Puto Cake

I've been doing a lot of Puto variants but only now that I learned about this variant. I have made Puto, Puto Flan, and Puto Pao, and I may say that I can do them confidently (praise God) with less hassle. But I want to prepare something else, the whiter and softer one and so when my cousin taught me about this, it made me want to do it over and over again.

By the way, I learned about this during the quarantine period, tried and sold them when there are orders. So should I read about this blog a year after, I would be reminded that once, this recipe made a way for me to earn.

Ingredients:   

Batter:

- 3 cups Cake flour

- 3 tsp baking powder

- 3/4 cups white sugar

- 1 1/2 cups water

Meringue:

- 8 egg whites

- 3/4 cups white sugar

- 1 cup grated cheese

- 2 crushed salted eggs

You will need: 

- electric hand or stand mixer

- spatula

- steamer

- large size Puto Molder

- two mixing bowls

Procedure: 

Preparing the Batter:

- in a mixing bowl, sift all the dry ingredients of the batter 

- add water

- mix well to avoid lumps

- set aside

Doing the Meringue: 

- in another mixing bowl, put the egg whites

- using a mixer, mix the egg whites on the maximum speed

- when the egg whites start to become foamy, gradually add the sugar 

- continue mixing until all the sugar has been added and the texture has reached its soft peak stage

Combining the Batter and Meringue:

- start with adding 3 cups of Meringue into the Batter, patiently mix well so their colors turns one

- combine the remaining Meringue into the Batter making sure majority of the lumps are eliminated

- pour into the container

- steam for 5-6 minutes or until the toothpick comes out clean when inserted

- remove from heat, cool down, enjoy :) 

Tips: 

- you may add more sugar depending on your preferred sweetness

- reaching the soft peak of the Meringue takes about some time, so patiently wait

- the number of minutes in steaming depends on the molder you use; if you are using a cake pan, steam it for 25minutes; if you are using small puto molder, steam for 5-6minutes instead

Perfectly Creamy Leche Flan

As the time passes by, my cravings for Leche Flan has made me become more resourceful and perfectionist about it. I made sure that the one I tasted back when I was a child is the same texture and taste that I would have when I cook.

My previous post about Creamy Leche Flan is the usual one I use whenever I'm craving for Leche Flan. But that one may not be perfect, as per my own preference. :) 

Below is the upgraded version of the Leche Flan that I want to serve. And guess what, I'm using this recipe to sell and earn. :P 

Perfectly Creamy Leche Flan

Ingredients: 

- 8 egg yolks

- 1 big condensed mil

- 1 small evaporated milk

- 9 tbsp sugar

Procedure: 

Doing the Caramel:

- prepare 3 llaneras and add 3 tbsp of sugar into each

- on very low fire, patiently heat the Llanera with sugar until caramel comes out

- set aside

Preparing the Flan:

- combine egg yolks, condensed milk, and evaporated milk in a mixing bowl

- mix well

- scoop about 1 cup of the mixture and using a strainer, pour into a Llanera

- repeat the previous step until all the mixture has been poured into all the prepared Llaneras

- cover the Llanera with foil, sealed with rubber band

- steam for 25 minutes

- cool down and serve! 

Tips: 

- lightly beat the egg yolks before adding the milk

- strainer makes the Leche Flan smoother

- 3 tbsp of sugar makes enough sweetness for those who don't love sweets too much

- rubber band prevents steam to come inside the Llanera  (water would lessen the smoothness of the Leche Flan)
- brand really matters - when I cook, I use Alaska Condensed and Evaporated Milks - trust them, they're so creamy :P

Sinigang Na Hipon (Shrimp Stew)

One of my favorite sea foods is Shrimp, making it Sinigang (stew) would mean a very diet-less-conscious weekend. 

Sinigang na Hipon

As an OFW, the absence of some ingredients in the country we are in, would always make us find the alternatives. Traditional Sinigang is cooked with boiled and mashed real tamarind fruit that would make Sinigang truly sour. But since Tamarind fresh fruit is not available anywhere here, thanks to Knorr Sinigang Mix for helping me out on this. 

