Ham and Cheese French Toast Roll-Ups

I remember that it was in college when I first made something like this after having tried it at a friend's house. I used to call it cheese rolls, hotdog rolls or luncheon meat rolls depending on the filling I used, which most of the time was MaLing luncheon meat, Purefoods hotdog or Eden cheese. When we got to the US, I learned that French Toast Roll-Ups is how these scrumptious rolls are called! I also learned that you can fill it with other stuff like fruits, cream cheese, peanut butter, Nutella and whatever filling you could think of! The possibility is truly endless! I remember one time when I made this with Mozarella sticks and dredge it in bread crumbs before frying...oh my, the girls really loved that! But their favorite version is this one that I am sharing with you today...the one with cream cheese, ham and shredded Mozzarella cheese for filling.

I made this the other day for snack. It has been a long time since I last did, and the girls as well as the hubs were all thrilled! They just couldn't wait for me to finish taking pictures. ^.^

These Ham and Cheese French Toast Roll-Ups are perfect for breakfast too! I tell yah, its wonderful aroma will have everyone jumping out of bed and running to the kitchen! ;)

Whole Wheat Banana Chocolate Chip Cookies

Have some brown and mushy bananas in your fruit bowl? Well, you can put them into good use with this Whole Wheat Banana Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe! There are a lot of wonderful things to turn overripe bananas into like Banana Bread with Walnut Crumble, Banana Cream Pie Shake, Banana Caramel Chocolate Chip Bars, Almond Banana Cake, Banana Cream Trifle but I think this is the one that my daughters love the most. It's really good, that's why!

These cookies are soft, chewy and really tasty! They have the goodness of chocolate chip cookies with the added flavor of banana. Who wouldn't love that? My daughters enjoy having these cookies for snacks and they love bringing it to school for lunch dessert. 

Such wonderful treats! You should try it!

Spanish Bread

The hubs has been bugging me to make his favorite bread since he saw it on a friend's FB post a few weeks ago. Finally, I was able to make some for him the other day. For the bread, I used my favorite White Roll recipe from Red Star Yeast, and for the filling, I combined butter, sugar and vanilla. I'm glad they turned out soft, buttery and beautifully browned as the ones we used to eat back home.

These yummy looking rolls are what we call Spanish Bread in the Philippines. I honestly don't know why it is called as such, because there's really nothing "Spanish" about it. I guess it's just a result of the very strong influence that the Spaniards brought to the Filipino Cuisine in the more than 300 years of colonization. 

Spanish Bread is a Filipino favorite bread next to Pandesal which is best eaten with coffee for merienda (snack) and sometimes, for breakfast. It has a sweet buttery filling which makes it so perfect for the Filipino taste buds. Try the recipe and see for yourself! 

Whole Wheat Cinnamon Oatmeal Pecan Raisin Cookies

Back when I was a working mom in the Philippines, I rarely baked. It wasn't because I didn't like doing it. Time constraints is more of the reason. But since I got here in the US, baking has been part of my life. Not only do I have all the time in the world to bake now that I am a Stay At Home Mom (SAHM)...there are also these cravings for Filipino baked goodies that I have to satisfy. If I won't bake, we won't be able to enjoy baked treats that we miss like Inipit, Pan de Coco, Ensaymada, Ube Cake, Mango Cake, Sanrival, Lengua de Gato, Chocolate Crinkles, Brazo de Mercedes, Egg Pie, Cassava Cake, Mamon, Custard Cake, Food for the Gods, and of course our breakfast favorite, Pandesal. Over the years, I've embraced baking more and more, and now that my 11-yr old and 8-yr old daughters are showing interest in the kitchen, baking has become a favorite bonding activity between us. There are times when we are just watching TV and then we will suddenly think of baking something to munch on. If we have overripe bananas, we make banana bread...but if we don't, we usually end up baking cookies like Peanut Butter Cookies, Pecan Sandies and Chocolate Chip Cookies most of the time. But lately, the girls  are so into these Whole Wheat Cinnamon Oatmeal Pecan Raisin Cookies. We've been baking these almost every week for 3 months now and we just don't seem to get enough! I used to make Oatmeal Raisin Cookies but my daughters didn't like them as much. Well, I honestly don't blame the girls 'coz these cookies are way better!

