Daring Bakers: Maple Mousse In An Edible Container

maple mousse in candied bacon topped with chocolate meringue

maple mousse in lemon rind confit topped with ginger-flavored meringue

chocolate boat, split tiny banana, semi-frozen maple mousse,
sweet cream, cherry

The April 2011 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Evelyne of the blog Cheap Ethnic Eatz. Evelyne chose to challenge everyone to make a maple mousse in an edible container. Prizes are being awarded to the most creative edible container and filling, so vote on your favorite from April 27th to May 27th at http://thedaringkitchen.com!


The edible containers theme continues with this month's Daring Bakers. Thanks Evelyne for allowing us to choose our containers for the light, airy, and delicious maple mousse.

Maple Syrup Mousse
1 cup pure maple syrup
4 large egg yolks
1 tablespoon unflavored gelatin
1 ½ cups whipping cream (35% fat content)

• Bring maple syrup to a boil then remove from heat. In a large bowl, whisk egg yolks and pour a little bit of the maple syrup while whisking to temper the yolks. Add warmed egg yolks to hot maple syrup until well mixed. Measure ¼ cup of whipping cream in a bowl and sprinkle the gelatin. Let it rest for 5 minutes. Place the bowl on top of a pan of barely simmering water, stir to ensure the gelatin has completely dissolved. Whisk the gelatin mixture into the maple syrup mixture and set aside. Whisk occasionally for approximately an hour or until the mixture has the consistency of an unbeaten raw egg white. Whip the remaining cream. Stir ¼ of the whipped cream into the maple syrup mixture. Fold in the remaining cream and refrigerate for at least an hour. Remove from the fridge and divide equally among your edible containers.

One of Evelyne's suggestions for containers is crispy bacon cups. I made them sweet and extra crunchy by dipping them in raw sugar before baking. I have candied bacon before and loved them as a snack but never tried it with ice cream or mousse. The crunchy bacon combined with maple mousse and chocolate meringue is heavenly.

Candied Bacon Cups
strips of bacon
golden raw or light brown sugar

• Snip bacon strips on both sides and dip in sugar. Form into coils and place in muffin cups. Bake in a 400°F oven until edges and bottom are dark brown. Leave for a minute in cups to cool and set slightly. Transfer on a plate with paper towel to remove excess grease. Let cool completely on a wire rack before filling with mousse.

I had a few lemon rind confit in the refrigerator and thought the tangy, slightly bitter, and sweet rinds would be perfect containers for the mousse. I added a pinch of ground ginger to half of the meringue recipe and the ginger flavor is just about right, not too weak nor strong. I love this combination too.

Lemon Rind Confit
14 ounces sugar
6 ounces glucose
12 ounces water
4 lemons, cut in half crosswise
water

• Heat sugar, glucose, and water until sugar dissolves. Let cool.
  
• Juice lemons, keep juice for another use. Scrape and clean the insides of the lemon rinds leaving the white pith on. Boil water and add rinds; boil for half a minute then drain. Boil and drain 4 more times with fresh water each time.
  
• Bring the syrup to a boil in a pot. Add the blanched rinds and let simmer for 1 hour, making sure the syrup does not boil and completely covers the rinds. Turn heat off and let rinds cool in the syrup. Transfer to a container, cover tightly and refrigerate until needed.
  
• Trim the bottom if using as a container for mousse or ice cream.
  

Cebu Torta

I'm so glad Kat and Lala, our Kulinarya Cooking Club hosts chose Decadence for April 2011 because I've been itching to make Cebu Torta for a few years now but never had the courage to make them...they're too darn rich for my own good. Reading the amount of egg yolks alone is enough to give me heart palpitations. Cebu torta as described on many websites sounds like the love child of this extra-rich Filipino ensaimada and leche flan...let's see...

large number of egg yolks ✓
loads of lard or butter ✓
tons of sugar ✓
sweetened condensed milk ✓

I made a very small batch following the traditional recipe, replacing tuba (coconut toddy) with sweet wine and a pinch of yeast; the torta was a bit acidic and not very good but still edible. It's probably my fault for adding yeast and letting it ferment longer than necessary. I baked a second torta adapting Market Manila's recipe which uses baking powder as leavening. I used buco juice in place of water and baked one half of the dough in large muffin pans at 350°F which produced dense cakes with a slight bump at the center. The other half of the dough was baked in small shallow tartlet molds in a hotter oven. They came out less dense, not fluffy, just a tad airier than the large ones. I love them both. These cakes are super rich, sweet, moist, and may be addicting (not good). Torta spells D-E-C-A-D-E-N-T and should be consumed only once a year, the best time perhaps is on Easter Sunday when we are allowed to indulge after weeks of temporarily giving up rich food for Lent.

Torta
adapted from Market Manila's Torta recipe

1 cup buco juice or water
1 cup sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons baking powder
¾ teaspoon kosher salt
8 ounces unsalted butter, room temperature
12 egg yolks
8 ounces sweetened condensed milk
4 ounces whole milk
3 tablespoons olive oil
ensaimada molds, extra-large muffin pan, or tartlet molds
cupcake liners

• In a small pan, heat juice and sugar until sugar dissolves; leave to cool to room temperature.
• Line molds with paper liners, set aside.
• Preheat oven to 350°F or 400°F.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside.
• In the bowl of a standing mixer with paddle attachment, beat butter on medium-high until light and creamy. Add the egg yolks and beat until well-mixed. Add cooled syrup, both milk, and oil and beat well. Add flour mixture; beat on low until well incorporated. Fill molds 2/3 full and bake for 20 minutes at 350°F until tops are golden, or 12 minutes at 400°F until tops are golden brown.

a slight bump at the center if baked at 350°F

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Kulinarya was started by a group of Filipino foodies living in Sydney (Kath, Trisha, and Trissa), who are passionate about the Filipino culture and its colorful cuisine.

