Mamon Tostado

The time has come, I have finally run out of butter! How can I make sweet treats without having that oh so delicious butter? Can't make cake, can't make frosting. Can't make cookies, can't make brownies. Can't make biscuits, can't make scones. Can't make pie crust, can't make...anything really. Essentially, the whole dessert world revolves around butter!

What I did know was I wanted to make cake because I just had that "craving". However, like I said, how can I make cake without butter? Immediately Sponge Cake crossed my mind. Sponge cake has a more richer flavor than Angel Food Cake while still retaining that light and fluffy texture while some use oil instead of butter. During class yesterday, all I could think about was making this cake. I couldn't even focus on the lecture on "Spectroscopy and Alcohol Synthesis". I kept saying to myself I wanted to make this sponge cake, layer it with raspberry or strawberry jam, perhaps some pieces of strawberries while being filled and frosted with whipped cream. Yum! Screams summer right?

As I made the Sponge Cake, everything was turing out incredible. The sponge cake was fluffy and  golden brown. I was grinning from ear to ear. Now time to make the whipped cream frosting. As I opened the refrigerator door, I reached out for the heavy cream container only to find 1/4 cup of cream was left. NOOOOOOOOO!!! Now what am I supposed to make with this cake??

The Sponge Cake

I thought back to my roots. Filipinos have this sort of cake/cookie called a Mamon Tostado which is essentially toasted pieces of Sponge Cake. It's a Filipino Biscotti, if you will. It's crunchy and slightly sweet. Perfect for dipping into coffee. So if you made a sponge cake and find out that you have run out of ingredients for a frosting, make Mamon Tostado.

Slice into rectangles and toast

Tips
-Use room temperature egg whites when making the sponge cake. It makes whipping a lot quicker

-I toasted the Mamon Tostado for only 20 min. However, they were not completely crunchy. Toast it for an additional 20 min until it is completely crunchy all the way through

Results
Taste: Slightly sweet cake with an "egg-y" taste

Texture: Soft and light yet sturdy for a "whipped egg" cake. Toasting makes it crunchy. 

Japanese Sponge Cake (Makes one 7 or 8-inch layered cake)
Recipe from La Fuji Mama

Ingredients
For Noriko’s sponge cake:
4 large eggs, white and yolks separated
4.2 ounces (120 grams, 9.5 tablespoons) granulated sugar, sifted once
3 tablespoons milk, at room temperature
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
4.2 ounces (120 grams, 14 tablespoons) cake flour, sifted 3 times
1.2 ounces (22 grams, 2.3 tablespoons) butter, melted (I used canola oil)

Directions
To make Noriko’s Sponge Cake:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (170 to 180 degrees Celsius). Line a 7 (18cm) or 8-inch circular cake pan with parchment paper, or grease the cake pan with butter, then lightly coat the pan with flour.

2. Add the sugar to the egg whites, and beat the egg whites until they are stiff and glossy.

3. Add the egg yolks to the egg white mixture, and gently whisk until the yolks are incorporated.

4. Add the milk, vanilla extract, and flour (in that order) to the batter and gently fold them into the batter with a spatula. Fold in the melted butter until it is well combined.

5. Pour the cake batter into the prepared cake pan, and get rid of any air bubbles in the batter by dropping the pan on a counter once or twice. Bake the cake for 25 to 30 minutes. The cake is done when it is golden brown and springs back when pressed lightly. Let the cake cool completely on a wire rack. Run a blade around the inside of the pan to loosen the cake, and remove.

Mamon Tostado
Directions


1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F

2. With a serrated knife, cut the sponge cake into 1 inch wide slices. From there, cut each slice to about 2.5 inches in length and 1 inch thick. To sum it up, each Mamon Tostado should be 1 inch x 1 inch x 2.5 inches.

3. Arrange the slices onto a baking sheet and bake for 40 min, giving each Mamon Tostado a quarter turn every 10 min.

-Aaron John