Pandesal (Filipino sweet bread rolls)

So.  I have been amiss with the blogging and the writing. And in my last post, I forgot to mention the newest addition to our family!  We got a dog!

Late last year we got an 8 week old Labrador Cross and it has changed our lives immensely - from our daily routine to everything we eat at home.  The puppy was from an office colleague who's pet Labrador gave birth to 9 puppies!!  Of course, when she asked if we wanted one, it was a big fat YES please!  Eleven months on and our home is now double the activity - noise, mess and everything in between.  Lucky is a bundle of mess and joy! We've lost shoes and slippers and towels and old toys from biting and gnawing and every little budding plant in the backyard dug up, twigs and branches scattered about and the smell of stinking poo and pee!  But....... we are happy.  He brings us unconditional love and the happy yapping and tail wagging that welcomes everyone at the door every day is just priceless.  When you get a pet, I think there's that extra dose of tolerance, patience and generosity that comes out of you. Walks have turned into running because we're chasing him more, and play time at home has become more frequent.  Hubby is happy he's got a running buddy and an extra testosterone in the house and the girls are loving the play time - a much needed break from their gadgets and laptops.

I read one of those memes circling around my social media feeds - when you have teenagers, get yourself a dog. It seems apt with the girls now donning high school and teen hats!

Back to food and this pandesal.  This has been a fave recipe of ours since I started experimenting on making bread at home about 6 years ago.  Pandesal is a Filipino bread roll, it has subtle sweetness and saltiness and is a staple in most Filipino breakfast tables - even afternoon tea, really. Pandesals are sold by every corner bakeshop in the Philippines and they are delicious warm with slathers of butter or margarine.  This can be made by hand, using a stand mixer, and most recently, I converted the recipe for the Thermomix (recipe is in the Recipe Community), if you're interested in that method. But here is the traditional one with pictures to guide you along the way.

Ingredients

500 ml luke warm water, 37*-38*C 

2 teaspoons dried active yeast

1 teaspoon caster sugar (to activate the yeast)

75 grams (or 1/3 cup) caster sugar (for the dough)

55 ml sunflower oil (or any neutral smelling oil)

 

900 grams (6 cups) strong bakers flour

1 adn 1/2 teaspoon sea salt flakes*

 

1-2 cups bread crumbs (store bought or homemade for coating the rolls)

 

 

Method

 

In a medium sized bowl, combine the water, yeast and 1 teaspoon sugar and stir with a spoon until the sugar is dissolved.  Rest for 5-10 minutes to activate the yeast.  It should appear bubbly.

 

In the bowl of your stand mixer, combine the remaining sugar and oil and mix until smooth.  

 

Replace the attachment with a dough hook, then add 1 cup of flour first, and the yeast mixture.  Turn on the mixer to combine.

 

Add the salt, and the remaining flour, one cup at a time, and knead until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl, about 3-5 minutes.

 

Take the bowl, cover with cling wrap and set aside to prove.  Minimum of 1 hour or until the dough has doubled in size.

 

Prepare and line two baking trays with parchment paper. 

 

Place the breadcrumbs into a medium sized bowl and set aside. 

 

Sprinkle some flour onto a clean kitchen bench and take the dough from the bowl. 

 

Divide the round dough into quarters.

 

Roll each quarter into a log and cut using a sharp knife or dough scraper into 5-6 cm pieces.

 

Dip each pandesal/roll piece into the bread crumbs bowl to coat.

Place the pandesal/roll onto the prepared baking tray, leaving about 2cm in between each piece.  Repeat with the rest of the dough.

Cover the tray with a tea towel and place in a warm spot to prove further - 30 minutes to 1 hour, or until the pandesal/rolls have doubled in volume.

Preheat the oven to 180*C.

Once the pandesal/rolls have rested and doubled in size, place in the preheated oven and bake for 20 minutes or until golden.

Serve with butter or margarine!

 

 

Tips!

 

* when using iodized or fine salt, just use 1 teaspoon

 

* for the second proving, the longer you rest the dough, the more you'll get fluffier and soft rolls when baked

 

* the pandesal/rolls are best eaten while still warm, but can still be served the next day toasted or warmed in the oven. 

This will be your dough, resting and risen after proving.

