Passport & Plate - Mamang's Ensaymada
Philippines | Friday, March 14, 2014 | 5 photos
Ingredients
3 tbsp active dry yeast (Red Star brand recommended)
1 cup lukewarm water
1 bar butter (Queensland for special, Anchor for ordinary or Baker's Best)
1 cup sugar
20 egg yolks (the secret for making it soft)
1 kilo or less all purpose flour
Big can or 270ml evaporated milk
butter & cheese for filling
How to prepare this recipe1. Mix the yeast with the lukewarm water. Set aside.
2. Separate the egg yolks from the whites.
3. Melt the butter, milk and sugar in a double broiler.
4. Mix 3, 2, and 1 together then slowly add the flour.
5. Should be soft or sticky at this point. Too much flour yields a hard ensaymada which will not be soft like Mamang's. Masa or knead then throw hard on a marble table top to make the dough smooth. Add oil from time to time to prevent sticking.
6. When dough is soft, smooth and has risen, divide to small circles, the same size oozing out from the hole of your hand. Set aside in table top with space as they will grow. Remember to pre-heat the oven.
7. Roll flat with a small rolling pin or hands if none and put cheese and butter mixture. Knot into ensaymada shape.
8. Prepare egg wash.
9. Place ensaymada in tin cups and brush with egg wash. Put timely in the oven. Too late and it will rise too much and go flat like a failed sponge cake.
10. Bake until fluffy and golden brown. I set the oven to about number 6 or 7 about 350 degrees.
11. Remove from tin can when a bit cool. Dip top in butter and then dip in sugar. I like to smother mine with more butter.
The story behind this recipeGrowing up, Christmas was not complete without ensaymada. We usually had it for Noche Buena which we enjoyed after the Christmas Eve mass in the Carmelites Monastery. The whole family would eat ensaymada with Chinese ham, jamon de bola or sikwati. There was the famous lechon and the usual suspects. The star however, was the ensaymada.
My grandaunt Mamang made it. Her hands made delicious dishes, for her restaurant downtown and special ones reserved for family. She herself is a character. Tall, and regal with beautiful eyes and a sharp mind. We revered and loved her. She and my grandmother prayed in Carmelites and also served their kitchen.
Every year for Sinulog, the fiesta for Cebu's patron saint, people would offer eggs to the Church: for prayers to prevent rain on the day of the procession and the day of the parade. It was part of my hometown’s practice. What they did know was it was sent to my grandaunt to be made to ensaymada. Eggs were offered the whole year too. The community also gave them during Easter as a symbol of the new life from Chirst. The nuns would give the kids painted Easter eggs and the rest turned to ensaymada.
One summer when I was about 11, our father sent us to Mamang to learn how to make ensaymada. Everyday, Mama our helper would wake us up and off we went with Papa our driver. With sleepy heads, my older sister and I would arrive and see Mamang and everybody already busy at 5:00am. Now wide awake, we set off to work. The hardest part was throwing the dough, slamming it down hard against the marble countertop so it would be ready. Knotting it was a challenge too.
It takes practice to make the soft, fluffy and tasty ensaymada just like Mamang’s. She learned it from Mama Cong, their aunt. She was the go to person for the alta sociedad and visiting dignitaries. I have made it with my aunt, sisters, daughter and niece. It has been part of our family for generations, woven by love and the threads of community.
