Monthly Archives: January 2011

Moist Yellow Cake with Boiled Icing

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Baking is always fun. Yay!

Moist Yellow Cake with Boiled Icing

Initially, I was going to make royal icing but I spent 2 hours searching at every grocery stores near my place for powdered sugar, to no avail.

I got the recipe below from this site

Recipe: Moist Yellow Cake With Boiled Icing

Ingredients

  1. 3 cups (330 g) cake flour shopping list
  2. 1 Tbsp baking powder shopping list
  3. 1/2 tsp salt shopping list
  4. 1 cup (8 oz or 230 g) unsalted butter, room temperature shopping list
  5. 2 cups (454 g) granulated sugar shopping list
  6. 5 large eggs shopping list
  7. 2 tsp vanilla extract shopping list
  8. 1 1/4 cups (10 fl oz or 300 ml) buttermilk shopping list

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Butter and line with parchment paper two 8×2-inch (20×5-cm) pans. Set aside.
  2. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
  3. Cut up the butter into 1-inch pieces and place them in the large bowl of an electric mixer, fitted with a paddle attachment or beaters. Beat for 3 minutes on MEDIUM-HIGH speed until the butter is light and creamy in color. Stop and scrape the bowl. Cream the butter for an additional 60 seconds.
  4. Add the sugar, 1/4 cup at a time, beating 1 minute after each addition. Scrape the sides of the bowl occasionally. Add the eggs one at a time.
  5. Reduce the mixer speed. Stir vanilla into the buttermilk. Add the dry ingredients alternately with the buttermilk. Mix just until incorporated. Scrape the sides of the bowl and mix for 15 seconds longer.
  6. Spoon the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top with a knife. Lift up the pan with the batter, and let it drop onto the counter top to burst any air bubbles, allowing the batter to settle.
  7. Center the pans onto the lower third of the oven and let bake 45 to 50 minutes or until the cake is lightly brown on top and comes away from the sides of the pan and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
  8. Note: Let the cake cool in the pan. Storage: Double wrap the cake in plastic wrap. It will keep in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks or in the freezer for up to 2 months.
  9. Yield: Two 8-inch (20-cm) cakes

Cooking time (duration): 75 mins

Number of servings (yield): 12

Meal type: dessert

My rating: 4 stars:  ★★★★☆ 1 review(s)

Recipe: Fluffy Boiled Icing

Ingredients

  2. 1 cup white sugar
  3. 1/3 cup water
  4. 1 tablespoon light corn syrup
  5. 1/8 teaspoon salt
  6. 2 egg whites
  7. 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  8. 3 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar

Instructions

  1. 1. Combine sugar, water, corn syrup, and salt in a saucepan; stir until well blended. Boil slowly without stirring until mixture will spin a long thread when a little is dropped from a spoon (hold the spoon high above saucepan), or reaches 238 – 242 degrees F (114 – 117 degrees C). 2. In a large bowl, beat egg whites with a mixer until they are stiff, but still moist. Pour hot syrup slowly over egg whites while beating. Continue until mixture is very fluffy, and will hold its shape. Add vanilla, and beat until blended. If icing does not seem stiff enough, beat in 2 or 3 tablespoons confectioners sugar 1 tablespoon at a time until stiff enough to hold its shape. Spread on cake. (I dropped a very little amount of blue food coloring)

Cooking time (duration): 5 mins

Meal type: dessert

My rating: 4 stars:  ★★★★☆ 1 review(s)

Sotanghon Guisado for Meryenda

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Filipinos love to eat and this is evident with how many times we eat in a day. Meryenda defined as any food eaten between meals or known in English as snack, although there could be a variation between the two as meryenda mostly offers heavy and local foods like pancit, siopao, gotto, banana q, sapin sapin, nilopak, etc. while a snack is lighter like chips, candies, nuts, chocolates, or even a small sandwich.

Today I’m featuring a meryenda that is loved by all Filipinos. It’s good to have it hot with freshly squeezed kalamansi and a dash of ground black pepper.

Sotanghon Guisado

Recipe: Sotanghon Guisado

Ingredients

  1. garlic cloves, minced
  2. oil
  3. onion, minced
  4. 1 carrot, chopped (optional)
  5. chinese broccoli
  6. 500 grms of dry sotanghon (vermicelli) noodles
  7. soy sauce
  8. ground black pepper
  9. 1/4 teaspoon salt
  10. spring onion, sliced
  11. 1 pound chicken breast (fillet)

Instructions

  1. Iin a pot, place the chicken and cover with water by about 2-inches.
  2. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and let it simmer until tender about 30 mins.
  3. Meanwhile, soak the Pancit Sotanghon noodles in warm water for 10 minutes or until soft. Cut into 4-inch pieces.
  4. When the chicken is tender, remove from the pot and let it cool.
  5. Strain the broth and set aside. cut meat into thin strips.
  6. In a skillet, heat the oil. Sauté the garlic, onion and spring onion. Add the chicken, and stir-fry for half a minute. Add salt and pepper. Add the chicken broth.
  7. Stir in the chinese broccoli. Cook for about 2 minutes, ensure that the vegetables are not overcooked.
  8. Add the Pancit Sotanghon noodles. Season with soy sauce. Simmer until the noodles are heated through, about 1 minute.
  9. Garnish with green onion slices, freshly squeezed kalamansi and get ready to serve.

Cooking time (duration): 60 mins

Number of servings (yield): 6

Meal type: snack

Culinary tradition: Chinese

My rating: 5 stars:  ★★★★★ 1 review(s)

Tinola nga Manumbok – Blue Marlin Sinigang

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I’m sure you will find it odd looking at the whitish broth, this is  because of batwan – a souring agent that is  locally used in Negros and Iloilo. I’m a proud Ilonggo and typically, when we make our Sinigang, we don’t use the instant broth from the stores and the supermarkets. We love the fruity and starchy natural flavors of batwan. It’s too bad that it’s not widely available in Manila.

Tinola nga Manumbok

Recipe: Tinola nga Manumbok – Blue Marlin Sinigang

Ingredients

  1. Blue Marlin (Manumbok)
  2. water
  3. A generous amount of the following: sliced onions, sliced tomatoes, sliced spring onions,
  4. batwan
  5. sili
  6. red/green bell pepper
  7. salt

Instructions

  1. In a pot with water, place onions, tomatoes, and spring onions; bring to a boil
  2. add fish; and simmer for 5 minutes
  3. add batwan; and simmer for another 5 minutes
  4. add sili and salt to taste

Cooking time (duration): 30 mins

Diet (other): Low calorie

Number of servings (yield): 6

Meal type: lunch

My rating: 5 stars:  ★★★★★ 1 review(s)