Divide the dough into quarters, then roll each quarter into logs then cut into pandesal/rolls.

The pandsal/rolls cut into 5-6cm pieces.  The size will depend on your preference. 

Coat the cut pieces with bread crumbs, then place onto the tray with the cut side up. 

The pandesal/rolls will have doubled in size after second proving, and they will be touching each other, side by side like here.

The pandesal/rolls baking in the oven.

And this will be your freshly baked pandesal!

As with all baking experiments, there will be times when the bread will have unexpected results - bread too hard, or burnt or doughy.  It always pays to try again.  We have had numerous fails before we nailed this recipe.  One version was even so tough the birds visiting our backyard were not even half interested in the crumbs we put out for them.  Just try until you get the results you want.  And if you have any questions, just let me know.   I'm doing a sour dough project at the moment, experimenting on starters and baking artisan sour dough breads.  I have posted photos on my Facebook page and will write a post about my sour dough adventure in upcoming posts.


And going back to our much loved Lucky, who will be turning 1 next  month! We are looking at making a special savoury birthday cake - meatloaf! What do you think?  Should we make something sweet?  Do you have pets at home who have overtaken your lives in the most joyful way?  Share your stories here!

Chocolate sour cream bundt cake

It’s been awhile since I’ve written a post.  Not that anyone notices.  With all the thousands of fabulous food blogs around.  But I’d like to keep writing as this keeps me creative.  Cooking.  Baking. Taking photos.  Then writing.  It’s a cliché, but it is therapeutic to write.  To compose one’s ideas on paper, or in blogging’s case tap, tap, tapping on the computer. Sometimes, well most times, ideas elude me.   The girls have been getting a lot of writing tasks from school and it helps that I am able to assist them with writing ideas.  Even though they don’t end up in the blog, the writing ends up somewhere.  At school.  To be graded for composition, narrative/persuasive texts, etc.  At least here its not being judged.  No grading.  Just open ended talk about generally anything under the Australian sun.  So what’s up with adobo down under....

The year has swooshed by so quickly.  And we are on the second half of 2015 already!  The first of July to be exact.

On the home front, the girls are onto their milestone years.  Big sister is in Year12 – taking HSC (Australian equivalent to SAT or NCEE) this year, just turned 18, and currently in NYC (and LA) for a performing arts tour at school.  The younger girls are in Year 6, just turned 12 and taking on many tasks at school mostly related to arts and crafts, have done several high school applications and one interview with a school principal.  It’s an exciting and busy year.  So the first half of blogging has been set aside, but there have been lots of cooking and cakes baked so far.  

Recently  we also celebrated our 10^th year anniversary in Australia.  I can’t believe it has been a decade.  It seems like only yesterday when we were at Sydney Kingsford International Airport, armed with 6 luggages and 2 massive boxes full of personal effects, memories and other stuff we wanted to hang on to from the past, as we started our new life in Australia.  A decade has passed and we have thrown some of those old stuff, acquired new ones, and have been creating new memories since we came.  It has been amazing.  Like everything that life is, there have been many down moments but the positives always overcome the negatives.   

So a milestone deserves a cake.  And to celebrate we made this cake.  A chocolate sour cream bundt cake.  It's a great cake for celebrations.  Or if you just want cake, really.

Recipe adapted from Leite's Culinaria

Ingredients

225 g butter (I used salted), plus extra for greasing the pan

1/3 cup cocoa powder

1 teaspoon sea salt

1 cup water

2 cups flour, plus extra for dusting the pan

1 ¾ cup caster sugar

1 ½ teaspoon baking soda

2 large eggs

½ cup sour cream

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the glaze

200g dark chocolate, roughly chopped

1 cup thickened cream

1 tablespoon butter

Method

Preheat oven to 175*C.  Butter and flour the pan the bundt pan

In a small saucepan, mix together the butter, cocoa powder, salt, and water and place of medium heat, stirring with a spatula until completely melted.  Remove from heat and set aside

In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar and baking soda with a spatula or whisk.  Add half the melted butter mixture and stir until thoroughly blended.  

 Add remaining butter mixture and mix until well combines.   

Add eggs one a time, stirring until completely incorporated before adding additional egg.  

 Fold in the sour cream and vanilla and stir until smooth.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake in preheated oven for 40-45 minutes or until a skewer inserted comes out clean.

