Calamansi Macarons

It's been a long while since I made macarons. They are time consuming to make and the process gives real meaning to "labor intensive". Even writing down the recipe is a chore. Hahaha. But the end result is very rewarding, specially this batch flavored with Philippine limes, calamansi. The recipe is adapted from Piere Hermé's Lemon Macarons from his book MACARONS. They are sweet and tart and utterly delicious. I urge you to try making them at least once. You won't be disappointed.

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Copycat Hawaiian Sweet Rolls

I love the fluffy soft King's Hawaiian Sweet Rolls but they are cloyingly sweet for me. A lot of copycat recipes online also have a ton of sugar and some have pineapple juice. Because...Hawaii. Um, yeah. On the list of countless ingredients is potato flour. According to numerous baking blogs, addition of mashed or flaked potato makes breads extra moist and fluffy soft and it also helps in keeping the bread stay fresh longer.

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Fried Milk (Leche Frita) and Fried Corn Soup

creamy and moderately sweet with a hint of cinnamon and vanilla Leche Frita
Have you heard about thedeep fried corn potage or soup introduced at KFC Japan early this week? It's crazy, I know, but it certainly got my attention. Looking at the photo of the of the fried "soup" nuggets, a Fillipino snack/dessert pudding called Maja Blanca which is made of coconut milk, sweet corn kernels, and cornstarch immediately came to mind. It also reminded me of the Spanish sweet snack Leche Frita, literally fried milk, but is actually chilled pudding, cut into squares, dipped in egg and bread crumbs, then fried.

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Rum Raisin Ice Cream

I can't remember if I've had Rum Raisin ice cream before. There are several ice cream brands that sell the flavor but since I have a great ice cream machine and the best ice cream cookbook, I'm not inclined to go out and buy a pint. I adapted David Lebovitz's recipe using my homemade almost 6 years old Kumquat and Star Anise Rum and all golden raisins (sultanas). I also omitted the orange peel in the recipe. The ice cream is rich, very creamy, delicious, and quite addicting.

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