Tantalizing Tuesday – Yema Cake

Juhls at the Not So Creative Cook posted a recipe that had me intrigued: Yema Cake with a condensed milk frosting. – That sounds different, I thought! A traditional cake from the Philippines: great!

I have made butter icing, royal icing, even cream cheese icing, but never condensed milk icing, so I decided I had to make it for Lin’s recipe challenge.

Yema cake  is a traditional Filipino recipe and often eaten with Yema Balls: sweet balls of condensed milk goodness, rolled in sugar!! Wow!! My kids would have loved these when they were younger and thought it was a great sugar-fix especially with Easter so close!

Source: Not So Creative Cook

However, they are now older and a cake is more eagerly received, so my contribution for the challenge will simply be the oh- so- divine texture of Yema Cake.

The cake itself has a sponge like texture and looks very similar to a sponge or Madeira cake. Jhuls called the base a ‘Chiffon cake’ and it does feel a little like a soft light texture on one’s palette! I pretty well stuck to the Yema cake recipe posted below, apart from two small variations. The first, a variation in cooking times that can probably attributed to my oven/cooktop’s fastidious ways, and secondly, when it came to the frosting, me being me, I couldn’t resist adding a bit more lemon juice to the mix.

So what did I think of the cake?

If truth be told, before I was able to add the frosting, half of it disappeared down my family’s gob!!! [embarrassing smile]

The frosting itself is quite rich: it is, after all made with condensed milk, and whilst this is a bit rich for my liking, those who are condensed milk fans will absolutely love it.

Jhuls recommended cooking the frosting for 30 minutes but I found it was set and thickened after 10-15 minutes, no matter how low the thermostat on my stove was set.

Rating:  10/10 – A winner!

The remainder left – ready for frosting!

YEMA Cake Recipe

[Source: Not so Creative Cook]

• Servings: Yield one 10-inch cake

Ingredients:

For the Chiffon Cake:

• 1¼ cup cake flour**
• ¾ cup sugar
• 2 tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp salt
• 4 eggs (yolk and white separated)
• ½ cup evaporated milk
• ¼ cup olive oil or canola oil
• 1 tsp vanilla
• ½ tsp cream of tartar

For the Yema Frosting:

• 1 14-oz. can condensed milk
• ½ cup evaporated milk
• 4 egg yolks
• 3 Tbsp butter, softened
• 1 tsp fresh lemon juice

Instructions:

Ed’s note: ** As I don’t have access to cake flour, I removed 1 1/4 tablespoon of flour from the flour and replaced this with cornflour. 

For the cake:

1. Slightly grease one 10″ round baking pan. Preheat oven to 350ºF. [I used a silicone mould lined on the base with baking paper – Ed]
2. In a bowl, mix flour, ½ cup sugar, baking powder and salt until well combined. Make a well in the middle and add the egg yolks, milk, oil and vanilla. Whisk until smooth. In another bowl, combine 4 egg whites and cream of tartar. Using a mixer on high speed, mix until soft peaks begin to form. Gradually add the remaining ¼ cup of sugar and continue mixing on high speed until the mixture forms stiff peaks.
3. Fold in the meringue (egg white mixture) into the flour-yolk mixture until well combined. Pour mixture over the prepared baking pans. Bake in preheated oven for 25 -28 minutes [my oven took 35 minutes to cook the cake – Ed] or until cake tester/toothpick, inserted in the middle, comes out clean.
4. Remove from oven and allow to cool down in pan for about 10 minutes. Remove from pan and transfer on a wire rack. Allow to completely cool down.

For the frosting:

1. In a saucepan, mix all ingredients using a whisk until well combined. Cook with constant stirring over low heat for 30 minutes or until thick and spreadable.
2. Remove from heat and allow to cool down.

To assemble:

Carefully cut the cake into two even layers. Place the first layer on a cake dish. Spread about 3/4 cup frosting on top. Put the second layer on top. Spread the remaining frosting on the top and sides of the cake. Using a fork, create lines on the frosting. Sprinkle your choice of toppings, or you can just without.

Yema Cake – Good to eat whilst Pondering About Something

Check out Lin’s recipe exchange here