My O-M-G #1 book in my Wishlist: FLOUR Spectacular Recipes from Boston Bakery+Cafe

Came across this book in a culinary magazine and the magazine featured some of the pages from this  book... I really like the recipes, really feasible and I can tell its really good. 


Only problem is its not available in the local bookstore... well its not time to give up. 

Iloilo's Hotel Del Rio Pineapple Turnover

I have a thing for simple and honest desserts, just good desserts with no thick make-up or complicated over the top twists, just a sweet bite of heaven.


Hotel Del Rio's Pineapple Turnover is one good example. Its so good that you can easily finish a dozen in one sitting. The pastry crust is so buttery and flaky, the process of creating this crust is an art, one should have a good pulse and a graceful finesse in dough rolling or else it will break. and The Pineapple filling is made from scratch, not starchy or too sweet or too sour JUST RIGHT, it taste like the pineapple jam your mom makes at home. 


This pastry taste one of kind, I have tasted a lot of fruit infused turnovers,tarts, croissants, pies,etc... but none comes close to this....


Iloilo's food scene is scarce when it comes to really good desserts, most dessert places are just too made up and photoshopped (sorry for being brutally honest)... but there are runner ups like Turtle Pie in Messe but sad to say its no longer around, the good ol Butterscotch of Biscocho House, the reasonable but really creamy Brazos de Mercedes of Grand Hotel. So right now I'm writing about this Pineapple Turnover because its a rare find and it hit a home run.


So the next time you pass by Hotel del Rio place an order for a box of Pineapple Turnover and it wont disappoint. 


* also recommending their Napoleones if you want some real chocolate and sugar rush. 

Ugly pics of a very pretty Moist Chocolate Cake

I apologize guys if I have been off the radar lately. Things just got busy. Will be updating soon promise... like next week!

Made this cake for a colleague its a Moist Chocolate Cake with a twang! Im just happy that I can make  marble scales texture. Its just a mixture of Chocolate Fudge and Whipping Cream. Do not mix them instead layer them up then smudge them using an off set spatula, learned this technique from one of the show in Asian Food Channel. This icing texture is nice for Black Forest Cake, Christmas Log Rolls and Marble Cakes.

“Carpe Diem.  I’ll admit the Romans had it right. You gotta live life. Between seizing what life offers in the moment, and forging ahead, no matter what life offers, or closing the curtains, and shutting out the day.

A pail of good sense of humor and a bucket of strong faith, above all else will you through a bad year, a bad break-up and a bad anything...

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Toaster Baked Calamansi Meringue Pie

People who thinks the good ol cheap oven toaster is just for toasting bread and sometimes reheating food are not creative enough to think that there is NO BOX to think outside of! (wow thats deep!)


Well my point is your rotting toaster at home can do wonderful stuff like this Calamansi Meringue Pie! 


The only thing that you should be wary of is you should keep an eye on your pie inside the toaster because we all know that the heat inside the toaster is not that dependable and constant. Keep an eye on it especially on the Meringue stage... it browns fast! But I tell you the browning of the meringue using a toaster is nicer compared using an oven or a torch! I dont know but the browning is faster and more even and way just right...


The recipe for this Calamansi Pie is the same as the ones of Lemon Meringue Pie. I just substituted it because we live in this country where Calamansi is abundant and very cheap.  The taste is way better because the acidity of calamansi is not as strong as the ones of Lemon but if you want a more citrusy smelling pie stick with lemons! 


Im still thinking of using both Calamansi and Lemon on my next pie to achieve a clean sweet-sour flavor with tangy and citrusy smell! 


Good food is not just about the taste ... its about the aroma too!

Kalabasa Jam

This was concocted out of necessity  to dispose the huge Kalabasa (squash) hanging out in our kitchen for almost a week.


Kalabasa Jam is a regular in our house since I was a small, its a bribery food used by my sitter to let me eat vegetable especially Squash which allegedly make your eyesight good! 


Kalabasa Jam... made of two cups of freshly squeezed coconut milk, mashed squash (boiled then mashed) then muscovado sugar... cook the coconut milk first then add the mashed squash then add the muscovado sugar..SIMMER while stirring constantly until thick.. garnish with calamansi zest!


Best with Pandesal ni Paa (soft rolls) or Skyflakes (soda cracker)! or chill it then eat spoonfulls!!!

Crema De Fruta- for your Easter Lunch Dessert

I hate Crema de Fruta or its just that I haven't tasted a really good Crema de Fruta. Goldilock's Crema de Fruta is tasteless all you can really taste is the peaches and the sour gelatin topping made of the syrup from the peaches. 

So I gave Crema de Fruta a chance... I made one myself. First I baked a Chiffon Sheet Cake, made a bowl of Pastry Cream then I drained a can of FALCON VALLEY Fruit Cocktail (its the brand that doesn't have papaya slices on it).

I assembled it by slicing the Chiffon Sheet Cake just like the shape of my container, First I placed the sliced cake then slathered some pastry cream, then some fruit cocktail and then place another sliced caked then pastry cream then arrange some fruit cocktail on top.

I suggest you make your own pastry cream rather than using the all-purpose cream-condensed milk combo. I know that its more time consuming but you will really see the difference and pastry cream tend not to be watery thus not soaking your cake compared to the cream-milk combo.

I planned to put a gelatin topping on it but I ran out of Knox so as you can see no gelatin topping! But if you do plan to put some on yours which is aesthetically better. Do not use the fruit cocktail syrup mixed with gelatin, instead use Mango Nectar dissolved with a sachet of Knox, really good....

Ube Ensaymada: My first success in the world of Yeast Breads

Yeast breads is the kryptonite of my baking world, that I nearly despised all recipes that calls for yeast. Every time i try out a yeast bread recipe it will be either too hard or it smells like fermenting yeast or worst one time even my baking teacher wont taste it. LOL. Just last month I was convinced that I SUCKED big time on yeast bread. 

And then one day my baking teacher asked us to do an ensaymada, at first I was on my lazy mode I already have this feeling that it will be another disastrous yeast bread. But lo and behold it turned out one good actually very good ENSAYMADA. 

I learned two things in yeast breads.1.  KNEAD it WELL until its SMOOTH and ELASTIC. Test it by taking a small part of the dough then pull it apart if it wont break then its elastic and look into the texture if its smooth with no lumps then you are good to go! 2. PROOF it long enough to really RISE. For it to be a really soft bread.

HAPPY YEAST BREAD BAKING!