The added cinnamon and toasted pecans and the use of whole wheat flour bring the regular oatmeal raisin cookies to the next level. These cookies have the right amount of spice from the cinnamon, sweetness from the raisins and crunch from the pecans and oats. And the best thing is the added fiber from the whole wheat flour! 

You should try this recipe! I'm sure you'll love Whole Wheat Cinnamon Oatmeal Pecan Raisin Cookies! They're perfect for snack and even for dessert! They also make great holiday and even Valentine treats!

Pineapple Upside Down Cake

Of my two daughters, Cherlin (the youngest) is the one who shows more interest in  both cooking and baking. Whenever she's at home, you'll see her helping me in the kitchen --- preparing/measuring/passing the ingredients, cracking eggs, mixing, stirring, sauteing and even slicing and chopping vegetables. Instead of reading story books, she prefers spending time looking at cookbooks and devouring its pages. Honestly, I am fine with that. I remember I was like her when I was little. The only difference is that, my mom didn't have as much cookbooks as I have now...and the cookbooks she had that time didn't have as much photos and were in black & white. :) 

Last Monday, I saw her looking into my Goldilocks Bakebook. She was so quiet and seemed so engrossed flipping through the pages when out of the blue, she burst out "Hmmmm...I want to make this, mommy!". I was kinda surprised to see that she was referring to a Pineapple Upside Down Cake. She doesn't even like pineapple...she says it makes her tongue itchy, and now she wants to bake a Pineapple Cake??! I knew she hates pineapple and I was sure it's just the photo that she found appealing...so I asked her several times if she really wants it, and she kept saying YES. Well, I can't blame her --- the photo was mouthwatering indeed! To cut the story short, I gave in to her request. Yesterday, when she got home from school, we baked a Pineapple Upside Down Cake together...and this is how it turned out...

Does it look delicious to you? Well, it really is! And Cherlin (as well as the hubs and my eldest daughter) said, it looks even better than the one in the Goldilocks Cookbook. :) 

Biko (Sticky Rice Cake with Fried Coconut Milk Curd Topping)

It's the first day of May...and in the Philippines, it's the start of the monthlong Flores De Mayo (Flowers of May). It is a religious celebration held in honor of the Virgin Mary, wherein devotees gather together every afternoon or evening to offer prayers, songs and flowers to Mary. After the ceremony, the Hermanos or Hermanas for the day will give away homemade delicacies and snacks to the participants. I remember that whenever my family was the Hermana, my mother would always make Biko, a sticky rice cake similar to Bibingkang Malagkit, but is brown in color and has latik (fried coconut milk curd) topping. Aside from being my mom's favorite kakanin, biko is also very economical to make, and I guess that's why she loved making it. With just glutinous rice, sugar and coconut, you'll have a yummy snack or dessert in no time. It's usually served during New Year, Christmas and other special occasions and (for my family back then), during Flores de Mayo. :)

Yesterday, the hubs was working from home and when he was drinking coffee during breakfast, he suddenly said he misses biko and wants me to make it. It's so good with coffee, and the hubs really like it. It has been a while since I last made it, so I immediately checked the pantry to see if I have the ingredients. Luckily I did, and I was able to accommodate what seemed like a simple and reasonable request. By around 3 p.m. yesterday, this yummy rice cake was ready...

...and the hubs enjoyed his afternoon coffee break! :) 

Biko is a favorite Filipino delicacy that has a very simple yet delightful taste. It requires very few ingredients and requires no baking unlike the Bibingkang Malagkit.If you love Filipino kakanin (sweet rice delicacies), you should try this!

Puto Pao

If there's one Filipino snack that I didn't get to enjoy when I was little, it's Puto Pao. I was already in college when I first got to try it. They're so good and that made me wonder why my Nanay (mother) never made nor bought Puto Pao. 