Each month we will showcase a new dish along with their family recipes. By sharing these recipes, we hope you find the same passion and love for Filipino Food as we do.

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But wait! There's more decadent Filipino fare to read here.

Food Friday: Matcha and Sweet Azuki Swirl Bread

I've been busy updating and re-posting old entries from 2006 and 07. Back then I didn't add labels to my posts and sometimes even forgot the titles. Yeah, I know, I was the worst newbie blogger ever. And my photos were really ug-uh-leee and when I changed to the recent template design the positioning of the photos got messed up. I tell you, it's taking me forever "correcting" the photos' colors, brightness, etc., uploading to flickr, and aligning them on the posts. But the positive thing is I get to be reminded to bake my old favorites such as these swirl breads. I added a layer of green tea dough to the sweet bean swirl...perfect match-a. (^-^)

Daring Cooks: Edible Containers

Mac 'N' Cheese on a crispy cheddar cheese bowl

baked hash potato cups with assorted fillings:
egg salad topped with caviar, poached salmon, goat cheese

vegetarian bibimbap with tofu, baby carrots, baby zucchini, soybean sprouts,
fresh shiitake, and egg yolk in a seasoned rice bowl

Renata of Testado, Provado & Aprovado! was our Daring Cooks’ April 2011 hostess. Renata challenged us to think “outside the plate” and create our own edible containers! Prizes are being awarded to the most creative edible container and filling, so vote on your favorite from April 17th to May 16th at http://thedaringkitchen.com!

This is one of the most fun Daring Cooks challenges and most delicious too. Thank you Renata for coming up with this brilliant challenge allowing us DC members to be as creative as much as we want.

THE RECIPES

Mac 'N' Cheese
I love the crunch and saltiness of the cheese bowls and what could be better than a double dose of cheese.

coarsely grated extra sharp Cheddar cheese
prepared macaroni and cheese, keep hot
1 tablespoon butter or olive oil
1 cup panko bread crumbs
medium-size bowls
cookie sheet lined with aluminum foil (for easy clean-up)

• Heat a non-stick skillet over medium fire and place 3 tablespoons of grated cheese. Cook until golden brown and a little fat has been rendered. Remove fat by dabbing with paper towel. Remove cheese with a large spatula and place immediately onto the bottom of upside-down bowl. Place on the cookie sheet and let set while cooking the rest of the cheese. Once set, remove cheese cups carefully from bowl and set on a serving dish. Add butter or olive oil to the skillet and toast panko until golden brown. Spoon macaroni and cheese into cups and sprinkle with toasted panko. Serve immediately

Hash Potato Cups
I love these for breakfast.

1 pound waxy potatoes
¼ cup finely chopped sweet onion
1 tablespoon butter
1 teaspoon sea salt
egg salad
caviar
poached or shallow-fried salmon steak
goat cheese, cream cheese, or mascarpone
regular or mini muffin pan

• Boil potatoes, whole and unpeeled, for 10 minutes. Let potatoes cool in the freezer for 15 minutes. Peel potatoes and coarsely grate. In a non-stick skillet, heat butter, saute onions until cooked, add to the grated potatoes with the salt, mix gently. Preheat oven to 425°F. Grease muffin cups. Spoon and press the potato mixture on the bottom and sides of muffin cups. Bake until darkish brown and edges are crispy. Remove from pans and fill.

Vegetarian Bibimbap
Korean cuisine has been a long-time favorite specially bibimbap I decided to make it vegetarian with tofu instead of beef strips for a change.

rice
2 cups cooked Japanese short grain rice
1 egg white
2 tablespoon sauce
2 medium-size microwavable bowls

sauce
6 tablespoons soy sauce
3 tablespoons gochu jang sauce, or to taste

3 tablespoons sugar

1 tablespoon ginger juice
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds
1 tablespoon Korean sesame oil

vegetable and tofu

light olive oil
baby carrots, julienned
baby zucchini, sliced into coins
fresh shiitake, julienned or halved if small
kale or spinach
soybean sprouts
1 block firm tofu, cut into 1 x 1 x 2 inch pieces

optional topping
2 egg yolks

• Mix all sauce ingredients and let simmer in a small saucepan for 3 minutes. Remove 2 tablespoons and mix with the rice together with egg white. Line the bowls with plastic wrap and spoon 1 cup rice in each bowl pressing up the sides. Microwave, uncovered for 1½ minutes. Leave to set.
• In a non-stick skillet, add half tablespoon of oil and saute carrots until tender, transfer into a large plate and set aside. Saute the next 4 ingredients, one at a time, adding oil as needed and transfer into the plate separating each vegetable. Keep vegetables warm. Stir fry tofu with 2 tablespoons of sauce until sauce is absorbed and has thickened. Transfer into the platter; keep warm. Fry the egg yolks until the bottom is set and the edges begin to cook.
• Reheat rice bowl in the microwave for 1 minute. Remove the plastic wrap carefully and transfer the rice bowls into plates. Arrange the still warm vegetables and tofu in the bowls. Drizzle sauce all over. Top each with an egg yolk. Serve immediately with extra sauce on the side.

Fluffy Egg White Omelet with Feta and Kale

I have lots and lots of egg whites, I'm practically swimming in them. I already used up some for meringues but didn't want to make any more sweet things that would probably add inches to my expanding waistline. Then I remembered the fluffy egg white omelet I made 2 years ago, so for early dinner I whipped up a light airy protein-rich omelet that is nowhere near boredom city because it's filled with farmer's white cheese, salty tangy herbed (basil, rosemary, dried tomato) feta cheese, and my current favorite green leaf vegetable, kale. I love the combination of the salty cheese and the nutty vegetable and will definitely have this for dinner again.

