Pastries in Filipino Cuisine

There's no better way to cap off a hearty Filipino meal than with something light and sweet for dessert. No, not ice cream or milkshakes, although those are great too-we're talking about native Filipino desserts. If you think sweets have no place in Filipino cuisine, you can't be further from the truth. From simple sugar-raised doughnuts to elaborate cakes, there's always a sweet Filipino food that's sure to satisfy that sweet tooth.

But one dessert that deserves a mention is the Filipino pastry. Although not as popular as our kakanin or rice cakes, Filipino pastries are a steady favorite in many regions. They're also a great start if you want to bake your own Filipino desserts recipes. They don't require as much attention as kakanin, but they give you just the same sweetness. Here are some of the most popular pastries in Filipino cuisine, plus some recipes to help you get started.

Desserts

Buko Pie

Pastries in Filipino Cuisine

It's hardly surprising that one of our favorite desserts comes from our top fruit export. Outside the country, buko pie is sold in pre-packed frozen slices, so we're lucky to get it here fresh and hot, not to mention cheap. It is a popular pasalubong for people who go south of Luzon, particularly to Laguna, Quezon, and Batangas. The filling is made from young coconut flesh mixed with macapuno, coconut milk, cream, and sometimes caramel. Most bakeries carry a cheaper version of the pie made from sweetened coconut juice and flour. If you feel like making your own, here's an easy recipe you can try.

Buko Pie

Ingredients:

2 c all-purpose flour

2/3 c shortening

1 egg yolk

¼ c cold water

1 tsp salt

1 tsp vinegar

4 c shredded coconut meat

300ml condensed milk

2/3 c cornstarch

1 c coconut water

Procedure: Preheat your oven to about 435oF. In a bowl, combine the salt and flour and cut in the shortening until they form pea-sized pieces. In a separate bowl, mix the egg yolk, water and vinegar, then add to the flour mixture. Mix until the dough is soft and pliable. Split the dough into two balls, one part a bit bigger. Roll out the bigger dough until it's slightly bigger than your pie plate. Fit into the plate and let hang over the sides. Roll out the smaller dough, then set aside.
In a saucepan, combine the remaining ingredients and cook until thick. Let it cook for about 15 minutes, then pour into the crust. Cover with the smaller dough, seal the edges, and bake for about one hour.

Boat tarts

For a quick, cheap sugar fix, boat tarts are your best option. These are small, open pastries with a filling of caramel, ­langka (jackfruit), mango, or some other sweetened fruit. You can find them pre-packed in most groceries and cafeterias. They are a popular dessert for school lunches, mainly because they are fairly cheap and go well with most Filipino food recipes. If you can pull off a simple cake, boat tarts shouldn't be a problem.

Pili Nut Tarts

Ingredients:

1 kg all-purpose flour

½ kg ground pili nuts

1 cup butter

1 cup sugar

1 cup condensed milk

1 cup ice water

Procedure: Mix the flour and sugar, and cut in the butter until they form small pea-sized balls. Slowly add in the water, stirring along the sides to help the dough hold together. Form the dough into small balls, then roll out about 1/8 inch thick. Press into tart molds and prick the sides and base with a fork. Bake the dough for about 20 minutes. Meanwhile, mix the condensed milk, sugar, and ground nuts. Pour into the baked crusts and top with pili slices. Return to the oven and bake until the filling turns golden brown.

Macaroons

Filipino macaroons are made with coconut shavings, which make them chewier than flour-based American ones. It's actually one of the easiest Filipino cooking recipes, so it's a great starter recipe for beginners. This one puts an unusual twist on the basic recipe.

Pandan Macaroons

Ingredients :

1 cup desiccated coconut

½ cup coconut cream powder

1 tsp pandan extract

¼ cup melted butter

1 ¼ cup sugar

¼ cup bread crumbs

3 eggs, separated

1 ¼ cup warm water

green food color

salt to taste

Procedure: Preheat your oven to 320oF. Grease a baking pan with butter and sprinkle a little flour to coat. In a bowl, mix the water and coconut cream powder, then set aside. Beat egg whites until they get foamy, then beat in the yolks. Combine the bread crumbs, desiccated coconut, sugar, salt, and butter. Add in the egg mixture, dissolved coconut cream, food color, and pandan extract. Mix well and pour into the pan. Spread evenly and shake down to compact the batter. Bake for about 20 minutes or until the sides are browned.

Pastries in Filipino Cuisine

Carlo Villamayor is the owner and co-author of the Filipino food [http://www.kusina.ph/] blog, Kusina.ph. A devoted cook, he makes it his personal mission to spread the joy of Filipino recipes [http://www.kusina.ph/low-fat-filipino-desserts-recipes/] with food lovers the world over. Bon appetit!