So what is Puto Pao?  Well, it's a steamed rice cake like Puto with pork filling which makes it similar to Siopao. It is usually topped with slices of salted duck eggs and cheese. The hubs is a big fan of this yummy snack and so, making Puto Pao at home is a must. I've tried making it several times using the Puto recipe for the batter and the Asado Siopao filling recipe that I've posted before but the outcome was always not as spongy as the Puto Pao I remember eating back in the Philippines. 

There's this recipe that I found at Pinoy Business Ideas which requires the use of egg whites in the batter. I tried that and the result was better. Though still not as spongy as I think it should be, it's better than the previous ones I made without egg whites and I believe is worth sharing. My daughters don't like salted duck eggs so I just used cheese for topping, and added slices of hard boiled eggs in the filling.

Check out and try the recipe and let me know what you think!

Ultimate Chocolate Cream Cheese Cookies

It's the 15th of the month again...and that means it's time to share with you what we made at Baking Partners! The theme for this month's challenge is...

Yes, COOKIES!!! And I got the privilege of selecting one of the three recipes that we could choose from...and I went for this Ultimate Cream Cheese Cookies recipe from Baked Owners Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito.

I've tried making these cookies before (when I first got my Food & Wine Best of the Best Cookbook Recipes Vol. 14) and I want my friends at Baking Partners to experience its melt-in-your-mouth goodness, hence I chose this recipe. This is very easy to make and the end result is fabulously delicious! You will definitely love the wonderful combination of chocolate and cream cheese in it! It has a very rich flavor and a distinctively chewy texture, and really good by itself...but my daughters insisted that we put frosting on it. Well, I gave in to their request. I made a white chocolate, cream cheese glaze and I let them decorate some of the cookies. I included the glaze recipe here just in case you would like to try it too! 

Some of my friends at Baking Partners made Cornflake Cookies and some others made Homemade Oreo Cookies. Wish I had the time to try them out too! They look really good! Be sure to check them out too! 

Guest Post at Nava-K.com Featuring Suman sa Lihiya

Happy Monday everyone! Hope you all had a wonderful weekend!

I am glad to be doing another guest post today. This time it's for my Malaysian friend, Nava who has this very wonderful lifestyle blog called Nava-K.com where she shares her love for beauty, fashion and food. I am one of the lucky bloggers she asked to do guest posts for her while she attends to some important matters. I am truly honored for this opportunity, and I've chosen to feature a favorite Filipino kakanin (sweet rice delicacy) called Suman sa Lihiya. This is basically glutinous rice with lye wrapped in banana leaves and is something we, Filipinos enjoy either as snack or dessert.

Please drop by Nava's blog and see for yourself how to make this very simple yet so delicious kakanin! While you're there, be sure to check out Nava's recipes as well as her fashion, beauty and travel tips! Don't forget to subscribe to Nava's blog and follow her on Facebook  and Twitter too! 

Guest Post on Wok With Ray Featuring Filipino Custard Cake

It's a wonderful Friday morning and I am super excited to be doing a guest post at one of my favorite blogs! (^.^) Which blog am I talking about? It's Wok With Ray...which is owned and written by Ray Gingco. Does that name ring a bell to you? Ray is a popular Filipino blogger who I admire a lot! He's one of those guys who enjoy cooking and do it so beautifully. A simple dish can turn into something very appealing with his food styling and photography skills. But that's not all! I admire him more for being able to maintain a wonderful blog while juggling an IT career, a catering business and a family life. I find him so AWESOME...and I'm really a big fan of him, I tell yah!

For my guest post, I am sharing my favorite Filipino Custard Cake. I've been reading Ray's blog for a year now, and I've noticed that he hasn't shared any baked treats yet so when he asked me if I could do a guest post for him, I thought it would be nice to share a cake with his readers for a change.

Hope you'll all head over to Wok With Ray to join me and know more about this delicious upside down cake! While you're there, be sure to dig into Ray's archives!  You'll surely be amazed with all the recipes you'll find! And please don't forget to subscribe to Ray's blog and follow him on Facebook  and Twitter as well! 

Happy Friday to y'all!

