Recipe | Choco-Banana Cupcakes

If you follow this blog for sometime now, you might already know that I into cupcakes as they are big enough to satisfy the sweet tooth, but small enough to ease the guilt. It's been a while since I last shared a cupcake recipe here, so here is a very easy one you can try making.

Of course, this isn't my own recipe, but another I learned from my favorite educational channel on earth - YouTube. Hehehehe. This particular recipe is by Joy of Baking.



Choco-Banana Cupcakes
makes: 12 regular sized cupcakes

Ingredients:

• 1 cup (200 grams) granulated white sugar
• 1 cup (130 grams) all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup (35 grams) unsweetened cocoa powder (regular or Dutch-processed)
• 3/4 teaspoons baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 cup mashed ripe bananas (about 1 medium sized banana)
• 1/2 cup (120 ml) warm water
• 1/4 cup (60 ml) milk
• 1/4 cup (60 ml) canola, corn, or vegetable oil
• 3/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350*F and line your cupcake / muffin tin with your choice of paper liners, or just butter or oil the surface if you don't have any paper lines or if you are opting not to use any.  
•  In a large bowl whisk together the sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
• In another large bowl, whisk together the egg, mashed banana, water, milk, oil, and vanilla extract. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir, or whisk, until combined.
• Pour or scoop the batter into the muffin cups, about 3/4 full
• Bake for about 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out clean. 

Things to know - choose very ripe bananas as they are softer and sweeter. The milk, you can use any liquid milk you want - be it full cream milk or skim milk. Personally, I used evaporated milk for this and it came out well.

It is good enough to eat as is, or you can add frosting of your choice.


Joy of Baking used chocolate frosting, but I tend to prefer the white and dark brown contrast, so I went for the Swiss Meringue Buttercream frosting, which I did here for the first time. It was good way to frost cake without too much sugar, and I think this will be my go-to frosting from here on out.

Though easy, this is a tricky one to make, so I suggest you check different videos on YouTube to find different techniques. I used Bake Like a Pro's recipe for this. We don't own a standing mixer, but I was able to create the frosting using our handheld mixer.

Recipe | Garlic Parmesan Wings

It is true, planning what to cook for a few people. For Noche Buena, my sister and I decided we will go for finger food, and among the different dishes we lined up, we both voted for Nachos and Chicken Wings. She allowed me to choose the flavor for the wings, and because I am not (now) into spicy food (heartburn), I searched thru YouTube for different wings recipes.



I came across CopyKat Recipes by Stephanie Manley, who posted a video tutorial for Wingstop's Garlic Parmesan Chicken Wings. I still haven't dined at Wingstop, but this sounded good, so I jot down the recipe and made it on Christmas Eve.

Stephanie's original recipe -

Wingstop Garlic Parmesan Chicken Wings
Serves - 4


Ingredients

• 2 pounds chicken wings
• 2 cups flour
• 2 teaspoons seasoned salt
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/4 cup butter
• 2 teaspoons garlic powder
• 2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese
• Parsley for garnish - if desired

How to Cook

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 
• Blend together flour, seasoned salt, cayenne pepper and ground black pepper. Cut wings and dredge them in the flour. 
• Heat oil to 350 degrees. Fry wings for about 5 to 7 minutes, and then drain on a wire rack. Depending upon the side of your pot fry 5 or 6 wings at a time. Be sure to stir the wings once during cooking to make sure that the wings cook evening. Cook the wings until they just begin to brown. 
• Bake wings for about 15 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through.
• Prepare the sauce by melting the butter and the garlic powder in a small pan. 
• When the wings have finished cooking in the oven place the wings into a large bowl. 
• Stir in half of the Parmesan cheese into the melted butter. 
• Pour the melted garlic butter over the wings and toss until the wings are well coated.
• Serve the wings by sprinkling the remaining Parmesan cheese top of the wings.

I only cooked six pieces (from 3 full wings), so I kinda just eye-balled the amount of ingredients to be used. I cooked this around 11pm on Christmas Eve, and only have an hour to cook, so I went for full frying method, skipping the baking part. For this recipe, I went for the double-fying technique, frying three pieces of chicken on low/medium heat for about 10 minutes, allowing it to rest while I fry the next batch. As soon as the second batch rests, I will re-fry the first batch of chicken in medium/high heat until it becomes golden and crispy. Right after taking this batch off the oil, I then coat it with the sauce and repeat the process with the second batch.

