebrating for a month, posting one bundt each day leading to this day. She had invited her readers to celebrate with her by posting a bundt cake - I'm glad to join the celebration!

Suman na Kamoteng Kahoy (Cassava Steam Cake) for Kulinarya Cooking Club

The Kulinarya Cooking Club chose to highlight Suman this month. Suman are Filipino cakes that are wrapped in leaves and steamed. Every town or region have their own specialty. Most suman are usually made with glutinous rice and cooked in coconut milk. Some suman recipes require the rice to be soaked, even treated with lye, before being rolled in leaves. Banana leaves are usually used to wrap them into little logs before it goes to cook in a steamer. Other wrappings used are palm fronds or sometimes even placed inside a bamboo node. But definitely all suman are steamed.

Thanks to Sheryl and Divina for choosing suman this month. If it weren't for them, I would not have stepped out of my comfort zone and tried cooking suman from scratch.My family never bothered to make suman at our home since my mother knows plenty of friends that make them. Even though my family makes biko, puto, espasol and other kakanin, growing up I never saw suman being made at home which made me believe special wrapping skills is needed to pull it off. (Though my research showed me one that is: Suman sa Ibus, even my Mom confirmed it yesterday when I came over her house to make my suman.)

I hope to work myself to that level but first, let's start with something that would be the easiest to start with. I didn't use glutinous rice either with my suman. Only four ingredients were used in this suman: grated cassava, grated mature coconut, sugar and banana leaves. Even easier, the ingredients can be found in the freezer aisle of your local Asian grocer.

Suman na Kamoteng Kahoy
makes about 20

banana leaves
2 bags (1-lb each) frozen grated fresh cassava, thawed (about 4 cups)
1 bag (1-lb.) frozen mature coconut, thawed (about 2 cups)
1 cup granulated sugar

Prepare banana leaves. Wipe down both sides of leaves with damp towel. Cut into 9" by 9" square. Turn stovetop and pass leaves through the heat until it wilts slightly. This makes the leaves more pliable and resistant to cracks when rolling the suman. Be careful, the leaves will steam and turn darker as they are heated.

Prepare steamer by putting water to boil. While waiting, combine the cassava, coconut and sugar in a large bowl until thoroughly mixed. Spoon about 2-3 tablespoons of cassava mixture on center of banana leaf. Fold over the mixture with one end and roll over. Tuck the ends under and place on its seam. Put in steamer with the water in rolling boil for about 30 minutes. Let it stand to cool, about 10 minutes. You may serve warm or room temperature.

These suman were a success at my Mom's house. Everyone wanted several and was quite impressed that I made them from scratch. I had my mom watching over my shoulders the whole time but I think she approved since I saw her sneak another one to eat for later. :)  The banana leaves add a nice hint of flavor to the suman, it had a strong smell coming out of the steamer but mellowed out when it cooled. If banana leaves are not available, you may roll them in foil (as my mother suggested) or just spoon them into small cups for steaming. Though they won't be called suman anymore but called Pasingaw (to steam) which I realized I posted on it a couple of years back.

I managed to save a few for breakfast this morning and my boys ate them with some leftover ganache. They come up with great ideas, the ganache put them over the top! Next time, I will even use fresh cassava and coconut -- I'm sure the flavor would be even better!

Kulinarya was started by a group of Filipino foodies living in Sydney, who are passionate about the Filipino culture and its colorful cuisine. Each month we will showcase a new dish along with their family recipes. By sharing these recipes, we hope you find the same passion and love for Filipino Food as we do.



Please visit my fellow Kulinarya members for their Suman creations:

Kath - http://www.acupcakeortwo.com/
Trisha - http://sugarlace.com/
Trissa - http://trissalicious.com/
Olive - http://www.latestrecipes.net/
Ninette - http://bigboldbeautifulfood.blogspot.com/
Peach- http://www.thepeachkitchen.com/
Althea- http://www.busogsarap.com/
Asha - http://forkspoonnknife.blogspot.com/
Malou - http://www.impromptudiva.com/
Cherrie - http://sweetcherriepie.blogspot.com/
Acdee - http://acdee.blogspot.com/
Valerie - http://www.acanadianfoodie.com/
Sheryl - http://crispywaffle.com/
Divina - http://www.sense-serendipity.com/
Anna - http://www.anniesfoodjournal.blogspot.com/
Dahlia - http://www.energychef.blogspot.com/
Joy - http://joyjoycreativeoutlet.blogspot.com/
Maribel - http://www.foodgeek.webs.com/
Tressa
Jen - http://www.jen-at-work.blogspot.com/
Pia - http://bisayajudkaayo.blogspot.com/
Malaka - http://thegrandinternational.com/.
Mimi - http://lapinchecocinera.blogspot.com/
Erika - http://ivoryhut.com/
Kat - http://www.caterersearch.com/tabletalk/default.aspx

Lavender-Vanilla Marshmallows, Cardamom-Lavender Ganache and Hot Chocolate

I love lavender, the scent and color but I have to admit I have had no experience cooking with lavender. So when I found out lavender is October's theme of International Incident Party I was stumped. When I asked my husband for ideas, he jokingly told me to make soap so needless to say I am on my own here.

