Based in Manila, Philippines, Dessert Comes First is a chronicle of the food-obsessed food writer, Lori Baltazar. This website is all about desserts, restaurants, coffee, and the pleasures of homebaking. Read more about me Beat Me: How A Caramel Cake Is Made
Wed, May 11th of 2005
11:34 am
This caramel cake is light enough to float off the table. It’s also light enough to polish off in one sitting. Really.
At this cake’s heart is a chiffon cake with a light caramel icing that is poured on. It’s what accounts for the icing’s smooth sleekness. It’s also not too sweet, so you can offer this to people who say they don’t like their desserts too sweet. Excuse me? The essence of any dessert is sugar, and sugar is sweet, so if you don’t like sweet desserts, then you shouldn’t be having any. But I digress.
Anyway, chiffon cakes are cakes that contain oil, and shouldn’t be confused with sponge or angel cakes. Chiffon cakes are those that form the base of the more popular cakes at the larger bakeshops, like the ubiquitous mocha birthday cake at Goldilocks and the Coffee Torte at Sugarhouse. Here, the oil and egg yolks are beaten until they form ribbon-like patterns that “float” on the batter for a few seconds before sinking. Sometimes there isn’t enough liquid in the yolks alone to dissolve the sugar, so chefs have this nifty trick of adding 1-2 tablespoonfuls of tepid water when beating the yolks and oil. You can also use caster (superfine) sugar here because it dissolves more quickly than regular sugar.
The (almost) unbearable lightness (of being) of a chiffon cake comes from the egg whites that have had the heck (aka air) beaten out of them, along with the remaining sugar called for in the recipe. The whites are beaten ‘til stiff, then folded in (carefully now!) with the beaten yolks, and then the flour is folded in also (with much care). I find that chiffon cakes made with cake flour make for lighter cakes, which is all the better so I can eat more. Hehe. Lastly, a few drops of vanilla and almond extract make for nice flavor.
I am still trying to figure out how the caramel icing is made. It’s made from a mixture of condensed milk and egg yolks, and tempered with a little evaporated milk to thin it out. If you know the recipe for a caramel icing, or where else I can indulge my penchant for caramel cakes, please share!
I like to eat caramel cake when I’m tired and it’s too hot out to eat a hunk of brownie or some other divine chocolate incarnation. Oh, chiffon cakes also come in chocolate, but they pale in comparison to their lighter counterparts. (Hmm, something not too right about that sentence. It’s like an inverted pun or something.)
Sadly, the best caramel cake purveyors that I know are strictly made to order (1-2 days lead time). Either that, or you make it yourself, which would be quicker but requires more effort. Life is like that. But caramel cake makes it better.
Estrel’s Caramel Cakes
54 Scout Tobias, Barangay Laging Handa, Quezon City (near Timog)
Phone: 372-2965 / 371-7938.
Costa Brava Cakes
12 Polaris St., Bel-Air Village, Makati
Phone: 896-6872
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Ahhh…Caramel Cake. There was this lady named Ms. Jenkins and she made the best caramel cake in the south and maybe the world…it would bring you to your kness I tell ya.
She was in here late 80s and still moving around in that kitchen of hers. Whenever I have a piece of C.C. I always think of her.
Isn’t it worderful how food can send you back in time.
Anyway…thanks for the email and great blog. I’ll add you to my blog roll
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Comment by J.T. — May 13, 2005 @ 4:27 am
With this entry, you sound a bit like Alton Brown, which, since he’s one of my favorite TV chefs, is a compliment.
Our wedding cake came from Estrel’s, and my parents often buy the cakes for special occasions.
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Comment by Eric — May 13, 2005 @ 7:33 am
my mouth watered at the picture. i love estrel’s caramel cakes. they practically melt in the mouth.
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Comment by Hunter — May 13, 2005 @ 11:25 am
Hi Lori,
I would like to correct your info on chiffon cakes. The egg yolks in chiffon cake are not beaten until they “form ribbon” but they are incorporated together with the other liquid ingredients like the oil (which makes the chiffon cake tender and rich), water and flavoring and poured into the dry ingredients then folded into the whipped egg white (which makes it light). The process you mentioned is entirely for SPONGE CAKES which depends on the stable foam created during a long whipping of the egg mixture, whether a GENOISE or BISCUIT type of sponge cake preparation. Hope i enlightened your readers of your wonderful blog site. Happy Baking to all.
