My Special Yema for a Special You

I am always fond of making desserts, and there's this one dessert that I keep on making ever since I was a kid. I've used different mediums or substitutes down from powdered milk to condensed milk, etc. I've given some time to give it a couple of experiments til I get the taste I want my yema candy to be like. Now, I think I've got this now at hand. 

TIPS:
1.Include ONLY the egg yolks. ( Discard the egg whites, or if you want, you can make yourself an eggwhite mask. Its nice 'coz it tightens the skin and reduces pores, so why not do yourself a good favor? :)

2. The MORE egg yolks you add, the SOFTER the consistency your yema candy gets to be. 
3. The egg that SINKS in the water is a FRESH egg.

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Special Yema for a Special You

So, here are the steps:

1.Make sure you've got all the ingredients. 

      2 cans of Condensed Milk
      minimum of 5 egg yolks (*you can actually add as many egg yolks as you want)
      1/2 kl of white sugar
      clear cellophane (*this is optional)

2.Open the cans of condensed milk and pour it on to a bowl. Break the eggs, one by one, separating the egg yolks from the egg whites. (*I suggest you do that by transferring the eggs from their evenly/ half broken shells over and over til you get the egg yolk off from the egg white. You can place the egg whites on a separate cup as you do that.)

(as you see, the egg whites are now in a separate cup.)

3. Mix the egg yolks and the condensed milk. Stir them well, until the egg yolks and milk are thoroughly mixed. Optional: You can add 4 tablespoons of white sugar, if you'd like it to taste a little sweeter. 

(Tip: You can mix them using just a fork.)

( Closer look of the ingredients being mixed )

4. Preheat the pan. (I suggest that you use a non-stick pan for your convenience in cooking. The yema mixture will just be easily pulled off, once the consistency gets sticky as you cook it.) Place the mixture on the pan as soon as it gets a little hot. 

(Mixture on the hot non-stick pan)

(Never leave the mixture on the heat. Continue to stir it.)

5. Stir and cook until sticky and golden brown. The consistency and color of the mixture should always be checked to avoid an overcooked mixture. 

(This is almost done!. Tip: Take it out from the heat once the mixture is sticky enough to separate itself when stirred.)

6. Remove from heat, once mixture is sticky enough and golden brown. Set aside and let it cool. 

( Just so perfect! Approx cooking time would be 30 mins to 1 hr)

7.Prepare the white sugar and scatter them on the plate. Roll the mixture into balls and coat it with white sugar to avoid clumping with the other yema balls.

(PS. I actually ran out of white sugar here, that's why it look a bit out of shape. This makes approx around 30 - 40 pcs depending on the size.)

(Optional: Cut the cellophane into square and there you go! That's my traditional yema!)

for my YEMA with a CRUMPY TWIST

All you have to do is to scoop out a little from the Crumpy Spread/ Nutella Spread or Cookie Butter, then place them in between the desired yema mixture, and roll it into yema balls. Just make sure that the spread does not leak/ come out from the sides, to create a rich filling. 

(If you like it to be ferrero like, then you can use nutella, which almost has the same taste!)

(If you like to have it with a bit of a white chocolate and hazelnut or milk chocolate all together, then you can try crumpy! This is also a bit cheaper compared to nutella.)

(If you like it to have a crunchy peanut butter-ey taste, then you can go for cookie butter!)

Well, I tried using Crumpy spread on my yema and its super delicious! You gotta try this one out! Or if you want to explore more, you can try using jam or jelly! I'm sure that'd taste good, too! 

and if you want to go further on making your yema a little bit more special, aside from the twist you've added..

Here's what you can do:

Make a Caramel Sauce for your Yema

Ingredients:

   1 1/2 cup of white sugar

   2 cups of water

Steps:

1. Secure all the ingredients.

2. Add the 1 1/2 cup of sugar and 2 cups of water on the heated pan. Continue stirring until you have reached your preferred consistency of the sauce. (Be careful not to burn the sugar mixture, use low fire.)

3. Once caramelized sugar is done, place it on a separate tea cup/ syrup cup. It's all set!

Serve your loved ones with these Sweet Yema Treats!

Disclaimer: Photo of Nutella, Crumpy, Cookie Butter and Caramelized Sugar are taken from google. All the rest of the photos are taken by yours truly during the actual preparation and cooking.