Fluffy Egg White Omelet
serves one

3 egg whites
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1/8 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil or butter
½ cup chopped kale
2 tablespoons crumbled feta
2 tablespoons crumbled farmer's white cheese

• In the bowl of standing mixer with wire whisk on medium speed, beat egg whites, lemon juice, and salt to soft peaks. In a large skillet, heat half tablespoon oil over medium heat and saute kale for 2 minutes or until soft. Transfer into a small plate. Add the rest of olive oil, then add beaten egg whites. Cook for 2 minutes. Flip the egg white and cook for 1½ minutes. Flip once more then sprinkle the cooked kale and cheeses evenly on top. Fold and transfer on a plate. Serve immediately.

Machang, Machang, Machang...

seasoned sticky rice filled with pork belly, chestnuts, shiitake,
Chinese sausage, and crispy-fried shallots and garlic

After posting the semi-authentic recipe for Machang 3 ½ years ago, I never visited my page again until I was told of the plagiarist. I admit the shaping is wrong and maybe the procedure is too which I pointed out on the first sentence. Machang suddenly became a mini obssession for me. I searched for a Filipino recipe online, still no luck, but recipes for Chinese sticky rice dimsum called zongzi are aplenty. And there are several shapes, seasonings, and fillings, including desserts, depending on the region and country; Malaysia has its own Nyonya Chang; take note of the name. Well, if there are many versions, then I guess I can create my own seasonings, shape it the traditional way, cook and wrap them in banana leaves just like the ones in Binondo, Manila. I love this machang; they came pretty close in flavor and texture to the ones I had in the Philippines.

Machang
recipe adapted from here

2 cups glutinous rice, soaked in water overnight and drained
1 tablespoon light olive oil
12 fresh shiitake, sliced into 4 pieces
1 pound roast pork belly, cut into 1 inch pieces
1/3 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons sugar
¼ teaspoon 5-spice powder
2 tablespoons crispy fried shallots
2 tablespoons crispy fried shaved garlic
2 tablespoons sesame seed oil
4 Chinese sausages, cut into ¼-inch slices
1 100gm packet roasted chestnuts, whole or halved
5-inch wide banana leaves
kitchen twine cut into 24-inch lengths

• In a large pan or wok, heat oil and saute mushrooms. Add pork belly and saute for 1 minute. Add soy sauce, sugar, and 5 spice powder. Cook for 2 minutes, add the sesame seed oil. Using a slotted spoon, transfer pork and mushrooms into a large bowl; leave the liquid in the pan.
  
• To the pork belly, mix in the shallots, garlic, chestnuts, and sausages, set aside.
  
• Add the rice to the pan and stir cook until rice is partially cooked.
  
• Take 2 leaves and overlap the soft sides by 4 inches. Make a cone with the leaves and support the bottom with your palm. Spoon 2 tablespoons of rice, tamp gently, then add the meat mixture; top with more rice, tamp to even the top. Fold the upper leaf down, bring together and fold, or trim excess if preferred. Tie with strings. Steam in rapidly boiling water for 1 hour.

Or watch this video from the same site on how to fill and shape machang/zongzi

Pinaputok na Pompano

deep fried banana leaf-wrapped pompano

green mango mixed with spicy shrimp paste

Sometimes Filipino cuisine confuses me or maybe just the names of the dishes like pinaputok na isda (exploded or popped deep-fried fish). I've made this fish dish twice already following the recipe from KULINARYA guidebook. The fish is simply seasoned, wrapped in banana leaves, and deep fried. The fish does not pop nor make a popping sound while being cooked although the leaves make a few crackling sound. The fried fish doesn't become brown or crispy and almost looks like it was steamed. It's not greasy at all and has a nice flavor from the leaves; I like it specially with a relish of green mango mixed with spicy shrimp paste.

Pain à l'Ancienne Focaccia

My favorite focaccia recipe is Peter Reinhart's Pain à l'Ancienne Focaccia from
Artisan Breads Every Day. The recipe is simple to prepare; the dough is mixed the day before with minimal handling and baked the next day or whenever it's convenient. The focaccia has large irregular air pockets, is chewy and very flavorful. I prefer focaccia with very little topping, sometimes with just Parmesan cheese and sea salt.

topped with cherry tomato halves, Parmesan and Romano cheese, sea salt, and Italian parsley

Pain à l'Ancienne Focaccia
adapted from Artisan Breads Every Day by Peter Reinhart

4 ½ cups bread flour
2 ½ teaspoons kosher salt
1 ¼ teaspoon instant yeast
2 cups chilled water (55°F)
extra virgin olive oil
four 8-inch round pans lined with parchment paper
herb oil (extra virgin olive oil with herbs and spices of your choice)
toppings of your choice

• In a standing mixer with paddle attachment, combine flour, salt, yeast, and water. Mix on lowest speed for 1 minute. Let the coarse wet dough rest for 5 minutes.
  
• Drizzle 1 tablespoon olive oil on the dough, then resume mixing on medium-low for 1 minute. The dough should be smoother but will still be very soft, sticky, and wet. Use a wet spatula to transfer the dough to a lightly oiled container. Cover with plastic wrap and let the dough rest for 10 minutes.
  
• Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled surface. With wet or oiled hands stretch out the dough from all sides, one at a time and fold over to the center. Flip the dough over and tuck it into a ball. The dough should be firmer but still very soft and fragile. Place the dough back into the bowl, cover with plastic, and leave at room temperature for 10 minutes. Repeat the stretch and fold process 3 more times.
  