Famous Russian Desserts

If you like to learn about famous international desserts and make your own, it might interest you to know a bit about famous Russian desserts. In Russia, desserts are usually served at breakfast or eaten after an entree at dinner.

Pancakes, or blinis, are very popular. You might have tried these with smoked salmon or caviar but in Russia these little buckwheat pancakes are often served with honey, jelly or sour cream. Oladi are like blinis but thicker and more filling. Tvorog is Russian cottage cheese and this is served with berry jam or honey.

Desserts

Pastries are very popular in Russia, especially apple pastries. Syrniki are made with fried cottage cheese and served with jelly, sweet dressings or honey. Russian teacakes are little cookie which are rolled in powdered sugar.

Famous Russian Desserts

How to Adapt Russian Dessert Recipes

You might like to make your own Russian desserts to surprise your family but perhaps you want to tweak the recipes a little. If you enjoy making jello recipes, what about combining it with Russian recipes?

For example, Russians love to eat fruit pastries and you can make your own pastries using jello to hold the fruit topping in place and to add flavor. Try making a strawberry pastry with fresh strawberries in a layer of strawberry jello.

You can also pour jello over Russian cakes to add flavor and texture. Another way to adapt classic Russian recipes is to change what they are served with. Honey is a popular accompaniment to Russian desserts but you can try maple syrup or your favorite ice cream syrup.

Recipe for Authentic Russian Fruit Cake

This delicious recipe is perfect for fruit cake fans. There are various types of fruit cake. Perhaps you enjoy fruit cakes with plenty of nuts and a touch of whiskey or fruit cakes with lots of cherries. This Russian fruit cake contains various fruits and nuts and sherry for flavor. This is an easy fruit cake recipe but you do need to let the fruit stand in the sherry overnight so start this cake recipe a day before you want to bake it.

What you will need:

• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup plus 3 tablespoons sherry
• 3/4 cup chopped dried apricots
• 1 beaten egg
• 1/2 cup all purpose flour
• 3/4 cup chopped raisins
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup chopped candied fruits
• 1/2 cup sourdough starter
• 1/3 cup butter
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons sliced almonds
• 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon

How to make it:

Stir the fruits into 1/2 cup of the sherry and let them stand overnight. Preheat the oven to 275 degrees F. Cream together the butter, spices and sugars until the mixture is light and fluffy. Beat in the egg, then add the sourdough starter and stir the mixture. Add the almonds and fruit mixture. Sift the salt, baking soda and flour into the sourdough mixture and combine well.

Cover a cake pan with wax paper, and then grease it well with oil. Transfer the cake batter into the cake pan and bake for 30 minutes or until done. Let the cake cool on a wire rack, and then remove the wax paper. Sprinkle the rest of the sherry over the cake.

Famous Russian Desserts

Russian dessert recipes are full of flavor and fun to make. You can adapt classic Russian recipes with modern ingredients like jello. Sometimes you might want to make international desserts for the family and other times make something easy like a chocolate mousse instead, for variety.

We Don't Make the Products We Just Make Great Desserts with Them!

Desserts - Everyone Loves It

Most people do not feel like a meal is complete without first having been served dessert. Even after a hearty meal, most people would like to enjoy a dessert item, something sweet, to top it all off. However, no one wants to have the same thing every night. In order to serve your family a better variety of desserts, you should consider browsing some dessert recipes.

Everyone enjoys having something sweet now and then at different times of the day. While most people do like to enjoy a sweet treat after a nice meal, there are many times during the day or night when we might reach for something sweet. Store bought treats might be okay, but nothing can match the fulfillment a homemade pie or fresh baked cookies can bring. Looking through some recipes can show you that you do not have to settle for store bought treats. You can make homemade snacks and desserts for your family in no time at all, with barely any effort.

Desserts

No bake cookies are a good recipe to try. People of all ages love cookies, and most no bake cookies are quick and easy to make. In most cases it simply entails mixing all of your ingredients together, and then spooning the mixture out onto wax paper in bit size portions. In most cases, you can prepare no bake cookies in 20 minutes or less.

Desserts - Everyone Loves It

Another quick and easy treat to make for after dinner or anytime is peanut butter fudge. If you browse through the different dessert recipes out there, you will find no bake recipes for peanut butter fudge, as well. While it does not have the same exact taste as fudge prepared in the more traditional way, the taste of no bake peanut butter fudge comes very close. It is very good and is sure to please everyone.

Everyone should eat healthy, and monitor the amount of sugar that they regularly consume. However, everyone enjoys a good homemade snack once in a while. When you or your family has a sudden craving for a sweet treat, you should consider making it from scratch. Store bought dessert products can be tasty, but nothing is as cook as a sweet treat made at home. There is no love in store bought snacks, but your family is sure to feel the love from the sweet snacks you make them from the heart.