Since this is the first time I cooked such dish, I was a little hesitant in adding garlic powder, so the lack of garlic taste was evident. Even so, the dish tasted good, and the parmesan cheese gave it a new kind of saltiness that we really liked. A fairly easy dish to cook, for sure I will cook this again, but the next time I do, I might marinade the chicken in milk and garlic and I might use real garlic cloves while melting the butter. I didn't make a dipping sauce for this, I just added in some drops of hot sauce for a little kick. I will update this post once I try this recipe again.
 

Recipe | Palitaw

Three memories involving Palitaw:

1. When we were kids (a time when our neighborhood is not yet fully developed), my brother and I would always mimick the woman selling this native delicacy. We would echo her "Paaa-liii-tttaaaawww!!!" and we would hide under the sofa so when she would check our windows she won't see anyone. One time, she got upset (well, who wouldn't) and shouted that we shouldn't make fun of her. Sorry po!

2. When I was in high school, my close friends and I decided to cook this, under Liza's mom's supervision. We didn't cook it like the typical Palitaw, her mom cooked the grated fresh coconut until it becomes latik, but even so, I consider that time one of the happiest moments I spent with my high school girl friends.

3. My dad used to buy this every day for his afternoon snacks.

It was reason number three that led us to try and cook Palitaw. Out of the blue, us three girls thought about Palitaw and how dad used to really like eating it, and we just decided to cook some for ourselves, because buying from kakanin peddler would be impractical (especially because the palitaw she was selling was so thin, we thought we don't get our money's worth), and we would be sure of its freshness. When it comes to native delicacies, it is oftentimes difficult to buy those with fresh coconuts because they spoil quickly.

Anyway, Palitaw is one of the easiest native delicacies to cook, but because we didn't know the exact ratio of rice flour to water, we decided to follow another one of Pinay Cooking Lessons's recipes. Click on the recipe title to view its video tutorial on YouTube.

Palitaw

Ingredients:

• 1 1/4 cups rice flour
• 2/3 cup water
• more water for boiling
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds
• freshly grated coconut

Directions:

• Pour water into a pot until half-full and allow it to boil under medium heat.
• While waiting for the water to boil, heat a pan and toast sesame seeds until light brown in color. Mix in a bowl with the sugar and set aside.
• In a medium sized bowl, combine rice flour and water until it is play-dough consistency - soft, but not sticky. If the dough is too dry, add more water (a little at a time).
• Depending on the size you want, get some of the dough, shape them into a ball using your palms, and using your thumb, make an indentation in the middle so it will flatten a bit. Make it round or elongated in shape, but make sure your Palitaw pieces are not so thin so it won't easily break, or not so thick so it will cook easily.
• Once you used up all the dough, drop them one at time in the pot of boiling water (don't crowd them because they might stick to each other) and wait for them to float. Once the dough floats totally, allow it to cook a few more minutes then fish them out using a slotted spoon. Place the cooked palitaw on a plate, without touching each other.
• When ready to serve, roll each palitaw pieces on freshly grated coconut and transfer on the serving plate. You may now place the palitaw on top of each other because the grated coconut prevents them from sticking together.
• Depending on your preference, you may top it with the sugar-sesame mix or serve them separately.

We decided to top our Palitaw with the sugar-sesame mix, but we didn't use all, because we have our own preference when it comes to the amount of sugar.

Just some points to consider... here in the Philippines, there are ready-made galapong being sold in public markets (where you usually buy your sago and gulaman). If you decide to use this, omit the 2/3 cup of water in the recipe. We used the ones sold in supermarkets, in case you want to know. Also, when you let the store owner / staff grate the coconut using a machine, specify that you will use this for Palitaw, because they tend to push the coconut into the machine too much, which causes the machine to grate parts of the coconut shell as well. You want your grated coconuts as white as possible. Lastly, buy the coconut the day you decide to make this recipe. Like I said, freshly grated coconut spoils fast, so when you buy them, make sure you make the recipe within the day as well. If you bought it early in the morning and you will make the Palitaw about noon time, place them in the fridge until you're ready to use them.

If you want something easy to cook for snack this weekend, I suggest you try this, too. Let the kids or your siblings and parents join the fun of shaping the palitaw dough, it makes eating more fun. Happy weekends!

Recipe | Cassava Cake

One time, my mom traveled to her hometown in Bolinao, Pangasinan and brought home some fresh cassava. That same time, I was quite into cooking videos on YouTube, and seeing the fresh cassava, it made me look for different videos for Cassava Cake. There are quite a few, but I decided to try Pinay Cooking Lessons's recipe instead.


