Sweet balls of Christmas

Love and eggs are best when they are fresh. — Russian proverb

Oh, God above, if heaven has a taste it must be an egg with butter and salt, and after the egg is there anything in the world lovelier than fresh warm bread and a mug of sweet golden tea? — Frank McCourt, Angela’s Ashes (1996)

In my last article I wrote about lengua de gato with egg whites as the main ingredient. What do we do with egg yolks? Very easy: make two popular Spanish desserts, yema and and leche flan. A large egg can contain about 76 calories with the white having 17 while the yolk has 59. The yolk is also rich in vitamin D and iron. Eggs also contain antioxidants lutein and zeaxanthin which help lessen the risk of muscular degeneration. Whether brown or white egg they have the same nutritive values, with the color of the shell caused by the pigment produced by the hen. To test for freshness get an egg and dip it in a bowl of water; if it sinks to the bottom it is fresh, if it floats it is no longer suitable. This is because as it ages the size of the air chamber increases (the area between the shell and membrane), causing an older egg to float. Another way is to feel the shell. A rough texture means it is perfect; if the texture is as smooth as glass, discard it. Eggs must be kept in the refrigerator for two reasons. First, eggs age faster in one day at room temperature than one week in the refrigerator. Second, it is easier to separate the yolks from the whites, with the yolk remaining intact. Yolks and whites can be stored in the refrigerator for three days. When storing unopened shells, the pointed end should be placed down to keep the yolk centered. Adding cold water prevents the yolks from hardening. It can also be kept in the freezer with one teaspoon of sugar or half a teaspoon salt added to six egg yolks to prevent it from coagulating. For desserts use sugar, for sauces use salt. Store the whites in an airtight container, freeze, and thaw one hour at room temperature. The whites can be placed in ice trays with one cube equal to one egg white. The shell is porous and therefore you should never wash eggs before storing.

Yema means “yolks.” To keep the yema moist, use a double boiler or saucepan half filled with water and heated until boiling point. Place a metal or glass bowl on top and use the steam from the bottom pan to cook the mixture, a technique used to prevent scrambled eggs. Beat the yolks with a wooden spoon or whisk before adding the other ingredients. For the leche flan, use all yolks; this will make it creamier and richer, excellent for halo-halo topping. To get a smooth texture, the water must be simmering when steaming as high heat will form many holes.

Yemas

Put in a bowl and mix well, then put bowl on top of double boiler with 2 inches of simmering water. Mix with a wooden spoon until mixture is thick enough to form into 1-inch balls when cool enough to handle. Mixture: 12 egg yolks (3/4 cup yolks) 1 can condensed milk (1 1/2 cups), 1/2 tsp. grated dayap (lime) rind or 1 tsp. vanilla extract, 1/2 cup softened Magnolia Gold salted butter.

Roll balls in granulated sugar. Put each ball on tiny (1-inch) colored muffin/ macaroon paper. Will last 1 week refrigerated. Re-roll in sugar when sugar melts in the refrigerator.

Leche Flan For Halo-Halo Topping

2 pieces store-bought oval llanera (2 cups capacity aluminum molds).

Put 1/3 cup sugar per mold. Put mold on top of medium fire (use a pot holder) to tilt pan until sugar is dissolved and caramel colored. Repeat with second mold. Pour filling on each. Cover tightly with doubled-up foil with a half-inch overhang. Seal well by crumpling with your fingers. Water from steamer will prevent the center of flan from getting firm. Put on top of steamer over simmering water (do not fast-boil as this will create holes or rough-textured flan). Steam 35 to 40 minutes. Cool. Remove foil. Loosen sides with a knife or metal spatula. Put a deep plate on top and invert.

Mix in a bowl with a wire whisk then strain: 12 egg yolks (3/4 cup egg yolks), 2 cans condensed milk (3 cups) 1 tsp. vanilla extract or ube or pandan flavor.

Note: Another way to serve this is to put some cooked flan in an ice cream glass. Top with crushed ice and some flan. Serve with milk on the side.