Mais Queso and Ube Macapuno Ice Candy

It's now summer in the Philippines, and it's that time of the year again when I feel like I really want to go there so I could enjoy summer the way I used to. Just like here in Texas, the scorching heat of the sun back home can be annoying, but our weekly beach picnics,  the deliciously refreshing coolers that my mom used to make and our vacations in Batangas and Bulacan (where my brother and I got to bike and play kites as much as we wanted) always made summer time so enjoyable and memorable for me. I don't remember any dull moment during my summer vacations...it was always fun, I tell yah. Even when I was just home playing with my dolls or reading my books, there was always this excitement within me because of the thought that when afternoon comes, my mom will always surprise me with a delicious treat.

For this month's Kulinarya Cooking Club Challenge, our wonderful hosts, Arnold of Inuyaki and Jun of Jun-blog, want us to share Ice Candy or any frozen treats that remind us of summer in the Philippines. Back when I was a little girl, my mother used to supply ice candy to our school cafeteria so she used to make ice candy all year round. This is the reason why I've always considered ice candy as my most favorite Pinoy frozen treat, summer or not summer that is. So even though I've already featured a number of ice candy flavors here on PiTCC like strawberry, avocado, chocolate, buko and sweet corn, I still chose to share ice candy for this month's KCC Challenge. But this is no ordinary ice candy...the flavors I chose to feature are two of the most famous Magnolia ice cream flavors when I was growing up. They were actually my favorite flavors back then. I'm talking about the Mais Queso (Corn & Cheese) and Ube Macapuno (Purple Yam & Coconut Sport).

I know this may sound intriguing for non-Filipinos...but I tell you, these two combos are really good. For those who liked the other ice candy flavors that I've featured before, Mais Queso (Corn & Cheese) and Ube Macapuno (Purple Yam & Coconut Sport) are two flavors that you should also try. They're definitely delicious and refreshing! If you can't find ice candy plastic, just use any popsicle mold you have...it won't really matter. :)

Ingredients:
For Mais Queso
Yield 20 pcs.

• 1 *14.75oz. can cream style sweet corn
• 1 cup finely shredded mild cheddar cheese
• ¾ cup white sugar
• 1 *7.6oz. can Nestle  table cream
• 3 cups fresh milk

For Ube Macapuno

Yield 20 pcs.

• 1 cup Halayang Ube
• 1 cup sweetened macapuno
• ¾ cup white sugar
• 1 *7.6oz. can Nestle  table cream
• 3 cups fresh milk

Procedure:

1. For the Mais Queso, place sugar, cream and milk in a blender. Blend until sugar is dissolved. Add corn and cheese. Using a big spoon, mix until well combined.

For the Ube Macapuno, place ube, sugar, cream and milk in a blender. Blend until smooth. Add macapuno. Using a  a big spoon, mix until well combined.

2. Pour in a large bowl. Prepare the funnel, ice candy plastic bags, and a plate to hold the ice candy.

3. Place the funnel spout inside the opening of the ice candy plastic bag.

4. Stir the mixture before scooping a little more than ¼ cup of the mixture. Pour into the funnel. Make sure that you are holding the spout and plastic tightly so that the mixture won’t spill.

5. Twist the plastic just on top of the filled part then make a tight knot. A little bubble is normal. The ice candy has to be firm but not too tight so the plastic won’t rip.

* It can be hard for first timers, but practice makes perfect! You can practice by knotting some ice candy plastic with water in it.

6. Once you have done all your ice candy, wash them one by one to remove all the sticky spill. I also trim each plastic and just leave about an inch above the knot. 

7. Place them in a flat surface in your freezer. You can stack them on top of each other in a maximum of 3 layers but don’t put anything else on top of them. Freeze  overnight or until hard enough. 

Don't forget to check what other Kulinarya Cooking Club members came up with for this month's theme...