BABY PAT BREADS AND PASTRIES is a home-based bakeshop established by pastry chef Pearl M. de Guzman in memory of her mother Patria Ramirez Macalindong, fondly called Mama Pat, founder of Pat's Cake House in Cavite City in 1976. In continuing the legacy of a beloved mother, Baby Pat commits to baking excellence and upholding Filipino baking to the world. RECOGNITIONS
Baby Pat was the Philippines'
official representative at the 2022 ASEAN Fest and International Bazaar hosted by the Department of Foreign Affairs and the ASEAN Ladies Foundation, Inc. Baby Pat was certified among the Philippines' Best Desserts by the Inquirer Lifestyle, Philippine Daily Inquirer, Inc., in 2017 and 2018. PUBLISHED REVIEWS OF FOOD CRITICS AND COGNOSCENTI
"The rainbow of color-coded ensaymadas is the creation of Pearl, daughter of Patria, also known as "Pat," the proprietor of one of Cavite's beloved bakeshops. Pearl honors her mom by taking her baked specialties to the next level through Baby Pat Breads and Pastries, and by next level, I refer to decadent new heights of yum! Pearl hit upon the utter genius of upgrading the ensaymada by enhancing her goodies with magnificently decadent premium fillings. Experimenting in infusions since late in 2012, Pearl hit upon the idea of using homemade ube in her Baby Pat brand of ensaymadas, which rivals Baguio's most famous version. Maybe, it was the fantastic ube and surely the good vibes from all the Pats that made the difference. The "ube-r" scrumptious ensaymadas quickly sold out with deliveries from her bakery in Sta. Rosa, Laguna, to all points of Metro Manila."
~ Spanky Enriquez, The Manila Boy, Food writer and blogger extraordinaire, "Baby Pat's Specialty Nutella and Speculoos Ensaymadas!" posted on 31 January 2013
Link: http://www.juice.ph/blogs/shopping/baby-pat-s-specialty-nutella-and-speculoos-ensaymadas?article_page=1&channel_name=juice-blogs&page=1
*****
"Pearl de Guzman's passion for baking and desire to continue her mom's legacy (Mom had a bakery in Pearl's native Cavite City) encouraged her to open her own Sta. Rosa, Laguna-based bakeshop, Baby Pat Breads and Pastries. Armed with a handful of heirloom recipes and a desire to sell honest-to-goodness baked goods, Pearl undertook supplementary baking classes at Heny Sison's to help her gain the confidence to play and experiment with old recipes and create new ones. Baby Pat's super moist, muesli-topped dinner roll was the product that placed Baby Pat on the "foodie map." However, her special ensaimada con queso de bola with ube -- a classic ensaimada filled with homemade ube haleya, has made Baby Pat a household name. If you're looking for something new to try, check out Baby Pat's latest ensaimada creations: its ensaimada filled with Speculoos cookie butter spread made from the thin, crunchy, caramelized, shortcrust spice cookies said to have originated in Belgium, or its latest one filled with the more familiar Nutella, a new Chow Buzz's favorite."
~ Cyrene de la Rosa, Food Writer, InterAksyon.com
"From Ube Ensaimada to Speculoos and Nutella," 01 February 2013, 2:33 pm
Link: http://www.interaksyon.com/lifestyle/chow-buzz-baby-pats-nutella-ensaimada-and-the-mandarins-lucky-feast
*****
"Infusing the traditional ensaimada with some modern flavors, home baker Pearl de Guzman has captured the sweet tooth of her customers on a national scale. A glance at her current ensaïmada collection reinforces the care and attention that Pearl de Guzman places into each variety, always ensuring that her customers are never shortchanged with every bite."
