Mamon

Mamon

Mamon is called Spongecake in other countries. It's technically made out of beaten whites (meringue) and yolks then folded together then later added some dry ingredients and oil.

I found this recipe about 8 months ago but just decided to save it in my files for safekeeping. Early this morning, since I've got nothing to do except browse my files, I came across this recipe in my files and decided to make them.

The texture is really soft and it is moist. Not as fluffy as Goldilocks or Red Ribbon's but it is acceptable. I also increased the baking time since the recipe calls for 12-15 mins, it's not done yet. I baked it around 20 minutes and the result was the picture above. I tried baking the last batch for 25 minutes, and I liked the result of the cake. It's golden brown in color, the type of color I was looking for.

I brushed some butter and sprinkled some sugar on top, to add more texture. I think it will also be nice if you substitute the oil for butter, not only it will give you more color but also much tastier flavor and aroma!

Happy 2010!

Green Tea White Chocolate Mousse with Mango Glaze Cake

I apologize for not updating my blog since august! =( The thing is I've been busy with things that :( I don't want to talk about it. Hmm.. I had a three-week training in Antipolo..... :) and I created a modern cake (which is required for my final assessment). The picture above is the modern cake I made, it's made out of Green Tea White Chocolate Mousse with a Mango Pastry Cream in the middle layer (my instructor wanted to have a "surprise" flavor in the middle) and the base is made out of Japonaise and a thin sheet of ribbon sponge. I glazed the top with Mango glaze made straight out from fresh Mango Puree that I made. Funny thing is... my instructor told me to write Japanese characters. I told him I don't know how to write those but I can write Chinese, I guess he was trying to challenge me for it and he couldn't believe I was able to write it Chinese characters inverted so that it will come out of the sponge the right way (look above) lol. Crazy right? I enjoyed my group and added some friends but, to tell you the truth I was in confusion the first time, since from what I've learned from the US and here are different, even the execution of something and besides that, the chef studied in CIA in Napa so... you can see the loyalty. Haha.

Hazelnut Macaroons with Chocolate Ganache

I made these French Macaroons last month. Since I was trying to find something to give for my friends, I tried to search in the web what kind of pastries I can give them, that's when I encountered this recipe in the Food Network. I decided to try it and the results came out good. I was so happy because back where I was in Antipolo, I had an epic fail result of these pastries. So, in the coming days I will try and experiment more so I can come up with different flavors to sell!

Oh, and by the way. I just opened my online shop: Cupcakes Inc. and Peppermint Trinkets.

Cupcakes Inc. - it's not only cupcakes but I also sell different types of cakes and pastries. I can also take orders for birthday (birthday cupcakes, weddings, valentine's day, etc.)

Peppermint Trinkets - by Pam and me. We sell clay accessories and Pam's beaded ones (Cellphone accesory, rings, earrings, bracelets, necklaces, keychains, small figurines). We will also try to push thru our resin products hopefully we can find the resin stuff!

Happy 2010 guys. I hope our year will be full of blessings~ :D till my next post! :)

Blueberry Cheesecake

Blueberry Cheesecake

I made this yesterday. It's a no-bake cheesecake meaning I used gelatin instead of eggs to combine all the ingredients together. My mom prefers this rather than your traditional baked cheesecake but me? I prefer the latter.

I guess this is good when you want to have a hassle free and quick dessert. It saves a lot of time too. Baked cheesecakes are baked under water bath and it usually bakes for about an hour or so. Then you have to cool it down and put it in the fridge overnight for it to set. Unlike no-bake ones, gelatin is your only ingredient to combine everything then you let it set in the fridge for at least three hours and you can eat it after.

The difference between the two is that baked cheesecakes used eggs to coagulate and binds all the ingredients togehter, aside from that, a little bit amount of flour is used too. In no-bake cheesecakes as I've said earlier the cream cheese mixture is gelatinized together by pouring over the gelatin-sugar liquid over the cream cheese mixture and mixing it thoroughly. Both methods also use cream and sour cream too. We do not use eggs in no-bake cheesecakes since the cake is not cooked, and it may cause Salmonella right? Very scientific! Haha!