Dulce Dé Leche and Coffee Cake with Caramel Latte Glaze from Chic & Gorgeous Treats

It's Friday! That means the weekend is almost here again...and I know you guys are excited! But before you indulge into whatever weekend activities you're planning, check out what I have for you today! I'm pretty sure that just like the thoughts of the weekend, this will excite you too...and will definitely give you delight!

Are you drooling now? So mouth watering hah! Well, I didn't make this one...I wish I did though! As I've mentioned many times before, I am not much of a baker. I bake but I can't say I'm that good at it...so I really admire those who are, and Joanna Tham (or Jo as I call her) is one of them! She's the Malaysian blogger behind Chic & Gorgeous Treats...and she made that cake! I requested her to do a guest post on my favorite Dulce De Leche Cake...but to my surprise, she made something even better - a combination of two of my favorite cakes: Dulce De Leche and Coffee! Wow! She's truly amazing, isn't she? Well, I've known that for more than a year now, that's why I am a big fan of her and her blog! Jo is one of the most passionate baking bloggers I know and I tell you, she makes the most fabulous baked treats...from cakes, cookies, cupcakes to donuts, pies and tarts! She's a gifted baker I tell yah! She truly is admirable and I am thankful and honored to have her here today! Without further ado, I give you Joanna Tham...

Hi there foodies! I’m thrilled be able to guest post for Tina today. If you don’t know who I am, or that is because I am still new in the whole food blogging era, I’m Joanna, the blog owner of Chic & Gorgeous Treats. By day, I am an IT consultant and by night or mostly weekends, I pretend to be a patisserie chef, and I suspect this could be my alter ego too.

What do I have installed for you today? This is quite a mouth full. I baked one of Tina’s favorite cake but with my own spin to it. It’s DULCE DE LECHE & COFFEE CAKE with CARAMEL LATTE GLAZE. These flavor combination is truly inspired by one of my favorite caffeine drink, Iced Caramel Latte.

If you’re curious, and wondering what is the difference between Dulce De Leche and Caramel? Apart from the color and taste, they are both rich amber brown and sweet. Dulce De Leche, a Portuguese version is made from sweetened milk (in this case condensed milk), where it’s either baked in an oven, using the bain marie method or cook in a double boiler until the sugar caramelizes.

In my opinion, I think it’s much easier to make compared to Caramel which I believe is the English version. Caramel requires you to cook sugar and water together until its golden brown in color over low heat without letting the sugar burn, and lastly adding the cream to the caramelized sugar to transform it into a caramel. All it takes is 1 second of your attention away from the sauce pan and you will end up having burnt sugar. It sure has happen to me a number of times.

While I might steer away slightly from the original Dulce De Leche Cake; I assure you this DULCE DE LECHE & COFFEE CAKE with CARAMEL LATTE GLAZE pound cake is just as good. Maybe double or triple the goodness. Let me break it down for you. It has 2 flavors in a cake dulce de leche and espresso. I was really inspired by my favorite caffeine drink Iced Caramel Latte; and just knew that the coffee would help tone the sweetness level of dulce de leche and also adding that extra aroma and richness to the overall pound cake. The smell of your kitchen will be heavenly when it's freshly baked out of the oven. To emulate some classic steps of Dulce de Leche cake, I made my own Caramel Latte Glaze, with something extra too "Bailey's Irish Cream" to drizzle over the cake. To finish off, I topped off with heaps of crushed Snyder's Salted Pretzels.

Have a wonderful weekend and hope you enjoy this post as much I enjoyed baking this cake for you. Do pop over and give me a holler!

Tres Leches Cupcakes with Mango Frosting

Happy 4th of July! I wanted to bring you something red, white and blue today...but my family and I are still here in the Sunshine State, enjoying our 2-week vacation, so I'll share with you these delicious cupcakes instead...
 
My daughters and I made these Tres Leches Cupcakes with Mango Frosting for Ryan last Father's Day...and I tell you they are super dooper yummy and Ryan really liked them! The mango frosting worked so well on the three milk cupcakes which are baked and then soaked in evaporated milk, condensed milk and heavy cream mixture. These are a bit time consuming to make because of the soaking part, but it will be all worth it in the end. You should try it!

