Capirotada (Mexican Bread Pudding)

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I think the best family heirlooms are recipes. Unlike jewelry, they can comfort us with their warmth, conjure up loving memories with their scents, and leave us both emotionally and physically satisfied. Even though jewelry can be sized to fit the person receiving the heirloom, it still doesn't compare to inheriting a recipe that each generation can add to while still keeping the main ingredient, love. On that note, a few weekends ago I gave my grandmother a call to see how she was doing and ask her for a few cooking tips. I borrowed a tiny book from the library filled with just enough classic Mexican food recipes to experiment with. My intention was to use some of these recipes as guides while attempting to get my own grandmother's recipes right. She was very detailed about what ingredients to use, even how to cook each item I wanted to make, but as far as the measurements...well, it seems over the years her fingers have developed taste buds so that she doesn't actually have to measure the exact ingredients, they know that a pinch of this and dash of that will do just fine. My fingers aren't so clever. Though they can be trusted at times, they tend to be a bit more on the clumsy side whenever I'm trying to replicate something my grandmother has already perfected.

The first recipe I asked my grandma for was that of her Capirotada dish. Capirotada is a rich bread pudding with a kick. Its sweet base is balanced out with a hearty sprinkle of salty Cotija cheese. As a kid, I had a love/hate relationship with this cheese; its pungent smell is a lot stronger than most typical cheeses used in American dishes, but its taste is also a lot more flavorful and earthy. I only sprinkled a bit on top, just enough for its saltiness to counteract the sweetness of the piloncillo (Mexican brown sugar). Here are the rest of the ingredients I used, along with the cooking/baking instructions.

1/2 of a loaf of 2 day old Challah bread cut into bite-size pieces (This is a traditional Jewish bread, but I had quite a bit leftover from earlier in the week and I didn't want to waste. I think it worked really well with this dessert. Traditionally, day old Mexican bread is used; my grandmother uses a french roll.)
1 1/4 cup evaporated milk
1 piloncillo stick
2 TBSP butter
1/8 tsp salt
1/8 tsp nutmeg
2 tsp cinnamon
1 small fuji apple, chopped
1/8 cup crumbled cotija cheese
1/4 cup golden raisins

After slicing off the piloncillo (I can't think of the proper term for this job, but it was a tough one!) I put the shavings into a medium sized pot with the evaporated milk and butter. The two ingredients slowly simmered together as I mixed in the nutmeg, cinnamon, and salt. I then added in the bread pieces and continued mixing the ingredients until the bread absorbed all the liquid, then I tossed in the apple pieces. I transfered the concoction to a square, 9 inch oven safe platter, then sprinkled the raisins and cheese on top. To give the pudding a bit more bite, I put it in a pre-heated 350 degree oven for about 15 minutes. I also sprinkled some nuts on top, after the baking process. The apples and nuts were not part of my grandma's recipe, she is a fan of golden raisins. I decided to add less raisins and include some apples because they always taste so good in baked goods!

Cinnamon French Toast

Jose and I celebrated Valentine's Day on the evening of the 13th this year (we're both not fans of crowds, so we decided to go out after work on Wednesday instead). We thought it'd be a sweet idea to pay Chez-Zee a visit (it's the restaurant where our tiny wedding dinner took place a few months ago). At the end of our meal, we ordered two tasty desserts, one of them being the award-winning Creme Brulee French Toast. It certainly lived up to its reputation, with its crispy edges and heavenly, sweet center.

Until today, I haven't been able to whip up the perfect batch of french toast. What resulted from my former french-toast making endeavors was usually some kind of soggy piece of bread with an overly-eggy coat, burned exterior, and gag-inducing taste. Somehow, the Creme Brulee French Toast gave me a tad bit of inspiration. As I studied the flavor and texture of the delectable dessert, the following reasons for my french toast failures occurred to me: There was obviously not enough spice in the egg concoction!; I used too much of the wrong kind of dairy; I should've cooked the toast over a much lower flame, for a longer period of time!

