Hi Guys!!!
I cannot believe my eyes. As I gaze upon the calendar facing me, it baffles me as we're entering the fourth week of January. It's a fabulous month for three reasons. Firstly, it's the first month of the new year, which is when our New Year's Resolutions are only ever followed...don't lie. You know this is true. Secondly, despite not experiencing the weather here, it is part of Winter, one of my favorite seasons (Autumn and it's colors will always be first) and thirdly, but most importantly, it's the month of my birthday!!! This coming Saturday I will be turning 24 and according to the many horoscopes I follow and read, it will be a great year for job hunting and business. Cross your fingers!!!
The weather here has been crazy lately, with a cold front hitting our beautiful country this past week. It kinda makes you want to stay in bed all day.
 |
| Beautiful and foggy morning...no filter |
This past week was one of the most relaxing, albeit, unproductive weeks I've had in a long time. The weather has been quite influential. In kitchen news, I baked and sold brownies and made another pear pavlova, an order placed by my aunt. My mind has been reeling with potential messy baking ideas, starting with learning and mastering the Honduran desserts, among which are Rosquillas en Miel and Torrejas. Roquillas are doughnut-like, corn-based hard biscuits. It's hard to describe what it is exactly to a foreigner, as it doesn't really fall under a bread or cookie category. It's safe to say that they aren't in any way related to the Spanish Rosquillas, which are essencentially doughnuts. Central American Rosquillas are hollow and hard. Here in Honduras, we usually have them to accompany our morning coffees. So, how to make a dessert?
I have never made a rosquilla and I'm still on the lookout for someone who can teach me. I have an understanding my grandmother knows how to, so perhaps I make my way to her house this week and pester her to teach me. The basis of this dessert is a good rosquilla. The rest is fairly simple. The recipe I found requires the following:
Rosquillas en Miel
10 Rosquillas
2 cups dark brown sugar, packed
4 cinnamon sticks
6 cloves
2 cups water
In a heavy duty, medium sauce pan, place water, brown sugar, cinnamon sticks and cloves and heat to boil on medium heat, ensuring the sugar is completely dissolved. Gently place the roquillas in the syrup and on low heat, let them simmer until completely moist, careful not to burn the syrup. The rosquillas can be served warm or chilled. Either way, the rosquillas are to remain in the syrup, chilled. They can be kept up to four days, reboiling the syrup on a daily basis.
I'll see if I can manage to find the proper way to produce these yummy "doughnut-like, corn-based biscuits" and I'll post the recipe. Now, the following recipe is a traditional Spanish and Latin American Christmas time dessert. In Spain, torrejas, torrijas or tostadas are typically made around Easter, except in Cantabria, where they are also made during Christmas. Now, there is no one way to make them and no one can claim their recipe is the "traditional" one, as every country, culture and home makes them differently. The basis of this dessert is a good, egg-rich bread. Here in Honduras, the go-to-bread is called bolillo. It also known as pan de yema (egg yolk bread, to be literal). Brioche is a similar rich bread.
The recipe that follows is the one made at home every Christmas. Like the Rosquillas en Miel, these too, will be immersed in syrup.
Torrejas
1 loaf of bolillo, brioche or any similar egg-rich, bread
4-6 whole eggs, depending on the size of the loaf
vegetable oil to fry
2 ½ cups of dark brown sugar, packed
5 cinnamon sticks
7 cloves
Rum, to taste (optional)
Slice the bread at a diagonal angle. Set aside. Depending on the amount of bread to be used, beat the eggs until to stiff peaks. Immerse the bread into the egg and fry on pre-heated skillet with the oil until golden brown. Set aside. In a heavy duty pan, dissolve the sugar on medium heat. Once the sugar is completely dissolved, add the cinnamon sticks, cloves and rum, if using any. Heat to boil. Gently immerse the fried bread into the syrup and reduce the heat to low. Simmer until completely moist. Serve warm or chilled.
Like the rosquillas, the torrejas are to remain in the syrup, chilled and reboiled daily. They can be kept up till four days. They can remain longer, but keep in mind both desserts are soaked in syrup and will eventually lose their shape with each boiling.
I'll try to make them and post pictures and results for you to see and try for yourself. Now, I said my mind has been reeling with ideas for future experiments and I have two in mind that could potentially wield good results. One is with regards to my birthday. Now, I have it on good authority that my mom will be making a cake for me, and perhaps I will also receive another one, from a really good Swiss bakery here. It's a moist and spongey, strawberry cake, that is oh!, just too delicious!!! Still, I've been wanting to make an ombre cake for a while now, having been a trend a while ago. A few bloggers have been my inspiration and I'm willing to try my skills with one. I'll definitely be posting pictures of it.
My second involves meringue, ginger and peaches? Any idea of what I have in mind? Hehehehe. You'll just have to wait until next week to find out.
Until next time!!!
xx
No comments:
Post a Comment