How To Make The Best Yema Recipes for Dessert | Eat Like Pinoy (2024)

Filipinos are known to possess sweet-tooth naturally. It means that we have a natural affection for sugary foodstuffs. We always crave sweet treats right after a sumptuous meal. As such, this article shall focus on a renowned Pinoy sweet.

A famous Filipino delicacy, yema is absolutely a favorite for the young children and the elderly. If you haven't heard of this incredible sweet treat before, don't go away because we will know how to make yema. We are sure that you will love this right after we finish this sweet treat.

As we go on, learning how to cook this sweet treat isn't the only thing we will be getting from this read. Some of the things you will be looking forward to are its brief history, what other recipes we can try from this delicacy, techniques on how this sweet treat will be even better, and many others. Now it's time to try this at home, for a sweet and creamy day with your friends and family.

What Is The Best Yema

Yema is a popular delicacy in the Philippines made from egg yolks, milk, and sugar. Children mostly love it because of its sweet and creamy custard-like taste.

The name yema means "egg yolk" in Spanish. It is most likely a reference because of its golden-yellow appearance or maybe to its composition.

The sweet treat was born and invented during the Spanish colonization in the Philippines when the invaders had introduced stone-made construction. Back then, cement was not yet available, so they used quicklime (also known as Calcium Oxide), mixed with egg white and eggshells as adhesives that made bricks and stones hold together. Eventually, eggs have become an essential component in the construction of churches and other buildings.

Because of that, the Spanish found no use for egg yolks, so they just threw it away. Luckily, Filipinos were very creative by recycling the egg yolks by turning it into candy. They mixed crushed peanuts, milk, and sugar into the discarded egg yolks.

What made it more attractive was the colorful cellophane wrapped around the sweet treats formed into a triangular shape. This illustration has made it more appealing to children aside from its creamy sweet filling that melts in the mouth. Thus, the Filipino creamy candy has resembled the French creme brulee.

Furthermore, this is one of the sweet recipes that is made more enjoyable with a thin, crisp coating of caramelized sugar. This candy has many different varieties and great inventions you can make out of it that exist now and is all with no doubt, incredibly delicious!

It is perhaps one of the most popular candies that locals sell in small stores called sari-sari stores in the Philippines. Sometimes, people who work downtown buy this creamy candy as pasalubong (take-home treats) to their loved ones when returning home in the outskirts or far away provinces. You can purchase these treats in roadside stalls and even from street vendors outside the churches and even schools.

More than being delicious, this egg yolk-based delicacy has become phenomenal due to its affordability. With this, the creamy treats have always been sold-out in most stores, whether bakeries or grocery stores. Nowadays, yema is all over the place and has conquered the hearts of many.

Varying Recipes

There are plenty of recipes and ways to prepare yema candies, such as giving it a pyramid-like structure covered in cellophane and some that coat it in melted sugar. Likewise, there are many varieties that you can make out of this yummy traditional dish! We are happy to share some for you to try and enjoy.

Cake Style

Have you ever thought of making a delicious cake out of this sweet treat? Yes, it is not impossible! We'll make it happen here, no matter what. It is one of the recipes for cake lovers.

Yema cake is a chiffon cake with a custard filling known as yema. It is similar to a sponge cake and is identical to the texture of the mamon cake. Plus, we will be using simple ingredients to make a cake.

The first thing you'll be needing is the ingredients that will make the cake itself. These are the eggs, butter, milk, flour, baking powder, and vanilla extract. While making the frosting for this cake, we will use condensed milk, egg yolks, and butter. You can enjoy the cake now because of these magical ingredients.

This classic cake is one of the recipes garnished with grated cheddar cheese and the frosting. Pairing sweet with something salty will compliment each other's taste and is the most delicious thing that could ever happen!

Ball-shaped Dessert

If you have children and younger cousins at home, add a twist to your delicacy to make them crave more. It is one of the recipes perfect for small children.

Yema balls is another variant that you can make. You can make these balls by using the same procedure in making your gooey candy. It's just that you have to form it into a ball-like structure.

Moreover, use a spoon to scoop a desired amount and size that you want, then use both of your hands to form them into balls. Place it on a flat plate and insert a toothpick on top of each shot, and then it is ready to serve.

Additionally, you can coat your candy balls with white sugar. Just place it on a large plate, then roll over into the white sugar. You can also wrap it in cellophane and twist both ends to secure and make it look like real candy.

Turron de Yema

Turron de yema is also the egg yolk nougat. It is a traditional holiday candy from Spain. Almonds, egg yolks, sugar, and vanilla, are what make this one of the varieties. This lovely turron is perfectly chewy, delicious, and crunchy all at the same time. It is one of the recipes to be paired with soda.

The first thing to do to make Turron de yema is placing the almonds, vanilla essence, and icing sugar in a bowl. Next is to add the egg yolks slowly while stirring it continuously as well. Please don't refrain from mixing until it is all blended and thick.

The second is to select a molder, better if it's a loaf-shaped box to have a cake roll shape outcome of this delicacy. Pour all the mixture into the container and push it all to fill the gaps in the molder. Use something substantial to place on the poured mixture to flatten the mix.

