When I was a child, I used to like brown-colored sweets like caramel, coconut candy, and yema. There's something about that deeply caramelized sugar mixed with milk that makes my sweet tooth jump for joy.
A crunchy, gritty, sugary exterior with a velvety smooth center. A sweet, burnt flavor, and goodness wrapped in different colors of cellophane. Yema -- a sweet treat and now considered to be a flavor can be found as a candy, syrup, spread, filling, pastille, and/or frosting.
Have some kutsinta? Slap some yema onto that. Have some hot pandesal? Don't be shy. Slap it on that too. Have some nice soft chiffon? Spread some yema to that and you can have an early birthday treat.
I recently craved for yema cake and can't help thinking if should I buy one from a well-known yema cake baking goods store or, if should I buy some pianono from a bakery and buy yema spread. Yes, okay, I was feeling lazy. Imagining the labor or the aftermath of washing dishes was enough for me to give up.
Fortunately, I found the willpower to bake. Thinking about baking just to satisfy my cravings wasn't a really good motivator but thinking that my family and friends would enjoy it? Okay, I'll make sure this is the best I've ever made.
Headache-inducing sweetness - for some, that is - what comes to mind when you mention yema. As a tita in my late 20s, I'd understand this mindset when it comes to this treat since like most candy, it's made out of sugar. However, the flavor of yema doesn't come from the sweetness of the sugar. It comes from the caramelization of sugar when heated with the proteins in milk and the rich flavor of egg yolks. With this, we can balance out the sweetness and make a flavorful yema without it being overbearingly sweet. That's our goal.
Since we're making a yema cake, let's make a beautiful chiffon. We're going for that full Pinoy experience so how about we make it with a sponge cake from the pianono (Filipino sponge cake roll)?
Time to kick my mom out of the kitchen and make a beautiful mess.
Let's start with the sponge cake.
What you need to prepare are these:
Dry ingredients in bowl 1
3/4 cup sifted cake flour
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
Egg yolk mixture for bowl 2
5 egg yolks from large eggs (local ones. unless you have really big eggs like in the US use 4 only)
1/2 cup white sugar
Meringue ingredients for bowl 3
5 egg whites from large eggs (room temperature)
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
1/4 cup white sugar
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A. Place all the dry ingredients in bowl 1 and give it a good whisk.
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B. Using a hand mixer, cream the egg yolks on medium-high speed for 1 min. Gradually add in your white sugar till the mixture becomes pale and thick.
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C. Switch to low speed and gradually add your dry ingredients or bowl 1 and beat until smooth and incorporated. Set this aside
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D. Let's focus on the meringue
(Don't forget to use room temperature eggs, and make sure the bowl you're using and whisks do not have any water or grease. Otherwise, your meringue will not stiffen and will become flat.)
- Add the cream of tartar to your bowl of egg whites. Beat the egg whites starting from low speed then gradually increasing the speed up until medium speed.
- When your egg whites start to come together and the bubbles look smaller. Change the speed to medium-high and gradually add your sugar.
- Mix until you get stiff peaks. About this time I preheat the oven to 190C
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E. Get 1/4 of your meringue mixture and fold it into your egg yolk flour mixture. Once fully incorporated, add it to the remaining meringue. Fold until fully incorporated. (Careful not to overmix)
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F. Place baking paper on the bottom of your baking sheet. I'm using a 10x10 baking sheet but you can also use an 8x12.
With the cake batter, pour until you fill it just before you reach half of your baking sheet. Spread evenly. Tap your baking sheet.
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G. Put it inside your oven, and sit it one level below the middle. Bake for 20 minutes or until the top is golden brown.
Now, for the Yema frosting.
Ingredients:
1 can of 300ml Alaska condensed milk
1 can of 154ml of Alaska evaporated filled milk
6 Egg yolks Large
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp vanilla
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A. Put your stove fire on low heat and place a double broiler. Pour your condensed milk into your stainless steel bowl. Leave it for 1- 1.5 hours, lel.
I like to come and check on it every 10-15 mins and mix the condensed milk. I'd also check if there is enough water in my pot.
(You can also try caramelizing the condensed milk by boiling the can for 3 hrs. It takes a lot of time and gas qnq but it gives a richer flavor. I know ain't nobody got time for that. If I were you, I'd place my double broiler on the stove before I make the chiffon.)
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B. Once your condensed milk reaches a rich brown color. Add in your evaporated milk, egg yolks, salt, and vanilla. Give it a nice stir until well combined.
Keep on gently mixing your frosting. Make sure you scrape the sides using a rubber spatula.
At this point, you might want to keep an eye on your yema so we could control the thickness.
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C. Once your yema is thick enough to hold onto your spatula. Pass your yema into a strainer to make sure that we end up with a smooth and velvety frosting.
And we're done. All we have to do is to assemble our yema cake!
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Voila! Ain't she a beauty? I'm in love. Look at that glisten.
Their reviews:
Both of my special friends liked how rich the flavor is without it being too sweet. They're both in mid 20s so I guess we do like our cakes sweetened just right. It's kinda dangerous cus it's hard to stop getting more cake slices!
The yema frosting's custard caramel like taste matches perfectly with the pianono chiffon. The chiffon was nice, airy, and soft but still has bounce for a good bite. Not too dense, not too sweet, and kinda taste a bit like eggnog.
I, of course, made some for my family and yep, since it has already disappeared I guess they liked it haha. They also told me that it was perfect and I should sell them.
Arc had hers with coffee. I just looked away for a few minutes and then again the cake disappeared.
Actually, I had a test run before I made the batch of cakes for my special friends. I made a blunder! I accidentally doubled the recipe. Instead of using 3 1/4 cups to make a 3/4, I used 3 1/2 cups (facepalm) hahaha it was stupid but you know, baking can be quite chaotic. There is a lot of room for error especially if you don't focus.
For the first time, I didn't throw a tantrum for messing something up hahahhaha instead I took a step back and tried to fix my error. Fortunately, it all worked out during the trial run. Because of this failure, I memorized the recipe and I don't think I'll ever forget it again haha.
I enjoyed this baking experience. It's been a while for me 'cus I only bake when the fans of my baking goods make a special request. I do love baking but I don't want to think about the aftermath... The dishes I have to wash qnq.
Baking really is a labor of love. I just hope people who eat what I make enjoy it and of course, will make them remember me every now and then.
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