• Divide the dough into four 8-ounce pieces. Drizzle 1 tablespoon olive oil on the parchment-lined baking pans. Place one dough on each pan; drizzle 1 teaspoon or more olive oil on the dough ball. Using your fingertips, dimple the dough all over and spread it as much as it will allow. When the dough starts to spring back, cover the pans tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate immediately. The dough will keep in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
  
• On baking day, remove pans from refrigerator. Drizzle all over with 1 teaspoon olive oil and dimple the surface until the dough has completely covered the pan. If the dough springs back, let it rest for 20 minutes and resume dimpling.
  
• Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in turned-off oven with the light on, for 1 and a half hours.
  
• Preheat oven to 500°F. Brush with herb oil, add toppings, and bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until the top is golden brown.

topped with rosemary, sauteed red onions, cured olives, and feta and Romano cheese

Another Day, Another Blog Thief *Sigh*

I was alerted by a long-time reader that there is another blog thief who stole parts of one of my posts, Machang.

Simply Marilyn's Machang was published on September 2010, almost four years after I posted mine on January 2007. I can tell she is capable of thinking and writing on her own and she did a good job of using pandan leaves to substitute for banana leaves.

I can't understand why she had to lift paragraphs and phrases from my post. Again this blog thief just like the first one didn't acknowledge my blog nor the author of the recipe I adapted it from, Martin Yan. Is it a disease among Filipino food bloggers? Or are they just shameless people who want to impress their friends with their culinary ability?

And she has the temerity to ignore the Copyright notice on all texts and photos indicated at the bottom of all my posts when she has the same Copyright sign on her blog. Isn't that incredible? Practice what you preach, you shameless plagiarist! I wonder how many more of my posts are on her blog. I will reluctantly check her other posts, then. I had left a comment on her post asking for acknowledgment both to me and Martin Yan, or removal of her post.

Update: April 10, 2011

Marilyn finally responds on her blog comment

Oggie! Sorry for this late reply, i was so busy with my culinary classes. why are you angry at this posts? I f you are a fan of Martin Yan,then it works the same with me too. We got different versions of trying it out, if you can only read my Phil. version of it which makes it so different from yours. You have to admit that. and please stop pestering my buss. page because of this . My business page has nothing to do with this. you just have to act professionally. you are talking about plagi…I don’t know that we got the same cookbooks.Mine was long time cookbooks from my late mom. This is the first time that i discovered we have same Martin’s Yan recipe. What thought are you talking about? this is Martins. if you can read my own version of explanation indicated on the first part. I was about to update it for sources in it, thus delayed a little while. I don’t like this either. i don’t want us both to do the same of Martin’s, i will only remove this if you ‘ll remove your posts, about my name indicated in your website., cause i can also do the same with you. I will remove my posts not because of about plagi,..it is for the reason of –i don’t want us to have the same recipe. I can make my own kind, im a chinese anyway

My response
First of all, Marilyn, I haven’t been pestering your business page, wherever that is. That is not my style. Read my post comment saying I have already gotten over your plagiarism. However, I got an email late last night informing me that he/she has been leaving comments on your facebook pages just to tick you off. If you are so concerned about professionalism, you should examine yourself. You obviously are in denial of your theft. Overseaspinoycooking commented on my post that you lifted several of his posts also and passed as your own, and that he asked you to remove them. Professionalism? You have got to be kidding me! You won’t recognize the word if it hits you on the face.

May I remind you
These are directly lifted from my blog post Machang without Martin Yan's name.
“I know, this is not authentic machang, The rice is a bit soggy, the seasoning was not thoroughly absorbed by the rice and maybe was washed away by the boiling method. The thing is, the machang was still good, regardless. So I searched in all my Chinese cookbooks for something similar, found one.. His recipe has too many ingredients and the rice bundles are wrapped in lotus leaves”

And these are directly lifted from Machang For Real
“It’s like our native suman, except that it is prepared with pork and chicken filling. It’s more like Chinese adobo in taste.”

You added some of your words, but I have my doubts and now suspect you lifted them also from a book or other blogs, who knows; and I don’t really care. I’ve done my job in exposing your kind, yes the plagiarist kind, to the the food blogging community. I am not interested in your business as long as my blog posts don’t appear in any of yours word for word, thought for thought. As I said on my previous comment, I work hard to write a good description of my experiences with regard to a particular recipe and I NEVER forget to acknowledge the book, author, or blog that inspired me to cook and blog about the food. You have no “right” to be upset because you are the offending party, not me nor overseaspinoycooking. You stole from us and we have every right to be angry at you.

She wrote a follow-up comment

i will remove the posts of Martin Yan procedure and i will do completely a different thing. , just gonna change the whole of it. Did you ever think about the pics. that i have posted?, that was an effort..gonna update it the different way following my own version. you can have Martin. and please, remove about what you have written about my name-if not, i will do the same too. If you are entittled to Martin’s ? why others can’t? it was a reference recipes for everyone. i hope this is clear to you..

My response
Marilyn, do you have a reading comprehension problem. I NEVER said you cannot use Martin Yan’s recipe. You simply removed his name from my original paragraph and I wonder why. You should remove this post entirely or re-write it USING YOUR OWN WORDS AND EXPERIENCES. Is that so hard to understand? Sheesh. And what do you mean “I WILL DO THE SAME TOO”. How so? I didn’t do any thieving, you did!

Why couldn't she just admit her mistake, apologize, re-write her post, and move on. I already did.

A warning to future thieves: Do not lift paragraphs, photos, or entire copyrighted blog posts from this blog; otherwise, your blog and name will appea permanently on BLOG THIEVES HALL OF SHAME.

April Fools

Indian gooseberry fool and marionberry (blackberry) fool

Sorry, but there aren't any April Fools Day pranks or jokes on this post, just berry fools, Indian gooseberry and marionberry fools. I bought a packet of frozen Indian gooseberries and didn't know what to do with them. They are not the same as the sweetish American gooseberries. They have a single stone and the meat is sour and has a tannic or astringent tongue feel which strangely I really like. But that's just me. I love sour fruits and I don't mind that they taste like unripe fruits.

