In Which There are Sweets from Cloistered Sisters…

Alfajores y cuchipan

I’ve been a naughty little biscuit, dear readers.  I’ve not posted anything here on Midge in the Kitchen for nearly a month now.  (The last post is actually dated 05th March!)  Life has been absolutely crazy for me: projects at work, a novel in the works (out this April…I hope!), going for passion projects (mine and a friend’s). and enjoying myself.  It’s been mostly good, really, and I regret nothing.

About a couple weeks ago, I got the opportunity to take a break and go on a spiritual retreat over at the Carmelite Missionaries’ Centre for Spirituality over in breezy Tagaytay for a couple of days and it was what a world-weary soul needed to get back in sync.  And, on the way home, I went and picked up a few treats for those back in the city.

The Good Shepherd Sisters are an order synonymous with the ube [purple yam] and strawberry jams that have long been a staple souvenir of those coming back from the northern resort province of Baguio.  This cloistered order is also popular for its peanut brittle and angel cookies (buttery biscuits with host cuttings – the edges left from cutting out communion wafers).  More recently, the order opened a convent in Tagaytay and also opened a shop whose proceeds are used for the vocational education of youngsters from less fortunate families.

What I opted for on this particular visit were the alfajores and the cuchipan.  The former is a variation on the classic Argentinian biscuit where shortbread circles are sandwiched with rich, unctuous dulce de leche.  The Good Shepherd version is lighter: sugary, crumbly, buttery shortbread discs sandwiched with a rather challengingly-textured sugar syrup filling.  Pretty passable, in my opinion, and a nice thing to pair with a cup of coffee.

More successful was the cuchipan, those vividly green discs shown above.  Cuchipan is a pandan (screwpine)-flavoured spin on cuchinta, a chewy steamed cake made with brown sugar and galapong (glutinous rice flour).  The interesting thing about it is that it separates into two layers when cooked: a chewy, mochi-like layer below, a creamy and custardy layer on top.  Subtly herbaceous and not too sweet, it made for a nice little coffee break treat.  And, really, the coconut that came with it was practically optional as the cakes were good on their own.

In Which Dessert was Absolutely Glorious…

Anyone want dessert?

On Friday, I found myself totally harried and worn out for no good reason.  I was annoyed with myself, annoyed with everyone around me, annoyed by just about anything and everything.  Even the person of whom I am inordinately fond of these days seemed to test my nerves for much of the day.  So what’s a girl to do under the circumstances?

A proper dinner, of course; one that will be discussed in detail in a future post.  But, since the restaurant I was in didn’t have at all that many options for dessert, I settled the bill and sauntered out in a slightly better mood down the street and made a beeline for Bar Dolci.

Bar Dolci is a haven for sweet-fanciers – specifically for gelato-heads and macaron-fiends, along with the few enlightened individuals who are absolutely mad for those tangy, chewy, jewel-like jelly confections known in French as pates de fruit.  There are substantial meals on the menu, of course, but the true draw here is its extensive selection of desserts. That said, I have no idea why I took me so long to drop by and sample the wares considering that my office is but a hop, skip, and jump away.

But, anyway: dessert…

Cherry Cobbler gelato

I found myself totally caught unawares in front of the gelato display.  You could sample the wares for free as in any gelateria worthy of the name; you’ll get a nifty, colourful, wee spoon in the process.  But one particular flavour caught my eye and I pointed right at it: “A small (P 120.00) cherry cobbler, please.”

The cherry cobbler features proper cherry ripple (the kind with actual cherries, not the artificially flavoured sludge common to many pseudo-cherry confections) and biscuit chunks scattered throughout sweet-cream ice cream.  This is my kind of gelato: the cherries were bold in both colour and flavour – sharp, tart yet sweet, with a bittersweetness hinting of almonds and vanilla – and made a brilliant contrast to the custardy richness of the cream-ice it nestled in.  I could have done without the biscuit bits, though; they were a little too distracting.  I’ve a mind to suggest that Bar Dolci scraps the biscuits altogether in this and just relabel this flavour as amarena (bittersweet / tart cherry).  But that’s just me.

Limoncello Macaron

And because I’ve been jonesing for a macaron for ages, (Believe it or not, I haven’t had one of these almondy confections since I stopped working in Makati.), I went over the selections in the glass-fronted counter and pointed out a bright yellow one labeled limoncello.

Limoncello is a classic Italian liqueur made with lemon zest soaked in vodka or some other rectified spirit.  It’s brightly flavoured: deeply lemony, a slight bite that keeps the overall sweetness in check, with a faint, wonted bitterness.  I am not sure if there is any actual limoncello in the macaron, but it sure was amazingly lemony: the meringue biscuits tasted lightly of lemon zest and, when combined with the zingy lemon curd filling, was deliciously citrusy all throughout.  Definitely something I’d come back for.

Bar Dolci – F133 – Forbeswood Heights, Forbestown Road cor. Burgos Circle, Bonifacio Global City, Taguig

Incidentally…

Malasimbo Music and Arts Festival 2015

If you’re going to be in Puerto Galera over the weekend for this year’s Malasimbo Music and Arts Festival, a friend of mine will be performing over at the Mangyan Village on Friday, 06th March.  (Hey, that’s tomorrow!)

Dragonfly Collector (aka Clem Castro; you may know him from his previous bands Orange & Lemons and The Camerawalls; bloody freaking brilliant musician) also has an album out – The World is Your Oyster  (available via iTunes) – so do support his music and encourage creativity!  😀