Abi Balingit - Mayumu: Filipino American Desserts Remixed

To my parents. You told me, Bahala ka sa buhay mo! So I did.

My Filipino mother wasnt the type to bake Duncan Hines brownies or elaborate yellow cakes for my birthday parties. She always thought sugar-laden American desserts were too mayumu, which is the Kapampangan word for sweet. Angelita Balingit did, however, love making cassava cakes and stirring large pots of maja blanca pudding for every family gathering. I helped her add condensed milk to the bowl, and she occasionally allowed me to try the leftovers that clung to the wooden spoon.

W hile these desserts have a special place in my heart, I let my palate roam free to not only appreciate Filipino flavors, but those of other cuisines around me. I grew up in the Bay Area and the Central Valley, where I would go to paleteras and neveras for my favorite mouthwatering mangonadas. These Mexican ice pop and ice cream stores were the only places I could get those frozen treats layered high with mango sorbet, Tajn, chamoy, and fresh mango. At my familys go-to Vietnamese spots, Id beg my parents for some honeydew milk tea with boba to go along with my meal. I needed a refreshing drink in between hot spoonfuls of bright-red bn b Hu, a spicy beef and pork noodle soup. As a kid, exploring the junk food aisles of 99 Ranch, one of the most prolific Asian supermarket chains based in California, made me crave chocolate Pocky, creamy White Rabbit candy, and crunchy Boy Bawang Cornick garlic-flavored corn nuts. Even though my mom didnt make me Pillsbury cookies, I snuck Little Debbie Oatmeal Creme Pies and Flamin Hot Cheetos into the shopping cart when she wasnt looking.

From my childhood to my mid-twenties, one thing has remained the same: my insatiable desire for new combinations of sweet, salty, savory, sour, and umami in desserts. Mayumu is my story of what it means to be a Filipino American baker in New York, and to make sweets that taste like home in a tiny kitchen. When my now-agent, Emmy, replied to one of my Lao Gan Ma cupcake photos I posted on Twitter in September 2020, they asked if I was thinking of writing a cookbook. Up until that point, the thought had never crossed my mind. I was just a little baking blog that could. It was so early in the process of writing The Dusky Kitchen posts that I wasnt even sure if I had it in me to create so many of my own recipes. Not to get too meta, but what youre reading now is the culmination of all these efforts, luck, and also years of baking.

Although the recipes include some classic Filipino dessert staples and flavors, the ways in which they are presented or combined with other cuisines might be nowhere near traditional. Youll see my dads luscious leche flan paired with the warm notes of chai masala (see .

Theres a saying in Tagalog that many of us first-generation Filipino American kids have co-opted from our mothers: Bahala ka sa buhay mo! Roughly translated, it means Do whatever with your life! Strip away nanays passive-aggressive tone, and it becomes an inspirational mantra. When you read the stories Ive included from my own life, I hope they show that allowing yourself to be yourself is a journey. To do whatever you want is easy to say but sometimes harder in practice. Every time I look at myself in the mirror, I still see a work in progress. Despite these insecurities, recognizing that my relationships with my identity, food, family, and friends are constantly evolving has helped me become a better person and baker. Through moments of joy and even melancholy, Ive been able to unlock memories that have led me to create the desserts youll find in this book. As you read onward, I hope that my reflections on my past provide some insight on who I am now and, by extension, how these recipes came to be. I want you to let your imagination run wild when youre baking from this cookbook, and to have the confidence to create something mayumu in your own kitchen.

In the past five years, Ive lived in three apartments all over Brooklyn with at least two roommates in each one. New York City living is notorious for small spaces, exorbitant rent prices, evil landlords, pest problems, etc. While living in tiny apartments and making do with even tinier kitchens has been less than ideal, its still possible to create fantastic desserts in them.

M y biggest piece of advice is to look at the glass as half full when assessing your space. Every kitchen, no matter how big or small, is sacred. As a cook and baker who has grown accustomed to sharing a kitchen with multiple people, making it work also makes it feel more like home. When I was living with my parents and wanted to bake more, I encountered similar growing pains with their tendency to be territorial in the kitchen. Even if you live alone, you can still benefit from these tips and maximize the room you have to embark on any baking project. Here are some tips for those of us living in puny spaces and how to make baking as fun and efficient as possible in them:

Having clear, open communication with your roommates is key for allocating enough time and space for baking.

Baking in a tiny kitchen can be even more chaotic when you havent established boundaries and expectations with the people you live with. Figuring out a cleaning regimen, allocating designated spaces for each persons food, and being mindful of one anothers cooking schedules will set the foundation for smooth sailing. In addition, knowing what ingredients are fair game to share helps with maximizing space in your fridge and cabinets. For example, eggs and spices are all ingredients that my roommates and I consider to be communal.

Inventory all your pantry essentials, especially when youre running low on certain ingredients.

If you write down the stock you have of your ingredients, it helps to avoid the mistake of buying duplicates at the grocery store. Share the info with your roommates or family members and encourage them to add to that list. You will also find yourself less prone to completely running out of something midway through a recipe.

Every surface is a place for opportunity.

When you dont have room for a dining table, you have to be creative with where you can lay out ingredients and baked goods. I often cool freshly baked cupcakes on a wire rack on top of the TV stand when my island is otherwise occupied. Ill even pull out stools and use them as tiny tables.

Clean as you go!

Dirty dishes might be one of the biggest deterrents for baking that people can have, especially when an apartment doesnt come with a dishwasher. I dread having a massive pile of dishes to clean even before I start baking! Wash and dry bowls, utensils, etc., throughout the baking process so you dont leave yourself with a mountain of dishes at the end.

Sometimes you have to take the L and wash dishes that arent yours to expedite the process of working on a dessert.