Last minute inspiration came from my pantry, a jar of vanilla sugar staring right at me. You see, every time I use vanilla, I save the vanilla pods and put it in a jar filled with sugar. So I took some of the vanilla sugar and added some lavender buds in there. I let it "marinate" a few days but I'm sure my lavender-vanilla sugar is not enough for this party. So just made simple marshmallows with them.

Lavender-Vanilla Sugar

2 cups sugar

1 pod vanilla

1 tsp. lavender buds

Place sugar in a glass jar with a tight-fitting lid. Split vanilla pod lengthwise and scrape out the seeds with the tip of a paring knife. Add the vanilla "caviar" and lavender to the sugar and stir to combine. Place the vanilla pod in as well. Let the sugar steep for several days before using. The longer it "marinates", the more scent is absorbed by the sugar. (Alternatively, add sugar, vanilla and lavender in a food proccessor and pulse until incorporated. Transfer into a glass jar. Add the vanilla pod, close jar and let it steep at least several days before using.)

Lavender-Vanilla Marshmallows

3 TBSP unflavored gelatin (3 envelopes of Knox brand)

3/4 cup water, divided

2 cups lavender-vanilla sugar

2/3 cup corn syrup

pinch salt

1 tsp. vanilla

confectioners' sugar, for dusting

Grease a 9- X 13-inch glass pan and sprinkle with confectioners' sugar, set aside.

In a bowl of a stand mixer, pour 1/2 cup water and sprinkle gelatin. Let gelatin bloom, at least 10 minutes.

In a medium bowl, combine remaining 1/4 cup water, sugar, salt and corn syrup and bring to a boil in high heat, stirring until sugar is completely dissolved.

Once boiling, lower heat and put in a candy thermometer. Let sugar syrup boil until it reaches 250 degrees F, this will take about 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from heat.

Turn your mixer on low and drizzle in the sugar syrup. Turn up the speed a little at a time, being careful not to splatter the hot syrup. Once syrup begins to foam and/or turn white, you may turn to highest speed. Let it whip about 8 to 10 minutes, or until you notice volume stopped increasing.

Add vanilla and stir it in for a minute. Pour out into the prepared pan. Flatten with an oiled spatula or hand (be careful, it will still be quite hot). Let it set at least 4 hours, preferably overnight.

Sift more confectioners' sugar and turn it out into a cutting board and cut into desired shapes.

It's been raining for a couple of weeks and that means hot chocolate in our house. And of course, my boys would always ask for marshmallows when hot chocolate is involved. The added lavender to our usual vanilla marshmallows gave them a woodsy scent, almost like rosemary. The heat from the hot chocolate accented this scent further. But I should say that lavender was missed on my boys, even my husband. They were just happy to be sipping hot chocolate with cute marshmallows to keep them warm. :)

I thought I was finished with this lavender project until I saw the beautiful picture of Lavender-Honey-Cardamom-Lemon-Dark Chocolate Tart by Desserts for Breakfast this week. Then I read more about the combination of lavender with cardamom in Meeta's Flan at What's for Lunch, Honey? which was intriguing so decided to whip up some Cardamom-Lavender Ganache to go with the Marshmallows. Cardamom and lavender were not ones I would thought of combining, but they go so well together.  I made marshmallow buttons and filled the cut-out centers with the ganache.

Cardamom-Lavender Ganache

8 oz. semisweet chocolate, finely chopped

1 cup heavy cream

1 tsp. lavender buds

2 pods cardamom

Place chocolate in a medium, heat-proof bowl. Set aside.

In a small pot, heat cream, lavender and cardamom over medium heat until it comes to a boil. Remove pot from heat immediately. Strain cream through a strainer, pouring over the chocolate. Tap bowl slightly on counter so cream settles all the way to bottom of bowl. Let it sit for a minute undisturbed.

Using a rubber spatula, incorporate the cream into the chocolate until it is completely dissolved. It will thicken as it cool. Pour into the marshmallow cut-outs or as desired.

Cardamom-Lavender Hot Chocolate

4 cups whole milk

4 TBSP finely chopped semisweet chocolate

2 TBSP cocoa powder

1 TBSP sugar

1 tsp. lavender buds (optional)

1 pod, cardamom, slightly crushed (optional)

In a medium pan, bring all into a simmer over medium heat, stirring frequently to melt the chocolate. Do NOT let it boil. Pour into mugs (strain if using lavender and cardamom) and top with marshmallows.

Please head on over and click below to see what the others have created with lavender.