As many foodies will say, there’s enough time the rest of the year to cut out all the fattening food that are served during the most festive of occasions, so we should use this most important dates in the Philippine calendar to indulge ourselves.
For this issue, two members of Domestic Workers Corner (It’s All About Food) share the secrets behind some of their popular sugary treats.
The first, Janice Medio, who is better known to her fellow DWC members as Admin Jazz, unloads the secret of her heavenly chocolate cake and (vinegar-laced) cupcakes.
Jazz, who has been in Hong Kong for 4 ½ years, says she first had culinary lessons when she was in high school. But she had an opportunity to hone this skill when she completed a course at the Hong Kong Culinary Arts Centre.
The second featured chef is Jasmine Crisostomo, who has been working in Hong Kong for the past six years. Jasmine describes herself as a wide reader, and has taught herself to bake and cook by reading Facebook posts and watching YouTube videos.
Steamed Moist Chocolate Cake
By Janice Medio
Mixture 1
2/3 cup caster sugar
1 cup cocoa powder
1 cup condensed milk
1 cup canola oil or vegetable oil
1 cup hot water (dilute 1 tbsp coffee granules)
2 eggs
*Combine all Mixture 1 ingredients*
Mixture 2
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
Procedure:
1. Combine Mixtures 1 and 2 but don’t over-mix as this can cause dryness. Cover with aluminum foil.
2. Steam in boiling water over medium heat for 30-40 minutes
Ganache
100gms dark chocolate
2tbsp butter
1/4cup Nestle’s cream
Procedure:
1. Melt dark chocolate, then add butter and mix until smooth.
2. Add cream mix then pour over the cake and serve.
By Jasmine Crisostomo
For the cake, use one box of Betty Crocker chocolate cake mix. Just follow the instructions at the back of the box on how to mix ingredients, then stick the mixture into the oven. When done, let the cake cool before frosting.
For the icing:
Ingredients:
2500 grams unsalted butter
2 cups sifted powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla essence
red food coloring
Procedure:
1. Sift the powdered sugar.
2. Beat the butter with a hand mixer until it turns soft and pale in color
3. Mix the powdered sugar and beat some more.
4. Add vanilla
5. Halve the butter cream frosting and put a drop of food coloring
Chocolate Cupcakes
Mixture 1:
1 1/2cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
dash of salt
½ cup cocoa powder
½ cup sugar (or less, depending on how sweet you want it)
2 tsp coffee powder
(Mix, then strain twice. Set aside).
Mixture 2
1cup water
1/3 cup canola oil
1 egg
1 tsp vinegar*
Procedure:
1. Combine all Mixture 2 ingredients, then add all the ingredients in Mixture 2.
2. Preheat oven to 180 degrees, then bake the combined ingredients for about 15 minutes.
* Why do I add vinegar? It’s because it reacts more with the baking soda to make cake rise well