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Comment by john sta. cruz, pastry chef — September 13, 2005 @ 3:02 am
You must try the caramel cake at Ensaymada Factory. It’s across the street from Shopwise in Makati. The chiffon cake itself is just normal, but the caramel topping reminds me of melted dulce de leche. Yummy!
Try their Canonigo too.
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Comment by Anonymous — November 28, 2005 @ 6:29 pm
Ive tried Estrels and its really good.
what About Costa Brava, is it inside the village? do we need to order ahead of time or is it a bakeshop?
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Comment by Anonymous — June 2, 2006 @ 1:56 pm
Anonymous- Costa Brava is inside Bel-Air Village. You’ll have to order ahead of time.
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Comment by Lori — June 3, 2006 @ 9:22 pm
can i get the recipe for that caramel cake please ?
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Comment by mariles — August 18, 2006 @ 2:10 pm
Estrel’s caramel cake is the best for me & my family. I learned about Estrel’s from my mother-in-law. She has been ordering from their Recto branch since my husband was 3yrs old. Now that we have 3kids of our own, we still order from them. The taste and quality has not changed for more than 3 decades now. It has been a tradition for us. No occasion can be complete without their caramel cake. Sure we love Conti’s and Sugarhouse cheesecakes but no cake comes close to the heavenly taste of Estrel’s caramel cake.
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Comment by jean19 — September 14, 2006 @ 8:52 pm
I’m looking for the recipe of the caramel icing/cake when I chanced upon your blog… were you able to get the recipe? If you did, hope you can share it with me. Thanks!
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Comment by Peachy — February 15, 2007 @ 5:47 pm
hi, wer can i buy ALMOND EXTRACT? and how much is it? Thanks
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Comment by kyline — August 23, 2007 @ 8:53 am
Great info! I agree, if you can get the cake recipe it would be great! I will check back to see. Caramel is my favorate! Steph
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Comment by Piece a Cake Bakery — August 13, 2008 @ 12:53 pm
you can try this recipe but make adjustments according to your likeness:
3 cans evaproated milk
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup cornstarch
1/2 cup butter (softened)
1 tsp vanilla
double-broiler: mix 1 1/2 cans of milk with sugar and cornstarch til cornstarch is completely dissolved then add remaining 1 1/2 cans of milk. when mixture is thick and creamy, remove from heat and add vanilla and butter. pour on chiffon cake right away.
i tried substituting 1 can of evaporated milk with 1 can of condensed milk but found it too milky. but if you prefer it that way, lessen the cornstarch or it will come out too thick and won’t be spreadable.
you can also strain the final mixture before pouring it on the cake.
let me know how your caramel sauce comes out!
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Comment by Pearl Managuelod — November 18, 2008 @ 4:15 pm
Hi! i would like to ask Pearl Managuelod, is your evaporated milk the tall can which is 300 ml or the small can which is 158ml?
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Comment by Joanne Dy — May 22, 2009 @ 2:31 pm
Hi Joanne,
It’s the tall can, 300ml. Have you tried the recipe yet?
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Comment by Pearl Managuelod — May 26, 2009 @ 11:23 pm
Hi Pearl,
Thanks! I haven’t tried it yet. But I’m planning to try your recipe. I’ll post my comment as soon as i try your recipe. Others say that one of the ingredients doing the filling is dulce de leche. it’s like instead of the chocolate ganache, it’s a caramel ganache. It is hard to experiment especially when we don’t have a recipe to base.
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Comment by Joanne Dy — May 27, 2009 @ 1:19 pm
hey i tried the caramel recipe but used only 2 cans and half cup of refined sugar..it was good..almost perfect for me
i will aslo try mix of brown and white sugar to produce 1/2 cup … for NO for condensed milk..it is tooo sweet 
this one is semi-sweet ..thank you 
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Comment by maricel — August 17, 2010 @ 12:31 pm