Spanish Basque Sobao

Watching too many Spanish Basque shows on Netflix is bad for my waistline. There are so many sweet treats that I never heard before are mentioned in these shows and I just have to try them. I have cooked a few Basque recipes but can't recall the sweet bread sobao. I looked for it in my Spanish cookbooks with lots of Basque recipes; didn't find one. I had to rely on Wikipedia as well as Spanish recipe websites and was only able to get descriptions, ingredients and amounts, but not an actual recipe. I experimented and made just a quarter of the ingredients written on Wiki. It's actually pound cake but with a little less flour and has a little yeast. I don't know what the yeast is for. The finished bread/cake looks like cornbread, is dense, buttery, sweet, and not bad. I'll increase the anise or rum next time I make it.

from Wikipedia

The recipe includes one kilo of sugar, one of butter, 900 grams of flour, 12 eggs, a pinch of salt, lemon zest, a spoon of rum or anise liquor and a bit of dry yeast. The butter and sugar are mixed together, then salt and lemon are added under continuous stirring. One by one the eggs are added with the spoonful of liquor and finally, flour and yeast are incorporated. As soon as all ingredients are thoroughly mixed the dough is ready, filled into a baking dish and baked in the oven.

Sobao Spanish Basque (Inauthentic)

1 cup sugar 

2 sticks salted butter, room temperature

½ teaspoon lemon zest 

¼ tablespoon anise liqueur 

3 large eggs 

1 cup sifted all-purpose flour mixed with 1/16 teaspoon yeast 

• Line on all sides a 6 x 6 square pan with parchment paper; set aside. 
• Preheat oven to 350°F. 
• In a medium bowl, beat butter and sugar together until creamy and pale yellow in color. 
• Add eggs one at a time together with the anise liqueur. Sprinkle a little of the flour if mixture separates. Beat until smooth. 
• Slowly add flour and yeast; mix with spatula until fully incorporated. 
• Transfer into the prepared pan and bake until top is golden brown, about 30 minutes. 
• Let cool completely in the pan on a wire rack before cutting into 2-inch squares.

If someone has an authentic recipe for Sobao, please email me. I'll appreciate it. 😊

Goldilocks™ Mamon

The other day I had a Goldilocks™ Mocha Mamon. I can't remember if I had this before and I was surprised that I loved it. I didn't care much for their other baked goods but their mamon is sure yummy, soft, fluffy, and most important, not cloyingly sweet.

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Capuchinos

While browsing one of my Filipino cookbooks, RECIPES OF THE PHILIPPINES, compiled by Enriqueta David-Perez, I found these unfamiliar small cakes called Capuchinos. I have never heard of these tiny airy cakes made with lots of eggs. The cakes which are Spanish in origin are dipped for half a second in thin syrup before serving. I thought at first that they are coffee flavored because of the name. Researching online for its origin was frustrating. Entries for the cakes are scarce but I was able to find one or two articles and a recipe from a Miami (Cuban) restaurant. Both the cakes and capuccino coffee come from the Capuchin monk's habit; capuchino cakes from the pointed cowls and the coffee, its dark brown color and also the pointed cowl.  

light airy eggy capuchino and a cup of capuccino 

The recipe from the Filipino cookbook has flour, butter, sugar, and brandy and they are baked in small muffin cups which in my opinion is similar to chiffon cake or mamonalthough it has baking powder; the one from Miami has very little sugar and cornstarch added to the batter. I chose to make the one from Miami because I love airy light cakes. I made cones out of parchment paper and baked them on ice cream cone servers but these can be baked in lined muffin cups.

Capuchinos 1
cake
5 egg yolks
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons cornstarch
syrup
1 cup sugar
½ cup water
peel and juice of half a lemon
1 tablespoon brandy
1 teaspoon vanilla

• Cakes: Pre-heat oven to 350°F. Beat egg yolks and sugar for 15 minutes until thick. Sift cornstarch over egg mixture and gently fold  until mixed. Transfer into a pastry bag, snip the tip of the bag and fill paper cones or paper liners 2/3 full. Bake for about 12 minutes or until tops are rounded and golden.When done, peel off the paper cones and pour syrup over them. 
• Syrup: Put sugar, water, lemon peel, and¼ teaspoon lemon juice to a boil. Boil for 3 minutes. Add brandy and vanilla. Cool completely before using.