Tes' Special Cassava Cake

Ingredients (cake):

• 1 kilo grated cassava
• 2 cups sugar
• 4 cups thick coconut milk
• 1/4 cup melted butter (plus additional for greasing pans)
• 2 eggs
• egg yellow food color (optional)

Ingredients (topping):

• 1 cup thin coconut milk
• 1 can condensed milk
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

Directions:

• Preheat oven at 340*F
• Crack eggs in a bowl and beat lightly. Add melted butter (which has been cooled down to room temp), sugar, and thick coconut milk. Mix together and add food coloring if desired.
• Once sugar is dissolved, add grated cassava and mix until thoroughly blended.
• Prepare the pans by greasing the bottom and sides of the pans with melted butter. Pour cake batter on pans, giving enough space for expansion and topping. Bake until the batter firms up and the toothpick inserted in the middle of the pan comes out clean.
• While the cake is baking, cook the topping. In a saucepan, place thin coconut milk and flour. Mix to dissolve flour, before adding condensed milk. Mix until well blended.
• Turn on the stove, and under medium heat bring mixture to a boil while constantly stirring. Once it starts to boil, turn off the heat. The topping will thicken as it cools down.
• When the cake is cooked, pour topping, making sure that you divide the topping equally to number of pans used. If it becomes too thick, just add water to thin it down.
• Place back the pan(s) in the oven and bake until the topping firms up and has turned brown.
• Allow the cake to cool down completely before taking out of the pan. Serve on a platter as is, or slice into squares if desired.

For my cassava cake, I also added cheese on the toping, as requested by my sister. Personally, we preferred to have cheese on our cassava cake because we liked the contrast between sweet and savory.

The recipe turned out good. My sister loved it a lot, and I am thinking of baking some again for mom's household members in the church org.

Recipe | Yema Cake (using Maya Butter Cake Mix)

In my willingness to learn more about baking, I joined a Facebook group, where members share different things about baking - recipes, techniques, opinions, help. One time, a member shared her Yema Cake using steamed Maya Hotcake Mix, which sparked an idea. I sure wanted to try for myself if I can also make the cake using steamed Maya Hotcake Mix, but because we still have a box of Maya Butter Cake mix, I decided to use it instead.

If you crave for Yema Cake and cannot buy the famous brand, or you find that baking chiffon cake is tricky, you might want to try this instead.



Yema Cake

{cake}
Ingredients:

• 1 box (200g) Maya Butter Cake Mix
• 4 tablespoons softened butter
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup water

Directions:

• Pre-heat oven to 350*F / 177*C.
• Grease your pan with butter or vegetable oil.
• Mix all ingredients in a bowl until well blended.
• Pour into the prepared pan, until 3/4 full.
• Bake for 30 minutes, or until done.

{yema frosting}
Ingredients:

• 3 egg yolks
• 1 can of condensed milk
• 1 small can of evaporated milk
• 1/2 tbsp of cornstach diluted in 2 tablespoons of water
• 1 1/2 tablespoons of butter
• zest of one lemon

{topping}

• grated cheddar cheese

Directions:

• Mix all ingredients (except butter) in a sauce pan until well combined.
• Over very low heat, cook the custard mixture, making sure you constantly stir it so it won't curdle and form into lumps.
• Once the mixture is slightly thick, add butter and cook until amber in color (still mixing it constantly).
• When the desired consistency is achieved, turn off the heat and allow the custard to cool.

To assemble, just top the cake with the desired amount of yema frosting and add grated cheese. Some things to take note of -- the yema frosting might thicken more as it cools, when it becomes too thick for your liking, thin it with more evaporated milk. As for the grated cheese, it is better to use a small grater.



For this recipe, I was able to make two cakes using a small leche flan llanera as my baking pan, and I also had a small amount of cake batter left to make three small heart shaped cakes using a cookie pan. I had more yema frosting left, so I reserved it and made another batch of Yema Cake, using the traditional chiffon cake recipe, which I will share next time.

Did I like it? Oh yes! The yema frosting obviously is on the sweet side, but I am glad at how the cheese counter the sweetness. It was good timing actually, my mom had guests and served this to them and they loved it...even asked me for the recipe!

What I liked about the Maya Butter Cake mix is that it can be baked using the oven toaster - so, it makes baking easier for everyone. Will try the steamed variety next time, just to test if I would like it.