~ Marilen Fontanilla, Editor-in-Chief, F&B World, July 2013 Issue: "Baby Pat Breads and Pastries"
Link: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=483186978422916&set=pb.279678918773724.-2207520000.1388080641.&type=3&theater
*****
"So when I first meet Pearl de Guzman at a food bazaar, I admit to cringing when I'm told, "Pearl's flavored ensaymadas are the best!" There they are, rounds of dough, carefully covered in crepe paper, ornaments bedecking her table in multi-colored hues. Ironically, they remind me of Christmas lanterns (parols), though it's nowhere near Christmas." "Patiently answering my questions, Pearl is soft-spoken and so kind. She has a curious name for her business, Baby Pat, a tribute to her mom, "…Mama Pat, as we fondly called her," says Pearl, "… and my two babies, Patrice and Patrick." Mama Pat had a bakeshop in Cavite City called, naturally, Pat's, and Pearl grew up tending to it and honing her love and skill for baking. When her mom passed on five years ago, "… I began my home-based bakeshop in Santa Rosa, Laguna [where we live], and baking with a passion for excellence is my way of keeping my mom alive in my life," she shares." "A Baby Pat ensaymada is a thing of wonder. Only the crepe paper's color hints at the flavor beneath, and my excitement crackles like the cellophane that lines the precious round of dough. Depending on what flavor it is, its glaze or smear peeks up from its transparent sheath, a lodestar for pleasure most imminent and significant, too: each ensaymada weighs 130 grams on average. Hefty and heaving with happiness indeed."
~ Lori Bautista Baltazar, "Ensaymadas Translated for Today," Dessert Comes First, 16 July 2013
Link: http://dessertcomesfirst.com/archives/11581/
*****
"The Speculoos Ensaimada by Baby Pat Breads & Pastries is mouthwateringly soft, buttery, and filled with perfectly sweet cookie butter. You'll want to savor the whole thing all by yourself!"
FOOD Magazine, "Crazy for Cookie Butter," August 2013 Issue
Link: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=490372664371014&set=pb.279678918773724.-2207520000.1388080211.&type=3&theater
*****
"A hypnotic spiral of Nutella peaks through a sugary glaze coating the fluffy pastry. A single bite fills the mouth with the subtle sweetness of the hazelnut chocolate spread and the richness of the butter that permeates each layer of dough."
~ Manila Bulletin, 15 August 2013, Lifestyle C2: "The Nutella Ensaymada"
Link: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=503549373053343&set=pb.279678918773724.-2207520000.1388080207.&type=3&theater
*****
"Pearl de Guzman ~ Moist, rich and hefty, and with scrumptious flavors like salted caramel, Nutella, ube, tablea, her Baby Pat brand has certainly elevated the much-loved ensaymada."
~ FOOD Magazine, 'The 50 BEST List' Food Personalities, October 2013 Anniversary Issue
Link: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=516443205097293&set=pb.279678918773724.-2207520000.1388080163.&type=3&theater
*****
"Pearl makes the most lovely ensaymadas, a combination of old and new styles resulting in a pastry that's yeasty, fluffy, and elastic. There's just the right amount of sweetness and it's not too aggressively topped with queso de bola. Restraint gives her ensaymadas balance in terms of flavor, but there is that special texture you can't find in anyone else's. Our favorites are her classic style and ube; which has natural ube halaya (purple yam) swirled in the dough."
~ Table For Three, Please, "Our Christmas Gift Guide 2013"
Link: http://tableforthreeplease.com/2013/12/our-2013-christmas-gift-guide/
*****
"If traditions must endure, then we should have the obligatory ensaimada with hot chocolate during Noche Buena. This Christmas, the ensaimada that will surely brighten up the faces of those lucky enough to get a box is that of Baby Pat of Sta. Rosa, Laguna. Home baker Pearl de Guzman is this year's breakout ensaimada purveyor with her fabulous flavors, all of which changed the way we eat and look at this all-time favorite pastry. Pearl's creations come with generous fillings and toppings: a generous layer of Speculoos or Nutella spread, or slathered with gooey Tablea on top. And then there are the premium and exotic Latik, Ube with Queso de Bola, and even a Vigan Longanisa ensaimada. All wrapped in colorful paper de Japon making those boxes an absolute delight to give and to receive."
~ Amy A. Uy, Food Writer, "Home(made) for the Holidays," GMA News Online Lifestyle, 06 December 2013
Link: http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/338610/lifestyle/food/home-made-for-the-holidays
*****
"Manila residents don't mind the long drive to Santa Rosa, Laguna, for ensaimadas (Philippine brioche) from Baby Pat's Bread and Pastries. Owner Pearl de Guzman said, "Bestsellers are the classic ensaimada with queso de bola (Edam cheese in a ball). Customers also like the varieties with latik (cooked coconut shreds), ube (purple yam), tablea (chocolate), and the modern-day Speculoos cookie butter."
