Favorite Carrot Cake

2 cups white sugar
2 cups all purpose flour
2 tsps. baking soda
1 1/2 tsps. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1 cup crushed pineapple, drained
3 eggs
1 cup dessicated coconut
2 cups grated carrots
1 cup walnuts
1 cup buttermilk

• Sift three times all dry ingredients.
• One-bowl method.
• 350 deg. F for 1 hour.

Cream Cheese Frosting:
1 cup cream cheese
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 tsp. vanilla
2-4 cups confectioners' sugar

Moist Brownies (Mrs. Delfin's Recipe)

2 cups butter
2 cups cocoa + 3 tbsps
1 tbsp oil
4 cups sugar
2 tsps vanilla
6 eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt
nuts

1. Melt 1 butter with cocoa and oil over low heat.
2. Beat 1 cup butter then add sugar and vanilla.
3. Cream well. Add eggs.
4. Add cooled cocoa.
5. Beat well then add flour, salt and nuts.
6. Bake for 45 minutes.

Black Forest

I've tried this recipe a couple of times and it can do without the Chocolate Filling. However, the walnuts in the filling do add some crunch into it. So it really depends - if you love nuts then put in the Chocolate Filling.

Cake:
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/4 tsps. baking soda
3/4 cup margarine/butter
4 squares unsweetened chocolate, melted and cooled
1 1/4 cups water
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1 1/2 tsps. vanilla
4 eggs

Syrup:
1/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup water
3 tbsps. Kirsch or brandy

Chocolate Filling:
2 100-gm bars milk chocolate
3/4 cup butter
3 tbsps. confectioners' sugar
1 cup chopped walnuts

Cream Filling:
2 250-gm packs whipping cream
1/3 cup confectioners' sugar
Maraschino cherries

1 100-gm bar milk chocolate for decoration

1. Preheat oven to 350 deg. F.
2. Grease and line four 9-inch round layer pans. Set aside.
3. Combine the first 8 ingredients in a mixer bowl. Beat at medium speed for 3 minutes.
4. Add eggs one at a time beating continually until completely blended.
5. Pour into prepared pans and bake for 10 to 15 minutes.
6. Cool slightly then remove from pans; transfer onto wire racks and cool thoroughly.
7. In a small saucepan, prepare syrup by blending sugar and water together. Bring to a boil. Lower flame and simmer for 1 minute.
8. Remove from fire and stir in Kirsch or brandy. Set aside.
9. Prepare Chocolate Filling: Melt two bars chocolate over double boiler. Cool. Cream butter; beat in melted chocolate; add confectioners' sugar; continue beating until smooth. Stir in nuts.
10. Beat whipping cream until thick. Gradually add confectioners' sugar and continue beating until smooth and fluffy. Set aside.
11. To Assemble: Place one cake layer on a serving platter. Brush top of cake with syrup. Spread half of the chocolate filling. Sprinkle some nuts. Top with another layer of cake, again brush top with syrup.
12. Spread half of the cream filling. Sprinkle with more nuts and some cherry slices. Repeat procedure for the last two cake layers. Cover the top and sides of the cake and the remaining cream.
13. Decorate with chocolate curls and cherries. Chill until ready to serve.

Custard Cake With Macapuno

A proven and tested recipe.

Caramel:
1 cup sugar
1 cup sweetened macapuno

Custard:
1 big can evaporated milk
8 eggyolks
1 can condensed milk

Cake:
3 1/4 cups cake flour
1 tbsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup oil
6 eggyolks
3/4 cup water
1 1/4 cups eggwhites
1/2 tsp. cream of tartar
3/4 cup sugar

1. Caramelize sugar in two 9x9-inch baking pans.
2. Arrange sweetened macapuno in the pans. Set aside.
3. Preheat oven to 325 deg F.
4. Combine the ingredients for custard in a mixing bowl and stir.
5. Divide mixture into two and pour into the prepared pans by passing through a strainer. Set aside.
6. Sift together flour, baking powder, salt and sugar into a mixing bowl. Make a well in the center and add oil, eggyolks and water. Stir with a wire whip until smooth. Set aside.
7. Beat eggwhites and cream of tartar until soft peaks form. Add sugar gradually and beat until stiff. Fold in eggyolk mixture into the beaten eggwhites.
8. Divide batter into two and pour over custard mixture in the two pans; do not stir.
9. Place each pan in a bigger pan 1/4 filled with water (baine marie).
10. Bake for about 1 hour or until done. Slightly cool.
11. Run a knife continuously along inner sides of pan and invert pan onto serving platter.