Gooseberry or Marionberry Fool
1 cup tart gooseberries or marionberries
sugar, to taste
1½ cups chilled heavy cream

• In a small pan, heat gooseberries or marionberries with sugar. Cook gooseberries until very soft, mash with a fork. Chill in the refrigerator for 2 hours. Whip heavy cream with 3 tablespoons sugar or to taste to soft peaks. Gently fold in the prepared fruits. Spoon into dessert cups.

Banana-cue

Banana-cue is a favorite Filipino street food made with cooking bananas called saba. Despite its name, banana-cue is not grilled; they are deep-fried with brown sugar and skewered in bamboo sticks for portability. I prefer banana-cue cooked until the sugar caramelizes and becomes hard and brittle.

Banana-cue
6 ripe firm saba bananas, or ripe plantains
2 cups light olive or grapeseed oil
¼ cup dark brown sugar
small skewers

• Heat oil in a medium pan or wok and fry bananas for 2 minutes. Add brown sugar and cook, stirring constantly, for 2 to 3 more minutes or until sugar has caramelized and bananas are evenly coated. Skewer each banana and serve immediately while still warm and crunchy.

Cherry Blossom Friendship Cake

cherry flavored 2-layer sponge cake decorated with fresh yoshino cherry blossoms and the word friendship written in Kanji

The annual National Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington, D.C is now on since March 26 until April 10. There are several events but the most popular activity is walking along the tidal basin to ooh and aah at the cherry blossoms. I've seen the spectacular blooms just once in 1992 but never went back to avoid the huge crowd that descends on the district the entire 2 weeks. Besides getting pushed and stepped on by tourists and tripping on exposed roots, finding a parking space is nearly impossible unless you drive there at 6 in the morning.

photo: National Parks Services, Washington, D.C

Instead of going to Washington, D.C. to join the festivities, I am celebrating at home by watching my favorite Japanese and anime movies (Seven Samurai, Ghost in the Shell, Akira, Gojoe, etc.) and making sushi and onigiri. And to thank the Japanese people for this beautiful gift to the U S of A, I baked a cherry flavored sponge layer cake decorated with cherry blossoms from my tree. The buds aren't in full bloom yet as it is still early; they will be on the second week of April. I cut some of the lower branches and forced the buds to open indoors. I wrote "friendship" in Kanji, the design and idea I got from A WORLD OF CAKE although I did not follow the cake recipe in the book. You can use your favorite layer cake recipe and words of your choice written in Kanji.

Cherry Blossom Friendship Cake
sponge cake
6 eggs
1 cup sugar
3 tablespoons milk
a few drops of natural cherry flavor
a few drops of red or pink food dye
1½ cups cake flour, sifted

frosting
creamy cherry frosting

garnish
fresh or candy flowers
brown and black writing icing tubes

• Line two 8-inch round pans with parchment paper. Preheat oven to 350°F. In the bowl of a standing mixer with paddle attachment, beat eggs on medium speed for 2 minutes. Add sugar and beat on high until pale yellow in color and mixture has thickened. Add milk, cherry flavor, and food dye and mix well. Continue beating on low while slowly adding flour. Mix until smooth and creamy. Pour into the prepared pans and bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until cake test is done. Remove from pans and let cool on wire rack. For the frosting, omit vanilla and add a few drops of pink food dye and cherry flavor to the Creamy Vanilla Frosting. Remove parchment paper, fill, and frost the cake. Decorate with fresh edible or candy flowers.

I think there are too many flowers growing on the cake (^_^)

These are old photos of my cherry tree in full bloom

Daring Bakers: Meringue Coffee Cake

yeast coffee cake filled with meringue, garam masala, cashew nuts, and chocolate chips

The March 2011 Daring Baker’s Challenge was hosted by Jamie of Life’s a Feast and Ria of Ria’s Collection. Ria and Jamie challenged The Daring Bakers to bake a yeasted Meringue Coffee Cake.

Thank you Ria and Jamie for a delightful challenge. The sweet and delicious yeast coffee cake is a pleasure to make and to eat. The dough is very easy to work with and the soft fluffy moist cake resembles brioche but with less butter and eggs. I specially loved the crispy chewy nougat-like meringue that oozed out while baking. I didn't make any changes to Ria's dough and filling recipes, except for the additional spice (bay leaf) in the garam masala.

Meringue Coffee Cake
Ria's version
dough
4 cups bread flour
¼ cup sugar
¾ teaspoon salt
2 ¼ teaspoons active dried yeast
¾ cup whole milk
¼ cup water
½ cup unsalted butter at room temperature
2 large eggs at room temperature
10 strands saffron

meringue
3 large egg whites at room temperature
¼ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon vanilla
½ cup sugar

filling
1 cup chopped cashew nuts
2 tablespoons sugar
½ teaspoon garam masala
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

egg wash
1 beaten egg

garnish
confectioner's sugar

• Prepare the dough: In a large mixing bowl, combine 1½ cups of the flour, the sugar, salt and yeast. In a saucepan, combine the milk, water and butter and heat over medium heat until warm and the butter is just melted. Add the 10 saffron threads to the warmed liquid and allow to steep off of the heat for 10 minutes. This will give the mixture a distinct aroma and flavor and a yellowish-orange hue. With an electric mixer on low speed, gradually add the warm liquid to the flour/yeast mixture, beating until well blended. Increase mixer speed to medium and beat 2 minutes. Add the eggs and 1 cup flour and beat for 2 more minutes. Using a wooden spoon, stir in enough of the remaining flour to make a dough that holds together. Turn out onto a floured surface (use any of the 1½ cups of flour remaining) and knead the dough for 8 to 10 minutes until the dough is soft, smooth, sexy and elastic, keeping the work surface floured and adding extra flour as needed. Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl, turning to coat all sides. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and a kitchen towel and let rise until double in bulk, 45 – 60 minutes. The rising time will depend on the type of yeast you use.
• Once the dough has doubled, make the meringue: In the mixing bowl of stand mixer with whisk attachment, beat the egg whites with the salt on low speed for 30 seconds, then increase to high and continue beating until foamy and opaque. Add the vanilla then start adding the ½ cup sugar, a tablespoon at a time as you beat, until very stiff, glossy peaks form.
• Prepare the filling: Mix the sugar with the garam masala.
  