~ Elizabeth Ann Quirino, multi-awarded food, culture, and travel writer based in New York, "Our Christmas Table," in San Francisco, California's online Filipino magazine, Positively Filipino, December 2013. Link: http://positivelyfilipino.com/magazine/our-christmas-table?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+PositivelyFilipino+%28Positively+Filipino+Magazine%29
*****
"The Best Ensaymadas in Manila"
~ Anton Diaz, Founder, www.OurAwesomePlanet.com Pepita's Kitchen: Project Wheelchair Fund-Raising Lechon Degustation (A Photo Essay) Posted on 21 September 2014
Link: http://www.ourawesomeplanet.com/awesome/2014/09/pepitas-kitchen
*****
"Even with all the attention it's getting, Baby Pat Breads and Pastries has yet to outgrow its raison d'être. Continuing the legacy of her mother, Patria 'Mama Pat' Macalindong, Pearl M. de Guzman's home-based bakeshop still upholds Filipino baking to the world. And it does so with much passion and flair. Open a box of Baby Pat's pastries and you open yourself up to a splash of color; bite into one of its ensaimadas and you bite into a rich burst of flavor. As the old saying goes, a 'mother knows best,' and by Baby Pat, it appears that Ms. de Guzman is taking this saying to heart."
~ Asian Traveler Magazine, 5th Edition 2014
*****
I’ve tasted the ube and the Gruyere varieties and truly, each square millimeter is packed with pleasure. I taste the butter in each bite of the ensaymada, which is dense with goodness (siksik) but soft to the bite. With her mother’s legacy to uphold, and her children’s names on the label, Pearl can’t help but bring perfection with the pleasure of every bite of Baby Pat. It will melt you.”
Joanne Rae Ramirez, The Philippine Star, http://www.philstar.com/newsmakers/2016/07/14/1602471/baby-pat-pig-palm, published on 14 July 2016
*****
"Baby Pat Ensaymada – moist and heavy flavored. I love the ube and Nutella variants."
~ Chef Sandy Daza, "Sweet treats and savory items to give or bring to parties," www.inquirer.net, 14 December 2017
*****
“Baby Pat Premium Ensaymada – The wholeness and goodness of this premium ensaymada nestle in their soft, fluffy dough, a perfect base for whimsical toppings and fillings, sweet or savory. The flavors are inviting—Nutella, tablea, peanut butter, and queso de bola, to name some.”
~ Vangie Baga-Reyes, Best Desserts 3, Inquirer Lifestyle, Philippine Daily Inquirer, Inc., 2017
*****
“Queso de Bola Cheese Rolls – Between the soft bread, light buttercream, and generous cheese—the three elements that make a great cheese roll—you'll be hooked from the first bite.”
~ Vangie Baga-Reyes, Best Desserts 4, Inquirer Lifestyle, Philippine Daily Inquirer, Inc., 2018
*****
“Queso de Bola Cheese Rolls – Between the soft bread, light buttercream, and generous cheese—the three elements that make a great cheese roll—you’ll be hooked from the first bite.”
~ Vangie Baga-Reyes, Best Desserts, Inquirer Lifestyle, Philippine Daily Inquirer, Inc., 2018
*****
“Granted, the pastry chef’s ensaymadas don’t push boundaries per se with the types of relatable ingredients (for example, tablea from Iloilo, ube, and Chocnut) on display. However, the constellation of products is worth wallowing in for the simple reason that these are delicious products of Filipino legacy. Where others may feel excessive with their play on flavors, nothing here screams contrived. It’s all just a celebration of decadence that flirts with high-quality execution. The classic ensaymada is predictably good with a textured sugar coating enough to contrast the mildly chewy pastry; rich but not overpowering.”
~ Eric Salta, “12 years and a pandemic later, this Filipino bakeshop continues to rise to the occasion,” F&B Report, 25 July 2022