Desserts - Everyone Loves It

You can find a lot of dessert recipes on various food sites and blogs. Click here to know more about crock pot recipes

3 No Bake Kids Recipes - Desserts

There are a lot of things that need to be done - work, household chores, etc. - that sometimes, we just want snack-making to be easy, no-bake and quick recipes for kids to be at our disposal in one click. Not everyone knows how to bake (believe me, I know the feeling as it took me years before I learned how to put two and two together), so we kind of wish that there would be easy recipes for our hungry little youngsters.

I'm happy to say that there are a lot of desserts that doesn't need an oven for you to produce (most of them products of busy but innovative moms). Here are some examples:

Desserts

Peanut Butter Balls. Mix half a cup of peanut butter, half a cup of honey, and 2 tablespoons of powdered milk. Roll into balls and roll it again in 1 cup of crushed cornflakes cereal until covered. Can be eaten immediately or can be refrigerated. (Highly recommended that you eat this with a glass of milk by your side.)

3 No Bake Kids Recipes - Desserts

Strawberries and Cream. Toss 2 pints of sliced strawberries with 3 tablespoons of granulated sugar. Let stand at room temperature for 20 to 30 minutes. Drain 1 cup of vanilla or plain yogurt by putting a sieve over a bowl and lining it with cheesecloth; spoon yogurt in and refrigerate for an hour and a half. Beat one third cup of whipping cream with 1 tablespoon of confectioner's sugar until soft peaks form. Fold in yogurt. Top strawberries with cream and serve. This can also be used over waffles and pancakes. Makes approximately 6 servings.

Yoghurt Pie. Combine 1 8-oz of orange flavored yoghurt and 1 cup of whipped non-dairy topping or cream. Stir. Add half a cup of mandarin orange slices and mix well. Spoon into a 9" graham cracker crust shell. Cover with plastic wrap and chill before serving. (You may also try different flavors, depending on the yoghurt that you have, like strawberries, peaches, lemon, vanilla, blueberries, apricot or mango. You can also use banana slices, since almost every fruit can be combined with a banana and it would still taste good.)

Dips. Have vegetables (like carrots, celery, cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, etc.) and fruits (like apples, pears, etc.) readily available when you prepare dips. Pretzels or bread can also be used. A simple dip would be to combine 2 8-oz packs of softened cream cheese, half a cup of brown sugar, and 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract. Another simple combo would be to mix cream cheese, some apple sauce and a dash of cinnamon and sugar - no measurements specified because it's actually fun to make them according to your liking.

You can even let the kids help you out, for these recipes are so easy to prepare.

3 No Bake Kids Recipes - Desserts

Easy kid recipes. Click on the link for more.

Desserts - Dessert Ideas For Parties

Technology is a wonderful thing and when it is translated into consumer products life gets just a little bit easier. So, you may be wondering why I start off talking about technology. Well, a few years ago I saw a chocolate fountain advertised. At the time I could not really afford it, but my darling husband, knowing what a dedicated cook I am, got me one for my birthday. Yeah! It became the hit of my dessert table when I started the dark chocolate flowing and put our a platter full of fruit and cake chunks for dipping. It was so popular that all the other buffet tables were forgotten. I actually had to turn it off to get people to eat the main meal.

Now, you can purchase a small chocolate fountain for around twenty dollars. A great investment and a crowd pleaser for any party. Set out a tray of fruit, cut into bite size pieces, one inch cubes of pound cake and angel food cake, and don't forget the marshmallows. You can include cookies, pretzels, and even ruffle cut potato chips if you like. There is definitely something about the salt and chocolate combination that is quite satisfying. Try apple slices spread with peanut butter too. Yum.

Desserts

Cakes and pies are always a hit at parties. Try these adaptations that guests can eat with their fingers.

Desserts - Dessert Ideas For Parties

Make pie into 'Tartlets'. Using your favorite pie crust, roll out and cut into 3 inch circles or squares. Place about a tablespoon of pie filling into the center. Brush edges with egg wash, a mixture of beaten egg and a little milk. Place a second cutout on top and seal the edges using the tines of a fork. If you have some fancy engraved cutlery, try using the handle to imprint the design as you seal the crust. Cut a small slit in the top to allow steam to escape. Bake at about 450 degrees until lightly browned, about 15 - 20 minutes.

