YeMa CaKe (Milk Custard Cake)

I got this marvelous recipe from my dear brother Oliver and his girl Doris. For quite sometime this sweet couple are also into baking. And during my son Enzo's 5th birthday party they showed up with this delectable sweet cake as a birthday present. 

Oh my goodness, it was really yummy!!! the cake is milky and buttery and just simply decadent. The cake reminds me of the cake that is usually common in my hometown Manila, it is called yema cake. Yema is a chewy candy made of condensed milk and eggyolks cooked until becomes chewy. And the taste is really buttery and caramely that it melts in your mouth. If you are not a chocolate person this one is for you.

What amazes me most was that the ingredients were nothing unusual and with no butter at all! but tastes like buttery goodness! the secret ingredients is just oil and lemon essence! there you go :). Now it's your secret as well. It's every bakers delight to bake a delectable yummy goodness cake with very cheap ingredients! Mind you, the only thing special on this cake that I bought is the $1.40 lemon essence, the rest of them I just found from my kitchen counter!

For Lemon Chiffon cake: we need to prepare two separate batter mixture, then combine later on.

Batter 1: Cake mixture
2 1/4 cups cake flour
3 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup canola oil (or olive oil)
6 eggyolks
1/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup water
1 tsp lemon essence

Batter 2: Merengue
6 eggwhites
1 cup sugar
1 tsp cream of tartar

• In a bowl, sift flour, baking powder, and salt.
• In a separate bowl, combine eggyolks, sugar, water, and lemon essence. Give it a good mix.
• Combine flour mixture with eggyolk mixture, and continue mixing until well blended. Texture is a gooey batter. Set aside.
• On a separate bowl and using an electric mixer, mixegg whites and cream of tartar. Then gradually add the sugar. Whipped at maximum speed until the egg white becomes merengue in texture (like a white foam).
• Combine batter 1 and batter 2 and fold using a rubber spatula. DO NOT MIX, but only carefully stir so not to deflate the eggwhites foam.
• Pour the mixture in a 10 inch round cake pan or any cake pan available, lined with waxpaper, or mists with oil.
• Place the cake pan in 175C pre heated oven for 40 minutes.

For Yema frosting:
1 can condensed milk
1/2 can evaporated milk
6 eggyolks

• Mix together in a shallow pan and cook until gooey.

Cake decoration:

• Divide the chiffon cake in half horizontally. So you have two round chiffon cake.
• Spread part of Yema frosting at the top of 1st half of Chiffon cake, and cover with the remaining half of Chiffon cake. So we have two layer cake.
• Spread the remaining Yema frosting on top and sides of the two layer chiffon cake. Spread evenly
• Garnish with enormous amount of grated cheese!

Tips:
1. Whipped egg whites at room temperature. Cold eggwhites will not peak to foam.
2. Can also use all-purpose flour, but chiffon will become a bit granulated.
3. Use lemon essence NOT a lemon oil. Lemon oil will give a bitter flavor.