Ingredients: 

- 1/4 kilo Fresh Shrimp

- 2pcs small Aravi (Gabi), chop into smaller sizes

- About 10pcs String Beans, cut into smaller sizes

- 2-3pcs chilli, cut into halves

- 1 medium sized onion, chopped

- 1 medium sized tomato, chopped

- 2 cups rice water

- 1 cup water

- 1 tsp salt 

- Knorr Sinigang Mix

For tastier Sinigang, when you cook your rice, set aside the water you used for washing it. This will be used as the soup of the Sinigang that you will cook.  

Procedure: 

- Put tomato and onion in a bowl, add salt and using your hand, extract the juice

- In a cooking pot, put the small Aravi, extracted tomato and onion (with the juice), and 1 cup of water and put on a medium heat

- Continue cooking until Aravi becomes softer that can be mashed

- Get at least some 1-2 cuts of Aravi from the cooking pot, put in a bowl, mash, and set aside 

- Add Shrimp, rice water, and string beans; let boil until Shrimp and string beans are cooked

- Combine the mashed Aravi back to the cooking pot to make the water becomes thick

- Add Knorr Sinigang Mix and Chilli, let boil for 2-3minutes

- Serve and enjoy! 

Sauteed Vegies with Chicken Gizzards and Liver

Vegetables or Vegies give a lot of benefits to our human body. It helps with the constipation, digestion, and other health concerns of our body. Can be eaten raw as a side salad to other meals, sauteed as is, or cooked well combined with fish, or other meats. 

Vegies with Chicken Gizzards and Liver (sorry for the blur photo)

Ingredients: 

- 2pcs medium sized Carrots

- 1 small cabbage

- 1 small cauliflower

- 1 small bell pepper

- 1/8 kilo Chicken Gizzards

- 1/8 kilo Chicken Liver

- 1/2 cup of water

- 1 small sized onion

- 3 cloves of garlic

- 2 tbsp olive oil

- 1 tbsp fish sauce

- salt and pepper to taste

For those (like me) who get their Chicken Gizzards fresh and need to clean, visit How to Clean Chicken Gizzards post to know how to clean it yourself. 

Procedure: 

- In a cooking pot, on a medium heat, pour olive oil

- Saute garlic, and onion

- Add chicken gizzards, pour fish sauce, add salt and pepper, and stir fry every now and then until cooked

- Add carrots and cauliflower, saute for 2-3 minutes

- Lower the heat at this point

- Add the chicken liver on top of the ingredients, do not stir; follow it up with few amount of water. Only few from the 1/2 cup required just enough to help cook the liver

- Cover the pot at this point; check every now and then until chicken liver turns lighter in color indicating that is already cooked. Add more water if there's a need to. 

- Add cabbage, the remaining water, and salt to taste

- Remove from heat, serve and enjoy! 

Chicken Embutido - when other ingredients are not available

The absence of some ingredients from the Supermarket by the time you purchase will make you think if it is still possible to pursue with what you want to cook. However, there's no harm in trying. Never let your disappointments affect your will to do things - hey hey it's just cooking and nothing else! I mean never let the absence of some ingredients affect your determination to cook. Who knows, you'll always find an alternative :) 

Normally Chicken Embutido is composed of pickles and raisins. Depending on your preference, you can remove one (or more) or add another if you like. In my case, I don't like pickles in an Embutido so I decided not to include it anymore. Raisins were not available from the Supermarket by the time I did my grocery; and when I tried looking from a cold store near my flat, it was hard for me and the store personnel who doesn't speak well in English to understand each other - the result, no raisins :)  

However, you may try this Chicken Embutido with very few ingredients; good for busy people with limited time searching and looking for the lacking ones. 

Chicken Embutido

What You Need:

- mini chopper (optional) 
- mixing bowl
- aluminum foil for wrapping
- steamer

Ingredients: 

400g ground Chicken
1 pc medium sized carrots
1 pc medium sized bell pepper
1 onion
5 cloves garlic
1 70gms pack of tomato paste (alternative for Tomato Sauce)
1/4 cup Cheese (any)
1 Egg
1 tsp Salt 
1 tsp Pepper 
1 cup Bread Crumbs (add more if needed)

Procedure: 

- Peel carrots and cut into small size
- Cut bell pepper, onion, and garlic into small sizes
- Using a mini chopper, chop them altogether to mince
- If you don't have a mini chopper, use a knife and patiently mince the ingredients
- Put the ground chicken and the minced ingredients into a mixing bowl; mix well
- Add the egg and tomato paste; mix well
- Add the cheese; make sure it is fully combined with the mixture
- Add salt and pepper (add more if you desired, to taste)
- Add the bread crumbs until the mixture becomes drier
- Steam for 1 hour 
- Remove from heat and cool down
- If you want to eat your Embutido fried, slice it and dip into a beaten egg before frying
- Serve and enjoy! 