Let the cake completely cook before inverting onto a rack.

Make the glaze.

 Place the chocolates in a bowl and set aside.

Heat the cream in a small saucepan until hot (but not boiling). Pour into the bowl of chocolates and stir with a spatula until chocolate is melted.   

Add the butter and continue to stir until you have a smooth.

Drizzle the glaze onto the cooled cake, letting it run down the sides. 

(Just like below. Extreme control measures needed to restrain from licking the bowl and spoon)

And let me just say, Australia you have been amazing.  We came here, fell in love and more than happy to call you home.

Cheers mate!

Flourless chocolate cocoa cake

Birthdays always mean cake.  Whether it's for a person, a pet or a blog. 

Today is adobo down under's 6th birthday!  Well, blogiversary as its called in the blogosphere.  And what an excuse to make a special cake!  Who else needs an excuse to bake and eat cake?

Not long ago, this was just a recipe journal and it has evolved into something more.  Looking back, there has been so many learnings.  From other blogs and fellow bloggers.  From photography to writing, to styling and being obsessed with op-shopping (second hand thrift stores).  While my photography and food styling is not at par with the best of them, I'm just as happy that there's a day like this to celebrate and bake and eat cake. 

Now what cake to make?

I have been off sugar for a while now (no I have not quit sugar entirely as I still eat rice and lots of fruits) and have been cutting down on gluten (just a personal choice), I wanted to make something that's gluten free and which the girls will love.

And this flourless chocolate (espresso) cake from Martha Stewart was staring down at me from my FB timeline.   I made this cake with the espresso substituted with cocoa powder, as I don't want the girls bouncing off the walls from caffeine.  And it is indeed "flourless"!  No almond meal or any nut flour here.

Ingredients

45 grams unsalted butter

170 grams dark chocolate

6 eggs, separated

1 cup caster sugar, divided into half cups

3 tablespoons cocoa powder

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Method

Preheat oven to 170*C.  

Invert the bottom of a 22cm spring form tin.  Line the bottom and sides with baking paper and then grease the baking paper with canola spray or butter.  Set aside.

Place the chocolates and butter in a bowl.  Melt the butter and chocolate over a saucepan of simmering water until smooth.  

In a mixing bowl, beat the eggs with the sugar until thick and pale (ribbon stage).

Add the cocoa powder, salt and continue to beat for another 1 minute.

Add the melted chocolate and vanilla and beat for another minute. 

In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites until frothy.

Add the sugar gradually, and continue beating/whisking until stiff peaks form.

Fold the egg whites into the chocolate mixture in 3 batches.

Spoon the batter into the prepare pan and bake for 40-45 minutes.

Cool on a wire rack.  

Once cool, loosen the side of the pan with a butter knife and remove the sides.

Transfer to a serving plate and slice away.

 

This cake is rich and dense and surprisingly not so sweet.  It's the perfect pair to a good cup of coffee or tea, and to celebrate a birthday.

Happy blogiversary adobo down under!

And thanks guys!  For sharing in the celebration.  Now does anyone want cake?

Red velvet cupcakes

December is a busy and expensive month for us.  We have a birthday, an anniversary and then Christmas.  The gift giving can get really overwhelming if we don't stop ourselves from the purchases.  In past posts, I always mention that Christmas shopping for me, has gone from overly organised (back in my single days), to last minute shopper.  Before, I would have gifts for everyone months before December and all I need to do in the last few days leading up to Christmas will be to wrap them. These days, hubby (as he is constantly online), he purchases most of the girls' presents ahead.  He's good like that.  He's reliable that way and I am so grateful.  Really. A few days ago, I just started wrapping them.  And I'm really impressed. Now all that's left now is to get Santa's presents.

Now that part, he leaves to me.  I try to be really sneaky and at the same time realistic every year.  But just last year, lists to Santa has extended into the technology realm - you know, the latest iPod or some other overly expansive gadget.  The girls were really cheeky.  "If mum or dad won't buy us, they maybe Santa can get this for us?"    Well, for the younger girls at least.

