Sunday, August 09, 2009

Almost there Torta

I did not grow up eating desserts but there's one Cebu delicacy that I remember with longing - the Titay's Torta. It's never the same anymore as what I grew up with and for the life of me, I don't know what they put in there that made it so distinctively rich and flavorful. There are so many variations but I am only interested in Titay's, but of course that recipe would be a trade secret.

I have tweaked this recipe from the different recipes I had, after the fourth try I think I got it as close to Titay's as I can now...(Thank God,or I'll be broke buying the ingredients.) Because I can't find my oven thermometer, I think my oven was hotter than 350, reason why this cracked in the middle. You can solve this problem by buying Magi-cake strips and line the sides of the pan or just make sure your oven temp is right because Torta is not supposed to have a crack or at least the one I remember. Here's my recipe:

Ingredients:
3.5 c All purpose flour
4tsp -baking powder
2 c - sugar
1 (12 oz. can) evap milk
1/2 can - condensed milk
20 egg yolks
3 c - vegetable oil

1. Sift together flour, baking powder and sugar then add evap milk, mix well and set aside 5-8 minutes.
2. Mix eggs, condensed milk and oil, then add the flour mixture to this blending it well.
3. Pour into lined tin molds and bake 30 minutes about half or 2/3 full..

You can brush the top with egg wash 5 mins before it's done then put it back in the oven to have that shiny effect, but that's too much work. Mine, I just rub with butter then sprinkle with sugar.
Tip: I did not have tissue paper so I used parchment paper to line the mold- bad idea, it made it more hot and the sides were crispy. So this batch I made sure to use tissue paper

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