Remaining Embutido wraps can be placed inside the refrigerator for later use, or inside the freezer if you want to eat it after 24 hours. Frozen Embutido should be thawed before re-heating or frying.  

Chicken Liver and Gizzards Steak

Our flat owner owns a poultry and gives us fresh gizzards and liver whenever he can. Aside from Adobo (Philippine's very popular type of cooking process for either meat, fish, or vegetables), what else can I cook for with the bunch of fresh gizzards and liver that I have right now? I thought of trying a steak out of it. 

Chicken Liver and Gizzards Steak

Ingredients: 

- 1/2 kilo of liver
- 1/2 kilo of gizzards
- 1 cup soy sauce
- 1 medium sized lemon
- 1 onion, cut into halves
- pepper (to taste)

Preparation: 

- Check How to Clean Chicken Gizzards if, like me, you got it fresh from the poultry; otherwise just wash them
- Cut liver and gizzards into smaller sizes
- Chop first 1/2 of onion 
- Cut second 1/2 of onion into rings, set aside
- Extract the juice out of the lemon, set aside

Procedure: 

- In a cooking pan, put gizzards and soy sauce, mix well
- Add the chopped onion
- Cook on a medium heat until gizzards becomes soft, stir occasionally 
- Lower the heat and add the liver until cooked
- Add lemon juice and pepper, mix well
- Let it boil for about two minutes
- Remove from heat and enjoy with hot rice.  

Paksiw Na Bangus with Bitter Gourd

Paksiw - is a Filipino term which means to cook and simmer in vinegar (wikipedia). Paksiw na Bangus (Milkfish) is a classic menu of typical Filipino family. There are other kinds of fish that can be used for paksiw. We can also add vegetables like eggplant, bitter gourd, or okra, and put some spice by adding green chili on it. 

This version is classic paksiw with ampalaya (bitter gourd).  

Paksiw Na Bangus with Ampalaya

 Ingredients:

- 1 whole Bangus, cut into smaller sizes

- 1 medium sized Bitter Gourd, cut into small size

- 1 Onion (chopped)

- 4 cloves of Garlic (pound)

- 1 cup of Vinegar

- 1/2 cup of Water

- salt and pepper to taste

- 1 medium sized Bitter Gourd (cut into smaller sizes)

Procedure:

- Layer onion and garlic at the bottom part of a cooking pan

- Put the fish over the layered onion and garlic

- Scatter bitter gourd around and beside the fish

- Add vinegar

- Add salt and pepper

- Heat on a low fire until fish turns semi-cook

- Add in water

- Let it boil for few minutes or until fish turns fully-cooked

- Remove from heat and serve

How to Clean Chicken Gizzards

For those of us who love Chicken Gizzards, we simply go to the market and buy. Have we ever wondered how to clean it fresh from the poultry, out of its chicken's body? 

Fresh Chicken Gizzards

Please find below the steps (in photos) on how to clean gizzards. Warning: some photos may be disgusting to see :) 

Step 1: Have the amount you want to cook and wash them. 

Step 2: Hold a piece of a gizzard, remove other parts that are not meat (perhaps its plastic-like covering), and look for the harder part. 

Step 3: Cut a small portion of it until the inner part is slightly exposed. 

   

Step 4: Using both hands, peel the parts away from each other until the dirt comes out. Throw the dirt away.

Step 5: Repeat the steps until the bunch of gizzards that you want are done. 

Step 6: Wash them all thoroughly with water. 

Cook as you preferred. 

Home Made Litson Manok

I miss Philippines' Andok's and Baliwag Lechon Manok. Why not try my own, especially in this Arab side of the world where too many Chicken (frozen or fresh) are available. 

