Crema

CEBU, Philippines - Everyone has a sweet tooth deep down. And Crema will bring out the sweet tooth in you.

I can attest to that as after tasting one of Crema’s products, the Mango Cream Pie, it left me craving for more. Imagine the heavenly goodness of mangoes, cream, and soft crust perfectly balanced to tease the tongue and leave one wanting for more. The Mango Cream Pie, a personal favorite is just one of the many masterpieces of Crema.

Crema, a home-based business that sells homemade food and pastries, gives more meaning to the word “baking.” With the logo of a bowl and a mixing spoon, Crema was named after the process of “creaming” in baking and cooking. Its products are great for gifts or pasalubong to loved ones, both abroad and in the Philippines.

It formally started 10 years ago after Sharon Lopez, the person in charge for Crema’s Product Development, noticed that requests from friends to bake certain pastries kept coming. Before, she would just bake and some friends would order; now, it has grown into something much more than that – a business that offers a delicious array of homemade food.

Mrs. Lopez’ love for baking started in college. She found joy in collecting and browsing through recipe books and finally bringing the outcome of these recipes to the table. Joking about her brothers as uncomplaining guinea pigs who endured eating burnt brownies or overcooked spaghetti after her initial attempts in baking and cooking, Mrs. Lopez shared how she was then inspired to continue to strive to perfect her skills in baking. And so was the gradual birthing of Crema.

From Mrs. Lopez’ perspective, there is evidently a lot of work and even more love put into every food. Baking is an art and Crema redefines that in the way it delivers tasty goodness that won’t disappoint your taste buds. Its recipes, which were inspired and tweaked from cookbooks, will leave you wanting more.

Its latest products, the mango cream pie as mentioned above and the Sylvannas (which has a mouth-watering, chewy and creamy sweetness to it) are but some of the many surprises in store at Crema. Still boasting its best-selling Chicken pie, Ensaymada, Cassava cake and Carrot cake, Crema hopes to someday offer more variety in the food they’re serving, such as pasta.

Crema is located across the new parking lot of Cebu Doctors University, M. Roxas Street, Capitol Site, Cebu City. For orders just call 4174945 or the store at 5832039. ?

TEAlicious Treats

Looking for a new way to spice up your meals?

Try incorporating tea into your favorite dishes and see how it can make your meals more tasteful, unique and healthy. While most people enjoy tea as a hot or cold beverage, not many people know that tea can also be used as a cooking ingredient. The versatility and wide range of speciality teas make it not only an ideal beverage, but also a flavourful ingredient for many dishes as well. To help you start off on a new culinary adventure with speciality teas, Twinings suggests these simple, easy and delicious dishes:

• Start off your meal with the light and creamy Camomile and Chive Mousse. Using chicken stock instead of water, brew two tea bags of Twinings Pure Flowers of Camomile for three minutes. Sprinkle one tablespoon gelatin over the hot tea mixture and stir well until dissolved. Next, add one-fourth cup cold water and cool mixture completely. Blend the mixture in an electric blender and add the cream cheese a little at a time. Keep on blending until the mixture is smooth. Season with salt and pepper to taste and spring onions for added flavour. Lastly, pour mixture into a rinsed log mould of four cup capacity and chill until firm. Serve with wheat crackers.

• The Brewed Chicken Casserole is a hearty main course that will surely satisfy. Season one kilo of boneless chicken thighs with salt and pepper and dust lightly with flour. Sear chicken in a pan until it turns light brown and set aside. In the same pan, sauté onions. Put back chicken in the pan, and add five cups of steeped Twinings English Breakfast Tea, and a sprig of rosemary. Simmer chicken for 30 minutes or until tender. Add frozen peas, sweet corn and blanched Baguio beans. Make sure to “shock” the Baguio beans in cold water to keep it firm and crunchy. Check seasoning, add salt and pepper if needed, and serve with a swirl of cream and roasted potatoes to balance the flavor.

• For a cool, fresh and fruity dessert that kids and adults alike will love, try making your own homemade Passion Fruit Ice Cream. First, beat three eggs, castor sugar and lemon juice until the mixture is thick and creamy. In a separate vessel, steep 25 teabags of Twinings Passion Fruit, Mango & Orange Tea in two and one fourth cups of hot water, set aside to cool. Slowly combine tea into the egg and sugar mixture. Next, whip one and one-fourth cups of whipping cream and fold into the tea and egg mixture. Then pour into a large bowl and freeze for three hours. Beat the mixture once while freezing and then swirl mango jam through the ice cream. Return to the freezer and allow it to set. If you have an ice cream machine at home, you can just mix all the ingredients inside the machine to make the ice cream.

• Another simple, easy-to-make dessert is the Tea, Lemon and Ginger Jelly. Its tarty taste will surely refresh one’s taste buds after a hearty meal. Simply dissolve unflavored gulaman in two cups of steeped Twinings Lemon & Ginger Infusion. Stir the liquid well until the jelly has turned into a golden amber color. For added flavor, add one-half teaspoon of grated ginger juice and one tablespoon of lemon juice. Carefully pour the jelly into a mould and store in the refrigerator until set. Garnish with mint leaves and enjoy.

• For a healthy and filling snack, Banana Tea Muffins are the perfect treats for the whole family. Brew Twinings Jasmine Green Tea in hot water and set aside. In another bowl, simply cream margarine and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in two eggs one at a time and stir in crushed wheat bran crackers, three mashed ripe bananas, full cream milk powder and chopped walnuts. Then combine all other ingredients into margarine mixture by alternating the addition of cooled tea and dry ingredients: sifted cake flour, one teaspoon baking powder and half teaspoon baking soda, one-fifth teaspoon of salt and three-fifths teaspoon of cinnamon. Spoon the mixture into well-sprayed muffin pans and bake at 180 degrees Celsius for about 25 minutes. Cool and serve warm with melted butter.

Twinings Reminder: For maximum flavour, brew one tea bag of Twinings speciality teas in one cup of hot water for three minutes, unless otherwise indicated in recipe.

With a dose of culinary creativity and Twinings speciality teas, one can make delicious healthy recipes, with a twist, that will satisfy and please the palate of the whole family. Go ahead and incorporate Twinings’ wide range of specialty teas in creating your favorite dishes!

For more information on Twinings and teas, visit www.twinings.com.ph. PR