So these are the new ingredients that I added to today's successful french toast recipe!:
(this makes enough for about 3-4 slices of bread)
1/4 cup sweet condensed milk
1 1/2 tbsp softened butter
3 tsp cinnamon
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tsp brown sugar
a pinch of salt
(I used 4 slices of honey oatmeal bread)

I cooked the french toast over a low flame for about 4 minutes on each side. This time, I covered it with a clear lid as it cooked. Using the lid and lower flame allowed the inside of the french toast to cook evenly before the exterior could brown. The sweet condensed milk is a great alternative to cream when it isn't available. As far as spices go, you can add what you like, but I looove cinnamon, brown sugar also adds a nice touch :). French toast is a breakfast treat that requires a little more patience than pancakes, I discovered, but it's definitely worth the wait. This particular recipe creates crispy and tender pieces of lightly sweetened french toast that are delicious, even without maple syrup...but, if you're ever in Austin, you should try Chez-Zee's Creme Brulee French Toast, it's truly the best :).

Valentine strawberry cupkins

If you note the title of this entry, it appears I might've made a mistake when entering the name of these little desserts. The truth is, they are, in fact cupkins-something between a cupcake and muffin (I wasn't sure whether to call them mufkins or cupkins :). They have a cakey texture, but they don't have all that sweet, rich frosting on top. Instead, I dressed them up with a few sprinkles. After the first bite, I realized I wasn't even missing the frosting because the strawberries add just enough texture and light sweetness to satisfy a sweet craving without getting a sugar rush afterward. If you want a low-fat dessert, these are the perfect treat. Their light and fruity taste also makes them a satisfying after-breakfast snack. Here's the recipe:

1 1/2 cups flour
1 cup chopped strawberries
3/4 cups sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 eggs
1/4 cup canola oil
1/8 cup soy milk (any other milk is fine)
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/8-1/4 tsp orange zest

Bake at 350 for 22-25 minutes. I don't remember the exact amount this recipe yields, but I think it was about 10-12 cupkins. It wasn't until after my husband and I inhaled the last few that I realized I didn't count how many there were to begin with :)! Hopefully you'll want to gobble them up just as fast.

celebration chocolate marshmallow cake

This is not a very original name for this chocolate cake, but it's appropriate considering how the recipe came about. Jose looooves chocolate, and to celebrate the fact that he was recently accepted into Harvard Law (woohoo!), I made him this very rich chocolate cake. It's not all that healthy, but, of course, sometimes you just have to savor the exciting moments that come your way...and savor them all the way, especially with your taste buds :).

Here are all the ingredients that went into the cake:
3 cups cake flour
1 1/3 cups unsweetened cocoa powder
1 2/3 cups sugar
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 cup sour cream
1/8 cup butter
1/3 cup canola oil
3/4 cup nonfat milk
1 cup dark chocolate chips

I mixed all the ingredients together, then baked them in 2 round 9" nonstick pans for about 18-22 minutes in a 350 degree oven.


As for the frosting, I melted about 1 cup of dark chocolate chips in a pan over a low, low flame. Then I crushed about 10-12 Newman-O's by putting them in a freezer/storage bag and going over them with a rolling pin a few times. After that I took the container of marshmallow cream I purchased earlier and poured it all into a cup before placing it in the microwave for a few seconds. (I microwaved it on the setting I normally use to melt a stick of butter...make sure you keep an eye on it or your microwave will look something like a marshmallowy North Pole). Once the cake cooled, I lathered on a generous amount of the marshmallow creme to the bottom layer. Then I sprinkled on the O's before adding the top cake layer. I did the same thing with the top layer, except I dressed it up with powdered sugar (this isn't necessary, though, I discovered the cake is sweet enough without it!) then drizzled the cake with that bittersweet chocolate I melted earlier.

The finished cake looks a lot like a huge oreo, too bad we didn't have a large enough glass of milk to dunk it into :).