• Assemble the Coffee Cakes: Line 2 baking/cookie sheets with parchment paper. Lightly knead the dough and divide in half. On a lightly floured surface, working one piece of the dough at a time (keep the other half of the dough wrapped in plastic), roll out the dough into a 20 x 10-inch rectangle. Spread half of the meringue evenly over the rectangle up to about ½ inch from the edges. Sprinkle half of the sugar/garam masala mixture, half of the nuts, and half of the chocolate chips evenly over the meringue. Roll up the dough jellyroll style, from the long side. Pinch the seam closed to seal. Very carefully transfer the filled log to one of the lined cookie sheets, seam side down.

• Bring the ends of the log around and seal the ends together, forming a ring, tucking one end into the other and pinching to seal. Using kitchen scissors, make cuts along the outside edge at 1-inch intervals. Make them as shallow or as deep as desired but don’t be afraid to cut deep into the ring. Repeat with the remaining dough, meringue and fillings. Cover the 2 coffee cakes with plastic wrap and allow them to rise again for 45 to 60 minutes. Preheat the oven to 350°F . Brush the tops of the coffee cakes with the egg wash. Bake in the preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes until risen and golden brown. The dough should sound hollow when tapped. Remove from the oven and slide the parchment paper off the cookie sheets onto the table. Very gently loosen the coffee cakes from the paper with a large spatula and carefully slide the cakes off onto cooling racks. Allow to cool. Just before serving, dust the tops of the coffee cakes with confectioner’s sugar.
  

I was inspired by the beautiful cakes with savory fillings on the DB forum and made individual cakes/buns filled with Spanish sausages, blanched baby spinach, roasted red bell peppers, and scrambled egg. The sweet and salty buns are perfect for Sunday brunch.

filled with fresh butifarra sausage, roasted bell pepper, spinach, and scrambled egg

I ♥ Vegetables Lunch Menu

crispy fried sweet potato tops and sisig yogurt dip

I got so excited when I found out that Mimi and Erika had chosen vegetables for this month's Kulinarya Cooking Club challenge. Thank you ladies for the opportunity to show that vegetable dishes are a big part of Filipino cuisine. Growing up in the Philippines, my mom always served a vegetable side dish for dinner and we had tofu at least once a week. We were not health freaks, we just loved tofu and plenty of vegeatbles.

When I created this blog I promised to cook vegetarian dishes at least 3 times a week and keep a record of what I cook by writing about it. But along the way I got seduced by the abundance of mouth watering meat recipes from cookbooks and food sites, I rarely blog about the vegetable dishes I cook. For this challenge I didn't want to write about Filipino vegetable dishes that are already on my recipe page such as pinakbet, rellenong talong, ampalaya, and laing. I went to the Asian grocery store and got lots of vegetables and came up with several dishes but couldn't decide which one to feature because I liked all of them. Some of the dishes are simple and uncomplicated to prepare yet so satisfying, I thought why not put the ones I really love on one post as a lunch menu.

Welcome to Oggi's Housetaurant

Today's Lunch Special: Vegetables

Appetizer

Sweet Potato Crisps with Sisig Yogurt Dip
crispy sweet potato tops and fries served with yogurt and sisig seasoning dip

Salad

Tomatoes and Kesong Puti
tomatoes (cherry, Roma, Kumato) and farmer's white cheese
with pinakurat vinaigrette dressing

Main

Stuffed Upo
bottle gourd halves stuffed with sauteed garlic, onions,
tomatoes, and seitan chorizos

Dessert

Kundol
candied winter gourd

The Recipes

Sweet Potato Tops Appetizer
1 cup plain Greek-style yogurt
4 tablespoons sisig (or adobo) seasoning powder
2 tablespoons whole milk
sweet potato greens
2 cups light olive oil

• Mix yogurt, sisig powder, and milk until smooth. Refrigerate while frying potato tops. Cut off potato tops with scissors. Wash, spin dry, and pat dry visible moisture with paper towel. Heat oil and fry tops in batches. Drain on paper towels. Serve immediately with yogurt dip.
  

Other vegetable suggestions to deep-fry: fresh pepper leaves [taste nutty], baby spinach, kale, baby artichokes; raw vegetables for dipping: baby zucchini, carrots, and cherry tomatoes.

Tomatoes and Kesong Puti Salad
ripe firm tomatoes, well chilled
crumbled farmer's white cheese or drained cottage cheese
pinakurat, balsamic, or sherry vinegar
extra virgin olive oil
flaked sea salt

• Dice large tomatoes and halve cherry tomatoes or leave whole. Arrange on a salad plate. Scatter crumbled cheese on top of tomatoes. Mix 4 tablespoons olive oil, 2 tablespoons vinegar, and enough salt to taste. Drizzle all over the tomatoes.
  

I had this salad 3 nights in a row. The sweetened pinakurat (Waykurat) vinegar mixed with the tomato juices is so delicious and quite addicting, I ended up slurping the sauce left on the plate. Yeah, it's that good. BTW, I bought the vinegar from here.

