Chocolate Crinkles 2

  It's another recipe of Chocolate Crinkles and it's simpler than the one I made before.  Try it! :)

1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
1/4  tsp. salt
1/2  tsp. baking soda
1/3  cup cocoa powder
1  cup sugar
2  eggs
2  tbsp.  milk
1/4  cup vegetable oil
2  cups powdered sugar 

     In a bowl, whisk together flour, salt, baking soda, cocoa powder, and sugar.  Make a well in the center and add eggs, sour cream, and oil.  Stir slowly until evenly mixed.  Cover with  plastic wrap and refrigerate for one hour or until firm enough to scoop.
     Preheat oven to 325F.  Scoop some mixture and drop in a bowl of powdered sugar. Completely dredge in sugar and roll into balls.  Arrange on a cookie sheet lined with baking paper.  Bake for about 12 minutes. Let rest for 5 minutes then remove from cookie sheets and let it cool. 

 

Banana Crumb Cupcake

It has the same recipe as in "Banana Cupcake" just it has additional ingredients for the toppings! So try it and enjoy! :)

BANANA CRUMB CUPCAKE

 

10  large ripe bananas (Lakatan)
2 2/3  cups all-purpose flour
2  tsp.  baking powder
10  tbsp. melted butter
2  tsp.  baking soda
20  tbsp.  white sugar
2  tsp. vanilla extract
2  eggs
1/2  tsp. salt

Topping:

1/3  cup brown sugar
2  tbsp. flour
1/8  tsp. cinnamon
1  tbsp. butter


1.  Preheat the oven to 350F.
2.  Mash the bananas.  Set aside.
3.  Combine flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda in a bowl. Mix it well.  Set aside.
4.  In a large bowl. combine the mashed bananas, butter, eggs, vanilla extract and white sugar. Mix well.
5.  Fold-in the dry ingredients mixture in a large mixing bowl.  Continue this step until the texture becomes smooth.
6.  Arrange regular sized paper cups in the muffin pan.  Scoop the mixture in each paper cup. Do not fill the cups as it will overflow.
7.  For the TOPPINGS:  In a small bowl, mix together brown sugar, flour and cinnamon. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse cornmeal. Then sprinkle over cupcakes then bake.
8.  Bake in the oven for 13 to 16 minutes.
9.  Remove from the oven and let cool by placing in a wire rack.

Enjoy! :)

Chocolate Cupcakes

I was craving for cupcakes so decided to make one! :)

1/2  cup Dutch-Processed Cocoa Powder
1  cup boiling water
1 1/3  cups All-purpose flour
2  teaspoons baking powder
1/4  teaspoon salt
1/2  cup butter
1  cup white sugar
2  large eggs
2  teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Lightly butter, or line 16 muffin cups with paper liners.

In a small bowl, stir until smooth the boiling water and the cocoa powder.  Let cool.

In another bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.

Then in a bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating until smooth. Beat in the vanilla extract and the flour mixture.  Then add the cooled cocoa mixture and stir until smooth.

Fill each muffin cup about two-thirds full and bake about 16-20 minutes.


Courtesy of JoyofBaking

Minatamis na Saging (Banana Plantain in Syrup)

It is one of my favorite dessert called Minatamis na Saging or Sweetened Banana wherein Plantains are cooked in sugar with water..Try it!:)

8  pieces Saba (plantains), sliced

1 1/2  cups brown sugar

3  cups water

1-2  teaspoons vanilla

1/2  teaspoon salt

1.  Heat cooking pot and pour in water then let it boil.

2.  Add brown sugar and stir until diluted.

3. Add salt and vanilla extract and mix well.

4. Put-in the Plaintains  and adjust the heat to medium.  

5. Cover the cooking pot and simmer 8 to 12 minutes or until liquid thickens.

6.  Turn-off heat and allow the plantains to cool.

Courtesy of Panlasang Pinoy

My Mango Float

Trisha and I made it for my birthday on September 30, 2013.  Really yummy :)

Durian Cake

My brother ordered a "Durian Cake" from Aleixa's Cakes and Pastries here in Davao. It's really delicious... We ate the whole cake in just one day! So rich and creamy .... sa susunod uli! :)

Pichi Pichi

Pichi Pichi is another traditional Filipino delicacy made from grated cassava and sugar. It is a gelatinous dessert and can also be eaten as a heavy mid-afternoon snack. The concoction is placed in a mold and steamed until a sticky- gelatinous texture is formed. After steaming, this is coated with grated coconut for additional flavor.

2 cups grated cassava
2 cups white sugar
2 cups water
1 teaspoon lihia

Mix all ingredients and steam for 45-50 minutes. Slice or spoon and roll in grated coconut.

Mango Float

This is a simple dessert that you can prepare at home or in any special occasions. If you have mangoes, cream, condensed milk and graham crackers.... and you can easily make one. Others use an unflavored gelatin to keep it in shape and easier to slice.