Be patient in defrosting your frozen chicken for several hours, better if you have bought it fresh; be more patient in marinating it overnight. :) 

Home Made Litson Manok

Ingredients: 

- 1 Whole dressed Chicken
- 4 stalks Lemon Grass (cut into halves to fit inside the Chicken)
- Margarine (to taste)

For Marinade: 

- 1 250ml 7-Up (Softdrinks)
- 3 tbsp Soy Sauce
- 1 medium sized Lemon (extract the juice)
- 4 cloves of Garlic (pound) 
- 1 medium sized Onion (chopped)
- About an inch of Ginger (sliced and pound)
- 3 tbsp Sugar
- Ground Pepper to taste

Procedure: 

Marinating the Chicken: 

- Use a marinating pan and combine garlic, onion, ginger, sugar, soy sauce, lemon juice, and pepper; mix well

- Add in 7-Up; mix well

- Put in the dressed chicken, massage with the mixture of the marinating juice

- Keep in a covered container, put in the fridge overnight

Cooking the Chicken: 

- Preheat the oven to 200°F for about 8 minutes

- Remove the marinated chicken from the marinating juice and transfer to a plate

- Take the garlic, onion, and ginger from the marinating juice and put into the inside of the chicken

- Put in the Lemon grass (tanglad) inside as well

- Roast the chicken for one hour; while brushing it with margarine once in a while

best used with Oven Turnspit

- Remove from heat and transfer to serving plate

results vary depending on the heat (actual photo, not filtered)

Enjoy with hot rice, iced tea, and catsup (best with Mang Tomas)! 

Destine’s Frozen Doll Cake

Before coming home, my daughter Destine has been telling me that she wants a Frozen Birthday theme for her seventh birthday. Her simple request made me think of baking a cake for her. It was not easy though, but that 11-hour preparation was worth the wait. Combining the pressure, patience, perspiration, and most especially prayer made her cake well acknowledged by her visitors and of course her – the birthday celebrant.

In this kind of cake, you’ll need to prepare the (1) cake itself, (2) butter frosting, (3) fondant, and (4) cake design – the doll has to securely stand on the cake and make the frosting her gown. 

 the result of the 11-hour preparation 

Although this does not look so perfect, my daughter appreciated it so much.

What you need:

- mixing bowl

- hand mixer or stand mixer

- spatula

- 1 9 inch round cake pans

- rolling pin

- Frozen Doll

- Cling Fling

I started preparing the cake. But before proceeding make sure to preheat the oven to 350^o F for at least 5 minutes.

- place a round shape wax paper enough to fill in the round cake pan, cut the edges

- grease the wax paper and the side of the cake pan with oil or butter

Cake

- 2 cups all-purpose flour

- 2 cups white sugar

- 2/3 cup Strawberry Syrup

- 2 tsp baking soda

- 1 tsp baking powder

- ½ tsp salt

- 2 raw eggs

- 1 cup fresh milk

- ½ cup cooking oil

Preparing the Cake

- in a mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt

- make a hole at the center and add eggs, oil, and fresh milk

- pour in the strawberry syrup

- using either hand or stand mixer, beat at medium speed until texture becomes smooth

- pour the batter into the round cake pan

- let stand for few minutes until bubbles disappear

- bake for 30 – 35 minutes or until the toothpick inserted comes out clean

- let stand to cool for at least 10 minutes

- repeat the process until you were able to prepare two more round cakes

- set aside

Followed by making the frosting; this will be placed in between cakes.

Frosting 

- 1 cup unsalted butter

- 1 cup confectioner’s sugar

- 4 tbsp fresh milk

- 1 ½ tsp vanilla

Preparing the Frosting

- in a clean mixing bowl, cream the cubed butter and add the vanilla extract

- use a hand mixer and mix for 2 minutes on medium speed

- gradually add half of confectioner’s sugar, and 2 tbsp of milk, mix well

- add the remaining confectioner’s sugar, and 2 tbsp of milk, mix well

- set aside

Then, prepare the fondant so it will be fresh before putting on the cake. In this case, I preferred making them than buying one available on the market.

