''Mamón'' are traditional

Filipino Filipino may refer to: * Something from or related to the Philippines ** Filipino language, standardized variety of 'Tagalog', the national language and one of the official languages of the Philippines. ** Filipinos, people who are citizens of th ...

chiffon or

sponge cake Sponge cake is a light cake made with egg whites, flour and sugar, sometimes leavened with baking powder. Some sponge cakes do not contain egg yolks, like angel food cake, but most of them do. Sponge cakes, leavened with beaten eggs, originated ...

s, typically baked in distinctive cupcake-like molds. In the

Visayas The Visayas ( ), or the Visayan Islands (Visayan: ''Kabisay-an'', ; tl, Kabisayaan ), are one of the three principal geographical divisions of the Philippines, along with Luzon and Mindanao. Located in the central part of the archipelago, ...

regions, ''mamón'' are also known as ''torta mamón'' or ''torta''. Variants of ''mamón'' include the larger loaf-like version called ''taisan'', the rolled version called ''pianono'', and ladyfingers known as ''broas''. ''Mamón'' also has two very different variants that use mostly the same ingredients, the cookie-like ''mamón tostado'' and the steamed ''puto mamón''.

Description

''Mamón'' is a very light chiffon or

known for its soft and fluffy texture. It is traditionally baked in crenelated tin molds which gives it a characteristic cupcake-like shape. It is typically slathered in butter and sprinkled with

white sugar White sugar, also called table sugar, granulated sugar, or regular sugar, is a commonly used type of sugar, made either of beet sugar or cane sugar, which has undergone a refining process. Description The refining process completely removes ...

and grated cheese. ''Mamón'' is commonly eaten for '' merienda''. In the

regions, ''mamón'' is known as ''torta mamón'', ''torta Visaya'' (or ''torta Bisaya''), or simply ''torta''. Although the name is derived from Spanish ''

torta Torta is a culinary term that can, depending on the cuisine, refer to cakes, pies, flatbreads, sandwiches, or omelettes. Usually, it refers to: * cake or pie in South America, much of Europe, and southern Philippines * flatbread in Spain * a ...

'', "cake", in some Philippine regions ''torta'' could also mean "

omelette In cuisine, an omelette (also spelled omelet) is a dish made from beaten eggs, fried with butter or oil in a frying pan (without stirring as in scrambled egg). It is quite common for the omelette to be folded around fillings such as chives ...

". The Visayan versions are traditionally denser and greasier in texture. They were traditionally made with lard and use

palm wine Palm wine, known by several local names, is an alcoholic beverage created from the sap of various species of palm tree such as the palmyra, date palms, and coconut palms. It is known by various names in different regions and is common in va ...

(''tubâ'') as the

leavening agent In cooking, a leavening agent () or raising agent, also called a leaven () or leavener, is any one of a number of substances used in doughs and batters that cause a foaming action (gas bubbles) that lightens and softens the mixture. An altern ...

Variants

Broas

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The ladyfinger version of ''mamón'' is known as ''broas'' or ''broa''. The name is derived from Portuguese '' broa'', a type of corn and rye bread from

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

and Galicia. ''Broas'' can either be soft and spongy or crunchy and cookie-like. They are commonly eaten paired with coffee or hot chocolate ('' sikwate''). They are also traditionally used to make

icebox cake An icebox cake (also known as a chocolate ripple cake or log in Australia) is a dairy-based dessert made with cream, fruits, nuts, and wafers and set in the refrigerator. One particularly well-known version is the back-of-the-box recipe on thin ...

s in the Philippines, including ''

crema de fruta ''Crema de fruta'' (Spanish: "fruit cream") is a traditional Filipino fruitcake made with layers of sponge cake, sweet custard or whipped cream, gelatin or '' gulaman'' ( agar), and various preserved or fresh fruits, including mangoes, pinea ...

'' and

mango float Mango float or ''crema de mangga'' is a Filipino icebox cake dessert made with layers of ladyfingers (''broas'') or graham crackers, whipped cream, condensed milk, and ripe carabao mangoes. It is chilled for a few hours before serving, thoug ...

. Among

Muslim Filipino Islam was the first-recorded monotheistic religion in the Philippines. Islam reached the Philippines in the 14th century with the arrival of Muslim traders from the Persian Gulf, southern India, and their followers from several sultanates in th ...

s, ''broa'' (also spelled ''b'rua'', ''bulwa'', or ''baulo'') is a derivative dish. They are eaten similarly and can also come in soft or crunchy versions, but they have a more irregular muffin-like shape. The soft version is like a smaller version of ''mamón'', while the crunchy version is more properly ''mamón tostado.'' They are popularly eaten during special occasions and festivals, like

Hari Raya , nickname = Festival of Breaking the Fast, Lesser Eid, Sweet Eid, Sugar Feast , observedby = Muslims , type = Islamic , longtype = Islamic , significance = Commemoration to mark the end of fasting in Ramadan , date ...

. Other notable variants of dry and crunchy ''broas'' include the

camachile cookie Camachile cookies, also known as quinamunsil, are Filipino ladyfinger cookies that are characteristically shaped like the fruits of the camachile tree ('' Pithecellobium dulce''). They are traditionally eaten with hot drinks for breakfast or '' ...

s and the ''

lengua de gato Lenguas de gato are Filipino butter cookies. They are made from butter, flours, sugar, eggs, and milk. Their name means "cat's tongue" in Spanish, after their characteristic oval shape. They are very thin and crunchy. See also *Cat's tongue co ...

'' cookies.

Mamón tostado

''Mamón tostado'' is basically a cookie-like version of ''mamón'' (from ). It uses the same ingredients and is similarly airy, but it is baked until dry and crunchy.

Pianono

''Pianono'' or ''pionono'' is a rolled version of the ''mamón''. It is typically sold as "cake rolls" in modern times due to its resemblance to the Swiss roll. Originally, its filling was composed only of sugar and butter or margarine, like all other kinds of ''mamón''. It is also traditionally much smaller in diameter than Swiss rolls. But modern versions are larger can vary significantly in the fillings and are usually frosted.

Puto mamón

''Puto mamón'' is regarded as a type of '' puto'' (steamed cake).

Taisan

''Taisan'' is a loaf-like version of ''mamón''. Like mamón, it is typically slathered in butter and sprinkled with sugar and cheese. ''Taisan'' was first developed in

Pampanga Pampanga, officially the Province of Pampanga ( pam, Lalawigan ning Pampanga; tl, Lalawigan ng Pampanga ), is a province in the Central Luzon region of the Philippines. Lying on the northern shore of Manila Bay, Pampanga is bordered by Tarlac ...

. It literally means " whetstone" in Kapampangan, and is named for its shape.

In popular culture

idioms, ''pusong mamón'' (literally "''mamón''-hearted") means someone who is overly emotionally-sensitive. It is equivalent to the English idiom " softhearted". It is also used as a euphemism for effeminate gay men ('' bakla'').

References

{{Filipino food Philippine desserts Steamed foods Sponge cakes