Here is the recipe in its entirety from RECIPES OF THE PHILIPPINES. 

Capuchinos 2 

5 well-beaten eggs

1 cup sugar

½ cup melted fat

1 cup flour

¼ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

2 tablespoons brandy

• Beat the eggs and sugar well. Add the melted fat then add the dry ingredients. Add brandy. Place in greased muffin pans and bake in hot oven. Before serving, dip in thin syrup for half a second. Set in a cool place to dry.

Punschtorte Bites

I was considering signing up for another baking community but reading through the assigned cookbook, The Modern Baker by Nick Malgieri, I decided not to join. I'm not in the mood to bake 150 breads, cakes, biscuits, tarts, and cookies. However, the very last recipe caught my eye because they are very pretty pink iced sandwich cookies called Viennese Punch Cookies, the author's take on a cake called Punschtorte.

I have never heard of this cake before. There are very few recipes online, one has layers made of cake crumbs moistened with a syrup made of citrus juices, rum, and apricot preserves then formed into 2 round layers. A layer each of marzipan and apricot preserves are sandwiched between the spiked cake layers. I thought the make up of the cake is strange.

I didn't like the cookie recipe and after reading the other recipes, I combined 2 of them with the book's cookie filling, baked a thin sponge cake, cut shapes with small cookie cutters, and made iced sandwich bites.

I love small cute cakes and they're easy to store too, although preparation is too involved and labor intensive. I made a mistake in the icing adding too much pink gel icing, I had to scrape them off. You will notice the cakes are not smooth at the edges and some of the pepto bismol pink icing is visible in a few places. The icing also is too thin which was done on purpose because I didn't want too much sweet icing. I like the cake but I was not wowed all that much. Maybe it'll taste better tomorrow because it's supposed to age at least a day for the flavors to meld.

Punschtorte Bites
cake
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
4 large eggs, room temperature
½ cup sugar
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon each finely grated lemon and orange zest
1 cup sifted cake flour
syrup
1 cup semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips, melted
1 cup marzipan
icing

• Line a jelly roll pan with parchment paper. Set aside.
• Mix eggs, sugar, vanilla, zest, and salt in a large mixing bowl. Using an electric mixer, whip egg mixture until it has tripled in volume, about 4 to 5 minutes. Fold flour into mixture, one third at a time, just until incorporated.
• Pour about 1 cup of batter into the melted butter, and fold just until combined. Return butter mixture to reserved batter, and again fold to combine. Pour batter into prepared pan. Smooth batter evenly. Bake in a 350 degree F oven for 15 minutes or until top springs back slightly when lightly touched. Cool completely then brush with syrup. Cut into squares or rounds and pair them up.
• Crumble the scraps and mix with the melted chocolate. Roll into a 1/16-inch thin rectangle between 2 pieces of plastic film. Cut into squares or rounds. Place on top of half of the shapes. Roll the marzipan into a thin rectangle and cut out shapes. Place on top of chocolate shapes, top with its cake pair making sandwiches. Pour the icing straight over the cake. Smooth the sides using a palette knife but avoid touching the top.

syrup
4 ounces sugar
3 tablespoons lemon juice, strained
3 tablespoons orange juice, strained
2 tablespoons apricot jam strained
3 tablespoons dark rum

• Dissolve the sugar in the juices over gentle heat. Add the strained jam and boil gently for 3 minutes until slightly thickened. Remove from heat and stir in rum.

icing
2 cups confectioners sugar, sifted
1 tablespoon fresh orange juice, strained
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice, strained
1 tablespoon rum
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
1 drop red food coloring

• Mix the liquids. Slowly add the liquid to the sifted sugar in a bowl, stirring all the time. Do not add all liquid at once, the icing may become too runny. It should be thick and smooth enough to coat the back of the spoon. Place the bowl over a small pan with simmering water, and warm until the icing thins out and runs easily from the spoon. Remove from heat and use immediately.