Walk with Us - SINULOG 2014

The Sinulog Festival is one of the most awaited event here in Cebu. It is held on the 2nd-3rd week of January. People all over the country and all over the world are out to see and be part of the said event. It starts with a 9 day novena held at the Basilica Minore del Sto Nino, followed by the procession and the said feast. Along with that, there are contests such as Sinulog sa Kabataan sa Lalawigan and the most awaited Gran Mardi Gras and Float Parade. Everything was so festive, colorful and filled with so much fun. Along the corner of the streets, you will a lot of stalls selling Cebu's native products, handmade goods, sinulog masks and shirts. There were also stalls for those who'd love to have henna tattoos on their bodies.(I didn't have one 'coz I am allergic to one of the henna ingredients. I suggest if you don't know you're allergic or not with that henna thing, do some allergy testing by putting a lil of that henna substance and watch out for reactions in a matter max of 30 minutes! Worth the time rather than have that skin blotching rashes quite for some time!)

We never did miss out this once in a year Sinulog Festival. As for this year 2014's Sinulog Festival, it was filled with so much fun and the weather too was very good. We attended the novena mass (though I wasn't able to complete the entire 9-day novena) and joined the procession with my boyfriend . The procession was smooth sailing and we had no sweat because of the cold air that wrapped around us. It would have been so much better if we get that kind of weather every Sinulog. We saw the float parade on the streets with peers. It was awesome and some floats had celebrities on them and we never failed to zoom in our cameras to take photos of them even when we're faraway. Since the roads were closed, we had to walk and with that, we were able to take a photo with an albino snake near Crowne Regency Hotel. It costs 150 php per shot, so its really better if you bring along your friends so that you'll just have to divide the amount among yourselves. We continued walking and decided to have our hair sprayed with color green, we bought it at Watsons for only 199 php. We met with some friends and had our dinner at KFC. Afterwhich, we went to hang out at CBTL at Robinson's Cybergate then head our way to the famous Baseline. Most of the crowd there had their shirt/bodies/faces painted and had others bathe themselves with either water, bacardi or red horse. Disco was everywhere and the people were walking endlessly on the streets. Kasakit sa bagtak ug lakaw ui! HAHA! Nevertheless, we had so much fun! :)

HERE ARE THE PHOTOS TAKEN THE ENTIRE SINULOG FESTIVAL:

At this moment, we were on our way to attend the novena mass at Basilica Minore del Sto Niño.

  (Osmeña Blvd Street during the Sinulog Week)

   (Top part of the Basilica)

                                                
                                       

 

( The Cebuanos waive in unison as the Batobalani song is being sung on a Novena Mass) 

**it is already a tradition wherein the Cebuanos would waive their hands whenever the Batobalani song is being sung so as to pay respect and homage to the Señor Sto Nino**

Heading to the Procession - always done on a Saturday.

(A photo of me and my boyfie while we were waiting for the procession to start. It was actually my first time to go on a procession with just me and my boyfie.)

(The Procession of the relic of Señor Sto. Niño - always held on a Saturday)

(Some Cebuanos make it a tradition to buy balloons (mostly red - this is the Sinulog theme) during the feast, tie a small paper (written on it are their wishes and dreams) on its string and let it go (some do it during/after the mass or after procession) hoping that it would reach the heavens and praying that all of them would come true).

(No matter how crowded the city is, however a lot of people still continue to flock during the feast. This just goes to show how strong the people's devotion is to the Sto. Niño.)

This is it! Feast Day always on a Sunday!

(Rain or shine, the mass still goes on. This is the Feast of Señor Sto. Niño, which is held on a Sunday) 

(The altar is decorated with the flowers of festival colors.)

                             (Me and my brother took a picture of ourselves after the mass)

(There's also a float parade of the stars --- so I didn't miss out on the opportunity of taking a picture of my celebrity crush waiving his hand at the crowd.)

(Street Dancing and Higante Parade)

(We, together with my crazy friends, took a photo with the albino snake, now that's 150 php for the shot)

( And so we spray painted each of our hairs' green! Mine's the wavy brown hair with green stripes.)

( We also bought these interesting accessories for fun. I got the bunny ears!.)

Well right after, we went out to see how people at the Baseline partied, and it was really crazy. It was a night where the beer rains, people throwing ice blocks and shooting passersby with their waterguns, or paint their faces/ bodies etc and lots of music. It was a night where you get to be really wet and wild and be wilder than you know you can! I call it "let loose and booze night"!. Well, since my friends and I preferred a different way of seizing that night out, so we just gather ourselves at a restaurant, had good conversations and did some catching up til it was around 5 AM. You know, Cinderella's gotta be back before the clock strikes at whatever that time is. Till then! 

T'WAS A HECK OF FESTIVE DAYS WITH BOYFIE AND THE CRAZIEST FRIENDS!

Visit Cebu to relish the entire experience!