Chicken Strips Adobo Sandwich

I don't know about you...but I sooo love stew. Just like any other typical Filipino, I love eating it with rice...but I also enjoy eating it with rolls and bread, especially the leftover. Whether it's beef, chicken or pork stew, making a sandwich filling out of it always excites my taste buds. I remember that when I was little, whenever we have stew for dinner, whether its adobo, afritada, estofado, kaldereta or menudo, I would always ask my mom to make me some stew filled pandesal or pandelemon for breakfast the next morning. Sometimes, I would even bring them to school for snack. Even now, I still love that kind of sandwich. During our road trips, I would usually cook adobo or menudo the night before then stuff them in buns. My family consider it as a very yummy on-the-go meal!

For this month's Kulinarya Cooking Club Challenge, I found the perfect chance to share one of my family's favorite stew sandwiches with you. Thanks to our host, Louie Yan of East and West for choosing "Filipino portable bites offered by food trucks" to be this month's theme. Here in the US, I've only seen food trucks when we were in NYC. If I am to find one here in Texas, I would love if they have Filipino food like those in California...and how I wish they have this Adobo Sandwich!

It looks so good, right??? If there are food trucks selling this here in Texas, I'll definitely be a frequent customer! And if someday I'll have my own food truck or Filipino fast food restaurant, this Chicken Strips Adobo Sandwich will be one of our house specials! This is no ordinary sandwich, I tell you! It has the goodness of the Filipino all time favorite adobo plus the yummy combination of egg and cheese and the added spice of Jalapeño pepper and onions! 

Though I enjoy any kind of stew, adobo is my most favorite because it is the quickest to cook and it doesn't require much ingredients. For the sandwiches that I prepare for our trips, I usually use shredded leftover pork or chicken adobo, but for this post, I used freshly cooked chicken breast strips adobo with Jalapeño pepper and lots of onions. Chicken breast cut into strips cook a lot faster so this will be perfect for on-the-go meals like this.

You should try it! I'm sure you'll love how tasty and filling this is!

Pan de Coco and Pan de Ube (Coconut and Purple Yam Rolls)

I've been a bread lover since I was a little girl...but this is one thing I don't owe from my mother. As I've told you before, we didn't have an oven when I was growing up so my mother never baked bread. I owe my love for bread to The De Castro's, my childhood friend's family who owns Halina Bakery. This bakery has been selling the best tasting Filipino breads in the City of Calapan since I was a little girl until now. It is now being managed by my friend, and I must say that just like her parents, she's really doing a great job. I remember that there was this other bakery much closer to where we used to live, but we would rather go to Halina Bakery to buy pan de sal, loaf bread, ensaymada, pan de coco, monay, pan de lemon, pan de agua, kalihim, mamon, puding, spanish bread and hopia. All their bread really taste a lot better than those of the other bakery. I'm not saying this because it's owned by my friend. It's just how it is. 

One of my most favorite bread from Halina Bakery is the Pan De Coco which means Coconut Bread. It is a soft sweet roll with sweetened coconut filling which I loved having for afternoon snack. My mom would always buy it in dozens 'coz my brother and I never seem to get enough of it.

 

Last week, I thought of making Pan De Coco for the first time. I tried experimenting with my Pan De Sal recipe to transform it to a much softer and sweeter roll with a shiny finish. Was I successful??? Well, kinda. It's good...but I think I have to work on the softness more. I'm not sure if I just over baked it a little or I didn't knead the dough enough. But the rolls were delicious and soft enough though not as soft as I remember the Pan De Coco from Halina Bakery.  

I still have some Haleyang Ube (Purple Yam Jam) so I filled half of the dough with it, and half with sweetened coconut. I came up with 9 pcs. Pan De Coco and 9 pcs. Pan De Ube and they are all gone in 3 days! Clarise and Cherlin love ube so they both prefer the Pan De Ube more. Ryan, on the other hand, finds the Pan De Coco perfect for his coffee.

