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Desserts

Concha Bread Pudding

This post is sponsored by the American Egg Board.

One of the first cookbooks I ever bought was the Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook. I cracked it open, and happened to land on the bread pudding recipe that I so proudly made for Billy. It was so buttery and so rich and I had swapped out the stale French bread for stale croissants, so you know it was an extra good time. I was flipping through the cookbook the other night and stumbled upon that same recipe and wondered to myself what an updated recipe would look like, so here we are.

Did you know the average American eats 276 eggs a year? Neither did I! Eggs are present in many of my favorite Mexican desserts; churros, empanadas, flan, and even capirotada, and this bread pudding is a tasty way to use them! In honor of Hispanic Heritage Month, which runs from September 15th through October 15th and celebrates the many influences and inspirations Hispanic and Latino communities contribute to the United States, I’m incorporating some of my favorite flavors and ingredients that were always found in my mom’s kitchen growing up.

While I was testing the recipe, I was wondering how it was all going to work; was it going to be too basic? Too sweet? But it all worked perfectly. The sugar topping on the conchas created a nice crust on the top, and the milk, eggs and condensed milk kept the bottom nice and moist. The pumpkin pie spice mix makes this dessert feel like a warm autumn hug.

If you have any spare time, I suggest whipping up a batch of homemade whipped cream (spiked with a little bit of rum of course), and treat yourself to whatever you’re currently binge watching on Netflix.

For more flavorful and Latin-inspired recipes, visit IncredibleEgg.org and check them out on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest and YouTube.

Concha Bread Pudding

Cajeta Chocoflan

I’m a few days late and a few dollars short, but it’s finally Fall!

It’s still 85 degrees here in SoCal, so lets crank up the AC for a few minutes and pretend the leaves outside are changing color.

Before we talk about the amazingness that is spiced pumpkin chocoflan, I wanted to share some quick resources for Mexico’s and Puerto Rico’s relief funds.

Mexico: Unicef, Save The Children, Cruz Roja Mexicana

Puerto Rico: United for Puerto Rico, Unicef, All Hands Volunteers

My heart hurts for everyone that was impacted by these natural disasters, and I encourage you to show your support whichever way you can.

Purchase my new cookbook Chicano Bakes:

I’m a sucker for all things pumpkin; pumpkin cheesecake, pumpkin pie, pumpkin ice cream and those amazing Trader Joes pumpkin jojo’s (that I just recently tried to finished a whole box of) and last year, Billy made this spiced chocolate pumpkin loaf that was so moist and chocolatey with just the right amount of spice and pumpkin and I mentioned to him that I wanted to see how it would hold up in a chocoflan.

If you don’t know what chocoflan is, it’s basically a cake that consists of two layers, chocolate cake as the bottom layer and flan as the top layer. Some people refer to it as the “impossible” cake because when you’re making it, you add the batter to the pan first and then pour in the flan mixture and during the baking process they switch places! It’s basically a magic trick you can eat.

Adding pumpkin to the cake makes it really moist, and if you’ve never had chocolate and pumpkin together, you’re in for a real treat. It’s such a great pairing that you might have never thought to combine. The recipe calls for pumpkin pie spice, and I strongly suggest you check out Billy’s homemade recipe for it so you don’t end up using store-bought pumpkin spice that tastes super artificial.

With all the work potlucks that are going to be popping up in the next few weeks, add this dessert to your repertoire and impress everyone at work!

I have a few fun recipes that I’ll be sharing next week. Till then, grab a fork and enjoy a slice of chocoflan drenched in cajeta, y nos vemos pronto.

Coconut Café de Olla Popsicles with a Butterscotch Magic Shell

It’s #PopsicleWeek!

I’m really excited because it’s Billy’s 5^th year putting this on, but my very first year participating!

We were both living in Eureka, on our last semesters of College when he hosted his first Popsicle Week, and I’m so proud to see how far he’s come with this popsicle lovefest. This year Billy was given a spread in the summer issue of AllRecipes Magazine for popsicle week, and he also did a Facebook Live with AllRecipes where he made these really good ginger piña colada and blueberry cobbler popsicles.

If you’re interested in seeing what else everyone contributed, head here. There are over 120+ contributors this year!

Coconut Café de Olla Popsicles with a Butterscotch Magic Shell

There were a few ideas I had in mind for popsicle week. My initial idea was to make these paletas de vainilla which have become an icon in Colima. Unfortunately, I was only able to find the specific popsicle molds in industrial sizes so I’m going to have to wait until I go back to Mexico to look for said molds. My second idea was to create a café de olla popsicle, which is what we’re making today. If you’re not familiar with café de olla, you’re missing out. It’s one of my favorite things to have for breakfast whenever we’re in Mexico, especially when we’re dining at one of our favorite spots in Comala, Los Portales de Suchitlan, who happen to package their own fresh coffee on-site!

It’s an al-fresco setting and you basically dine in the middle of coffee trees and other greenery, and it makes you feel like you’re eating in the middle of a jungle. Depending on who’s making your café de olla, it’ll be typically made by brewing coffee with really good piloncillo, Mexican cinnamon and in certain places people will also include a bit of orange peel for aromatics. I decided to leave out the orange peel out of the popsicles because I’ve never been a huge fan, and I think I have those bitter strips of candied citrus peel on the rosca de reyes to blame.

In this recipe we’ll be adding coconut milk for an extra layer of flavor and then dipping them in butterscotch and if you’re feeling a little daring, add a pinch of sea salt before the magic shell completely hardens for that sweet, salty and creamy experience. If you’re looking for the popsicle mold I used, you can find it here.

Have a happy 4th of July!

Coconut Café de Olla Popsicles with a Butterscotch Magic Shell

How To Make The Best Gelatina de Leche (Mexican Milk Jello)

I can still remember how excited I used to get for Birthdays growing up. As kids, we never received toys—and it wasn’t because my parents didn’t love us, but because it was a luxury they could not afford. I grew accustomed to receiving socks/underwear and the occasional $20 for the occasional paleta or raspado pretty quickly because as you become more self-aware, you notice your parents are doing their best to provide you with everything they can.

When it came to Birthdays, my mom would always splurge and make us our favorite meals, and I (usually) always asked for the same thing; sopes, and gelatina de leche. Sometimes she’d just make gelatina de leche by itself, and other times she would layer it with a strawberry jello and top it with slices of strawberries.

My favorite of course, was just the gelatina de leche by itself.

Purchase my new cookbook Chicano Bakes:

When I posted the picture of the slice on Instagram, I didn’t realize that there’d be so many of you who also grew up loving gelatina de leche. I love connecting through food and sharing stories and it always makes me incredibly happy when others share their memories with me.

What is Milk Jello, or gelatina de leche?

The best way I can describe gelatina de leche, or milk jello, is as a more firm, slightly more flavorful panna cotta. We steep cinnamon in the milk, and top it with fresh berries to counter the sweetness. We’re also adding heavy cream to make the gelatina a little creamier.

It wasn’t until I was going through the pictures that I realized I had this red/white and blue motif going on which makes this perfect for your upcoming 4th of July gatherings. Step it up a notch and use a more intricate bundt pan for it and boom! you have a simple and very elegant dessert.

PS. This is the pan I used!

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