Baked Upo
1 small bottle gourd
¼ cup water
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 ounce ground pork, longaniza, or Spanish chorizo
2 tomatoes, diced
1 teaspoon fish extract
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 tablespoon chopped flat-leaf parsley

• Wash and scrub the gourd. Cut off both ends and slice horizontally in half. Scoop out and dice the soft pulp and seeds; reserve. Steam the gourd halves with a quarter cup of water for 10 minutes. In a medium pan, heat the olive oil and stir-fry onion and garlic for 2 minutes then add the ground pork. Cook for 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes, reserved gourd pulp, fish extract, and salt. Stir-fry for 3 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in parsley. Fill gourd halves with mixture. Place gourd in a baking dish together with the liquid in the steaming pan, cover tightly with aluminum foil and bake at 400°F for 15 minutes or until gourd is fork tender.

Upo has been considered an insipid vegetable devoid of any nutritional value but according to this website it is rich in carotenoids, vitamins A and C, potassium, magnesium and fiber. I find it not bland at all and I like its slightly sweet taste and ability to absorb flavorings.

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Kulinarya was started by a group of Filipino foodies living in Sydney (Kath, Trisha, and Trissa), who are passionate about the Filipino culture and its colorful cuisine.

Each month we will showcase a new dish along with their family recipes. By sharing these recipes, we hope you find the same passion and love for Filipino Food as we do.

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Enjoy other vegetable posts from KCC members.

Cod in Sherry Wine Vinegar Caper Sauce

It's Lent season and most probably every Food Friday entry will be a fish dish.

Cod in Sherry Vinegar Caper Sauce
1 pound fresh cod filets, cut into serving portions
2 teaspoons sea salt
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 shallot, sliced
4 tablespoons sherry wine vinegar
dash of ground white pepper
2 tablespoons water
½ cup deep fried capers

• Coat cod with 1 teaspoon salt and 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Bake in a 375° F oven for 10 - 15 minutes or until fish flakes easily with a fork. While cod is baking, prepare the sauce. In a skillet, heat 2 tablespoons oil and saute shallots until golden brown. Add vinegar, water, the remaining salt, and ground pepper. Cook for 2 minutes over low heat. Pour over cod. Sprinkle with capers.

Chocolate and Mint Mousse Pie

People will celebrate anything and today it's π day. I wonder when did people start baking a pi pie to sort of celebrate the day. I was really thinking of making a pie or cake so I can use the Andes® baking chips that I picked up from the grocery store last week. I can't remember the last time I had this mint chocolate candy, probably more than 10 years ago. It used to be a favorite but somehow I have been ignoring it until I saw the chips. And so to join all the geeks in honoring Pi Day and also the coming St. Patrick's Day (March 17), I made a chocolate and mint mousse pie. This light heavenly pie is easy to put together if you use a ready-to-bake pie shell. This recipe is adapted from Hershey's Chocolate Mint Mousse Pie. I added white chocolate chips to the mint topping.

Chocolate and Mint Mousse Pie
dark cocoa mousse
1 teaspoon unflavored gelatin
1 tablespoon cold water
2 tablespoons boiling water
6 tablespoons sugar
6 tablespoons Hershey's Special Dark cocoa
1 cup cold heavy whipping cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 baked 9-inch pie crust, cooled

white chocolate mint mousse
1 teaspoon unflavored gelatin
1 tablespoon cold water
2 tablespoons boiling water
3 tablespoons icing sugar
½ cup white chocolate morsels, melted and cooled
1 cup cold heavy whipping cream
1 teaspoon mint extract
few drops of green food dye

garnish
Andes® baking chips

• Dark chocolate mousse: Sprinkle gelatin over cold water in a shallow container and let stand for 2 minutes to soften. Add boiling water, stir until gelatin is completely dissolved and mixture is clear. Cool for 5 minutes. Stir together sugar and cocoa in the bowl of standing mixer with paddle attachment[ add whipping cream and vanilla. Beat on medium speed until stiff, scraping bottom of bowl occasionally. Add gelatin mixture; beat just until well blended. [Optional: Fold in half a cup of Andes Baking chips.] Pour into prepared pie crust.
  
• White chocolate mint mousse: Sprinkle gelatin over cold water in a shallow container and let stand for 2 minutes to soften. Add boiling water, stir until gelatin is completely dissolved and mixture is clear. Cool for 5 minutes. In the bowl of standing mixer with paddle attachment, beat together sugar, cream, melted white chocolate, green food dye, and mint extract to soft peaks. Add gelatin mixture and beat on low until well blended. Pour on top of chocolate mousse. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
  
• Finish pie: Garnish edges of pie with Andes® baking chips.

Kuchinta

One of the most requested recipes by my readers is Kuchinta. These cakes are a combination of finely ground regular and a small amount of glutinous rice then steamed in small plastic cups. They are best eaten with freshly grated coconut. Food grade lye water is added to the mixture although I'm not sure if it adds to the flavor or texture. If you are concerned about using lye water, clear pandan extract would be a good substitute but the flavor won't be the same.

The lye water (lihia) Filipinos use is watered-down potassium hydroxide made from wood ash. It is not the same as sodium hydroxide which is caustic and thus called caustic soda. In case you're curious or want to make your own lye water, the process is here. Actually, I've seen how it's made. When I was about 10 or 12 years old, I used to watch a neighbor's grandma make lye water with the burnt wood she used for cooking. She gathered the ashes into a gallon jar and added water. Of course, at the time I didn't know it was lye water and what it was used for.
Kuchinta
1¼ cups regular rice
2 tablespoons glutinous rice
2½ cups water
¾ cup dark brown sugar
3 tablespoons cooked regular rice
1½ tablespoons lye water
2 tablespoons achuete/achiote water

• Soak both rice in water overnight. Blend with the soaking water together with the cooked rice in a blender until very smooth. Transfer into a measuring cup and add sugar, achuete, and lye water. Stir until well blended. Fill lightly greased puto/kuchinta cups ¾ full. Place in a steamer, cover, and cook over rapidly boiling water for 15 minutes. Let cool before removing from molds. Serve with grated coconut.