*** Jenn ***

Recipe | Lemon Puffy Cookies

I find baking cakes intimidating, so I usually go for cupcakes and other pastries. Lately, I am on a cookie craze, and one of the first cookie recipes I tried was the Lemon Puffy Cookies, which I first watched thru Kawaiisweetworld's page on YouTube.


Quite easy to make, right?

Ingredients:

• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter
• 3 cups granulated sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 eggs
• 2 tsp lemon zest (zest of about 2 lemons)
• 4 T. lemon juice (about 1 1/2 lemons)
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 3 cups flour
• 3/4 cup powdered sugar to roll cookies before baking

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 F
• Cream together butter and granulated sugar until light and fluffy in large bowl
• Add in vanilla, eggs, lemon zest, lemon juice and mix until combined.
• Mix in salt, baking powder, baking soda, and flour until just combined.
• Roll heaping tablespoons of dough in powdered sugar until coated. Place on parchment paper/Silpat lined baking sheet 3 inches apart and bake for 9-11 minutes.
• Cool on wire rack before serving.

color match! dig in!

As what was said on the video tutorial, one can easily half the ingredients, so that was what I did, after all, this was just the first time for me to try the recipe. Our oven is small, so I was only able to make about 12 cookies per batch, using a tablespoon to scoop out cookie dough so the cookies will be uniform. The very first batch was the most pleasant looking as they are pale yellow in color. The second batch had a little brownish color on the outer part of the cookies.

The way I see it, if you wanna try to bake this, take out the cookies as soon as the time is up because the longer you leave the cookies inside, the more tough they will become. The brownish / toasty part will also contribute a different taste, so it is best to take the cookies out while they were still pale yellow in color and let the residual heat cook them thoroughly.

I love the taste of these cookies! It reminded me of the Lemon Revel Bars my sister baked before, sans the lemon curd. It was like eating soft yet chewy pie crust with a subtle hint of lemon. It was tarty, but not so much... it was sweet, but not so much either.  I will definitely bake this again.

*** Jenn ***

Say "I Love You" with Chocolates

Valentine's Day was last weekend, I know... but there wasn't any rule saying you only need to express your love during Valentine's Day, right? In fact, I think it is sweeter whenever people express their love and appreciation when it's not Valentine's Day.

Some people find it difficult to say the words "I love you" for a number of reasons, but that doesn't mean one cannot express love anymore. There are a number of ways to show and say it, but if chocolate's your way, these three recipes from The Maya Kitchen will surely be of great help.    



Angel Food Cake Tiramisu
{makes 8 servings}

Ingredients:

{for the angel food cake}:
1/2 cup + 1 tablespoon MAYA Cake Flour, sifted
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 +1/3 cup egg whites
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup sugar

{for the coffee syrup}:
1/2- 1 tablespoon instant coffee powder
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 cup hot water
2 tablespoons coffee liqueur

{for the cream topping}:
1 bar cream cheese
1/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar
2 tablespoons low-fat milk
2 tablespoons plain yogurt
1 piece vanilla bean pod
1/2 cup whipping cream

2 tablespoons cocoa powder, for garnish


Directions for baking:

Prepare angel food cake. Preheat oven to 350ᵒF/177ᵒC. Line the bottom of an 8-inch square pan. Set aside. Sift flour, salt and ¼ cup of sugar 4 times. Set aside. Beat egg whites with cream of tartar until soft peaks form. Add vanilla extract and remaining sugar gradually and continue beating until stiff. Fold in flour mixture gently; blend well. Pour into the prepared pan and smoothen the top. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes or until done. Loosen the sides by using a spatula or dinner knife and invert cake on a wire rack to cool for about an hour.

Prepare coffee syrup. Dissolve coffee powder and sugar in hot water. Add coffee liqueur and stir well.

Prepare cream topping. Beat cream cheese, sugar and confectioners’ sugar until the sugars are dissolved. Beat in milk and yogurt. Split the vanilla bean pod lengthwise and scrape the seeds; beat in the mixture. Set aside. Whip the cream until double in size. Fold whipped cream into the cream cheese mixture. Transfer to a piping bag with a round piping tip.

To assemble. Transfer cake to a plate. Brush with coffee syrup until well-soaked. Pipe cream on top of the cake. Dust with cocoa powder on top.