Serves 16-20 per cake

Mango Cream Cake

I misplaced the instructions for this recipe. What I found was just the ingredients. When I make this, I figure out how to prepare it which is fine because the cake is prepared like Chiffon Cake, and the rest are easy to figure out. Anyway, it can be determined just by looking at the ingredients.

Cake:
6 eggs, separated
1/4 cup cold water
1/2 tsp. vanilla
3/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups cake flour
1/2 tsp. cream of tartar
1/4 tsp. salt
3/4 cup sugar

Mango Filling:
3-4 pcs. ripe mango, sliced crosswise into 1/4" strips
1/4 cup mango jam
2 tbsps. light syrup

Mango Frosting:
1 tbsp. unflavored gelatin
1/3 cup water
2 cups whipping cream
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
1 cup mango ice cream

Topping:
1 tbsp. kalamansi or lemon juice
3 ripe mangoes, sliced crosswise into 1/4" strips
1/4 cup shredded white gulaman
1/2 cup water
1/3 cup mango juice
1 1/4 tsp. cornstarch dissolved in
1 tbsp. water
1/4 tsp. vanilla

Lasagna

This recipe is also from my SUND days. I learned a lot of good recipes from my teachers in Silliman U.

Tomato Meat Sauce:
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 cup butter
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2/3 cup onion, chopped
1/2 kilo beef round, ground
200 gm ground pork
4-6 tbsps. white wine
2 bay leaf
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. oregano
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1-2 cups beef broth or hot water
1 cup tomato sauce

Heat olive oil and butter. Brown the garlic, add the onions. Cook gently until soft. Put in the ground beef, ground pork, wine and spices. Allow to cook for a while then pour in the beef broth and tomato sauce. Simmer gently for 1 hour or until thick. Set aside. A little flour may be added to thicken the sauce. Prepare the Bechamel Sauce.

Bechamel Sauce:
1 cup butter
2/3 cups flour
3 cups hot water
3 cups evaporated milk
2 tsps. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
2 cups grated cheese

Melt butter in a pan. Blend in flour, gradually stir in hot water and milk. Cook until bubbly. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside.
Boil 6 cups water with 2 teaspoons olive oil and 1 teaspoon salt. Drop in pasta verde (about 6 pieces at a time). Bring back water to a rolling boil before dropping more pasta. Plunge pasta in cold water when cooked. Dry on a towel. Grease a Pyrex dish with butter. Pour about 1/3 of the Bechamel Sauce. Arrange a layer of pasta. Spoon in Tomato Meat Sauce and sprinkle generously with cheese. Repeat. Bake at 350 degrees F until top is golden brown. Let stand about 5-10 minutes to set layers. Serve.

Langkasoy Tarts

I got this recipe from my undergrad (nutrition and dietetic) days. It's a really delicious recipe with its not-too-sweet filling and flaky crust. But you just have to be careful not to over-knead the dough or else the crust will be rubbery. Ideally, it should be flaky.

Filling:
1/2 cup + 2 tbsps. brown sugar
3 tbsps. water
1/3 cup chopped langka
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup + 2 tbsps. condensed milk
1 tbsp. all-purpose flour dissolved in
2 tbsps. water
3 eggyolks
1/3 cup chopped cashew nuts

Crust:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 cup shortening
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup milk

Boil water, sugar, water, langka and butter. Add milk. Boil until thick. Add dissolved flour, eggyolks and cashew nuts. Cook until of spreading consistency. Cool.

In a bowl, sift together flour, sugar and salt. Cut shortening and butter until mealy. Add enough milk to bind the dough. If dough is dry, add some water.

Divide dough into balls then pass to fit sides and bottom of the tart molds. pre-bake at 375 deg F for 5-10 minutes. Put 2 teaspoons of filling on every crust. Return to oven and bake until set.

Cool then wrap in cellophane.