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

Pininyahang Manok

If you are craving for something savory, creamy and sweet, well this dish might be the one for you. Pineappled Chicken is an easy-to-do and definitely a yummy all-time favorite among Pinoys. You can either use evaporated milk, cooking cream or even coconut milk for the sauce. And add as much chilli as you want for that extra spice. Here’s the recipe.

Ingredients:

1 whole chicken (chopped into serving parts)

1 can evaporated milk

1 small ginger, sliced

1 onion, chopped

4 cloves garlic, chopped

1 red bell pepper, sliced

1 can pineapple chunks (reserved the syrup)

Fish sauce to taste

Black pepper to taste

Cooking oil for sautéing

Procedure:

1. In a skillet of hot cooking oil, sauté the ginger, garlic and onions. Add the fish sauce.

2. Add in the chicken and stir fry for about five minutes.

3.  Pour the pineapple syrup and let it simmer for about fifteen minutes or until chicken is tender. Add the pepper.

4. Pour in the evaporated milk and the red bell peppers and bring to a quick boil.

Transfer to a serving dish and enjoy with hot steamed white rice.

Cheers!

Jane

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.

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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.

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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

Sweet and Sour Pork

Here’s another sweet and sour recipe. This time around, it’s Sweet and Sour Pork. That’s all the goodness of crispy bite-size chunks of breaded pork with a tasty sweet and sour sauce!

Ingredients:

1 kilo pork loin, cut into small pieces

1 cup flour

1 fresh egg, beaten

1 red and green capsicums, cubed

1 medium-sized onion, chopped

1 large carrot, sliced diagonally

Salt to taste

For the sweet and sour sauce:

4 tablespoons brown sugar

2 1/2 tablespoons tomato ketchup

1/3 cup white vinegar

1/2 teaspoon soy sauce

2 teaspoon cornstarch, diluted in 5 teaspoons of water

Procedure:

1. Season the pork loin with salt. Roll it over the beaten eggs then dredge it in flour before frying.

2. Deep fry the pork pieces until the coat turns golden brown. Set aside.

3. Whisk together the sugar, ketchup, vinegar, and soy sauce in a small bowl.

4. In a wok over medium heat, pour this sauce mixture and bring to a boil.

4. Add the cornstarch, stirring constantly until the sauce becomes thick.

5. Add in the red and green bell peppers, carrots and the onions. Let it simmer until the veggies are ready.

6. Put in the deep-fried pork, and simmer for another 2 minutes.

Serve hot with steamed rice.

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

Sweet and Sour Meatballs

Big, juicy, tender and tasty meatballs in a rich sweet and sour sauce, this is what this dish is all about. I used the same recipe for the Lumpiang Shanghai. You can get the recipe here. But instead of wrapping the pork mixture, I made meatballs. Fried it until golden brown and set it aside. The second part is making the sweet and sour sauce. And here’s what you will need.

Ingredients:

4 tablespoons brown sugar

2 1/2 tablespoons tomato ketchup

1/3 cup white vinegar

1/2 teaspoon soy sauce

2 teaspoon cornstarch, diluted in 5 teaspoons of water

1 red bell pepper, cut into squares

1 green bell pepper, cut into squares

1 medium-sized onion, chopped

1 large carrot, sliced diagonally

Procedure:

1. Whisk together the sugar, ketchup, vinegar, and soy sauce in a small bowl.

2. In a saucepan over medium heat, pour this sauce mixture and bring to a boil.

3. Pour in the cornstarch mixture, stirring constantly until the sauce becomes thick.

4. Add the sliced carrots. Let it simmer for about 2 minutes.

5. Add in the red and green bell peppers and the onions. Let it simmer until the all veggies are ready.

6. Put in the fried meatballs, and simmer for another 2 minutes.

Serve hot with steamed rice.

Enjoy!

Jane

Cinnamon Rolls

There is a certain joy when we prepare our own bread. Although this recipe is a bit challenging, especially when you’re doing it for the first time, it is really rewarding not to buy ready-made ones. Not to mention the lovely scent of cinnamon from the kitchen. Baking can also be good bonding time with kids. It’ll be as interesting as a science experiment as they watch the dough double in size right before their very eyes!

This is my third time to bake cinnamon rolls and so far, this recipe has delivered the tastiest and softest bread.

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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.