CHOCOLATE HEART FUDGE BROWNIES
{makes 4 servings (4 x 4” squares)}

Ingredients:
1 pack MAYA Chocolate Fudge Brownie Mix 500g
1/2  cup butter, softened
2 eggs
1 tablespoon water
1/2 cup chopped cashew nuts
dark chocolate, melted, as needed
chocolate heart cut-outs, as needed
whipped cream (optional)

Directions for Baking:

Preheat oven to 325°F/163°C. Grease and line the bottom of an 8-inch square pan. Set aside.

In a bowl, stir brownie mix, butter, water, eggs and nuts (set some aside for topping) until well blended.

Spread in prepared pan and top with reserved nuts.

Bake for 30-35 minutes. Cool completely before cutting. Drizzle or spread melted chocolate on top of brownies and decorate as desired.


CHOCOLATE MERINGUE KISSES
{makes 15-20 pieces}

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon MAYA Cornstarch
6 tablespoons sugar
2 egg whites
1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar
pinch salt
1/3 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon cocoa powder
dark chocolate, melted, as needed

Directions for baking:

Preheat oven to 300ᵒF/149ᵒC. Line one cookie sheet with baking paper and set aside. In a bowl, combine cornstarch and sugar. Mix well then set aside.

Using a stand mixer on high speed with whisk attachment, beat the egg whites, cream of tartar, salt and vanilla extract until soft peaks form. Reduce speed to low and gradually add the cornstarch and sugar mixture. Return to high speed and beat until stiff peaks form. Fold in the cocoa powder.

Transfer mixture to a piping bag with a star tip. Pipe meringue kisses on the cookie sheet and bake for 40 minutes. Turn the oven off and leave the tray inside the oven for one hour.

Let the meringue kisses cool at room temperature for at least 10 minutes. Once cooled, dip half in melted chocolate.

Let the chocolate-dipped meringue kisses set on a lined cookie sheet and transfer to an airtight container.

I hope these three chocolate-y recipes come as a great help. The brownies are the easiest to make since the Maya Brownie Mix is available in most groceries and we have used it several times and believe me, it tasted like the brownies we usually buy. I am personally going to try the meringue, I think it is a very good party giveaway and gift to friends...not to mention it has the potential to turn in money (if I did sell them, of course).

*** Jenn ***

Recipe | Food for the Gods

Christmas is just around the corner. Do you already have prepared list of food to serve for Noche Buena and Christmas Day? Our small family of three will go a little simple this year - I am thinking of preparing Bruschetta for Noche Buena as we don't really eat a lot during that time. For Christmas lunch, I am thinking of cooking Cabbage Rolls, a pasta recipe, and cupcakes... but we still haven't done our grocery shopping, so all is still not sure as of this time.

Anyway, it is always during Christmastime when I got to eat Food for the Gods, and I consider it quite a favorite - maybe because I don't get to eat it as often as other baked goodies. When we bought the oven early this year, this was something I considered baking, but finding the dates became my biggest challenge.

Thankfully, SM Supermarket now has an aisle for baking ingredients and tools, and they now carry this brand - Dough it All. This brand was such a blessing for home bakers like me as I don't really need that much supplies. I was surprised to see a pack of pitted dates in one of our grocery days, so then I knew the time has come for me to try and baked this awesome holiday delight.



Food for the Gods
{makes 1 pan}

Ingredients:

• 1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup butter or margarine
• 1 cup chopped walnuts
• 1 cup chopped pitted dates
• 3/4 cup loosely packed brown sugar
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 3 eggs

How to Bake:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• In a bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Sift mixture into another bowl.
• From that mixture, get about 1/2 cup and dredge dates, so the dates won't settle on the bottom of the pan.
• On a separate bowl, cream butter and sugar.
• Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition.
• Stir in flour mixture into the wet mixture using wooden spoon.
• Stir in walnuts and dates, and mix until thoroughly combined.
• Grease baking pan with butter or oil - including the sides.
• Pour in batter into the baking pan and level.
• Bake initially for 10 minutes.
• After 10 minutes, lower oven's temperature to 300 degrees and bake further for about 15 minutes.
• Cool down the pan completely and cut according to your liking.
• Wrap the pieces into aluminum foil and cellophane wrapper.

As you can see, I didn't wrap my baked Food for the Gods anymore as it would be just three girls who would eat this, and it turned out to be delicious. One thing I would change should I bake this again was to finely chop the walnuts and dates, as I wanted the gritty feel to my Food for the Gods and not chunky the way this turned out.

This can be a good Christmas giveaway, or a good baked goodie to serve your family for Christmas. If you want to see the full video tutorial on how to bake this, please check Pinay Cooking Lessons video on YouTube.

*** Jenn ***