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Saturday, December 10, 2005
Sweets for the joyous season
By Jenara Regis Newman
Everyone has a favorite all-time sweet for the Christmas season. For Marisol Borromeo Putong, it is native torta plus the old reliable fruit cake, and sundry other cookies and cakes like pineapple upside down. For Bernadette Gallego, it is peach upside down cake and stollen, the recipe for which she got from her mom. But what Bernadette gives away is something else.
Something that evokes great festivities of long ago: tocino del cielo and yemas. Both truly pamper anyone’s sweet tooth.
For those who want to try their hand at making these sweets, here are the recipes (from Philippine Fiesta Recipe by Leonarda R. Belmonte and Perla B. del Mundo):
Tocino del Cielo
Ingredients: 25 egg yolks, 4 cups sugar and 3 water
Procedure: Boil the sugar and water until the syrup forms a soft ball when dipped into cold water. Beat the egg yolks, add the syrup after cooling it; blend well and strain. Line a pan or small mold with thick caramel syrup, fill 3/4 full with mixture and steam until thick and set. Cool before unmolding. The tocino del cielo is often set in small individual molds then placed in small soufflé cups before serving. Good for 10 persons.
Yemas (Egg Candies)
Ingredients: 1 14 oz. can condensed milk, 10 egg yolks, 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract.
For the caramel: 1 cup sugar, a tbsp. water, 1 tbsp. corn syrup
Procedure: Beat the egg yolks until blended. Combine yolks with condensed milk and vanilla extract in a heavy pot over low heat. Cook stirring until thick enough to shape into balls. This will take about 30 minutes. Let cool slightly.
Shape into marble-sized balls with buttered hands. Set aside.
Combine sugar, water, and corn syrup for caramel in a thick saucepan placed over medium heat and tip pan from side to side until sugar melts into light brown syrup (about 12-15 minutes. Test by dipping syrup into a cup of cold water – it should form into a ball if caramel has reached the right consistency.)
Remove from heat. Dip each ball into the syrup. Using 2 teaspoons, lift the ball from the syrup removing it from teaspoon to teaspoon to let excess syrup drop off. Place on greased cookie sheet.
Quickly work on the rest before the caramel hardens. Makes about 85 balls.
(Yemas are usually individually wrapped in green or red cellophane)
If you have no time or patience to make these mouth-watering and cholesterol-filled sweets, you can let your fingers do the baking: order them from La Marea at telephone number 416-2919, or from Dette Gallego, at 416-2348, and have a sweet, sweet Christmas!
(December 10, 2005 issue)
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