Buttermilk Yeast Waffles

I had homemade buttermilk that had been sitting in the refrigerator for a week and I was not too sure how long it will keep before it gets bad. I didn't want it to get spoiled so I used it in place of regular milk to make yeast waffles. Wow, these buttermilk yeast waffles are very fluffy, airy, and crispy and have a slight very nice tang that I really love. They are simply delicious and way better in flavor and texture than baking powder waffles. And I prefer them without butter and syrup. They are so good just with a dusting of powdered sugar along with some fresh fruits. The recipe has to be mixed the day before baking and needs to rest and rise in the refrigerator overnight, but the wait is worth it. If you don't have a waffle maker, this dough also makes very good griddle cakes or pancakes.

Buttermilk Yeast Waffles

3 cups all-purpose flour

½ tablespoon instant yeast

2 tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

2 cups buttermilk

1 cup water

6 tablespoons light olive or grapeseed oil

2 eggs, lightly beaten

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• In a large bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients. Mix in all the wet ingredients and stir with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon until smooth. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight or up to 2 days. Preheat waffle maker and bake according to manufacturer's directions.

Food Friday: Chicken Binakol

chicken soup cooked in young coconut water

Chicken Binakol
adapted from KULINARYA guidebook

2 tablespoons light olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1-inch piece ginger, peeled and finely chopped
1 small onion, chopped
4 scallions, chopped
1 pound whole chicken breast, bone-in
2 stalks lemon grass, white parts only, pounded
4 whole black peppercorns
¼ cup fish extract
2 cups buco (young coconut) water
6 cups chicken broth
1 cup buco meat, cut into 2 x 1-inch strips
4 scallions, chopped
pepper leaves for garnish, optional

• In a large pot, heat the oil and add garlic, ginger, and onion. Add the chicken breast, lemon grass, and peppercorns. Add the fish extract, buco water, and chicken broth. When it begins to boil, reduce the heat to a simmer, cover, and cook for 30 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.
• Remove chicken from bone and slice into strips.
• Strain broth and remove fat with a fat separator if desired. Return broth to the pot and bring back to a boil. Add the chicken strips and buco meat and simmer until heated through. Serve topped with chopped scallions and pepper leaves.

For those who reside outside the Philippines, you can order KULINARYA guidebook from http://www.philippineexpressionsbookshop.com/ or send email to linda_nietes@sbcglobal.net

The Oscars

let's toast the Oscar winners with chocolate martini (creme de cacao, vanilla vodka, and Bailey's Irish cream)
It's that time of year again, folks. Yes, my own annual Academy Awards rant night and my choice for best picture is Toy Story 3 because in my humble opinion IT IS THE BEST PICTURE of 2010. I've seen some of the nominated films and 2 of them are my worst films of 2010, the highly overrated Inception and the odious and misogynistic The Social Network. And what's up with the Academy's obsession with awarding actors playing people with disability. This year it's Colin Firth's turn in The King's Speech. Didn't the Oscars already honor lead actors for My Left Foot, Rain Man, I Am Sam, Shine, A Beautiful Mind, and the gawd awful Forrest Gump? Give me a break! Woody, Barbie, or Mr. Potato Head should win. Oh, they're not nominated. Well, they should have been.

MY best pictures of 2010

Toy Story 3
Ken and Barbie meeting for the first time is priceless. Ken: "I like your leg warmers", Barbie: "Nice ascot".

The Book of Eli
What's not to like? A machete wielding Zatoichi-like character chopping off body parts of unsavory characters trying to steal The Book he has been carrying and reading from for over 30 years. Not even the prune-faced boss (Gary Oldman) and his thugs will be able to stop Eli from fulfilling his mission.

Kick-Ass
Based on a comic book. A high school boy wants to be a superhero and becomes Kick-Ass. Without any training, he is bound to get beaten up and he is, twice. He is rescued by a team of masked father and daughter superheroes, Big Daddy and Hit-Girl. They don't have superpowers like Superman but they train in weapons and martial arts. On her 11th birthday she gets a balisong (Philippine fan knife) from her Dad who trains and home-schools her (one of her assignments is reading comic books). This movie is not for everyone and specially offensive to the politically correct crowd as the little girl swears like a sailor although her father doesn't. The best comedy action movie of 2010.

Let Me In
A sort of love story between a young girl vampire and her new friend who is being bullied at school. This film is a brilliant remake of Let The Right One In, a movie from Sweden. I saw both films and I like the American version better. Incidentally the heroine, Hit-Girl, on Kick Ass and the vampire on this movie are played by the same child actress, Chloë Moretz. She's very good.

Tron Legacy
A feast for the eyes and ears. Daft Punk's music is perfect with the visuals. I can't believe that 2 of my top favorites are Walt Disney productions.

Since this is a food blog, I recommend these 2 documentaries that are worth watching

Kings of Pastry
I was craving for small cakes after watching the judges in the tasting room.

Blood Into Wine
THE rock star, Maynard James Keenan, becomes a winemaker. He is the lead singer of the bands Tool, A Perfect Circle, and Puscifer. This is not purely documentary on wine-making. It has a little bit of his story, his cult followers, and wine tasting, with some comedic scenes too. My favorite line from Maynard: "I'm in my 40s, I can't scream forever."

A sample of Tool's music, The Pot, from the album 10,000 Days. The pot he refers to here is the pot calling the kettle black, you know, hypocrites. This video which is just the song and lyrics is dedicated to all the hypocrites out there. Enjoy!:D