Brazo de Oggi

Two months ago a Filipino reader left 4 of the same long comment in 4 different entries (the subject is not worth discussing). She accused me of racism and I was a tad annoyed when she said something about Filipinos having flat noses as being offensive. Now why would Filipinos be offended by it and I replied that I AM PROUD OF BEING FILIPINO AND YES OF MY FLAT NOSE. In the Philippines I knew of a few friends and acquaintances who had nose jobs making Vicki Belo a household name. Although I take good care of my outside appearance, I have never been a vain person, never had and will never consider altering my face or body, and never ever have been or will be ashamed of my Filipinoness. However, I must admit there is one part of my body that I am very conscious of that I try to hide as much as possible, they are my fat-ish arms. They started getting plumper after my second childbirth and it seems that whenever I gain a pound or two, they go straight to my arms and stay there even after losing the weight gain. Other people complain of their thunder thighs, jelly belly, or hippo hips, my beef is about my ficeps. I whine about them all the time and my daughter kept assuring me they are not THAT HUGE and I always dreaded summertime when I could not wear sleeveless garments. But I have recently changed my attitude and am "accepting" the fact that I will never have anorexic arms again. And as an homage to my fat arms*kiss kiss*, I made Brazo de Oggi (Oggi's arm) which is my version of Brazo de Mercedes, a very popular egg roll cake in the Philippines. Its origin is the Spanish Swiss roll cake called Brazo de Gitano (gypsy's arm), a very thin sponge cake with custard or whipped cream filling. They are also sometimes called Brazo de Monja (nun's arm). Their arms were probably really plump to inspire such a rich dessert.

I made Brazo de Mercedes a year ago but my daughter thought it was too rich and eggy, maybe I undercooked the meringue or I missed adding an ingredient. A reader suggested I add vanilla extract to the egg whites to lessen the egginess. Then I saw a recipe adding ube (purple yam) to the egg yolk filling which I think is a brilliant idea, and then Maricel, who sent me the recipe for the Coffee Mangosteen Cake, also gave me the recipe for Frozen Brazo de Mercedes which has a layer of ice cream filling. It is very rich and has high sugar content but I want to indulge just one time. After months of portion control and low carb diet, I think I and my arms deserve the treat.:-)

I made a few modifications to the recipe to make it less unhealthy (no butter and less sugar and egg yolks). There were also some mishaps while making the dessert. I didn't expect the meringue will rise so high and it got caught in the grills of the rack above it where I have 2 loaves of bread baking. It was not so bad, only the middle portion got stuck. When I finally put the finished cake in the freezer a small container fell on one side of the cake and squeezed out a little of the ice cream filling. The cake looks a little funny which I don't mind because the cake is so very yummy. The good thing is we have already changed our minds about Brazo and are now fans of this dessert. Thanks again Maricel for being so generous.:-)

the accident-prone Brazo de Oggi

Frozen Brazo de Mercedes
Crust:
2½ C (250 gm) crushed graham crackers
½ C (112 gm) melted butter
1/3 C (85 gm) sugar

Filling:
288 gm egg yolks
255 gm butter
60 gm sugar
2 gm vanilla extract
1 can sweetened condensed milk
½ gallon mantecado ice cream or your favorite ice cream

Meringue:
300 gm egg whites
150 gm sugar
pinch of cream of tartar
1 gm vanilla extract

• Prepare the crust: Mix graham crackers and sugar and stir in butter. Press into a 10 x 14-inch glass dish. Bake in a 350 degree oven until golden brown. Set aside to cool.
• Prepare the egg yolk filling: In a glass bowl whisk together the egg yolks, sugar, and condensed milk. Cook in a double boiler until of spreading consistency. Turn off heat and add butter and vanilla. Leave to cool.
• Prepare the meringue: Grease and line a 12 x 17 x 1-inch jelly roll pan with parchment paper. Grease paper. Set aside. Whisk egg whites until foamy, add cream of tartar and a pinch of salt. When soft peaks form, gradually add sugar and beat until stiff. Spread meringue on the prepared pan up to the top. Pass a cake comb to make a design. Bake in a 300 degree oven for 1 hour until golden in color. Let cool in pan. Loosen sides, dust top with powdered sugar. Invert into a piece of parchment paper. Remove paper lining.
• To assemble: Spread cooled filling on the crust. Beat ice cream until of spreading consistency. Spread on top of egg yolk filling. Freeze. When frozen, invert the meringue on top of ice cream so that the golden side is on top. Freeze until ready to serve. Alternatively, you may use two 8 x 8-inch glass pans (I halved the recipe as it's quite big).