Maria Orosa would have been pleased with this banana ketchup cake
Decades after she passed away, war hero and freedom fighter Maria Y. Orosa continues to unite people. As head of the Bureau of Science’s Food Preservation Division (and later the Plant Utilization Division) during the 1920s to 1940s, Orosa organized teams that taught rural women the principles of practical cooking and good nutrition. She also invented new methods of food canning and preservation, and developed recipes for coconuts and for humble vegetables and wild shrubs.
During World War II, Orosa secretly fed prisoners of war cookies enriched with the nutrients of rice bran (darak). The cookies saved many prisoners from starvation.
Today, well into the 21st century, Orosa’s works have gained renewed recognition. Food historian Ige Ramos recently revived the book The Recipes of Maria Y. Orosa, written by her niece Helen Orosa del Rosario, by publishing it in a new, more contemporary format. A children’s book on her life and works titled Maria Orosa: Freedom Fighter, Scientist and Inventor (written by yours truly) has also been published by Tuttle Publishing in Vermont, USA. The public is also now more aware that it was Orosa who invented the now-famous banana ketchup, without which no Filipino kitchen would be complete.
Recently Maria’s life story attracted the interest of Dr. Catherine Ceniza Choy, a professor of Ethnic Studies at the University of California-Berkeley. Author of Empire of Care: Nursing and Migration in Filipino American History, Dr. Choy has done extensive research on Filipino American women. Hence her interest in the life of Maria Orosa is a natural progression of her studies.
After an interview with Dr. Choy about Maria Orosa was published in Lady Science, someone from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation asked her to give a talk on Orosa. “I realized when I was looking for another project that I wanted to write a biography on Maria Orosa,” Choy said. “Whenever I mentioned her name to people, some would know about her, but others wouldn’t. But they all loved the story of the banana ketchup. For people like me it’s like nostalgia and a memory that’s pleasing, even though there’s some sadness to it.”
Dr. Choy is currently in Manila to do more research on the life of Orosa. During an afternoon tete-a-tete with her and some food luminaries, Orosa’s grand-niece Evelyn Orosa del Rosario Garcia served a sumptuous repast that included the famous darak cookies, which Maria had secretly smuggled to war prisoners during the Japanese occupation. Garcia also served a banana cake with an unusual twist: the cake was laced with banana ketchup. It was quite a curiosity and an interesting evolution of the condiment that Maria had so assiduously invented.
Being a creative person herself, Garcia reinvented the banana cake further by adding crushed pineapples, which imbued the cake with additional texture and sweetness. “I always bastardize recipes,” she joked.
But it was a “bastardizing” that turned out well. The cake was moist and lush, with an underlying sweetness imbued by the banana ketchup and pineapples. While the flavor of the mashed bananas was well pronounced, the cake had some added kick and the tiniest hint of some hidden spices. Its bright red color also called to mind the more upscale red velvet cake. Maria Orosa would have been extremely pleased.
Here, Garcia generously shares her recipe for this memorable cake baked in honor of her heroic grandaunt, Tia Mary.
Banana Ketchup Cake
- 2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 2/3 cups sugar
- 1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3 eggs, lightly beaten
- 1 1/4 cups mashed ripe bananas (about 3 medium bananas)
- 2/3 cup Canola oil
- 2/3 cup fresh or full cream milk
- 1 1/2 cups banana ketchup
- 1/2 cup canned crushed pineapples and its juices (do not drain)
Preheat the oven to 350ºF (180ºC). Grease the sides and bottom(s) of a 13”x 9”x 2” baking pan or two 9-inch baking pans. If desired, line the pan(s) with baking paper (optional) for easier release of the baked cake. Set the pan(s) aside.
Into the mixing bowl of an electric mixer, sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add the eggs, bananas, Canola oil, milk, and banana ketchup. Beat at low speed for 30 seconds. Stop the mixer and scrape the bowl with a spatula to evenly distribute the ingredients, then beat the mixture at medium speed for one to two minutes (do not overbeat). Fold in the crushed pineapples and its juices. Pour into the prepared pan(s).
Bake in the preheated oven for 35 to 40 minutes, or until a toothpick or a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool. (If desired top with cream cheese frosting or buttercream frosting before serving.)
