Learning to Cook : First Courses : One Too Many Cooks

Some of us learned to cook from our mothers. Some of us learned to cook in spite of our mothers. Actually, our mothers didn’t have all that much to do with the process--as the following stories prove.

Although we all came to cooking via different paths, all of us vividly remember the first foods that we cooked. And while they’re not generally dishes that we find ourselves cooking up every day, when we recently tested these recipes, we found, somewhat to our surprise, that they are all delicious.

As a young girl, I tried to avoid the kitchen in our house. I was afraid of Andang, our elderly cook, who shopped daily for fresh foods and cooked all day long for a family with nine children. Hired by my mom before I was even born, Andang was a terrific cook. I (and Mom as well) hesitated to even attempt competing with her.

One time, Andang went on vacation and Mom pulled me away from a novel in which I was engrossed. “You’ll have to start learning,” she said. “Don’t you know that the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach?”

I then made my first chicken adobo with rice. It took forever, of course. One of my brothers told me, “Your chicken soup is bland, even with all that soy sauce you put in it. Why is the rice like sticky paste?” I threw my apron away and said, “That’s it, you’ll have to wait for Andang to come back.” We had leftovers for days.

Baking brought me back to the kitchen. I was 15, a college freshman by then. It was more than a craving for sweets that led me to learn to bake before I knew how to boil an egg. There were three other reasons.

First, I picked up my mom’s enthusiasm for baking, learned at Ana del Rosario’s Cooking School in Manila. Second, I wanted to serve cakes that I actually made myself at merienda (the customary afternoon tea) for my future husband’s first courtship visits.

The third reason? Although she made wonderful versions of my favorite Filipino desserts, such as guinatan (a fruit and coconut milk soup), Andang didn’t know a thing about baking. For once, Mom and I were one step ahead of her in the kitchen.

My first baking attempt was chiffon cake, which I found less tricky to make than angel food cake. It’s the most popular cake in the Philippines, because of its moist, fluffy texture and the fact that it’s not overly sweet. The cake was invented in 1927 by a Los Angeles insurance salesman named Harry Baker, who baked for Hollywood parties.

Mom must have whipped up every imaginable flavor of chiffon cake: chocolate, mocha, banana, orange. Chiffon cake made with corn, which is considered a dessert ingredient in Manila, is one of my favorites. I like chiffon cake best without any frosting, but for company I dress it up with this rich buttery icing or thick sweetened whipped cream.

CORN CHIFFON CAKE

1 (16-ounce) can whole-kernel corn

2 1/4 cups cake flour

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

7 egg yolks

1/2 cup salad oil

2 teaspoons vanilla

8 egg whites

1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar

2 tablespoons melted butter

Butter Icing or sweetened whipped cream, optional

Drain corn kernels well. Add water to liquid to make 3/4 cup.

Sift together cake flour, 3/4 cup sugar, baking powder and salt into small mixer bowl. Make well in center and drop in egg yolks, oil, vanilla and corn liquid. Starting from center, beat slowly until smooth.

Beat egg whites with cream of tartar in large mixer bowl until foamy and opaque white. Gradually add remaining 3/4 cup sugar, beating until stiff but not dry. Pour yolk batter in slow steady stream into whites, folding until just blended. Gently fold in drained corn. Fold in melted butter. Turn into ungreased angel cake tube pan.

Bake at 325 degrees 55 to 60 minutes, or until top springs back when touched lightly. Invert pan on heat-proof funnel or wine bottle and let hang until cake is completely cool. Remove from pan. Wrap airtight of if desired frost with Butter Icing. Makes 1 cake.

Variation:

Omit corn. In place of corn liquid, use 3/4 cup fruit juice such as orange or pineapple, or for coffee chiffon cake, use strong coffee beverage, cooled.

Butter Icing

1 cup butter, room temperature

2/3 cup evaporated milk

1/3 cup whipping cream, room temperature

3/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla or grated lime zest

Cream butter until light. Combine evaporated milk, whipping cream and sugar until smooth. Slowly add to creamed butter, and continue to beat at medium speed until smooth and creamy. Beat in vanilla. If mixture curdles (caused by cold temperature), blend in food processor until smooth.