The Foodie's Food Trip

On Hiatus

Be back in a few weeks.
Will try to post some new food I'll try out during our vacay. :D

Since I'm not so happy with the puto I made the first time (link: My First Try with Puto), I decided to make some again.

Sorry... I cheated. hihihihi!
In fairness they were yummy! Perfect texture too.

Seriously, I really tried making puto again from scratch. Here's my second attempt in making puto:

This time it contains coconut milk.

Before steaming & without the cheese

After steaming them, I can already smell the coconut milk flavor.

The texture: soft yet firm. The taste: creamy rich flavor (because of the coconut milk).

I brought some to our friends' house and they liked it.

I got the recipe from Oggi's blog I Can Do That! (thanks Oggi for sharing the recipe).

Some changes I made:

I added a slice of cheese on top before steaming because I looove puto with cheese!
I used cupcake paper cups. Unfortunately my individual molds are too small for the paper cups I have, that's why the puto I made did not fill the paper cups completely.

Next time I'll try the pandan & ube flavor. :)

My First Two Awards

The Foodie's Food Trip just received it's first award! Not just one, but two blog awards from Anya of Kutsara at Tinidor. Thank you very much!

The rules for these awards are:

To accept the award, post it on your blog together with the name of the person who has granted the award and his/her blog link.
Pass the award to 15 other blogs that you’ve discovered and think are great! Remember to contact the bloggers to let them know they have been chosen for this award.

I am now passing these awards to:

Happy blogging everyone!

Chocolate Tiramisu - The Second Attempt

After being terribly disappointed with the tiramisu I made before, I decided to give it another try and bring it to our friend’s birthday party. I made a lot of mistakes on my first attempt that I decided to make only half this time. Good thing I still have enough chocolates, mascarpone cheese and Savoiardi. I just need to buy eggs and cream again.

Was the second attempt a success? Oh yes!

Pardon the plastic container I used... I know it's not presentable. :)

I won't call the chocolate layer as crème chocolat. Instead, I'll call it Chocolate Zabaglione. I made the chocolate zabaglione Friday morning. I watched and stirred it well this time. Placed it in the fridge to let it chill, so I can make the tiramisu that evening. The image on the left is the chilled chocolate zabaglione.

That evening, the first thing I did is to make the coffee that will be used for dipping the ladyfingers.

While waiting for the coffee to get cold, I started making the mascarpone cream. This time instead of using raw eggs, I used whipping cream. The first try didn't get creamed... turned lumpy/grainy because I overbeat the cream, and I used normal white sugar. So I made another batch again using icing sugar (good thing I have some). After just two minutes, the whipping cream with mascarpone cheese looked like whipping cream!

I then started layering the tiramisu. Instead of making just one set of 3 layers (coffee-soaked ladyfingers, chocolate zabaglione & mascarpone cream), I made two sets.

I let it chill in the fridge. I was so tempted to try it out already!

The next day, I added some powdered cocoa on top as garnish, and brought it to Cheche's party. As soon as they served it, I tried it immediately. It turned out great!

You might be expecting the recipe I used... unfortunately I can't! Well, the only recipe I can't share is the chocolate zabaglione recipe I used, which is the crème chocolat recipe from the Ultimate Chocolate Treats I class from Shermay's Cooking School. The coffee is just coffee, I found the mascarpone cream recipe online. BUT... I saw recipes online that are almost the same as the chocolate zabaglione I did.

I won't include the measurements... just the list of ingredients, and the links to the recipes I found.

Chocolate Tiramisu

Ingredients

Italian savoiardi or ladyfinger biscuits

Whipping cream/Heavy cream

Semi-sweet chocolate chips

Mascarpone cream

Egg yolks

Super-fine sugar like Caster sugar/Confectioner's sugar

Cocoa powder (for garnish)

Strong coffee

Directions

Prepare the chocolate zabaglione and let it chill in the refrigerator for at least 6 hours.
Chocolate Zabaglione: Follow the Chocolate Zabaglione recipe for the Chocolate Tiramisu by Giada De Laurentiis. The only change I made is I didn't add the dry Marsala and the salt.

Prepare the mascarpone cream.
Mascarpone Cream: I used the tiramisu recipe I found in allrecipes.com. It's called Emily's Famous Tiramisu. I just followed the directions for making the filling without the dark rum.

Dip the ladyfinger biscuits into the coffee and place them at the bottom of the prepared pan.

Spoon the cream chocolate mixture on top of the ladyfinger biscuits and spread evenly so that the sides are completely covered.

Spoon the mascarpone cream mixture on top of the Chocolate Zabaglione layer and spread evenly.

Repeat the layering (steps 3-5).

Cover with plastic and refrigerate for at least 8 hours.

Sift cocoa powder over the surface before serving.

Notes

The Chocolate Zabaglione should be chilled to at least lukewarm temperature, therefore needs to be prepared ahead of time. The mascarpone cream should be prepared before you are ready to assemble the tiramisu.

Easier version with chocolate zabaglione & mascarpone cream mixed together: use Giada De Laurentiis' Chocolate Tiramisu recipe found in FoodNetwork.com.

Another chocolate tiramisu recipe easy to follow recipe: from The Barefoot Kitchen Witch. The recipe has images for each ingredients and for the directions, so it's easier to follow.

Lessons Learned

Never oversoak the ladyfingers! The extra coffee it soaked will just spread around the bowl. And it breaks easily before even putting the soaked ladyfingers in the bowl. By the end of the day, the bottom of the bowl is all-liquid.

Do not overcook the egg & cream mixture (for the chocolate zabaglione). Before I mixed the chocolate to the boiled cream mixture, I realized that I've overcooked the eggs because lumps were forming at the bottom of the pan.

For the mascarpone cream, better to use whipping cream, rather than use raw eggs to make the cream. I think this happened because I beat the egg whites for too long and I didn't beat the egg yolks long enough.

Better to use finer sugar like caster sugar.

Rice Vinegar - A Splash Goes A Long Way

I chanced upon a recipe that requires rice vinegar. I’ve never used rice vinegar in a dish before. The only vinegar I’ve used is the vinegar usually sold in the Philippines, which is cane vinegar. Rice vinegar is completely different with cane vinegar, even in use, so this is totally new to me.

While doing my research on rice vinegars, I realized that sushi rice is mixed with rice vinegar. Another thing I discovered is that rice vinegar is usually used in Asian cuisines.

I chanced upon a website of a certain brand of rice vinegar called Mizkan. It is the distributor of Nakano Rice Vinegar. Mizkan has several flavors of rice vinegar, with each flavor for different purposes. With the flavors they have available like Original Seasoned, Roasted Garlic, Basil & Oregano, Red Pepper, Balsamic Blend, and Italian Herb, you’re definitely not limited to Asian food.

Rice vinegar is the perfect for the health-conscious because it is a healthy alternative to salad dressing, sour cream or butter.

How do you use rice vinegar in dishes? Splash a bit on green vegetables and sliced tomatoes for a simple salad, use it as marinate for grilled chicken, sprinkle some as an added flavor to your favorite pasta recipe, baked potatoes, or hot vegetables.

Check out Mizkan’s website and join the NAKANO Splash Recipe Club for more Splash Tips and free recipes. You'll discover how a splash of rice vinegar goes a long way.

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