I don't know about you, but I'm the more conventional mom when it comes to toys.  I mostly get board games instead of apps, crossword and word search puzzles and books instead of the latest Wii game.  Last year, just to get into the apps world, I got them the Draw Something board game.  Yeah.  I'm not saying I don't play game apps or have the latest from iTunes, but I still do believe in the basic of playing - interaction (face-face) and having a good time.  

 

The younger girls at 10 years old are sort of in between that age when magic is becoming reality.  Their friends at school don't believe in Santa and of course, they get into that stage where what is said in the classroom or in the playground, just might have some truth vs what mum/dad said.   As much as possible, I'd still like to play that game while they're still young. I think believing in the idea of Santa creates a sense of wonder and awe each Christmas morning, and I love watching their reaction.  The open-mouth-surprise and smiles are priceless.  That's the part I love.  So don't judge me!

This year, Santa's elves at the North Pole still don't make Apple products so that's out of the list for now.  But some creative stencil stamps, new board games and a magic juggling ball might just under the tree next week.

Now Christmas is my favourite time of the year.  In Australia, when it's the middle of the summer makes me love it even more.  Summer fruits, beautiful colours all round, days at the beach, endless blue skies, warm breeze, Christmas decorations, Carols, and just the deep sense and feeling of delight in sharing and giving. 

Each year since two years ago, I started making homemade food gifts to friends, work colleagues, teachers and neighbours.  I love the idea of getting busy weeks ahead planning what it will be, shopping for ingredients and making them in layers (a day at at a time).  And these red velvet cupcakes are always a hit with anyone who receives them.  Why not?  They're red and so Christmassy!  Don't you think so?

This recipe is adapted from the Joy of Baking.  I have made them so many times and have varied the brands of ingredients with the same result.  I have doubled Stephanie's recipe to make 24+ half-cup sized cupcakes.

Ingredients for cupcakes

2 and 1/2 cup (250 grams) sifted plain flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons cocoa powder

1/2 cup (120 grams) unsalted butter, softened

1 and 1/2 cups (300 grams) caster (white granulated) sugar

2 large eggs (about 60-65g each)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup (250 ml) buttermilk*

2 tablespoons liquid red food colouring

1 teaspoon bi-carbonate of soda (baking soda)

1 teaspoon white vinegar

Method

 

Preheat the oven to 175*C.

Line two 12-half cup capacity cupcake tins with cupcake liners.

In a large bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, salt and cocoa powder.  Set aside.

In a measuring jug, mix buttermilk and food colouring until incorporated. Set aside.

In the bowl of your stand mixer, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.

Add the eggs one at a time, beating after each addition.

Continue beating and add the vanilla extract.

While the mixer is on low, add about 1/3 of the flour mixture, then the buttermilk mixture into the bowl. Add the flour and buttermilk alternating in three batches and mix until the batter is consistent and there are not more flour lumps.  Scrape down the sides of the bowl when necessary. Put the mixer on stop/pause.

In a small cup, combine the bi-carbonate soda and vinegar.  Allow the mixture to bubble.

Turn the mixer back on to low and quickly add the bi-carb soda-vinegar mixture and continue to mix for 10 seconds.

Scoop a tablespoon in each cupcake hole or at least a third full.

Bake in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes, or until a skewere inserted into the cupcake comes out clean.

Place on cooling racks and leave to cool.

Make the Cream Cheese Frosting

1 box (250 gram) cream cheese, softened

125 grams salted butter

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup (50 grams) pure icing (confectioner's) sugar

In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the cream cheese and butter until light, fluffy and soft.

Add the icing sugar a tablespoon at a time and continue mixing.

Add the vanilla extra and mix until incorporate.

Using a spatula, spoon and spread on top of cupcakes or spoon into a piping bag with a star tip and pipe onto cupcakes.

 Tips and tricks:

* To soften butter, take it out of the fridge to thaw for at least an hour or more (depending on the weather and season);

* Softened butter means its pliable.  When you pinch the butter, it creates a small dent.  Softened butter does not mean soft to the point of melting.  

* When preparing your butter and cream cheese, it helps in the mixing/creaming when you cut them into cubes. 

* As soon as you add the vinegar-baking soda, I always count 10 seconds to the dot then turn off the mixer and just fold the batter gently with a spatula.

* Don't overfill your cupcake tins.  If necessary, which is the case with me, I usually prepare another cupcake tin with liners for the excess.  

