My birthday cakes

By Ed Dychauco
Pots & Pans

WHEN I was young and growing up in Manila, I can only remember a few times when I celebrated my birthday. My dad was a sales representative for a tobacco company while my mom stayed at home taking care of us. Having six siblings in an apartment was just crazy, but fun. There was a lot of screaming, running around, fighting & of course, eating!

My mom doesn't bake. But my sister, the late Gloria Dychauco-Martinez was a wizard in the kitchen! Even when she was in high school, which makes me an elementary student then, she has been experimenting on cakes, pastries & dishes!

Me and my other brothers would spent a lot of time just "helping out" so we get to eat either the first batch or the left-over! I guess because of that early exposure, it kind of influenced & ignited my passion for the culinary arts.

My sister would beat the egg whites on a manual hand-mixer. By manual, I mean the one that you rotate your hands with and not the electric mixer. It was hard work, but it was well-worth every minute of it. No pain, no gain? She would mix everything and place the batter in a pan that would fit a small green-colored stove-top oven! I wonder how many people still remember or at least have seen an oven like that! Having one of those old ovens was already considered a luxury then! She would then decorate the cake with "white" icing, which is made up of egg whites & sugar syrup.

There was a time when I had a birthday party together with my brother when we were still in Manila. We had cousins and family members as guests. There was a roasted pig (lechon), noodles, ice cream & birthday cake, of course! The chiffon cake was a small one but with lots of frosting & cake sprinkles! And that was what matters to me! Cake & ice cream! That was one of my most memorable birthday party I ever had!

September is here once again. And September is my birth month. With my wife, my youngest daughter, my younger brother, a niece, 2 aunts, an uncle, a cousin and several of my friends, too. Gee! I wonder if this has to do with the cool months of December! I know I am going to have a little party for my daughter because she has been asking for one many weeks ago. Maybe we will have a little get-together for my wife & daughter because their birthdays are just one day apart.

Me? I might also have a little celebration because I felt that I owe my life & my blessings to the people around me. I would go to church first thing in the morning and thank God for all the blessings. I would pray for peace and good health. I would probably bake a lot of cakes and give them away to those dear to me. I would frost & decorate them, just like what my sister did many, many years ago. But I know I am giving it a different twist this time!

Here, I would like to share to our readers 2 easy-to-bake delicious cakes as a way of saying thank you for being a part of my wonderful life!

Dark Chocolate Cake

3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup Peotraco Caster Sugar
3 pcs large eggs
3/4 cup water
1/2 cup milk
2 1/4 cups flour
3/4 cup Peotraco Premium Cocoa Powder
2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt

Cream butter with sugar. Add egg one at a time till fluffy.

Mix together water and milk.

Sift all dry ingredients together and fold into egg mixture

Alternating with milk mixture in 3 batches, starting & ending with flour mixture.

Pour batter into a greased and floured pan. Bake at 350 degree oven for 30-40 minutes or till done.

***

Mango Chiffon Cake

1 1/2 cup cake flour
1/2 cup Peotraco Caster Sugar
1/2 tbsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup Marca Leon Corn Oil
1/2 cup Fresh Mango Puree
1/2 tbsp vanilla extract
4 pcs large egg yolks
1/2 cup chopped fresh mangoes
4 pcs large egg whites
1/4 tsp. cream of tartar
1/4 cup Peotraco Caster Sugar

Sift all dry ingredients in a bowl.
Make a well & add in the oil, mango puree, vanilla & egg yolks.
Mix well until smooth. Stir in the chopped mango
Beat eggwhites with cream of tartar till soft peak forms
Add sugar gradually till stiff but not dry.
Fold the egg yolk mixture into the eggwhites
Pour into a paper-lined pan.
Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or till done.

For culinary classes, visit or call Pots & Pans Home Bake & Coffee Shop, Don Apolinar Velez St., Cagayan de Oro City with telephone numbers: 724-674 or 858-4209 email ad: potsnpans1976@yahoo.com

http://www.sunstar.com.ph/static/cag/2007/09/20/life/my.birthday.cakes.html