Ube Halaya

Ube halaya (or haleya, or heleya) is definitely one versatile Pinoy sweet classic. You can use it as a main ingredient for ice cream and for baking that flavorful cake or bread, or make it as a topping for a refreshing halo-halo. You can even eat it with vanilla ice cream or use it as a jam for your favorite plain bread. And of course, eat it as it is as a dessert. The options are endless!

It's an easy recipe and a good exercise to build arm muscles because stirring the liquid mixture to become jam-like is indeed challenging. But looking at the bright side, you will be rewarded with yummy and colorful dessert (with no artificial coloring whatsoever). Here's the recipe:

Ingredients:
2kg purple sweet potato (8 cups when grated)
4 packs (800ml) coconut milk
2 cans condensed milk
1 cup sugar
1 cup cheese (grated)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup butter
1 tbsp margarine (for topping)

Procedure:
1. In a saucepan, boil the purple sweet potatoes until tender. (You can check if its cooked when you can easily stuck a fork in it.)
2. Grate the sweet potatoes.
3. In a wok over medium heat, combine coconut milk, condensed milk, butter and sugar. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. When the sugar is melted, stir in the grated sweet potatoes and the vanilla extract. When it thickens, add the grated cheese. Continue stirring the mixture over low heat until it thickens like a jam.
4. Remove from fire and transfer it to individually-greased containers.
5. You can cover the containers once it cools and you can store it in the refrigerator.

It is best matched with macapuno or even kaong. And best served when it's cold!

Cheers!
Jane

Orange Cake

Here is a quick, easy-to-follow Orange Cake Recipe. It is filled with the delicious goodness of the fresh fruit. The orange-butter frosting is optional but will definitely add to the citrusy flavor and sweetness of the cake. The recipe is also great for cupcakes or even for a loaf.

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 teaspoons baking powder

1 1/2 cups white sugar

1/2 cup fresh milk

1/2 cup freshly-squeezed orange juice

1/2 cup vegetable oil

2 eggs, beaten

2 teaspoons grated orange zest

For the frosting (optional):

6 tablespoons butter, softened

2 cups confectioners' sugar

2 tablespoons orange juice

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon grated orange zest

Procedure:

1. Preheat the oven to 175 degrees C. Grease the baking pan.

2. In a medium-sized mixing bowl, combine milk, orange juice, vegetable oil, beaten eggs and orange zest. Set aside.

3. In a larger mixing bowl, combine flour, salt, baking powder and sugar. Whisk well. To this, add the wet ingredients. Stir until everything is incorporated.

4. Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan. Bake in the oven for about 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean.

For the Orange Butter Frosting:

1. Using an electric mixer, cream together the butter and sugar. Add in the orange juice,  vanilla extract and the orange zest. Beat well until smooth.

Based on a recipe from www.allrecipes.com.

Lemon Delicious Pudding

This is, by far the most delightful lemon dessert that I’ve ever tried. I made it for the first time and it was a smashing success. Not to mention that I wanted to test my newly-bought ramekins, as well.

Also called Steamed Lemon Pudding, this recipe involves baking the dessert while the ramekins are half-submerged in water. This special procedure lends a puffy, crisp top and soft, saucy under layer. Here’s the recipe.

Ingredients:
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3 large eggs, separated
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1 cup fresh milk 
6 tablespoons freshly-squeezed lemon juice
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
1/4 teaspoon salt

Procedure:
1. Preheat oven to 175 degrees Celsius. Grease six ramekins with butter or shortening. Arrange ramekins in a roasting pan and set aside.
2. In a mixing bowl, whisk together flour and sugar.
3. In another bowl, mix together the wet ingredients, egg yolks and butter. Add in milk, lemon juice, and lemon zest.
4. Pour in the dry ingredients into the bowl of wet ingredients and whisk well until combined.
5. Using an electric mixer, whisk egg whites with salt until stiff peaks form. With a spatula, fold in the egg white mixture into the cake batter.
6. Pour batter into prepared ramekins and add hot water to the roasting pan until the ramekins are dipped halfway its height.
7. Bake in the oven for about 35 minutes until the top is puffy and golden. Remove from oven when done and let the ramekins cool on a wire rack.

