Puto Seko

Grandma and I have been spending the afternoons together at our very tiny veranda where we can catch the cool breeze. Our idea of spending time together isn't anything out of the ordinary. We simply stay in the same corner of the house, occasionally watching each other as we drift off into our own worlds. She sleeps while I read and write. At around 4 in the afternoon, I have to prepare her snacks. She eats everything I make regardless of the taste. For grandma, everything I do is perfect. However, among all my recipes, there is one simple type of cookie which she probably thinks is beyond perfect.

I honestly haven't perfected this recipe as I am still trying to figure out how to achieve the texture similar to the commercially sold puto seko. Nevertheless, here is the recipe I am using:

2 pcs eggs

3/4 c confectioner's sugar

1/2 cup butter

4 cups cornstarch

2 cups powdered milk

2 tsp baking soda

The steps are simple: Mix. Knead and shape into circles. Bake at 190 C for 5 to 10 min.

Grandma and I really love eating puto seko together. It's a very simple cookie. What's extraordinary about it is the texture. It's so creamy and it melts in your mouth when you eat it.

Chocolate rum balls

I feel fatigued for the first time this month. I think it's the first time I exercised vigorously. My body has gotten so unfit, my system was shocked after I ran 3 Km today. While on the treadmill, I was imagining the mornings and afternoons I spent running on campus grounds while I was still studying in Belgium. I'm looking forward to running on campus again once I arrive in Australia. Meanwhile, I will be burning my calories on the treadmill we bought for my mom this Christmas. I really love our gift for her not only because it will really help my mom lose weight, but also because it will also help me stay in shape! I need to burn the calories I gain thanks to the many experiments I am performing in the kitchen. Yes, I did another kitchen experiment today. 

I wanted to "recycle" the leftover chocolate cake by making chocolate rum balls. These rum balls are so easy to make. Follow these simple steps:

Remove the left over cake from the fridge.

Throw in the food processor to make cake crumbs. I used 2 cups cake crumbs.

Get hold of 1 1/2 c. nuts. In this case, I used cashew.

Throw the nuts in the food processor until they're finely chopped.

With the nuts and cake crumbs, add 2 T corn syrup, 1/4 c sugar 2 T unsweetened cocoa and 1/4 c rum. Roll into 1-inch balls.

Obtain 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate.

Slice any bar of white chocolate you can fund.

Melt the semi-sweet chocolate and coat the rum balls.

Decorate your rum balls. I used the white chocolate to top the chocolate-coated rum balls.

You can also sprinkle the rum balls with confectioner's sugar, nuts or powdered cocoa.

And there you have it! You can make about 40 1-inch rum balls using this recipe.

Good night for now. I think I need to sink in my dreamland.

Simplest fruitcake recipe

Fruitcake is one of the most popular cakes during Christmas and New Year. I initially started baking fruitcakes for consumption at home. But then my mom suddenly suggested, "why don't you start selling them?" And so that's what I did last Friday. My very first business venture. However, I didn't go large-scale because I didn't want to advertise on facebook and meet up with customers/strangers. I only sold the cakes at my mom's work place--for a very cheap price of course. So cheap, I barely earned a cent. But that is OK. I just liked the idea of selling. I would like to engage in business someday when I have the chance.

Fruitcake

Meanwhile, I am blogging about the simplest fruitcake recipe I formulated. Yes, I conducted 3 fruitcake experiments before I came up with this recipe. The major problem I encountered while I was shopping for ingredients was the scarcity of ingredients itself. I live in a tropical country where 100 grams of dried cherries cost a fortune.  I also couldn't even find my favorite dried fig anywhere in the supermarket. This is the reason why I couldn't use the available recipes online. I had to modify the recipe to come up with a delicious fruitcake with minimal ingredients.

The ingredients I used are as follows:

2 c sugar

2 sticks butter

1/2 c canola oil (I added this because I wanted more moisture)

4 eggs

1/2 t salt

2 1/2 c rum (I used 80 proof rum)

3 1/2 c flour

2 t baking soda

2 t baking powder

2 t cinnamon

1/2 c molasses

250 g pitted prunes cut into cubes

250 g raisins

250 g chopped cashew nuts

500 g glazed fruits

I soaked the prunes and glazed fruits in 2 c rum two days before baking, leaving 1/2 c rum to be mixed with the batter.

I was so happy my mom's office mates loved my fruitcake. Although I barely earned in my so-called "business," I was really glad to see there faces light up after eating my fruitcake. I've always wanted a fruitcake for everybody.