SOUTHERN CARAMEL CAKE

I haven't had a post in what seems like ages. Life happens as you know and we have to deal with important things before anything else. As I have done in the past five years, I always write a celebratory post on the anniversary of this blog. I am thankful that my readers have stayed despite it all. I have made a special cake for this occasion, which, were it possible, I would have preferred to have shared with you all. Nevertheless, just thinking that you will be reading this is enough to make me smile.

THE BEST CARROT CAKE

How is carrot cake for Easter? The Easter bunny eats carrots thats why. Carrots are not only super nutritious, they taste so good, too.  The lowly carrot, the larder staple, the dependable side, the earthy root crop takes center stage when made into a carrot cake. 

RED VELVET CRACKLE COOKIES

There is something so sexy about red velvet. Classy sexy. It is confirmed that red velvet cake is up there on the best cake ever list. Could cookies be the next best thing?

SAMBOS AND SILVANAS

Half of me wants to detox and diet but half of me wants to celebrate the new year. I am so thankful to have another year to look forward to, a blank chapter to fill with life stories. I know that sometimes we just get dragged along by life's currents that we are only half aware that time is ticking by. While it may seem that life just goes on and on, for someone like  me who has  experienced a drastic life changing event, life can seem pretty volatile. I have now learned that life is indeed fleeting. Our courses have been charted for us and we do not know where that leads and when we'll reach our final destination.  I'd like to take the opportunity to appreciate each day and enjoy life and everything it gives.

EGG PIE

A pie cooling on the window sill is such a pretty sight. The aroma is a scent sent from heaven. The prospect of the first bite just thrills the imagination. Baking a pie might seem a task if you think about it but it actually is an enjoyable activity once you start the process. I am not an avid pie maker but have always wanted to know how to make the perfect pie. The perfect pie has to have a great tasting filling and a crisp, flaky and buttery crust.

BEST EVER FRUITCAKE

There is a long running joke about just the one fruit cake making the rounds at Christmas, it being passed around like a hot potato. For the benefit of fruit cake lovers, I would like to debunk the myth. First of all, most fruit cake recipes make at least two loaves because of the amount of ingredients involved in making it. So if the joke were true, there should at least be two fruit cakes going around. Corniness aside, there are a lot of people who take fruit cake making seriously. I must say that I have tasted just a few fruit cakes that I really like. 

BLACK FOREST CAKE

When it comes to food, being "old fashioned" is a good thing. New trends are churned daily but there are tried and tested classics that we keep turning back to. 

Chocoholics may beg to differ but I like my chocolate cake layered with other flavours. 

YEMA CAKE

It has been four years since I've started this blog and it has been a wonderful journey. I thank everyone who often come to visit, those who leave comments, those who cook from the recipe and those who do and come back to tell me about it. The blog has become a big part of my life and I am very thankful for it.

THAI STICKY RICE AND MANGO DESSERT

Sticky rice is enjoyed in the east as in the west. Although treated differently, they are usually made into comforting desserts. 

CUSTAROONS®

Most Filipinos inherently have a sweet tooth. Pastries, cakes and sweets are regular indulgences. Over the years, bake shops have become more and more popular and each of them vie to out wit each other. Thanks to social media, what's new in the food world spread like wildfire.

COCONUT JAM

Coconut is the cheap and cheerful ingredient that we use a lot in Filipino cooking, both sweet and savoury. Coconut milk is more used than dairy milk and is so versatile. It can be reduced, curdled to render the oil, baked into cakes and mixed into sauces.

Coconut jam is the very common spread used to fill breads. It is made with coconut milk and sugar and reduced to a very thick paste. It is sweet, really sweet. It is in fact a sweet remedy for mouth ulcers.

ALMOND JELLY

I still have to find out how almond extract smells unlike the almond nut. Nevertheless, I love almonds in both in forms. 

Almond jelly is one of the few desserts on the Chinese restaurant menu and the one that I like best. Slivers of soft set almond flavoured jelly is served with fruits and more almond flavouring. It is a very simple concoction, yet the taste is so perfect.

CHOCOLATE POPSICLES

I am so happy about the weather. I can't believe how hot it is here in London. It has become a rare occurrence in the past few years that I have resigned to keeping my summer clothes in permanent storage.

BANANA CREAM PIE

Bananas have been branded as boring by some. The lack of fruit choices, except for bananas, have been bemoaned too many times.

In fairness to bananas, I'd like to dispute the fact that they are boring. They are the perfect comfort fruit. Its custardy taste, creamy texture and non-acidic flavour is the perfect baby food, grown up snack or faddy eater bribe.