Serve with whipped cream or powdered sugar on top, if desired.

Cheers,
Jane

Based on a recipe from Martha Stewart Food.

Banana Bundt Cake

I usually see Philippine bananas here in Singapore groceries. They are really in very good quality, I must say. The problem with imported bananas is that one day they are unripe, the next day they are overripe. So the “best time to eat” time is just a short period of time, usually a day. But thanks to this recipe, now we don’t have to be sorry for overripe bananas. Because that is what this recipe’s main ingredient is.

<Remaining post content deleted>

Pavlova

The first time I made a Pavlova, Eds blogged about it his blog, Me&MyGirls. Below is an excerpt from his post:

Dating back from the 1920's, and named after the great Russian ballerina, Anna Pavlova, this dessert has been loved by millions with its lightness, subtle sweetness, and the simplicity of the recipe. It's a meringue-based dessert with cream and fruit topping. A successful pavlova has a meringue that is crisp on the outside and a soft, chewy, marshmallowy center. Both Australia and New Zealand claim ownership of the first dish creation but latest research shows it might probably be from the latter. But who cares, this dessert, beyond any shadow of a doubt, tastes just as heavenly as it sounds.

Many chefs fail in making the meringue beautiful, avoiding cracks. But as this dish has a cream frosting and fruit topping, it hides the flaws while making it look like a cake. So it's okay if the meringue cracks, as long as you make sure it tastes good.

After that, we had many pavlovas on different occasions. And this would probably my fourth. It’s easy-to-do, it’s fruity, and most of all, Ashrie love it when I make pavlova because she can eat the crunchy meringue flakes on top.

<Remaining post content deleted>

Banana Upside Down Cake

They say the original recipe comes from Brazil, and this cake is a very common find in Brazilian bakeries. But there is something in that caramelized banana topping that is reminiscent of the sweetened banana dessert from the Philippines, the one we use for our Banana con Yelo. Try this recipe to see and taste for yourself!

Ingredients for the topping:

1 cup brown sugar

5 ripe bananas

Ingredients for the cake batter:

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup cornstarch

1 tsp baking powder

2 large eggs, separated

2 tbsp unsalted butter, softened

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup milk

Procedure for the topping:

1. In a small saucepan over low heat, pour in the brown sugar, stirring continuously. Once it caramelized, distribute evenly all over the bottom of a non-stick pan. Set aside and let it cool.

2.  Cut the bananas lengthwise and arrange them with minimum gaps (cut side down) over the dry caramel. Set aside.

Procedure for the cake batter:

1. Preheat the oven 180°C.

2. In a bowl, sift together the dry ingredients- flour, cornstarch and baking powder. Set aside.

3. In another bowl or on your electric mixer, cream together the butter, sugar and egg yolks.

4. To this, add the flour mixture in three additions, alternating with the milk, mixing constantly on low speed.

5. In a separate mixing bowl, beat the egg whites with a pinch of salt until soft peaks form. With a spatula, fold the beaten egg whites to the batter.

6. Pour the cake batter carefully over the prepared baking pan with the caramel and banana layer.

7. Bake in the oven for 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Make sure you’re inserting on the cake batter only and not on the bananas underneath.

8. Remove from oven. Let it cool a bit.

Flip the cake upside down on a serving dish while it is still a bit warm. Serve with a dash of whipped cream.

Cheers,

Jane

Apple-Cinnamon Cake

In places where there are four seasons, especially in the US, this recipe is best served in autumn or for Thanksgiving Day perhaps. And for us which only have two seasons, but still have an abundance of imported apples, every time is a good time to serve apple recipes. To add that apples are not as expensive as other fruits especially berries. Today, I will be sharing Apple-Cinnamon Cake, a moist, cinnamon-scented cake with juicy caramelized apples inside and out.

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

4 green apples, peeled, cored, and cut into small cubes

2 green apples, peeled, cored, and cut into wedges for the topping (optional)

4 large eggs

1 cup unsalted butter, softened

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

1 1/2 cups packed light-brown sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar (frosting)

Procedure:

1. Preheat your oven to 170 degrees Celsius.

2. In a mixing bowl, whisk together flour, cinnamon, baking powder, salt, and baking soda.

3. In another bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar, and eggs. To this, gradually pour in the dry mixture.