5 pieces big ripe mangoes
2 cans (big) condensed milk
2 packs (big) all-purpose cream
4 envelopes unflavored Knox gelatin
Graham crackers


1. Slice the mangoes into thin and small slices.

2. Mix with condensed milk and all-purpose cream.

3. Pour Knox gelatin dissolved in 1 cup hot water.

4. Put a layer of graham crackers at the bottom of a square glass pan or any container.

5. Put on the crackers a layer of the filling of mangoes, milk and cream.

6. Repeat by putting a layer of graham crackers and the filling until you've used it all.

7. Crush graham crackers and put them on top.

8. Put it in the refrigerator and chill overnight.

9. Make sure it is cold when served.

10. Enjoy!

* You can add the condensed milk according to your preference and taste.

Maja Blanca

Maja Blanca is a Filipino dessert made primarily from coconut milk. It is also known as coconut pudding or coconut cake. It has a consistency of thick gelatine and a delicate flavor. As the name suggests, the dish is creamy white in color. It is an all-time favorite dessert during family gatherings and special occasions and it's very easy to make it.

This is my mom's Maja Blanca! :)

2/3 cup cornstarch
2/3 cup sugar
1 can cream-style corn
2 cups coconut milk
3 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
latik (browned coconut cream curds)

Combine all the ingredients in a shallow pan. Cook with constant stirring until thick. Transfer to a molder. Chill until set.

To prepare latik, extract kakang gata from one big coconut. Transfer gata to a karajay or pan. Cook over high fire until it begins to elude oil. Lower heat and continue cooking until the curd separates from the oil. Keep the oil for other uses and use the latik to top maja blanca, sapin sapin or suman.

* Kakang gata - is the first pressing of the coconut milk.

* You can use toasted coconut grated coconut instead of latik


Courtesy of The Maya Kitchen

Banana Cake

Bananas, being abundant and relatively affordable in the Philippines, can be used in a variety of ways. Most everyone takes to the sweet taste of the Filipino banana cake. It is perfect for dessert or snack.

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup oil
1 1/3 cups sugar
2 eggs
2/3 cup milk, combined with 1 teaspoon vinegar
1 cup mashed banana

Preheat oven at 300F. Grease baking pan line with baking paper. Set aside.

Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and sugar. Put flour mixture in a mixing bowl. Make a well, then add in order - oil, eggs, and milk. Blend well or beat with mixer. Stir in bananas. Bake until golden brown.

Refrigerator Cake

Perfect desserts for all occasions!

1. Filling:

1/2 cup white sugar
6 tablespoons cornstarch
1 tall can evaporated milk
2 egg yolks

Mix and cook in a double boiler till thick. Let it cool.

2. Add 1 can well-drained fruit cocktail, 1 can chilled nestle cream and grated cheese.

3. Pour into a Pyrex dish and lined with lady fingers or Broas. Repeat the procedure 2 times. Top with extra chilled nestle cream, peaches and walnuts.

Note: Mix and sugar. Mix milk little by little. Add a little syrup (from drained fruit cocktail). Set aside the cherries and grapes from fruit cocktail for garnishing. Slice peaches thinly. 1 box cheddar cheese.

4. Toppings:

cream
grated cheese
walnuts, 3 lines in the Pyrex
peaches - interval with walnuts - 3 lines
grapes - interval with cherries - 2 lines

Cuchinta or Kutsinta

Cuchinta is a popular Filipino delicacy. It always teamed up with "Puto" and can be served on any occasion. It is an orange or brown rice cake and it is good with freshly grated coconut.

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup brown sugar
2 cups water
1 teaspoon lihia (lye)
few drops of yellow food color (optional)
grated coconut

Boil water for the steamer. In a bowl, blend all the ingredients except grated coconut. Mix until smooth and free from lumps. Strain. Half-fill muffin pans. Steam for 10-20 minutes. Cool for 5 mintues then remove from the pans. Serve with grated coconut.

* Lihia or Lye is a liquid concentrate from the ashes of a wood stove. It is used in making kakanin (rice cakes) like cuchinta, suman and pichi-pichi to improve their texture. Its addition also enhances the color of food.

Courtesy of The Maya Kitchen

Watermelon Basket

A rich variety of shapes and colors makes this light dessert very appealing. Suggested fruits include banana, apple, papaya, pineapple, honeydew melon and grapes.

1 medium watermelon
2 cups diced fresh or canned fruit
1/2 cup sweetened orange juice
grated cheese (optional)

1. Cut a thin slice from the bottom of the watermelon so it will sit flat ( don't cut into the fruit ).

2. Make zigzag wedges on watermelon. With a sharp knife cut watermelon following the outline.

3. Scoop out all the flesh with a melon baller, trying to remove as many seeds as you can.

4. Wrap the empty watermelon bowl in a plastic wrap to keep it moist.

5. Refrigerate until ready to fill with fruits. Use fruits with a variety of shapes and colors.

6. If using canned fruit, drain fruit well and discard syrup. Combine watermelon balls with other fruits.

7. Drizzle orange juice on fruits. Spoon fruits into prepared watermelon basket.

Guinataan or Binignit

Binignit or Guinataan is a warm root crop and fruit stew  from the Visayas region in the Philippines.The dish is traditionally made by Cebuanos with slices of saba, taro, sweet potato. The people in the neighboring island Leyte, usually include landang (palm flour jelly balls), langka (jackfruit), anise and thickened with milled glutinous rice in cooking binignit. The vegetables along with pearl sago is cooked in a mixture of water, coconut milk and the local landang and sweetened by muscovado or brown sugar.