This Coconut and Purple Yam Rolls recipe is my entry to this month's Iron Chef Challenge at A Latte With OTT,A which is sponsored by Red Star, maker of high-quality baker's yeast in the country. For product updates and delicious tested recipes, visit their website or follow Red Star on twitter and facebook.

King's Pecan Squares

My family and I love King's Hawaiian bread and rolls!  Well, I guess everyone who had tried them do! For those of you who aren't from the US and haven't heard of King's Hawaiian, it is a well-known bakery and restaurant in Torrance, California  which has been creating signature Hawaiian sweet bread and recipes for 50 years, and has continue to rise as the #1 branded bread and rolls across the United States. I haven't been to the restaurant (but heard so much about it)...it's just their bread and rolls that I've tried, and I must say they're really good! Whether it’s Hawaiian Sweet, Honey Wheat or Savory Butter, King’s Hawaiian bread and rolls are always so fresh and tasty, and that's what make them different from other brands!

Among King's Hawaiian products, the rolls (all three flavors) are my family's all time favorite! They're so good with meals and just by themselves as a quick snack. Clarise and Cherlin love them because they are sweet, soft and moist. Not only are they wonderful sandwich rolls for any filling that you could think of...

...you can also make other yummy creations from them, like these Pecan Squares!

My family and I have been enjoying these delightful treats for years! I came up with this recipe out of my love for King's Hawaiian rolls and pecans! They are simply King's Hawaiian rolls topped with pecans and are so easy to make! 

When I received the email from Amy of A Latte with OTT'A about her, hosting another year of Iron Chef Challenge and found out that the theme ingredient for January is King's Hawaiian products, I knew I have to share the recipe for these tasty treats that's not yet in their recipe page.

If you are pecan lovers like me and my husband, this simple recipe is for you! But even if you're not so into pecans, I'm sure you'll gonna love my King's Pecan Squares! My daughters who always say they hate pecans do!:)

Chocolate and Mocha Cake Pops and My Babycakes Cake Pop Maker

It was in early 2010 when I first heard of cake pops - the bite-sized cake ball on a stick that was brought to fame by Bakerella. I've always wanted to try making cake pops since then, much more when I started recipe blogging...but I really didn't like the thought of having to crumble a freshly baked cake, mix it with frosting and then shape into a ball using my hands. I've seen pictures of how messy it could be, and that kept me from trying it. When I saw the Bake Pop Kit on TV, I got so amazed with how easy cake pop baking could be. The kit includes a bake pop pan, a decorating idea guide, 18 sticks, 18 wraps, 18 ties and a decorating squeeze bottle. It was a good deal, so I ordered it online around first week of November. I was thinking that I will receive it just in time for the holidays. But I had a problem with my order and had to cancel it. I promised myself that I'll just buy the cake pop maker available at Kohl's (which is the Babycakes Cake Pop Maker) after the holidays. But to my surprise, my good friend, Carmi gave me one last Christmas! I was so happy! :)

For the first time, I made cake pops last Wednesday. Simple ones though. I adapted the recipe for Chocolate Cake Pops from the manual that goes with the cake pop maker. I just made some adjustments based on the availability of ingredients in my pantry...and VOILA!!!

 

Making it was so simple and quick! Not messy as I always imagined it would be. I made another batch using the same recipe but substituted the dark chocolate with cocoa and instant coffee to make it taste like mocha. The cake pops made my girls happy...and that made me even happier! Thanks Carmi Remmers for this awesome baking gadget! :-*

This Babycakes Cake Pop Maker is available online at Amazon and thebabycakesshop.com. You can also get it at Kohl's and Bed Bath & Beyond. For the price of $19.99-24.99, I can say that this is such a good buy. Cake Pops are sold for $2-$7 each in bake shops depending on the flavor and coating. Imagine how much money you could save if you can make it in your own kitchen! 12 cake pops in 4 minutes - I think that's good enough! I made 6 dozen cake pops with simple glaze/coating in less than one hour! 

