We, the pastry team of Diamond Hotel Philippines, offered our culinary expertise in line with the celebration of 150 years of Jose Rizal. As I, Pastry Chef Daniel Back and my sous-chef Robert Mempin decided on a form this celebratory cake would take, I remembered seeing the original copy of his first book ‘Noli Me Tangere’. Inspired by this powerful image, we set to work.
Initially,  we made a large Supermoist Cake, this being one of the most popular cakes we sell at the hotel’s tea lounge Kohikan and our patissiere in the Power Plant Mall, Makati called The Cake Club.  The Supermoist Cake is a dark and luxurious chocolate cake covered with chocolate ganache and finished with chocolate shavings.

We started by alternating 3 layers of  dark supermoist chocolate sponge cake and chocolate ganache.   Then we rolled out the white fondant icing, primarily used for wedding cakes, and carefully placed it over the cake.  The cake was made to ‘rest’ overnight in our chocolate room which is usually reserved for house-made pralines and bon-bons.  In the morning, a scanned version of the Noli Me Tangere  book cover was printed on edible paper using edible ink was placed over the cake. The sides were then framed with white chocolate and the book binding was made from white chocolate as well.  To secure the edible paper, the sides of the paper were bordered with dark chocolate.   Once the image and cover was in place, we placed the cake on a custom-made wooden plinth similar to the Rizal stand ready for transport to Fort Santiago in Intramuros.

While Chef Robert and I were preparing the commemorative cake, the rest of the pastry team produced over 100 petit Noli Me Tangere cakes complete with the same artwork. These cakes were given to the Descendents of Jose Rizal and other important guests. In all, the special Noli Me Tangere cake took us 2 days to create. It was a pleasure to be a part of this historical celebration in honor of  the 150 years of Jose Rizal.

Diamond Hotel's "Noli Me Tangere Cake"

Mini Noli Cakes. Photo by Pedro Javier.

Jose Rizal-labeled confections

In celebration of this momentous event, government units, the academe, and other culture, history and art-oriented institutions have planned grand events for Sunday. Among these is My Rizal 150′s Maligayang Bati, Jose Rizal, an evening of art, music, poetry and fireworks in Fort Santiago.
The Banda ng Maynila (brass band of the City of Manila) will kick-start the event by playing live music. They will be followed by the Ateneo Chamber Singers, who will be performing classics, as well as one song especially composed for the event, on the Main Stage at the flagpole area of Plaza Moriones.

Berklee alums Tess Salientes and Gerard Salonga have also prepared a specially composed musical theme for the event. There will be a fireworks display after their performance.

Camp Suki will be offering kalesa rides, on-the-spot artists who can sketch/draw your portrait (for a fee), and a turn-of-the-century photo shoot complete with costumes.

Gerardo de Leon’s 1961 classic Noli Me Tangere will be shown on one of the walls of the ruins of the American barracks, courtesy of CCP and SOFIA (Society of Filipino Film Archivists) who were responsible for the restoration of the film.

Sipat Lawin Ensemble will be performing an avant-garde  piece wherein they are going to march backwards from Luneta to Fort Santiago doing a reenactment of Rizal’s execution. They will also be doing pocket performances throughout the evening.

Heroes Square will also do their 30-minute play on Rizal and Josephine Bracken inside the Rizal Shrine, which will remain open all night. The play will start after the firework display and the Buhay na Kasaysayan members, dressed in period military uniform, will draw the crowd into Rizal Shrine.

Traditional food from the era in which Rizal lived will be sold by concessionaires Ilustrado, Barbara’s, and Adarna Food and Culture.

The Manila Diamond Hotel is baking a special birthday cake for Jose Rizal, recreating Rizal’s book stand with his Noli Me Tangere placed on top. Rizal’s book stand is being restored by Escuela Taller of Intramuros.

The Lopez Museum will be showcasing  their extensive Rizal collection, and will be on display at the Plaza Armas.

Registration starts at 5:00 p.m., and the program starts at 6:00 p.m. Ticket prices are P100 per adult and P50 for kids below 12 years of age. Entrance is free for guests who will come in period costumes, or dress as their favorite characters from Jose Rizal’s novels.

For more information, please contact:

Lisa T. Bayot
Tel. nos:
(+632) 817-8062
(+632) 894-0505

Maite P. Gallego
Email add: maitepgallego@yahoo.com.ph