Bananas are a good standby fruit. They are friends with ice cream and peanut butter. If they go past their prime, then they can be made into pancakes or loafs. If by chance you find someone still unconvinced, surround it in rich custard and put it in a pie shell. Whip some cream and dollop on top to seal the deal. 

I am a bit OCD about bananas. I like them at a perfect stage of ripeness. I have to catch them at their peak, just as they emerge from being under ripe and before they go too soft and too sweet. This is when they are perfect for pie.

I like the traditional banana cream pie but I was thinking of a custard enriched with more egg yolks and condensed milk. I love using condensed milk because it gives a gooey texture and caramel like flavour to desserts. This dessert sets just so that when sliced it remains gooey.

Ingredients for the biscuit base:

1 1/2 c. of digestive biscuit (about 13 biscuits) or graham cracker crumbs 

1/3 c. packed brown sugar

1/3 c. butter, melted

Instructions:

Tip: It is easier to take a cheesecake out of the pan if you put the base the wrong side up.

Line the bottom and sides of a spring form pan. Secure the paper to the pan with clips so that it doesn't move while filling.

The easiest way to make the crumbs is in a food processor. Add in the melted butter and sugar and give it a whizz to combine. 

Put the crumbs in the lined pan. Using the flat bottom of a measuring cup press the mixture firmly and evenly into the base.

Ingredients for the filling:

1/3 c. of plain flour
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tin of condensed milk
1 tin of evaporated milk
6 egg yolks
1 tsp. vanilla
2 tbsps. butter
4 ripe bananas, sliced into 1" thick chunks
1/3 c. whipping cream, whipped

Instructions:

Put the flour and salt together in a heavy pan. 

Mix the condensed and evaporated milk in a bowl together with the egg yolks.

Add this mixture a little bit at a time to the flour while whisking until a smooth lump free mixture is achieved.

Put the pan on low heat and cook the mixture while stirring. Cook until very thick and leaves a lasting trail when drizzled on itself. Add the butter and vanilla and blend in.

Transfer to a dish and cover with a piece of baking paper. Leave to cool until just warm.

Spoon about 1/3 of the filling into the prepare crust. Arrange half of the bananas on top of the custard. 

Repeat the layers ending with the custard. Swirl the top. Chill in the fridge. 

Top with the whipped cream just before serving.

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Brazo de Mercedes

Thanks for dropping by. It would be nice if we could meet up on FACEBOOK or TWITTER. 

CHOCOLATE MOUSSE CAKE

All the holidays seem to be tumbling forward at a very fast pace and I can't keep up; yet Father's day is rather special and is never ever to be missed. 

BLUE VELVET CAKE

Blue food is supposedly revolting. I remember hearing of an experiment where chicken was painted with blue food colouring. People who tried them found their taste off-putting and nothing like chicken at all.

I am a curious sort of person and, although I have never been good in science, I like doing experiments in my kitchen. The most popular post on this blog is the red velvet cake.  I like it so much and I believe that a good thing is worth repeating. Following the process of the red velvet cake recipe, I experimented on making a blue velvet cake: a velvet cake that's blue in both colour and flavour. 

IMPOSSIBLE CAKE (CHOCOFLAN)

I am a doubting Thomas when it comes to trying new recipes. Not that I doubt the recipe. I doubt my skills at following recipes. Sometimes though, there are recipes that I just have to try to make because they look so delicious. 

I love pouring custard rather than cream on chocolate cake so when I saw this recipe I knew this was something I'd like. Not only did it have chocolate cake and custard, it also had caramel. Just by the looks of it, I could tell how delicious it was. 

EASY LIME CHEESECAKE

Whenever there is a special day coming, I feel pressured into doing something big to mark the occasion. I don't mean to be a snarky spoil sport but seeing adverts showing what we should do makes me feel railroaded into doing something I do not want to do. We all know that the noble meaning of the occasion is lost in marketing strategies.

It is Mother's day on Sunday and the second one for me this year (UK Mother's day is in March). The true meaning of the occasion is to appreciate Mums, what they do and the role they hold. It is not about buying something for her at all. Buying her an I ❤ MUM mug (again) is not the way to make her happy.

BRAZO DE MERCEDES

This dessert was named after Mercedes's arm, which is the literal meaning of its name. I don't know the real origin of this dessert but the name and the use of a lot of egg yolks suggests that it probably is of Hispanic roots. It is a Filipino favourite but is not dissimilar to the Spanish brazo de gitano (gypsy's arm) which is a Swiss roll type dessert. It has the components of the Spanish canonigo and French Ile Flottante which are meringue islands floating in custard but in a jelly roll form.

CLASSIC TIRAMISU

Tiramisu is an Italian dessert which simply means "pick me up" or metaphorically "make me happy". This name cannot be more very apt because the creamy trifle is perked up with strong espresso and Marsala wine.