Comments on: Tortas from Bohol

By: Marketman

Marketman — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 12:41:52 +0000

Helen, to do these right, I understand you would need pork lard and unfiltered or unpasteurized tuba or coconut toddy. If you could settle for a simpler version, but still good, I do have a recipe for “glarious torta” in the archives.

By: Helen Tindugan

Helen Tindugan — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 20:40:52 +0000

Hello, Marketman, I’m living here in US and i am craving with this kind good looking torta as seen on the top picture. How to get a perfect recipe for this. Please provide me so i can try this and have it on our Thanksgiving Celebration. I have recipes of torta but not look like this. This is what i want, i guess this tastes so good and so yummy. I am salivating now. I am in conception, please i want this. I appreciate it much if you could send the recipe right now for tomorrows event. Thank you and I appreciate and hopeful for prompt response. May God Bless Us.

By: Dita

Dita — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 22:01:19 +0000

I wonder if it is the same as the Torta Bulakena. I took baking lessons from Luisa and Sons (remember them?)from ah . . . years ago. I did not even try it on my own, too heavy for me. I will check if I still have the recipe and will revisit it.
Definitely different from Taisan which I am so interested in doing it again. I got the recipe from the same class.

By: Linda

Linda — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 21:55:51 +0000

On another note, you featured (many moons ago)puto Binan. I have tried to make them many, many times before and failed miserably. I have researched the recipe and some showed the use of soy sauce, coffee, brown sugar and molasses to make that brown coloring and distinct delicious taste. Would you by any chance have any clue how to make puto Binan. I am a great fan of this puto and so is my Mom. Thanks for any help on this.

By: Dodi

Dodi — Sun, 24 Feb 2008 19:03:57 +0000

HI MM!
I will never forget torta in my entire life because I once bought a boxful(3 dozens) from a lady who made them when I was in Camiguin. She used red papel de hapon as wrappers which really made festive looking tortas.These were baked in gas ovens, sometimes you could still smell the kerosene, but they were really tasty! my boxful did not reach CDO at all because while I was walking up the gangplank of the Camuigin-Balingasag ferry, a rush of people bumped me and caused me to fall into the sea, torta box and all!! So there they were, floating in the sea in their bright red papel de hapon wrappers. Looked great floating in the water but all the other people on board were shouting “sayang”!!Well, I was more concerned in getting back on board than gathering the red floaters!!!

By: Candygirl

Candygirl — Sun, 24 Feb 2008 12:38:03 +0000

Late January of this year I was at a resort in Bohol when this woman maglalako passed and showed us what she was selling. I think she called them bibingkas although it looked like light brown puto to me. It tasted like a dense puto and not like the bibingka I know (eg. Ferinos). My friend said that it was probably made using brown sugar. Is like a torta too?

By: Maria Clara

Maria Clara — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 16:40:13 +0000

Gina, much appreciate your generous recipe sharing with us your Momâ€s famous torta. Now, I have a roadmap to follow. Thank you, thank you and thank you too goes to MM and cupcakediva for exploring that avenue.

By: Gina

Gina — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 12:52:22 +0000

Hi MM. May I answer cupcakediva’s request for my mother’s torta recipe? First, a proper citation/ attribution. The recipe below appears (with my essay)in the book Slow Food: Philippine Culinary Traditions, edited by Linda Panlilio, published by Anvil.

Ingredients

15 egg yolks
3 Â½ cups sugar
1 cup evaporated milk
2 Â½ cups newly-gathered tuba (fermented coconut sap)
9 cups all-purpose flour
3 cups lard
1 teaspoon anise seeds
Â½ cup raisin
slivers of cheese

Before mixing with other ingredients, heat lard until lukewarm.

Beat egg yolk. Combine anise seeds and sugar, then add this mixture to beaten egg yolk until well-blended. Add milk and tuba. Add flour a little at a time, hand-mixing all ingredients thoroughly in a rotary, clockwise motion. Pour lukewarm lard, then add raisins into mixture. Continue hand-mixing until lard is completely blended into batter. (Check that consistency is somewhere between that of cake batter and bread dough).

Pour into tin moulds (fluted, approximately 6 inches in diameter) lined with wax paper. Sprinkle top with a few raisins and slivers of cheese. Set aside for 8 hours or until dough rises.

In 350Â° oven, bake for 50 minutes until toothpick inserted in middle comes out clean. Cool. Drizzle with sugar. Unrefrigerated, torta keeps for 4 days. If refrigerated, microwave before serving. (Above ingredients make 8 pieces torta).

By: Jaczie

Jaczie — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 12:15:43 +0000

I fondly remember a trip to Bohol with my family around a decade ago. While returning from one of our day trips, we passed by the most amazing smell. We asked the driver to make a u-turn and entered the house/makeshift bakery, and we saw rows and rows of torta!

Unfortunately, she wouldn’t sell it to us. Apparently, they were pre-ordered or something (I was too young to rememeber, I just know we couldn’t eat it!). She ended up just selling us ONE torta (the only one she can spare), which was quickly devoured by 15 hungry mouths. :) Such a sweet memory of Bohol.

By: cupcakediva

cupcakediva — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 06:51:51 +0000

Hi Gina,Do you mind sharing your mom’s torta recipe here? Thanks in advance!