Ang Sarap (A Tagalog word for "It's Delicious")

Custard Cake

Another surprise as I came home and saw a big baking pan of custard cake with a note telling me to take a picture of it, my wife is getting up to speed with her baking. Now I am excited on whats next on the bakers oven. Custard Cake the Filipino version is a really popular tea time (merienda) snack it is sold almost on all village bakeries and as a child I remember that I always ask my mom or auntie to buy me one when we pass by the bakeries but they seldom do as it is one of the expensive breads in their shelf, I remember the “pan de coco” a coconut filled bread and “spanish bread” a sugar – butter filled bread roll would cost only 50 cents a piece during my time but the custard cake would cost around 3-5 Php depending on the thickness of the custard. So this is only bought as a treat, but now I can enjoy it to my hearts content and control the thickness of the custard.

Custard came from the English cuisine which was existent since the fourteenth century. The first recipes contained almonds, thick milk, water, salt and sugar until it was noted by a guy named Henry T Riley that a ‘proper’ custard is made without almonds. During those times custard is referred to a variety of savoury dishes thickend by the above ingredients. But in France itis a different story as the word custard or creme moulee is thickend by using eggs and when flour or corn starch is added it is called creme patissiere, then if you add gelatin it will now be called crere anglaise collee.

Not all custards are sweet in fact with the history mentioned above it started as a thickner for dishes, meat dishes that is. But even now there are custards that ain’t sweet such as quiche. But for this one we will stick to the sweet side as thats what my other half had prepared.

Ingredients (Caramel)

1 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup water

Ingredients (Custard)

8 egg yolks
1 can condensed milk, large
1 cup fresh milk
1/4 cup granulated sugar

Ingredients (Cake)

1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 cup fresh milk
1 tsp lemon juice
6 egg yolks
1/2 cup granualted sugar
1 1/2 cups cake flour, sifted

Ingredients (Meringue)

6 egg whites
1/2 tsp cream of tartar
1/2 cup granulated sugar

Method (Caramel)

1. Heat a 9 x 13″ baking pan in the stove top using medium heat.
2. Pour in the granulated sugar and water then let it caramelize. You may want to stir the sugar once in a while to make sure that everything is equally distributed withing the area of the baking pan.
3. Cool then set aside

Method (Custard)

1. In a mixing bowl, mix using fork the egg yolks, milk and sugar. Make sure sugar is completely dissolved.
2. Pour the custard mixture in the baking pan with hardened caramel. Set aside

Method (Cake)

1. In a separate bowl, beat with a large spatula the egg yolks. Gradually add the sugar while beating until mixture is light lemon colored.
2. Add the milk in.
3. Add flour alternately with the diluted milk.
4. Add the lemon rind and beat until smooth. Set aside

Method (Meringue)

1. Using a mixer, beat egg whites until fluffy then add the cream of tartar. Continue to beat on high until soft peaks begin to form.
2. Now add the granualted sugar very gradually while continously beating until meringue is stiff.

Method (Custard Cake)

1. Preheat oven to 180C.
2. Fold in the cake mixture into the meringue mixture until well mixed
3.  Pour the whole mixture over the custard and make sure not to stir it
4. Place the cake pan in a larger pan half-filled with hot water.
5. Place in the oven center and bake for 1 hour (or until firm) at 180C.
6. Remove the whole pan and place in a cooling rack, let it cool down to room temperature
7. Once cooled remove cake pan from the bottom pan, cool it down futher.
8. Remove from cake pan by running a knife on the edges and inverting to a platter. Place in fridge for at least an hour before serving.