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!
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!
YEMA Cake Recipe
[Source: Not so Creative Cook]
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:
- Slightly grease one 10″ round baking pan. Preheat oven to 350ºF. [I used a silicone mould lined on the base with baking paper – Ed]
- 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.
- 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.
- 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:
- 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.
- 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
Something to Ponder About 