I guess I should stop blabbering now. Hehe.

Caramel Apples

Caramel Apples

I made these yesterday since my sister has been bugging me about Caramel Apples. Me and my youngest sister are fond of SanFo Treats shop in SM (ShoeMart) that whenever we decided to hang out there we buy at least an apple to share. But the thing is, it is no longer there so yeah. Then I came across this recipe in the Food Network website and decided to make it.

It's really funny since my mom had this weird expression in her face when I told her I'm going to make some caramel apples for us. In the end, she also wanted one. I even joked saying I thought she didn't like the idea, then she replied back by saying she didn't say anything.

I decorated some of the apples with sprinkles and nonpareils. I love the ones with sprinkles/nonpareils, it made the apples more crunchier. And to tell you the truth, even with lots of sweets in that caramel, (maple syrup, brown sugar and corn syrup) it's not that sweet. Even my brother who rarely eats desserts except for cheesecakes, ate one. I guess the apples' tartness contemplates the sweetness of the caramel that makes the taste just right. So yeah, my mom ate two apples, I ate three, my sisters well I dunno. I made 11 caramel apples yesterday and there's only one left. Go figure. Haha.

Matcha/Green Tea Cheesecake

Matcha/Green Tea Cheesecake

I made these yesterday! Yay. Finally! But I didn't use the exact amount of matcha needed in the recipe, thinking that matcha is too expensive and it might be too much, and may become bitter in the end. I trusted my instincts and used only a teaspoon of matcha.

I know that matcha has a strong flavor and I'm right. Once the cheesecake was baked and I opened the oven, the aroma of matcha already invaded my nose. It smelled really good.

I love matcha, when in Starbucks, I usually order Green tea frappe, I drink green tea when I'm sick and I love Green Tea Ice Cream (it comes second from my all-time favorite Mint Chocolate Chip).

But I shouldn't have unmolded the cheesecake right away though, it made the sides messy. I should've waited for it to cool down and set nicely (overnight) then unmold it.

My mom gave me a thumbs up yesterday while smelling the cake, she haven't tasted it yet since she went out today. So maybe later.

I tasted it this morning since I placed it in the fridge overnight. All I can say is that it is good. It's tart-y, green tea flavored cheesecake heaven. I love it!

I also made the crust by myself! Hehe.

Always remember- cheesecakes are baked in Baine-Marie (water bath) for even cooking. Always use a good gelatin when making no-bake cheesecakes.

I also have a can of blueberry Comstock here at home. My mom bought it weeks ago telling me to bake a cheesecake. So yeah, I might bake another cheesecake and it's my other favorite! Blueberry!

Matcha Powder

I was able to buy Matcha (Green Tea Powder). Finally! I've been looking for this since I came back here in the Philippines. Tomorrow I'll be baking Matcha Cheesecake for the family. And I'm going to try to use this little by little. Why? Because it's so expensive! It costs Php 160.00 for every container. It only weighs 25 grams so technically it costs Php 6.40 per gram.

There are two convenient stores that sells Matcha, I bought this from a small cafe called Kozui which is located in Quezon City. The other one is in Ortigas and it's a Japanese convenient store named Konbini.

Kozui is located at 258 B Tomas Morato Avenue, Quezon City. Telphone number is 4132705. Click here to go to their site.

Ube Pandan Cake

Ube Pandan Cake

I made this cake last Friday, my mom told me to do it so I did. Haha. Actually, my mom has a lot of cakes she wanted to try out. So yeah, I have a lot of cake lined up for baking.

This cake is basically speaks for it's own. Ube (Purple Yam) and Pandan Chiffon Cake is used, the fillings are made of ube and pandan as well. I even made pandan water for this recipe.

I'm not fond of ube and pandan that much so I guess I didn't appreciate the taste and all. For people who are ube and pandan lovers, I guess they would love this cake. My mom told me it was okay, being an ube and pandan lover she is, she said it was only okay. So yeah.

I finally found the store that sells Matcha Powder. I've been looking for this thing ages ago and I'm happy that I've found it. I might go there tomorrow and then try to bake the Matcha Cheesecake I've been itching to bake!