Iloilo Tortitas

I have read so much about tortas, a very rich sweet Visayan cakey buns loaded with egg yolks and butter, similar to ensaimada. I have never tasted them before, and when I saw the recipe in the FOOD magazine the hubby brought from the Philippines as one of his pasalubongs I was excited to be able to make them. The smaller buns called tortitas, adapted from the recipe of Mrs. Cosette Montelibano, are from Iloilo. The recipe has yeast as leavening making them bready and should not be confused with the Cebuano tortas which look more like a leche flan/cake combination. The Cebuano tortas have more egg yolks, sweetened condensed milk, and have baking powder or the coconut sap toddy called tuba as leavening agent. I'll also try to make the Cebuano version without the tuba just to compare them.

I made some flat-ish buns as described below and some I baked in lined cupcake pans. I can't tell if this is what they should look and taste like but I love that they are not overly sweet, they are very soft but not very delicate, they don't get crushed or get out of shape when you bite into them or cut with a knife. Preparing the dough is easy although the rising times are long, two 2-hour risings, but it's worth all the time I spent making them. They are perfect for Easter breakfast with sliced aged edam cheese and barako coffee or hot chocolate.

BTW, the 2 FOOD magazines have loads of yummy cakes and desserts that I am salivating just looking at the photos and will make them ASAP, the 7-layer toffee crunch cake and ube roll are two on the top of my list.:-)

Tortitasadapted from FOOD magazine
1 tablespoon active dry yeast
2 teaspoons sugar
1 cup warm water
1 cup sugar
pinch of salt
12 egg yolks
1 cup butter, softened
6 to 7 cups all purpose flour
melted butter for brushing
sugar for dusting.

• In a small bowl, combine warm water and 2 tsp sugar, sprinkle yeast and whisk to mix. Cover with plastic film and leave in a warm place for 5 - 10 minutes or until bubbly.In a large bowl of stand mixer, mix together sugar, salt, and egg yolks. Add butter and mix until well blended. Add the yeast mixture. Gradually add the flour and knead until smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes. (I finished kneading by hand for 3 minutes).
• Form dough into a bowl and transfer to a lightly oiled bowl. Cover with plastic film and leave in a warm place for 2 hours.
• Remove from bowl, punch down gently and divide into 60 -70 gram portions. Shape into buns and lay on a greased or parchment-lined baking pan. Cover with plastic film or cloth and let rise for another 2 hours or until double in bulk.Bake in a preheated 300 degree oven for 20 to 25 minutes. Cool slightly then brush with melted butter. Sprinkle with granulated sugar.

this is a very yellow dough

Pasalubong

sagada, benguet, and barako coffee beans from Baguio

I love getting pasalubong from the Philippines, who doesn't? It's exciting to open the box to find what goodies are inside. I received one such box from Texas today, many many thanks to my good friends Yoly and Joe L for the pasalubong they got for me on their recent trip to the Philippines. XOXOXO!

a cup of dark roast sagada which I believe is arabica

caycay - a yummy candy from Bohol
peanuty candies that resemble Butterfinger but better because they're less sweet

puto bumbong steamer made of tin or maybe steel

Pasalubong Part 2 (from hubby) tomorrow...

Yoly asked me to rate the coffee beans. I will have a taste test and compare them with my regular coffee beans and will post the result sometime this week.

Tokwa't Baboy (Fried Tofu And Boiled Pork)

tokwa't baboy and lugaw
Blogging makes me want to eat Filipino food that I did not eat frequently while living in Manila. The pork, which is usually ears and some meaty parts, in Tokwa't Baboy I probably ate just once. It's weird that when I chewed on the ear I felt like I was chewing my own ears, much like the way I feel when eating ox tongue, as if I'm chewing my own tongue. But I love fried tofu, one of my favorite food ever, specially with vinegar/soy sauce/garlic dipping sauce. I can eat them everyday without getting tired of them, seriously. A week ago I read about the tofu frites over at White on Rice Couple blog and made them yesterday. I convinced myself to buy a few pig's ears, and I also bought 2 thick strips of pork belly (in case I gag while eating the chopped ears), boiled them for almost 2 hours in water, salt, garlic, whole peppercorns, and bay leaves and ate them with lugaw (congee). My meal was just fantastic! I didn't mind the crunchy ears, they are actually very good with the excellent yummy crrrunchy tofu fries.:D

tofu fries with flaked sea salt

the pork does not look appetizing yet delicious

lugaw (congee) topped with fried shallots and calamansi juice

Lugaw (congee)
1 cup rice
6 cups water
1-inch piece fresh ginger, sliced
salt, to taste
topping: slivered ginger, fried shallots, sliced green onions, calamansi juice

• In a Dutch oven, boil rice, ginger, 1 tablespoon sea salt, and water for 2 - 3 hours, stirring occasionally. Taste and add more salt to taste.
• Serve with calamansi juice and choice of ginger, fried shallots, or green onions

Mint Chocolate Cupcakes

mint chocolate cupcakes with buttercream frosting
I have been making cupcakes recently. Cupcakes have been the "it" thing since the Magnolia Bakery cupcakes became famous. Many copycat bakeshops have sprouted not just in the USA but everywhere on the planet and I have been reading about them in several food blogs. Recently a very successful bakeshop that only sells cupcakes in Washington, D.C. was featured in the Washington Post which makes me want to open my own bakeshop, if only I can find a rich partner or financier or the courage to start a business. I have baked red velvet cupcakes before which were delicious but require a lot of work and clean-up. The latest I made was chai cupcakes which were just okay, the chai flavor was very faint and the recipe had loads of sugar. Next on my cupcake list is either chocolate or an alcohol drink inspired (margarita, zombie, etc.) but when I found online a really easy chocolate with mint cupcakes I knew right then the zombie cupcakes can wait. The mint chocolate cupcakes are a breeze to make, not excessively sweet, and have a super soft melt-in-your-mouth goodness. I iced them with my favorite buttercream frosting tinted with green food color gel. (Just in time for St. Patrick's Day celebration.) I have already devoured 3 of these delicious cupcakes, 15 more to go.:-)

Mint Chocolate Cupcakes
½ cup boiling water
¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
¼ cup grapeseed oil or butter
½ teaspoonvanilla extract
1 teaspoon finely minced mint leaves or ½ tsp mint extract
4 large eggs, separated
1¼ cup sugar
¾ cup flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon baking powder
for garnish: small mint leaves, chopped roasted pistachio

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Line 18 cupcake tins with baking papers.
• In a heatproof glass cup, add cocoa powder to boiling water, stir until smooth. Add oil or butter, vanilla extract, and mint. Stir until mixture is glossy, set aside to cool. Stir the egg yolk with a fork until smooth, set aside.
• In a large bowl, sift together 1 C sugar, the flour, baking soda, and baking powder, set aside.
• In another bowl, beat egg whites with mixer on high for 1 minute, add 2 tablespoons of the remaining ¼ cupsugar and beat on high for 30 seconds. Slowly add the remaining sugar, beating until soft peaks form, about 2 minutes, set aside. Add the chocolate mixture and egg yolks to the flour mixture. Using a flexible rubber spatula, stir by hand until well combined, scraping bottom well. Add ½ cup of the whipped egg white and stir well to lighten the flour mixture. Gently fold the rest of egg white mixture until the batter is of uniform chocolate color. The batter will be light.
• Using a small ladle, spoon batter ¾ full. Bake for 15 minutes or until top springs back when touched. Cool in pans until ready to frost.

the softest velvety smooth chocolate cupcake