Turn your favorite cake batter into mini cupcakes. Cupcakes are all the rage lately. Mini cupcakes are no more difficult to make than the normal size ones. You just end up with more of them from the same volume of batter. Bake your favorite cake batter in mini muffin cups. You can usually get these from your market. If you don't have a mini muffin pan, don't worry. I have used a cookie sheet with sides, normally called a jelly roll pan. Just fill the pan with the empty cups, lined up so they are supporting each other. Fill and bake. For a surprise drop a candy kiss or a small piece of fruit into the center of the batter before baking. To Frost, did the mini cupcake, top down, into a bowl of frosting. As you lift it out make a little twisting motion, like you were turning a door knob, and as you turn the little cupcake right side up you should get a little swirl that looks like the swirl on a soft serve ice cream cone. Sprinkle with colored sugar, top with a cherry or any other garnish you like. A tray of these will bring smiles to anyone.

Mini Cheesecake

Ok, who doesn't like cheesecake, please leave the room. Well, just kidding, but these little cakes are so good you may need to double the recipe.

Pick up a box of no-bake cheesecake mix from your grocery. Follow the directions to mix the filling. You can put the crust crumbs aside and use them for something else, like a cream pie, later.
Into a cup cake paper cup place one vanilla wafer cookie. Put about a teaspoon of the custard filling onto the wafer. Place one chocolate kiss candy on top of that then finish filling the cup. Chill until set.

Options: You can replace the chocolate candy with fruit or even nuts, or just make it plain. For a party you could drizzle a little melted chocolate or caramel sauce over the top. Use your imagination. My son likes strawberry, so I use frozen strawberry right out to the freezer and drizzle the top with a little strawberry ice-cream sauce.

These are just a few ideas to help make your next party a dessert lover's dream. Enjoy.

Desserts - Dessert Ideas For Parties

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I started online back in the late 1980s and had my first website online by 1990. When I remarried in 2001 I converted my other sites into one, http://www.cagleonline.com. This is still my main portal to everything I do online and it is updated more often than the other dozen sites. There are also links to all my sites here.

If you need help with the everyday things that drive our lives or FREE stuff to build your business, Please check out what I have to offer. Your support is very much appreciated. Thank you.

Vanilla and Rum Sauces Make Holiday Desserts Special

My mother's parents were English and many of the meals she fixed for us reflected this heritage. Christmas dinner was always roast beef and Yorkshire pudding. Dessert was always plum pudding with warm sauce. There are many recipes for plum pudding and all are labor intensive. Mom made plum pudding from scratch a few times, but it was so much work she finally bought Crosse and Blackwell pudding imported from England.

The plum pudding was served with warm vanilla or rum sauce. I did not like the rich pudding, so I only ate a spoonful. But I could have eaten an entire bowl of sauce. Mom also served apple pie with warm vanilla sauce. The combination of warm sauce and fresh pie from the oven was heavenly. With a couple of changes the vanilla sauce recipe becomes rum sauce or rum-raisin sauce.

Desserts

I have lightened the recipe by using Splenda Blend for Baking instead of sugar and elminating the half cup of butter in the original recipe. However, I have added a tablespoon of butter for flavor. Warm vanilla and rum sauce turn simple cakes -- vanilla, apple, and spice -- into special desserts. Top frozen waffles with vanilla ice cream and sauce and you have one of the best desserts on the planet. Garnish with a twist of orange peel and fresh mint to make your holiday desserts more festive.

Vanilla and Rum Sauces Make Holiday Desserts Special

WARM VANILLA SAUCE

INGREDIENTS

1/2 cup Splenda Blend for Baking

2 tablespoons cornstarch

1/2 teaspoon light salt

2 cups hot water

1 tablespoon butter (no substitutions)

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

dash of freshly grated nutmeg

METHOD

Combine the Splenda Blend for Baking, cornstarch, and salt in a small saucepan. Whisk in hot water. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until sauce has thickened. Remove from heat. Add vanilla extract and nutmeg. Makes 8 servings.

WARM RUM SAUCE

Omit the vanilla and nutmeg. Make the sauce and remove from heat. Add 2 teaspoons of rum extract.

WARM RUM-RAISIN SAUCE

Omit the vanilla and nutmeg. Add 1/4 cup raisins to the sauce and cook until thickened. Remove from heat and add 2 teaspoons of rum extract.

Copyright 2006 by Harriet Hodgson

Vanilla and Rum Sauces Make Holiday Desserts Special

http://www.harriethodgson.com

http://www.healthwriter.blogspot.com

Harriet Hodgson has been a freelance nonfiction writer for 28 years. She is a member of the Association of Health Care Journalists and the Association for Death Education and Counseling. Before she became a health writer Hodgson was a food writer for the former "Rochester Magazine" in her home town of Rochester, MN. Her 24th book, "Smiling Through Your Tears: Anticipating Grief," written with Lois Krahn, MD, is available from http://www.amazon.com. A five-star review of the book is posted on Amazon. Another revies is posted on the American Hospice Foundation Website under the "School Corner" heading.