By Request Betty Shimabukuro

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Big isle pastry chef
crafted her own
journey of discovery

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Back when I was learning to conjugate verbs, the word "bootstrapping" never came up. I'm not convinced it's a legal word, but I've been seeing it more often, and when I heard the story of Evangelina Talaro, I completely understood its place in the vocabulary.

Talaro's story begins in 1993, when she hired on as a housekeeper at the Ritz-Carlton at Mauna Lani (now the Orchid). "I really wanted to work in the hotel," she says. The idea was not to clean rooms forever, though. She had an eye out for opportunity.

That turned out to be a position as Cook IV. A Cook IV, she says, assists Cook III and Cook II -- "I really started at the bottom. ... I peeled fruits, like that." The kitchen suited her, though, especially the bake shop, and she eventually became a pastry cook.

COURTESY WAIKOLOA BEACH MARRIOTT Evangelina Talaro's macadamia nut chiffon cake is dressed up with whipped cream and a dusting of powdered sugar.

It became clear that on-the-job training was not going to be enough, so Talaro started sending herself to school: the International School of Confectionary Arts in Gaithersburg, Md., the French Pastry School in Chicago, the French Culinary Institute in New York, Le Cordon Bleu in Paris.

Each time, she'd save her money and take off to absorb the pastry arts -- sugar and chocolate decoration, wedding cakes, chocolate showpieces, international bread baking and, finally, a certificate in Basic French Patisserie from Le Cordon Bleu, earned last year.

Each trip meant weeks or months away from home, and most of it was on her own dime, from tuition to travel to living expenses.

And it paid off. In 2000 she took over as executive pastry chef at the Waikoloa Beach Marriott.

"I love pastry," Talaro says, by way of explaining her ambition.

She has since her first days in the bake shop. "I was really amazed at the product they put out, how they create something wonderful out of the regular ... the artwork part of it ... how the bread rises. ... It's all amazing."

This has been a lengthy preamble to today's recipes, which come courtesy of Talaro.

The first is Talaro's recipe for a macadamia nut chiffon cake, sought by both Donna Caughell and Bob Lamborn.

Caughell works at Lake Howell and Winter Springs high schools in Orlando, Fla. "The children enjoy my stories of Hawaii and eat the local food that I prepare," Caughell wrote. But what she yearns most to share with them is the "pure Hawaiian pleasure and delight" of a macadamia nut chiffon cake.

COURTESY WAIKOLOA BEACH MARRIOTT Evangelina Talaro, executive pastry chef at the Waikoloa Beach Marriott resort, is fascinated by the artistry of baking.

Macadamia Nut-Lilikoi Chiffon Cake

4 cups cake flour
3 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1-1/2 teaspoons finely chopped macadamia nuts
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup lilikoi purée (see note)
9 medium egg yolks
1 cup plus 1-1/2 teaspoon vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
>> Meringue:
3 cups powdered sugar
9 egg whites
1-1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease a 9-inch baking pan and coat with flour.

Beat together flour, sugar, salt, baking powder and nuts in a large, stainless bowl. Add water, lilikoi purée, egg yolks, oil and vanilla extract. Mix until smooth.

To make meringue: In another large stainless bowl, combine 1-1/2 cups powdered sugar with egg whites. Beat until frothy. Add cream of tartar and remaining 1-1/2 cups sugar. Beat until stiff peaks form.

Fold meringue into batter and blend well. Pour into prepared baking pan, tapping slightly to remove air pockets. Bake 40 minutes or until cake springs back when slightly pressed in the center. Carefully unmold and let cool.

Sprinkle with powdered sugar and finely chopped macadamia nuts. To make a layer cake, cut in half to make 2 layers and spread whipped cream between the layers and over the cake. Top with a thin layer of thickened lilikoi purée.

Note: For lilikoi purée, try Hans Weiler in Kalihi (847-2210); or, substitute another puréed fruit, such as guava, strawberries or peaches. To make a plain cake, substitute water, milk or cream for the purée.

Talaro also provided a recipe for monay, a sweetbread from her native Philippines. Dahlia Cullen asked for the recipe several months ago, but it has proven elusive. Even Talaro had to hunt for it, finally getting a recipe from her sister.

She says monay -- pronounced moon-eye -- is a soft, light-yellow bread that is found in many versions throughout the Philippines. The type she's familiar with is flavored with cheese.

Monay

>> Starter:
1/2 ounce yeast (2 packets)
2 cups lukewarm water
7 cups bread flour
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
>> Dough:
1-3/4 cups bread flour
5 eggs
1/3 cup evaporated milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/3 cup shortening

To make starter: Dissolve yeast in water. Add flour and sugar. Beat in a standing mixer, using dough hook, until a rough mass is formed, about 3 minutes. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm area until dough has doubled in size, about 1 hour.

Return starter to mixer and continue mixing, slowly adding dough ingredients, beginning with flour and ending with shortening. Mix until well incorporated. Knead 6 to 8 minutes. Place in a lightly greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap and put in warm place to rise until double in size.

Punch down dough and refrigerate 1 hour.

Turn dough unto floured surface and form into 8 loaves of equal size. Place on sheet pans lined with parchment paper, and allow to rise and double in size again, 35 to 40 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Brush with milk, and cut a slit into the top of each loaf. Bake 30 minutes or until golden brown.

Nutritional information unavailable.

See the Columnists section for some past articles.

Send queries along with name and phone number to:
"By Request," Honolulu Star-Bulletin,
500 Ala Moana, No. 7-210, Honolulu 96813.
Or send e-mail to bshimabukuro@starbulletin.com

Asterisk (*) after nutritional analyses in the Body & Soul section indicates calculations by Joannie Dobbs of Exploring New Concepts, a nutritional consulting firm.