* When creaming the frosting, make sure all ingredients are at room temperature. When one ingredient is even slightly cooler, it can cost the frosting to look curdled - meaning the butter becomes solid again. 

* For buttermilk substitute, you can make your own sour milk which is 1 cup milk with 1 tablespoon lemon or white vinegar.  Let the mixture sit for 5 minutes until the milk has curdled or thickened.  I

* Plain natural yogurt can also be a substitute for buttermilk.  With the same amount in the ingredients, prepare  your yoghurt by mixing it with a teaspoon to take out the lumps. (Joy the Baker has some variations on the buttermilk substitution you might want to try.)

And so it's only 8 days till Christmas!  Are you ready yet? 

Is everyone's gift ticked on the list? 

Have you planned your Christmas menu?

And.... do you play the Santa role too?

Orange almond cake

There's an abundance of navel oranges at the moment in this part of the Southern hemisphere.  Spill over from the cold months, the Australian navel orange is sweet juicy, seedless and rich in orange colour.   Which makes them the best when making sweets and cakes.   They are usually in season from June to October, but they are available year round not discounting the availability of imports.

An office colleague shared this recipe she makes regularly at home for orange almond cake.  She has a fool-proof method of boiling the oranges, cooling them, popping them in the food processor with the rest of the ingredients and pour into baking pans.  Basically 3 steps: boil, process, bake. And then of course, eat.

As it seems, orange almond cakes are a classic Passover dessert drawn from Sephardic traditions in Morocco and the Middle East. The original recipe was first featured in 1968 in Claudia Roden's A Book of Middle Eastern Food, which was featured in Lorraine's blog Not Quite Nigella.  Stephanie Alexander also has a version in her book The Cook's Companion and recently featured with a make over by Peter G in his blog Souvlaki for the Soul. 

As there is an abundance at the moment of this sweet round oranges, it was time to try my office colleague's recipe with inspiration from all the amazing foodies mentioned.  And for a birthday morning tea at work, this was the star.  Orange almond cake with apricot jam glaze and blood orange slices.

We have made this many times after the first attempt, and every single time, it just comes out perfect.  For the election fundraising at the girls' school, I added some touch of chantilly cream (whipped cream with a little bit of icing sugar) and decorated with Lindt Orange Intense.

To make this orange almond cake

Ingredients:

2 whole navel oranges 

250 grams almond meal

3/4 cup caster sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

6 whole eggs

Method:

Wash the oranges.

In a medium sized pot, pour about 3-4 cups water (don't overfill with water. Half-way through is fine).   Place orange in pot and boil with cover until soft - around 45 minutes to an hour.

Drain the water and set the oranges aside to cool.

Preheat oven to 180*C.

Spray a 23cm cake pan with canola oil.  Pour about a tablespoon of flour into the pan and tap away the excess.  

Once oranges are cooled, slice them into wedges and take out any seeds or pits.

Place in a food processor and process until smooth.

Add the eggs and continue to process until combined.

In a large mixing bowl, combine almond meal, caster sugar and baking powder using a spatula.  Mix until everything is incorporated together.

Add the egg and orange mixture to the dry ingredients and whisk together to combine.

Pour into the prepared pan and bake in the oven for 45 minutes to an hour.

Cool on a wire rack before serving.

Tips and dress ups

* Make sure to check the pot every now and then as the water can dry up and you'll end up with burnt orange.

* You can cook the oranges a day ahead or the night before you plan to make the cake. This is how I did it when I baked the cakes.

* The cake is well and truly divine by itself, or you can dust some icing sugar for some added colour.

* For the photo above with the blood orange and apricot glaze, simply heat 2-3 tablespoons of apricot jam with the same amount of water.  Once it boils, turn off heat and add the blood orange slices.  Let this completely cool.  Then drizzle the glaze over the cake and decorate with the blood orange slices.

* For the frosted cake, simply whip 2 cups of thickened cream with 1/4 cup icing sugar.  Pipe onto the cakes and decorate with anything you fancy.