It is a Filipino sweet dish which is usually served as snacks and usually prepared during the Holy Week especially Good Friday.  The soup is best served when hot.


 Ingredients:

2 pieces yellow camote or sweet potatoes (cubed)
1 piece white gabi or taro root (cubed)
1 piece ube or purple yam (cubed)
4 pieces ripe saba banana (sliced)
6 pcs ripe langka or jackfruit
4 tbsps landang or tapioca
2 cups coconut milk
1 cup coconut milk, diluted with water
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tsp salt

Procedure:

 

1. Place the diluted milk in a large pot and add the bananas, ube, camote and gabi. You can also save a lot of time by boiling the hard ingredients first before adding to the diluted coconut milk. 

 

2.Add the landang or tapioca, salt and sugar.

 

3.Add the langka strips and simmer until the mixture is thick and all the ingredients are tender.

 

4. Pour in 2 cups of coconut milk and adjust the heat to medium.

 

.5. Do not bring to a boil to prevent curdling of the cooking liquid.

 

6.Place in small serving bowls and serve.

Minatamis na Saging (Sweetened Banana)

6 medium ripe saba or cardaba banana

2 cups sugar

3 cups water

1/2 teaspoon salt

1.  Pour water in a saucepan.  Stir in sugar and salt to dissolve.  Heat over medium heat.  Bring syrup to a boil and then lower the heat and let it simmer for 10 minutes.

2.  Peel banana.  Add to simmering syrup and continue cooking for another 10 minutes more or until saba bananas are tender and syrup is slightly thickens and lightly golden brown.

3.  Remove from heat.  Transfer to a dessert plate and serve.

Banana Turon

Turon or deep-fried banana rolls is a typical Filipino merienda and dessert. This can usually be seen on the streets being peddled along with banana-que.

This delicious and healthy dessert is an all time Filipino favorite.  Have I mentioned that Turon is so affordable and also easy-to-prepare.

BANANA TURON

Ingredients:
6 pcs Cavendish banana (saba), cut in half (lenghtwise)
1 cup ripe Jackfruit
1 ½ cup brown sugar
12 pcs spring roll wrapper
2 cups cooking oil




Watch the cooking video:

Guinataang Bilo Bilo ( Rice Balls with Coconut Milk )

Ginataan, alternatively spelled guinataan, is a Filipino term which refers to food cooked with "gata" - the Filipino word for coconut milk. Literally translated , ginataan means "done with coconut milk".  Due to general nature of the term, it can refer to a number of different dishes, each called ginataan, but distinct from one another. If gummy balls made of pounded  glutinous rice are added, it becomes a dish called bilo-bilo.

1 cup malagkit ( glutinous rice flour )

1 cup sugar

3 cups coconut milk. diluted with 1/2 cup water

1 cup sugar

2 cups large pearl tapioca (sago)

1 1/2 cups coconut cream

langka (jackfruit), cut in strips (optional)

1.  Blend flour and water and blend them into dough.  Shape into balls measuring 1/4 diameter. 

2.  In a large pot, bring coconut milk, sugar, and tapioca to a boil.  When tapioca turns transparent in color, add the rice balls.

3.  Add remaining pure coconut milk when the rice balls are soft and firm.  Boil for 5 more minutes.

4.  Serve hot.

Halloween Cupcakes...

1 1/2 cups sugar
3/4 cup butter
2 eggs
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
Whipped cream frosting


1.  Preheat oven to 375F.  Arrange paper cup liners into two large or 4 small muffin pans.  You should have enough for 24 individual cupcakes.


2.  In a mixing bowl, combine sugar and butter and beat until light and fluffy.  Beat in eggs.


3.  In another bowl, combine flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt.  Add a little of the flour mixture to the sugar and butter mixture.  Mix well.  Pour in little of the milk.  Mix well again.  Continue adding alternately the flour mixture and the milk to the sugar and butter mixture.

4.  Fold in chocolate chips.  Pour into prepared muffin cups, about 3/4 full. Bake in preheated oven to 20 to 25 minutes.  Let cool completely then frost with the frosting.


For the frosting:

2 cups well chilled- all purpose cream
1 cup powdered sugar
3-4 drops orange food color (optional)
chocolate chips


1.  In large bowl of electric mixer, beat all-purpose cream at medium speed until fluffy.  Gradually add sugar.

2.  If desired, add 3 to 4 drops orange food color.  Continue beating until sugar is incorporated into the cream and cream is stiff enough to spread.  Do not overbeat or the cream will liquefy.

3.  Use to frost cupcakes.  Decorate cupcakes with more chocolate chips if desired.