Fondant:

- 450 grams mini marshmallows

- 900 grams confectioners’ sugar

- 1 tbsp water

- Blue food coloring

Preparing the marshmallows

- On a microwave safe bowl, pour in the mini marshmallows and add water

- Place inside the microwave oven and heat for 30 seconds

- Remove and mix with spoon

- Place again the heated marshmallows inside the microwave and heat again for another 30 seconds

- Remove and mix with spoon until everything is melted

Note: in the absence of microwave, place the mini marshmallows in a non-stick pan, heat on low fire for more or less 30 seconds

Preparing the fondant

- Grease your table counter with butter; or place a thick baking plastic sheet greased with butter 

- Pour in half of the confectioner’s sugar on your counter

- Mix the melted marshmallows with the confectioner’s sugar, and knead until both of them are combined well

- While kneading, add a small amount of the blue food color until desired theme color is achieved

Altogether:

Layering the cake

- Get the first round of cake and put as the base

- Spread butter frosting on top of it

- Place the second round of cake on top of the first to make a second layer

- Slowly cut the edges diagonally until the second layer becomes smaller

- Again, spread butter frosting on top of the second layer of cake

- Place the third round of cake on top of the second layer to make the third one

- Just like the second layer, slowly cut the edges diagonally until the third layer becomes smaller

- At this point, get the frozen doll, remove the dress and using a cling fling wrap the body from below the armpit down to the feet, set aside

- Back to the cake, make a hole at the center of the cake starting from the third layer down until the legs of the frozen doll can be covered (do not fix the doll yet, only measure at this point)

- Put frosting on the third layer of the cake, and the sides of the cake

Covering the cake with fondant

- Using a rolling pin, make a 16 inches round fondant by flattening it

- Cover the three layer cake with the fondant

       

- Cut the edges at the base, and design as a gown

- Place the frozen doll on the cake using the hole at the third layer

- Decorate the body of the doll to make a blouse

- Design as preferred

Happy 7th Birthday Destine! 

Destine's cake table 

Note: It took us 11 hour to prepare because of the failed fondant that we initially prepared; and the absence of extra marshmallows. We still needed to wait for the time the grocery stores open so we can buy again :) 

Pianono

Pianono is a small cake roll of which only fillings are margarine and sugar. It is one of the tastes I would want to go back to in our nearby bakery. Almost similar to the ube roll I presented in my previous post, the only difference is the fillings. 

 Pianono

This may look big but the actual diameter is only about 2 inches :)

Ingredients:

-         3 eggs, separate white from yolk

-         3 tbsp wheat flour, sifted (most people use all purpose flour)

-         6 tbsp sugar

-         1 tsp baking powder, sifted

-         Margarine

Procedure:

-         Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit

-         Using electric mixer, beat egg white until foamy

-         Gradually add 3 tbsp of sugar, beat until soft

-         In a separate bowl, beat the egg yolk

-         add to the egg and mix at low speed until combined

-         fold in the flour and baking powder, mix well

-         grease wax paper and put in a baking pan

-         pour in the mixture

-         bake for 12-15 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out dry

-         remove from oven

-         spread with margarine the top part

-         cover with wax paper, use another tray to flip

-         spread with butter the other (now top) part and sprinkle with the remaining sugar

-         roll the cake  
-     slice and serve

Pianono

Pianono is a small cake roll of which only fillings are margarine and sugar. It is one of the tastes I would want to go back to in our nearby bakery. Almost similar to the ube roll I presented in my previous post, the only difference is the fillings. 

 Pianono

This may look big but the actual diameter is only about 2 inches :)

Ingredients:

-         3 eggs, separate white from yolk

-         3 tbsp wheat flour, sifted (most people use all purpose flour)

-         6 tbsp sugar

-         1 tsp baking powder, sifted

-         Margarine

Procedure:

-         Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit

-         Using electric mixer, beat egg white until foamy

-         Gradually add 3 tbsp of sugar, beat until soft

-         In a separate bowl, beat the egg yolk

-         add to the egg and mix at low speed until combined

-         fold in the flour and baking powder, mix well

-         grease wax paper and put in a baking pan

-         pour in the mixture

-         bake for 12-15 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out dry

-         remove from oven

-         spread with margarine the top part

-         cover with wax paper, use another tray to flip

-         spread with butter the other (now top) part and sprinkle with the remaining sugar

-         roll the cake  
-     slice and serve