Broas - Filipino ladyfinger cookies

"If you have good thoughts, they will shine out of your face like sun beams and you will always look lovely." - Roald Dahl

Indeed they will!  And I always tell my girls this very quote.  And every single time, they laugh.  That's because they know the book from where this quote comes from and the story makes them laugh.  It is from Roald Dahl's book The Twits - a story about this two horrible couple who live together with their pets who played a trick a them and got away in the end.  Funny story, really.  And as with all Roald Dahl books, the illustrations give the characters life.  The kids have a good selection of RD books some of which we went to great lenghts to find.  

Now sometimes, good thoughts are hard to come by.  Especially as adults we don't have time to stop and day dream and float, thinking of rainbows and unicorns and fluffy thoughts.  In our daily grind, its difficult balancing what needs to be done, with what we actually want done. And a lot of times it's so draining that what's left of the day is just enough time to wash up and go straight to bed. This is me. Actually.

But there is a way, because those little things of beauty we see everyday?  They add to our good thoughts.  A beautiful bounty of the season's fresh fruits at the local shops, sunrise and sunset feeds on your IG, positive quotes in your FB timeline, a funny movie, a line from a TV sitcom, neighbours who wave back when you pass, blue skies, sunshine (these two we've been having a lot lately, in late Sydney winter.) and cookies!  Of course cookies! 

All these definitely adds to the good vibrations we feel and pass on to people.  It's not always easy to be be in a sunny disposition when at the back of my mind there are bills to pay and commitments and priorities, but I found that looking up and searching for inspiration somewhere puts me in perspective.    

Now every month with the Sweet Adventures Blog Hop, I always try to find inspiration from my heritage.  And try to share in as much Filipino sweets possible and apt for the month's theme. And with this month's Cookie Monster theme hosted by Sophie from The Sticky and Sweet, there was only one route to take.  And this was to make the Filipino sweet delicacy of broas - or ladyfinger cookies.  There's basically only 3 ingredients here: egg, flour and sugar! 

Broas is a delicacy in the Philippines and these are one of those treats you purchase from sweets shops.  I don't know of anyone making these back home as they are conveniently available everywhere.  Mazapan Broas is the brand I grew up with because our province is a few minutes drive away from their main bakery.  The broas are packed and sold by the tin (round and square, short and tall), similar to a Milo can. These are baked on the premises using old techniques and old style stone ovens.  There are a lot of other brands around the country like Crescens and some commercial ones like La Pacita  but I'm guessing Osang's in Bohol is the only remaining one still using artisanal approach to making broas.  From Market Manila's post, they still make broas the way they used to from five decades ago and they have never upgraded to modern equipments till now.  So in reading his post about Osang's, I tried to take in a few of their tips.

 This recipe is adapted from Recipes of the Philippines shared by Oggi here.

Ingredients

3 eggs, separated

80g (6 tablespoons) caster sugar

65g (8 tablespoons) sifted plain flour

2-3 tablespoons icing sugar for dusting

Method

Preheat the oven to 170*C

Line two baking trays with parchment/baking paper.

 In a large bowl, whisk the egg yolks with 1 tablespoon of the caster sugar until pale.  Set aside.

In the bowl of your stand mixer, whip the egg whites until frothy/foamy.

Add the caster sugar, one tablespoon at a time and continue whipping until you get stiff peaks and the meringue is glossy.

Fold in the beaten egg yolks.

Add the sifted flour and gently fold until incorporated.

Spoon the mixture into a piping bag and pipe into 3.5 inch long strips.

Using a fine sieve, dust the cookies with icing sugar.

Bake in the preheated oven for 12 minutes.

Turn off the heat and with oven door slightly open, leave the trays in the oven for 15 minutes more, to let the cookies dry.

Tips:

* When whipping the egg whites, don't add the sugar in one go to save time.  It's important to add the sugar in batches to avoid deflating the aeration.

* You can use a piping bag with a plain round tip or simply a large ziplock bag and cut off one corner tip.

* You can leave the cookies in the oven for longer in low temperature 50-60*C, to make them more crispy outside and soft inside.

* You can dust more icing sugar after baking if preferred.

  

I have made these many times before using a TAFE recipe and process for sponge fingers which we used to make a classic Charlotte Russe in class, but this recipe and the result is entirely different.  

As with simple Filipino sweets, these are eaten by themselves, dunked into freshly brewed Batangas (barakong kape) coffee.  No creams or creme fraiche here.  Just a simple cookie.  Nothing else.  Now that's a good thought, don't you think so?