Lastly, please remove it from the container once it is cold and ready. Sprinkle sugar above, and using a blow torch, carefully melt the sugar to form a toffee garnish. Finally, cut into thin wedges to serve and enjoy with the family even though it is not the holiday season.

What Wrapper To Use

Filipinos often make yema to sell in different places. Commonly served as a pyramid-like structure, something catchy to the eyes of many is what it needs to be able to get attention and sales.

Cellophane is the most popular wrapper used when making yema. Simply because there are so many colors to choose from to cover and cloth your masterpiece, with these colors, it gives the sweet treat a nice appearance that caught the attention of many people, mostly the children.

Besides the beautiful colors it has, cellophane is also one of the cheapest packaging available in the market. Likewise, it is thin and easy to use when wrapping our pyramid-like or even-sized yema candies.

Troubleshooting

This delicacy may be one of the most straightforward recipes, but mistakes might still possibly happen. Even the most experienced cook can make mistakes when making this delicacy. And that shouldn't let you give up because we are here to help you if these things happen by chance.

Allow us to help you by giving these simple remedies to make your yema still superb despite the undesirable circ*mstances while preparing it.

• To avoid unappetizing clumps and bumps, cook your mixture into low heat. It is ideal for preventing the yolks from turning into a mess, making it look like scrambled eggs. Take it slow, and the result will be all silky and delicious.

• If your mixture doesn't appear to be thick and instead a bit watery, that means you need to stir and mix it up more. Don't refrain from mixing until the consistency of the mixture thickened.

• You can also add more egg yolks to thicken the mixture more even.

Trivia

Bulacan, a province in the Northern part of the Philippines, is known to be the home for many Filipino candies. And yemas is one of them!

The people in Bulacan called the Bulakenyos are said to be behind the genius minds to put yema into the colored pieces of cellophane with a pyramid-like structure for them to sell at any time of the day. Similarly, they've incorporated add-ons to this delicious treat using crushed nuts of different choices and even chocolates.

Additionally, there are many more things to make out of this sweet delicacy.

Peanut cupcakes are your on-the-go sweet snacks! Yema is extra fantastic with the peanuts' combination that gives it a nutty flavor and an incredible crunch every bite.

Why not add some salt to the yema candies to complement its sweet taste? These salted caramel candies will brighten up your day because of its double dose of sweetness!

Did you know that the filling inside the Brazo De Mercedes cake is yema? That thick filling of every slice of this heavenly cake is perfect for any day and occasion.

For this delicacy, more egg yolks are used than the usual amount when making the traditional style. Egg yolks help prevent the filling from getting out of the cake and stay inside.

Moving on, carefully transfer the yema to a container after cooking while it is still warm. Letting it cool and not placing it immediately into the container will let your candy thicken quickly, leaving you difficulties putting it into the pot. However, after getting all the mixture inside the jar, allow it to cool before covering to avoid the moisture from ruining the finished product.

Tips for Yema Recipes: How To Make the Triangle-shaped Delicacy

This incredible delicacy is easy to make by using these simple ingredients such as egg yolks, condensed milk, butter, and peanuts.

First, you need to combine the egg yolks and condensed milk in a bowl with some chopped peanuts mixing it all well.

Next, ready your pan with some melted butter. Pour the mixture you've made into the pan, then cook until the consistency becomes very thick. Please make sure not to overcook your mix, or it will harden like a rock.

After setting aside and letting it rest to cool, divide it into sizes you like, shaping them into whatever shapes you want or just like the famous triangle shape.

Triangle-shaped yema is simple to make by molding the mixture into a pyramid or triangle shape piece. You can do this with your own bare hands, or some use what they call yema molders, which they improvised as a tool to make and generate more of this delicacy.

If you are creative enough to try making your molder, you can do it using a thick plastic material or illustration board that you will shape as triangles. With this, you will be able to achieve that perfect triangle-shaped candies that you can even sell if you want to everywhere.

Ideally Served With

Yema is one of the sought after Filipino delicacies there is. It is also easy and perfect to pair with a lot of food to enjoy more. It applies to every yema variant there is.

Some of them were listed here down below. Go ahead and try these combinations and tell us what your favorites are.

Kutsinta- this is now a popular combination with our yema these days. Kutsinta, with its sticky texture and bland taste, yema sauce gives life to it as it provides the sweet flavor while dipping it into some creamy sauce.

Banana Bread- why not give your food a new flavor and spread that can brighten up your day. Yema spread calls for attention when served as a filling in different kinds and pieces of bread.

Coffee- sweet treats are always a good pair with coffee. Try it now, and you'll never regret it.

Tea- the sweetness of the different variants can complement the taste of tea. Also perfect as a to-go snack.

Conclusion

The featured delicacy is the perfect delicacy, sauce, coating, and spread you could ever use for your recreations. Because of its versatility, it became famous everywhere and is now more popular than ever with the different variants you can make out of it.

So, are you ready to make your yema at home? Don't be afraid to take risks in trying new inventions.

Now that you've gathered all the information, you will need to know how to make yema. I'm sure you've mastered it all and are now excited to create one at home.

Though this is one of the recipes that probably came from construction leftovers before, it is now one of the most delicious inventions made from scratch. Let your lives be full of sweetness with this yummy treat. This candy is the answer to your sweet tooth cravings!

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