4. Fold in the apples. To avoid the “browning” of the apples drenched it in fresh lemon juice right after it is peeled and sliced.

5. Pour cake batter onto a baking pan. Arrange the apple wedges on top of the batter. Bake for about 50 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let it cool completely before transferring to a plate.

For the frosting, simply sift confectioners’ sugar over the cake. Serve and enjoy!

Cheers,

Jane

German Apple Cake

Apfelkuchen literally translates to apple cake in German. It’s a buttery, moist cake topped with delicious, caramelized apple wedges with a hint of cinnamon. The citrus taste of the green apple blends perfectly with the sweetness of the creamy cake batter. Here’s an easy-to-do recipe for German Apple Cake.

Ingredients:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
1 1/3 cups sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 Granny Smith (green) apple, cubed and 3 Granny Smith apples, sliced into thin wedges in 2 separate bowls (both drenched with about 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice to avoid the “browning” of apples during preparation time)

Procedure:
1. Preheat the oven to 190 degrees Celcius.
2. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt in a mixing bowl. Set aside.
3. In another bowl, mix the butter and 1 cup sugar. Then, add in the eggs, one at a time, mixing after each addition. Add the vanilla extract.
4. To this, add in the flour mixture and beat well until fully blended. Fold in the cubed apples.
5. Pour this mixture into a baking pan.
6. In your bowl of sliced apple wedges, add the remaining 1/3 cup sugar and ground cinnamon. Toss the apples making sure that every slice is coated with the cinnamon-sugar mixture. Carefully arrange the apple wedges on top of the batter in overlapping rows, covering the entire pan.
7. Bake for 45 minutes or until a successful toothpick test.

Serve warm with whipped cream.

Stay sweet,
Jane

Pineapple Upside Down Cake

With origins dating back from the 1920s, Pineapple Upside Down Cake has been an all-time favorite. It is usually served during Thanksgiving or Christmas because of its lovely, lantern-like top. The combination of the light buttery cake and the sweet, citrusy caramelized pineapple topping is perfect not only for the holidays but anytime of the year. And what festivity it brought to our home when I prepared it this July!

The most common arrangement for the topping is placing down the pineapple slices and then putting a cherry on the center of each, but for this recipe, I lay down the fruit slices from the pan’s edge going to the center creating a rosette arrangement and then closing with one ring on the center accentuated with bright red cherries.

Ingredients for the Topping:

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

3/4 cup light brown sugar

1 can pineapple slices (cut into quarters)

Maraschino cherries (cut into halves)

Procedure for the Topping:

1. In a small saucepan over medium heat, stir the sugar and butter until the mixture is dissolved. Let it simmer for a while without stirring. Remove from heat when you begin to see bubbles forming around the edges. Then, while the mixture is still hot, pour into the baking pan making sure the bottom is fully coated. Let it cool.

2. Arrange the pineapple slices over the butter and sugar mixture in whatever design you want.

This is how my baking pan looks after the fruit slices have been placed.



Ready for the cake batter! 

Ingredients for the Cake Batter:

1 1/2 cups All-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

3/4 cup white caster sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 large eggs, yolks and whites separated

1/2 cup full cream fresh milk

1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

Procedure for the Cake Batter:

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius.

2. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt in a mixing bowl.

3. Using your electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar. Add vanilla extract. In portions, add the egg yolks, flour mixture, and milk, beating well after every addition. Set aside.

4. Beat the egg whites and cream of tartar in another mixing bowl until stiff peaks form. Then fold this egg white mixture into the flour mixture.

5. Pour the batter carefully into the baking pan and bake for 35-45 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean when inserted.

6. Once cooked, remove the pan from oven let it cool.

7. Invert the pan on a serving plate or cake stand and serve hot with whipped cream.

Serve warm with a cup of tea! Makes 8 servings.

Until then,

Jane

This is based from joyofbaking.com’s original recipe.