Category Archives: Recipes

Buttered Steam Cake (Puto) Recipe with Cheese

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Sorry for the long hiatus. There’s just too much that is going on in my life right now and so my brain does not want to function normally lately. Stress can do that to the brain, you know. I have a lot of information that I want to share but the moment I’m in front of the laptop, the words won’t just come out. This isn’t the usual writer’s block that they always talk about. When a person is too stressed out and too anxious, the brain focuses more on the stressor or the source of anxiety that other things which used to be enjoyable becomes a task that needs to be accomplished — like, writing in a blog. And that’s what I don’t want to happen: I don’t want my writing or my blogging becomes a mere task. So as long as I can help it, I will make this as something that I enjoy doing.

Anyway, Halloween is over which means that Christmas is just around the corner. The church that we always go to held its annual Christmas Boutique and Bake Sale recently. Every year for three years now, I volunteer to bake cookies for the Bake Sale. But this year, aside from cookies, I also made some steam cakes which are very famous in Pampanga, my hometown in the Philippines. By the way, these steam cakes are commonly known as puto in the Philippines.

So for today, I will share the recipe that I use to make puto. I already forgot where I got this recipe from but I have been using it for so many years now.

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Directions:

1. In a mixing bowl, combine the dry ingredients starting from the flour, sugar, and baking powder. Mix well.

2. Add the butter, evaporated milk, egg, and water. Mix all the ingredients thoroughly.

3. Pour the mixture in individual puto molds.

4. Pour the water in the steamer.

5. Arrange the molds in the steamer then steam for about 20 minutes.

6. After 20 minutes, remove the cover of the steamer and top each puto with cheddar cheese then continue steaming (with the cover on) for 2 minutes.

7. Remove the puto from the mold and arrange in a serving plate.

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See you on my next blog…enjoy cooking!

Quick Stir-fry Mushroom Recipe

I have been unwell for the past couple of days because of my unpredictable migraine. But this morning was the worst…my head hurt very bad that I thought I will be wheeled away in an ambulance stretcher again just like what happened before. So I had to inform my co-teachers that I will be absent today.

Fortunately, it was just a migraine and I was breathing normally so I didn’t have to be rushed to the ER. Before, I had the migraine plus palpitations plus chest pains plus high blood pressure and hyperventilation. So Sophie, my daughter, had to call 119 for an ambulance. It’s good that today was different because I hate the ER big time! And it’s not because of the doctors or nurses…it’s just the atmosphere of gloom that the room has.

Anyway, we were supposed to be discussing about mushrooms with the kids today and I was supposed to cook these mushrooms in butter while they watch. I bought the ingredients yesterday but since I didn’t go to work today, I decided to cook them for my late lunch.

Here are the ingredients:

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Directions:

1. Wash the mushrooms. These mushrooms come in clusters so you have to separate them and put them in a strainer to drain.

2. Mince the garlic. Set aside.

3. When the frying pan is already hot, put 30 grams of butter. Then add the garlic.

3. After a few minutes, add the mushrooms. Then add the remaining 10 grams of butter.

4. Stir well. Water will come out from the mushrooms so do not worry about the butter getting really dry.

5. Add salt and pepper to taste.

When it was done, it actually tasted really good!

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Now off to bed I go again. I need all the rest I can get for this migraine to go away.

Red Velvet Cupcake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Before, I really thought that I couldn’t bake. The only reason why I thought I couldn’t was my laziness to measure ingredients. I have seen my late Grandma, Mama Peng, bake her very delicious Pineapple Upside Down Cake and I would see all those loads of baking utensils in the kitchen. Just the thought of all that mess discouraged me to learn baking.

I can cook, that’s a fact. And when I cook, I never measure anything I put in the pot or the pan. I just estimate—a little salt here, a pinch of pepper there—and voila, I will end up with a tasty meal on the table! But with baking, I don’t think it will work the same way. Thus, it took me years to try it.

Several years ago, I tried baking simple baked treats like instant brownies and instant muffins. They were “instant” because they were basically in a pack. You put whatever is inside the pack in a mixing bowl, add a little of something like milk maybe, then after mixing, they are ready to put in baking pans to bake. So, no measuring was necessary.

However, two years ago, I was so stressed with life that I had to do something to make myself really busy. I needed anything to do that would keep me from thinking about that certain stress in my life at that time (which I might share with you in another post). Then I thought about baking. I looked for recipes on the internet and asked from friends who I knew were into baking. After deciding which recipe I would bake, I bought the measuring spoons, measuring cups and ingredients from Amazon Japan. Then I started baking!

I got too focused on my baking at that moment.  Too focused actually that, for the first time in weeks,  I haven’t thought about any of my problems. And the best part was: my first baking project, the pandesal (salt bread),  was a big success.

From then on, baking has become my stress reliever.  Lately however, aside from relieving stress, I now also bake for fun or whenever I feel like baking. But most of the time, I bake when the kids request for their favorite cupcakes, cookies, or bread.

The recipe I will share for this post is their favorite cupcake…Red Velvet Cupcake with Cream Cheese Frosting. I got the recipe somewhere on the net, but I forgot to make a note of it in my recipe book. The cupcake is very simple to make and it is really good. The frosting is a bit complicated, but it tastes so wonderful that you will forget all the hard work you exerted when putting it on top of the cupcakes.

Anyway, here is the recipe…happy baking!

RED VELVET CUPCAKE WITH CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

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DIRECTIONS:

  1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees C (180 degrees F) and line muffin pans with paper cupcake wrappers.
  2. In a large bowl, sift the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and baking powder. Stir in the sugar.
  3. In another bowl, whisk the buttermilk, butter, oil, eggs, food coloring and vinegar until combined.
  4. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture.
  5. Add the buttermilk mixture and stir until just combined.
  6. Divide the mixture among the prepared pans. Bake for 20-25 minutes (350F) or 19 minutes (180C) or until a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean. Do not over bake!
  7. Transfer the cupcakes to a wire rack to cool completely while you prepare the cream cheese frosting.

Now, for the cream cheese frosting….

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DIRECTIONS:

  1. Beat the butter until light and fluffy.
  2. Cut the cream cheese into cubes and add to the butter, beating until smooth.
  3. Stir in the vanilla
  4. Add the sugar one cup at a time, and beating after each addition
  5. Add until you get the consistency you like. It should be firm enough to hold its shape.

And these are my finished products…

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