The Babycakes Cake Pop Maker bakes cake pops directly from batter which is much cleaner and quicker compared to the traditional way of making cake pops. And let me tell you that the cake pops aren't dry at all. They are moist and soft as long as you don't over bake them. The manual says to bake for 4-5 minutes. 4 minutes is just right. Baking it for more than 4 minutes will make your cake pops dry. 

I will try to incorporate frosting into the batter next time so it will be more like the traditional cake pops and will surely let you know if it will work! :)

Happy Friday everyone!

Filipino Classic Egg Pie

As promised last weekend, here's the other dessert that I made for Ryan's birthday. We Filipinos call it Egg Pie. It is available in almost all bakeries in the Philippines and is enjoyed by Filipinos either as dessert or snack. It looks like a giant Egg Custard Tart usually found in Chinese restaurants, and is basically the same as the Classic Egg Custard Pie. The difference is just in the type of milk and flavoring used as well as in the appearance. We, Filipinos, use evaporated milk in our Egg Pie, and instead of nutmeg, we simply used kalamansi juice or rinds for flavoring (Kalamansi is a small round citrus like lime, common in the Philippines whose peel is sweet and whose fruit is sour). And unlike the Egg Custard Tart and the Classic Egg Custard Pie, our Egg Pie is dark brown on top.

There is this bakery in Calapan City (where Ryan & I grew up) named Halina Bakery which sells the best tasting egg pie! It is owned by our elementary classmate's family...and it is where both Ryan & I had our first taste of this very delightful dessert! I grew up loving it...same with Ryan! Now that we are far away from home, learning to make it on my own is a must. Glad that a friend of mine was nice enough to share this recipe with me. Not only can we enjoy it anytime we want, Ryan and I can also share one of our childhood favorite with our daughters! Though it's not Halina Bakery's recipe, it's close enough and definitely tastes like it!

Ingredients:

Crust:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3 Tbsp sugar
• ½ tsp salt
• ¾ cup unsalted butter, cut into cubes and softened
• ¼ cup cold water

Filling:

• 1 cup evaporated milk
• 4 large eggs and another 1 large egg with white and yolk separated
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp fresh kalamansi or lemon juice
• 1 can condensed milk (14oz)

Kalamay with Pinipig

Yesterday was one of those days when nothing could stop me from cooking the food I crave for. Though I've always been hesitant to make kalamay because of the long cooking time and all the stirring that goes with it, I gave it a shot.  Wondering what Kalamay is???

Kalamay is another favorite sticky rice-based kakanin (sweet delicacy) in the Philippines. It basically has the same ingredients as the espasol, but they differ in the manner of preparation and cooking. Kalamay comes in the form of a very sticky brown paste, although other colors in less viscous versions also exist. It actually has different versions, consistency, packaging and texture depending on location. In Bohol, it is spelled  "calamay" and is sealed inside hollowed-out coconut shells. In Tarlac, on the other hand, it is called "nilubyan" and green rice is used. In Baguio, they call their kalamay, "kulangot" (Tagalog word for snot). Kulangot is usually packed in smaller sago shells to further the playful image. In other regions, flavors are added to their kalamay to make it distinct from traditional preparations. In Mindoro, for example, locals add peanut butter to the paste, while others add grated coconut meat. Historians have difficulty pinpointing kalamay's exact origins because of it's wide variety of preparations. While the use of coconuts and rice is a clear indicator of traditional Philippine cuisine, similarities in preparation lead some food historians to believe that it an adaptation of the Chinese nian gao, a rice dish commonly served during the Chinese New Year. Though names and recipes for kalamay vary from region to region, the base ingredients are consistently the same: glutinous rice, coconut milk and brown sugar. 

I grew up with the simplest version of it - dark brown, sticky and a bit chewy, very fine textured 2 cm thick triangles wrapped in banana leaf...and that's what I love the most! It has been 4 years since I last had kalamay, and I was badly craving for it yesterday. I had all the basic ingredients in my pantry, so I really don't have any reason to simply ignore my craving! Though the Kalamay I grew up with had latik (fried coconut milk curd) on it, I thought that crunchy pinipig (rice flakes) will work well on it...and it did!

