Recipe: Ponche Romano Cake, Tocino Del Cielo (Rich Caramel Custard), and Cuban Capuchinos Cake

PONCHE ROMANO CAKE

I am not sure if you remember that I had made contact with DON PACO VILLON, an excellent cookbook writer, newspaper personality, gourmand & amateur chef, originally from Cuba, but living in Puerto Rico for the last 45 years, asking him for the recipe for PONCHE ROMANO.

To my delightful surprise, he delivered yesterday, after quite a few months. He got the recipe from the Panader a la Ceiba, in San Juan, owned by Spaniards from GALICIA. The best Ponche Romano in Puerto Rico is from their Panader a.

Thanks to the gentleman, Mr. Vill n, here is my translation of the recipe. I hope that dearest Cass is available so that he can comment on the recipe & add his advices on the secretly guarded recipe for Ponche Romano. By the way, there was an advice from the Pastry Chef of La CEIBA, (SOURCE) Mr. Miguel Garc a, advising me that the recipe is quite complicated; that I should make the trip to San Juan to buy it from the Source. My gratitude to both Mr. Vill n & Mr. Garcia. Buen Provecho!

Here is a photo of a round Ponche Romano (click here)
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PONCHE ROMANO CAKE
Source: Pastry Chef Miguel Garc a from La Ceiba, Puerto Rico/ Mr. Paco Vill n

A pound cake, either round or square, already baked & cooled to room temperature.
Sufficient SYRUP, made with water, sugar & Marsala wine
Dry mixed fruits of different colors (chopped) or fruit cocktail without syrup
1 TOCINO DE CIELO custard (recipe follows)
CAPUCHINOS (recipe follows) for garnish
Sliced almonds (for garnish)
2 eggs well beaten with water, to cover the cake & garnishes

Preheat the oven to 375 F.

Slice the cake in 3 layers. Combine the syrup ingredients in a bowl. Whisk until the sugar is dissolved. Cook until medium heavy syrup is formed from the reduction. Brush over the 3 cake layers with the syrup.

In a bowl, crumble very well the Tocino del Cielo Custard (you might add the fruits to the custard). Use this cream as a filling between layer & for an initial covering of the whole cake, including the sides. Use the fruit only for between the cake layers not on the top of the cake or sides. Add the remaining syrup over the whole cake.

Garnish with just a few capuchinos over the cake and cover the sides with sliced almonds. Brush the egg mixture over the whole cake & garnishments.

Bake for a few minutes until golden & the beaten eggs mixture over the cake well cooked.
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Recipe(Tried): Tocino Del Cielo (Rich Caramel Custard) for Monica (repost)

Board: Cooking Club at Recipelink.com
From: Gladys/PR 12-16-2002
RE: ISO: cake to use up egg yolks

TOCINO DEL CIELO
(Rich Caramel Custard)
Makes 16 - 2 inch squares

2 1/4 cups cold water
1 1/2 cups sugar
Peel of 1 lemon
10 egg yolks
2 whole eggs
1 teaspoon almond liqueur (optional)

CARAMELIZED SUGAR:
1/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons hot water
1 teaspoon lemon juice

To caramelize the sugar, mix the sugar, water and lemon juice in an 8-inch square baking pan. Place the pan over a high flame, stirring the dissolved sugar constantly, until it turns a light caramel color. This will take less than a minute; watch carefully. Remove immediately from the flame and tilt the pan so that the sugar coats the entire bottom. Cool.

To make the custard, in a saucepan mix 1 1/2 cups of the cold water with the sugar and lemon peel. Bring to a boil over a medium flame. Add the remaining 3/4 cup of water and cook to the string stage (about 20 minutes). Remove from the flame and cool slightly. Discard the lemon peel.

In a bowl, beat the egg yolks and the whole eggs with a wire whisk until smooth but not foamy. Pour in the sugar syrup very slowly, beating constantly. Pour the mixture into the caramelized pan. Cover tightly with foil and place the pan in a larger pan of hot water. The water should reach halfway up the sides of the custard pan. Place on top of the stove, bring the water to a boil, and cook over medium heat for 12 minutes.

Heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Place the custard pan (in the pan of water) in the oven and bake 13 minutes. Remove from the oven and let the custard sit in the water until the water cools. Loosen the edges of the custard with a knife and turn onto a dish. Cut into 2-inch squares. Transfer the squares to a dry serving dish and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Strain the caramelized sugar that has remained and mix with the almond liqueur. When ready to serve, pour this syrup over the custard squares.
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Cuban Capuchinos Cake
Source: Three Guys from Miami

Glenn: Capuchinos are those little yellow cone-shaped cakes you see in just about every Cuban bakery. These delicious dessert cakes supposedly got their name because the shape looks a lot like the headgear (a hood really) worn by the Capuchin monks. Now what these Roman monks were doing in Havana, we'll never know!

Jorge: We also get the name "cappuccino" from these guys who evidently enjoyed swilling coffee AND eating delicious Cuban pastry! In any case, the bakery capuchinos are made in paper cones using baker's parchment and are filled from a large pastry bag.

Ra l: You need a special rack to hold the cones, something that is hard to find commercially. Most bakeries make their own.

Glenn: We made our own rack using two old jelly roll pans. We drilled holes in one pan and used the other pan for a base. You fill the base with a little water to create a ba o de Maria or water bath.

Jorge: You also need to get bakers parchment and cut it in strips so that when you roll the paper into a cone you end up with the right size -- about 2 1/2 inches long.

Ra l: You need to experiment with the right width and length and your rolling technique to get it right.

Glenn: Most bakers aren't very fond of these by the way -- too labor intensive.

Jorge: We have tried this recipe a couple of times, but we have to agree with the bakers -- making and filling all those cones is a lot of work!

1 whole egg
12 egg yolks
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
Pinch of salt
2 tablespoons flour
3/4 cup cornstarch, sifted

Syrup:
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup water
1 cinnamon stick
Peel of one lemon
Peel of one orange
1 tablespoon Anisette Liqueur

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.

Roll the parchment paper into cones and place one in each hole in your capuchinos rack. A light spray of PAM on the inside of each cone will help remove the paper when the capuchinos are cool.

Beat the whole egg and the egg yolks until they get frothy -- about 2 to 3 minutes. Add the sugar, vanilla, and salt and continue beating for another five minutes -- the mixture will get very thick and increase in volume. Gradually add the flour. Gradually add the cornstarch, a little at a time, until you have a very thick, yellow mixture. TIP: Sift the cornstarch into the mixture with a small metal sieve.

Place the batter in a large pastry bag with a medium tip. Use the bag to carefully fill the cones about two-thirds full.

Place the rack of capuchinos over a shallow pan of water on the center rack of your oven.

Bake the capuchinos for approximately 25 to 30 minutes until golden brown on top.

To make the syrup:

Place the sugar, water, cinnamon stick, lemon peel, orange peel, and annisette in a large saucepan. Bring to a rolling boil and let it cook for about three to five minutes, until the syrup thickens. Remove from heat. Be sure to remove and discard the cinnamon stick and citrus peels!

Let the capuchinos cool slightly, but try to remove the parchment paper while they are still quite warm. Place the capuchinos in a shallow pan and drown them in the very warm syrup. Let them soak at room temperature for about 30 minutes -- until they absorb a lot of syrup. Place them in a sealed conatiner with some additional syrup in the bottom. Refrigerate overnight and serve them the next day.

Serves: Makes approximately 20.
Source: Three Guys from Miami
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