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
 |  |
|---|
A. Place all the dry ingredients in bowl 1 and give it a good whisk.
 |  |  |
|---|
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.
 |  |
|---|
C. Switch to low speed and gradually add your dry ingredients or bowl 1 and beat until smooth and incorporated. Set this aside
 |  |  |
|---|
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
 |  |  |
|---|
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)
 |  |
|---|
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.
 |  |
|---|
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
 |  |
|---|
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.)
 |  |
|---|
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.
 |  |  |
|---|
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!
 |  |
|---|
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.
Banner created on Canva.
The rewards earned on this comment will go directly to the people( @arcgspy ) sharing the post on Twitter as long as they are registered with @poshtoken. Sign up at https://hiveposh.com.
Congratulations @nmore! You have completed the following achievement on the Hive blockchain And have been rewarded with New badge(s)
Your next target is to reach 30 posts.
You can view your badges on your board and compare yourself to others in the Ranking
If you no longer want to receive notifications, reply to this comment with the word
STOPTo support your work, I also upvoted your post!
Check out our last posts:
Support the HiveBuzz project. Vote for our proposal!
I thought cake was complicated to bake, well maybe it looks easy on your blog. 😅 I do not have those magic baking hands, hehe.
The sprinkle is extra boujee!
Definetlt, Arc is stuffed. Yum! 😊
You can prolly do it too! There are lots of simple recipes if you want to try. Well, I for one do not have magic drawing hands so.. haha! but yeah, I’m glad you found the instruction easy to understand. 😌
Ikr the cake looks a lot more festive with sprinkles~
Arc wants more cake so I’ll probably make another one cus it keeps on disappearing 🥹
Witnessed the ups and downs of this process 😂 Worth it yung rollercoaster ride of emotions HAHAHA
Carl's yema kek da best. Carl da best.
!PIZZA
Thanks for being patient with me @arcgspy.🥹
Anything for yema kek. Charing~
You did a good jobs. Pats on da bacc!
PIZZA Holders sent $PIZZA tips in this post's comments:
(1/15) @arcgspy tipped @nmore (x1)
You can now send $PIZZA tips in Discord via tip.cc!
hope you don't mind me copying the recipe as that looks good :)
Go ahead! I'm ecstatic that you want to try this too~
Oh my, oh my!
Hello @nmore just stopped by to droll a bit around yema 😂😂😂
It reminds me on something similar we are mostly making around here and it fits perfectly to what you have described, sugary crunchy creamy.... The difference is that contains only milk and sugar and requires a loooong cooking, mostly it is used for filling waffles that are stacked in layers.
Seems we are also on the same page with dishes, not fan of them either.😭
Ack I'm weak with caramel-like treats, I'm curious what do you call that snack?
There is no actual name, except caramel for oblanda (that's the name of waffle). You boil 1l milk and 600gr of sugar until it becomes creamy and brownish, then butter goes in until its still warm.
That's it! :)
Okay so I looked it up and I'm sold. Gotta find myself a waffle iron so I can make wafers.
Thanks for this! :)
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wafer
It goes the best with this kind of... :))
You are most welcome!
Hey @nmore :) WOWOWOWOW this looks so yummy! I'm not a fan of sweets but for some reason you had my attention from the beginning! It felt special to hear how your love for others gave you the motivation to bake, that is so beautiful!! And really, totally what cake is all about -love! 😁
Thank you for sharing!
Thanks for checking it out, @grindan! Truly~ Cake is all about love. If washing a ton of dishes after you cook or bake is not love, I don't know what is. 😁
It's midnight and I'm craving for yema cake!!!
I can imagine the struggle of making the meringue 😆
I wouldn't do it for myself too, I'd rather make it to sell or to give to my friends and family too. It's a long process! So kudos for making it for your friends and for your family ❤️ I'd rather buy a pianono and a yema spread to satisfy my craving.
More recipe blogs pls!
It's an arduous process but it's worth it especially if you're graded 10/10 by your friends 😆.
but yea next time, maybe I'll just get a mamon tupi and a tiny jar of yema for myself 😅
Masterbaker yarn?
Grabe Carl never knew that you have a knack on this! Yema cake if <3, well anything yema is <3 <3 talaga. Wala na pake sa diabetes at sakit!
ah yes, the things I can do with my hands. 😂
Ey! Found my peopleeee~ try this recipe tp if you can 😁 cus it will definitely satisfy your yema cravings if ever you look for it 😉
Sooo ito na nga wala kaming oven haha microwave meron pero not for baking. Pang-init lang sa ulam kapag nagkakatamatan magluto dito hahaha.
Yema? I can finish one brazo de mercedes roll sa red ribbon i ln one go. Kahit Rodillas pa isang tub G!
UY saaaame! Kapwa diabetus pala to eh hahahaha
Having no equipment makes it hard to do this 🥹 pwede order nalang me? Charot.. Magkano naman yan carl if ibenta mo?
hmm it is hard to do it without equipment but it's possible. However, I think given that you're also very good with your hands 😇 you can definitely pull this off. You just need some tremendous arm strength and lotsa time. Maybe grab a friend so you have someone to switch with 😂
If I were to sell an 8x8 one I'd price it around 380-420 php.
😆😆😆 GOOD WITH HANDS GRAB A FRIEND TO SWITCH WITH 😏😏 SOUNDS CONVINCING! HAHAHAHAHA!!! AGA KALAT EH HAHAHA
🥹 ang mura ng price.. 🥹 makabili nga
so much sweet! i !LUV it!!!! 🤤 engeee nemen ake nyen!!
(1/1) sent you LUV. | tools | discord | community |
HiveWiki | 
NFT | <>< daily
What I don't like baking is the aftermath of washing dishes 😂 But well, if someone will happily eat, I guess that's fine.. sana may manghugas din for us noh? beke nemen
It looks so yummy!! And when you said the sweetness is just right because 20s be like i don't like too sweet stuff, I'm more curious how your yema cake tastes like!I want to try your yema cake @nmore! Wen? 😁
Bookmarking, who knows I'll make this in the future~
Thanks, Witty! I was thinking maybe I could make one and bring it to the meetup so Jude could try some too, but I am not sure if I will proceed with going.
Oyyy whyyyy I wanna meet you Carl, punta ka pls~