Filipino Recipes - Traditional Food, Worldwide Influences

The roots of Filipino food are not your typical Asian fare, for instead of heavily spiced and aromatic food, instead we have traditional east Asian cuisine but combined with contemporary influences from the west, including America and Hispanic countries. Often with Filipino food the recipes feature bold combinations which accentuate each other.

Here's a recipe that emphasises the worldwide influences on the traditional cuisine of the Filipino regions. Originally from Spain, these "Mallorca Pastries" are a common foodstuff eaten across many of the islands across the country, and a delicious treat to feed your family.

Ingredients

2 pounds of flour
8 ounces of butter
5 eggs
200ml milk
1.5 ounces of bakers' yeast
Pinch of salt
Icing sugar

Start off by shredding the bakers' yeast in a bowl or pan of milk, then crack open the eggs and whisk them, adding them to the yeast with a little salt.

Take another bowl and beat the butter until it's nice and spongy. Spread the softened butter over the dough. Now, form the flour so that it resembles a shallow cone with a hole at the top, then pour the mix into the centre. You can choose which size to make them, from smaller individual bites to larger concoctions. I find that around 60grams (2 ounces) is fine for each one.

Now, use your hands to knead the combination and form a ball, covering them up for around 24 hours in the fridge. After this, let the yeast rise for up to four hours at room temperature, until they roughly double in size and bake for 15 minutes at 180 degrees centigrade until they take on a lovely golden colouring. Let them cool and sprinkle with your icing sugar. Done! Now you just have to be quick and eat them before everyone else does...