It took me more than an hour to cook it. My arm got so tired with all the stirring...but it was all worth it! I satisfied my craving and I was able to prove that I can make my own homemade kalamay!

Yield: one 8" round kalamay

Ingredients:

• 2 cups glutinous rice flour or finely ground glutinous rice
• 2 cups brown sugar
• 4 cups coconut cream or coconut milk (I prefer using coconut cream because of its thicker, more paste-like consistency compared to coconut milk)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• ½ cup roasted pinipig (rice flakes)

Sumang Kamoteng Kahoy (Cassava Wrapped in Banana Leaves) and my 100th Recipe Post GIVEAWAY

My 100th recipe post is finally here! That's actually 99 more than I thought I could share when I started  Pinay In Texas Cooking Corner! To celebrate this, and at the same time as a way of showing how much I appreciate all your support,  I'm hosting my first GIVEAWAY!!! So after checking out this recipe, drop by my 100th RECIPE POST GIVEAWAY PAGE and find out what I have for you! It's open to everyone...US and non-US residents, so all of you have the chance to join!

With all the leftover banana leaves from my Kamayan Dinner party for Foodbuzz 24x24 last week, I thought of making this popular snack in the Philippines. It's called Sumang Kamoteng Kahoy (Cassava Wrapped in Banana Leaves). This is a variation of the more popular Sumang Malagkit which is steamed glutinous rice wrapped in banana leaves.

Aside from the very simple process of making Sumang Kamoteng Kahoy, this "kakanin" (Filipino native sweet delicacy) is so popular to Filipinos because of the abundance of kamoteng kahoy in the Philippines.  Also known as yucca, cassava or manioc, kamoteng kahoy is the third largest source of carbohydrates for meals in the world. Here in the US, you can buy it fresh or frozen. Though I prefer to buy it fresh whenever I find some at the Asian store, I always have the frozen one in the freezer for emergency use. It's my first time to make suman, so I decided to just use my remaining 1 pack of frozen cassava just so I could see the outcome.

Ryan was so glad to find these suman waiting for him when he got home from work the other day. He said they're perfect! How I wish I had more cassava so I could have made more. It's gone in minutes! But I'm happy because I was successful even though it was my first time! I'll be making this again soon!!!

Here's the recipe...you should try it!

*Yield: 12 pcs.

Ingredients:

• 16 oz. frozen cassava (approx. 1½ cups after draining)
• 16 oz. frozen shredded young coconut (approx. 1 cup after draining)
• ¾ cup white sugar
• banana leaves cut into 10x6 inch rectangles (12 pcs)

Mais Con Yelo

Mais con yelo which literally means "corn with ice" is a kind of snack in the Philippines, which is a mixture of corn kernels, milk, sugar and ice. It is so easy and inexpensive to make, that's why it was one of the usual snacks prepared by my mother.

Whenever it's summer here in Texas, mais con yelo is one of those coolers that come into my mind. Some use canned whole corn kernels for their mais con yelo and some prefer cream style corn...but for me, there's nothing better than freshly scraped corn kernels from freshly boiled corn. I even add corn water in my mais con yelo for a richer corn flavor. But I think it really depends on how you want to enjoy it. If you prefer to spoon the corn and chew them with bits of shaved ice, then you should use whole corn kernels. But if you like your mais con yelo to be a plain beverage that you can drink from the glass when the ice has melted, cream style corn would be the better choice. My mother always served mais con yelo with whole corn kernels and crispy pinipig (something like rice crispies but is made from glutinous rice with no sugar added), so I grew up loving it as a snack and not as a drink. 

This is how my mom used to prepare mais con yelo for us...so simple, yet so delicious and refreshing!

I'm sharing this on Food Trip Fiday!

* Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 2 cups freshly scraped corn kernels from boiled corn on the cob (You can also use canned whole kernel corn)
• 1 can evaporated milk
• 4 Tbsp sugar or 8 Tbsp condensed milk (or more depending on how sweet you want it)
• 4 Tbsp corn water (water from boiling corn)
• 4 Tbsp crispy pinipig or corn flakes (I didn't have both so the photos don't show any of the two)
• 4 cups shaved ice