Cream horn. Two unrelated words that when combined give birth to what might be the most delightful pasalubong from Iloilo. Cream horn is sweet, sweet love wrapped in delicate yet warm embrace of something familiar.

Like most edible sweet pasalubong that originate in Iloilo, the foundations of every cream horn are flour, sugar and eggs. These three simple ingredients produce one unforgettable Ilonggo pasalubong.

For related entries, please read Cream Horn - Reunited and It Feels so Good, Pasalubong - Iloilo, Part I, and Pasalubong - Iloilo, Part II.

Two weeks ago, a good friend brought back a matryoshka doll of a box* of cream horn from Iloilo. This mother box gave birth to 10 small boxes. Each small box contained 10 cream horns. When I saw the box of cream horns, I shrieked, clapped my hands and jumped up and down. I was happier than a spoiled child with filthy rich parents and overly generous godparents on Christmas morning. Merengue, biscocho and bañadas do not turn me into a cheerleader when I see or eat them. Cream horn is different because it is the José Mourinho of Ilonggo pasalubong. It is the Special One.

I felt ecstatic when the seashell-shaped pastry made contact with my hands. Within nanoseconds, I popped a cream horn inside my already-watering mouth. Then, I felt the gooey center ooze out of the shell and fill my taste buds with happiness. It was creamy and sweet. The sweetness is tempered by the puffed horns. One was not enough, so I devoured another. Then another. I had five heavenly cream horns in less than five minutes, yet I wanted more. So I had more. It was a really good day to be oblivious of sugar levels and diabetes.

 

*I did not eat all 100 cream horns. They were shared with a lot of people and were gone in a snap. I just had more than most. 🙂