Tamales dulces - Sweet tamales, a Pinedo recipe

I love tamales - my father used to bring home dozens of savory chicken and pork tamales from work.  He purchased them from ladies who made them during the Christmas season, and I always felt that made them special.  Imagine how my sweet tooth reacted the day I learned about sweet tamales. 

Encarnación Pinedo included 11 tamale recipes in her Tamales section.  I have previously did one of them:  Click here for Part 1 and click here for Part 2 .  Three of her recipes are labeled as sweet tamales.  

The one I tried for today is on page 260, and is the second recipe on that page labeled as "Tamales dulces."

My Translation

My Redaction

3 pounds masa

1/2 pound butter, melted

8 egg yolks

1 1/2 cup sugar

7 cups hot water or more

1 cup raisins

1 cup slivered almonds

1/8 cup sesame seeds

2 tablespoons cinnamon

1 pound bag of corn husks

Rinse the corn husks, changing the water frequently, then set them aside to drain and soften.  I put them in a colander over a towel.

In a VERY LARGE bowl, mix the masa, butter, egg yolks, and sugar.  Add the water and mix well.  Add more water if the mixture is stiff.

Using a sturdy spoon (that won't bend or break), whip the dough until it gets lighter in color, smoother in texture, and the egg yolks no longer look like yellow dots in the masa (they are distributed better).  I used my stand mixer and whipped the dough in batches because there was so much, then I mixed the batches together by hand in the bowl.

Mix in the raisins, almonds, sesame seeds, and cinnamon.  It is well-mixed when the cinnamon looks evenly distributed through the dough.

Spread the mixture on a husk.  Fold up the bottom, then fold in the sides, then fold over the top.  

Have a large kettle ready with hot water on the bottom and some sort of tray over it.  The tamales should sit over the water.  Pile them in, but not too densely.  Cover them with some husks or a piece of parchment paper. If you are steaming multiple batches (and you will, if you make the whole recipe!), you can reuse the husks covering.

Put the lid on the kettle and heat the water to steaming.  Turn the heat down so that the steaming continues but is not boiling all the water off.

Steam the tamales for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, depending on how many are in the kettle and how big they are.

Check for steaming and if more water needs to be added.

Remove tamales and let cool.  Serve warm or room temperature.

That is a very large bowl.  Masa and such before water was added.

Masa mixture with water, ready to be whipped.

Whipped masa.  Lighter in color, smoother in texture.

With raisins, sesame, almonds, and cinnamon.

All well blended.  By hand!

Small amount.  Ready to wrap.

Wrapped.

Ready to steam.  Maybe not so many next time.

Steamy!  Done!

My Notes

For the record, this is a huge amount of dough.  You might want to reduce the recipe by half or more so it can fit in the bowl of a stand mixer.  Seriously, I think my arms are strong enough now to compete in rowing!  

Seven cups of water is not my definition of  "a little hot water."  I think it would have been better to use 8 or 9.  The dough was too stiff, I think, and I should have been more generous with the water.  You don't want the dough runny, but it should be soft and spreadable.  

Some websites suggest steaming them for less time.  I can't really comment on that.

I was taking some to a gathering where we wanted nibbles for everyone, so I made many small tamales.  The goal was 3 to 4 bites each.  Once I had about 35 small ones, I made bigger ones.  Some of the husks were big enough that I split them in half for the small tamales.  Overall, I got nearly 70 tamales.

I used all the husks in my bag and still had some dough left over.  I wrapped it in parchment paper instead of husks to see how that would work.

The Verdict

I asked the people at the gathering to give me feedback, negative or positive.  The responses were mixed.  Several said, "Not a fan."  Mostly it seemed that the texture was bothering them.  Some thought there was not a lot of flavor.  Others said they liked it; they thought the flavors were balanced and good.  Several liked it enough that they asked to take some tamales home, which I gladly agreed to, considering how many were left at my home.  

Cooked.

The interior, to show the texture.  Too dense, I think.

My take?  I wanted there to be some salt in it.  Just a little.  I wanted more raisins.  And a lot more cinnamon.  And some more sugar, although everyone I asked thought the sweetness level was just right.  I could not taste the sesame seeds, but I'm not sure I wanted more in there.  I think I would leave them out completely.  The almonds were a good addition, although I think chopped almonds would have been better than slivered.  

I had the advantage of tasting several tamales over several days, and I noticed that the texture was not consistent.  Some were dense and firm, others were soft and tender.  The point of whipping the dough is to mix in air and make the mixture smoother before cooking.  That results in a tender texture, which is pleasant to eat.  So I suspect I was not giving some batches enough time in the stand mixer to fully whip them, or I piled too many tamales into the kettle and they didn't steam well.

One guest taster, who tried them over several days, noted that they were very good with coffee in the morning.  He wanted more raisins and nuts in them and wished they were all large.  He called them a "Mexican scone."  

Success, but with caveats.  Unless you have a very large bowl and a sturdy spoon, make a smaller version of it.

I'm not sure if using both the husks and the lid as covers were necessary.  It might be that she did not think of using both, and if your kettle doesn't have a lid, the husks would do the trick.  I have not used both the few times before I've made tamales, and the lid did just fine.

Several of us thought the tamales were best serve heated, for example for about 20 seconds in the microwave. Definitely not good served cold. 

The paper-wrapped tamales were fine.  I did not see a difference between them and the husk-wrapped ones.  

At the gathering, some people expressed surprise at the existence of sweet tamales.  They only had experienced savory, meat-filled one.  I was glad to expand their knowledge.

Hot Fudge Sundae Cake!

Sometimes you want (AKA I want!) dessert and the impulse is to have something from your (my) youth.  Of course I want chocolate, too.  What came to mind was a cake that also has pudding with it.

I recall the title of the recipe to be something like "Impossible Cake" or "Pudding Cake," however Betty Crocker calls it "Hot Fudge Sundae Cake."

The intriguing aspect of it is that you make a cake batter then put a topping on it, pour on hot water, and bake it.  In the process, the cake forms on top and the topping forms a sauce or pudding underneath.  Who figured this out???  

It is also interesting in that it has no eggs, which my friends who are allergic to eggs appreciate.  They don't get cake often because of eggs.  Finally, you mix the whole thing in the pan, cutting down on the amount of dishes to wash afterwards.  This is excellent.

So let's run with Betty, using her recipe on page 258 of her 1984 printing of Betty Crocker's Cookbook.

ISBN 0-307-09800-1  Sunfaded from years of ownership.

Hot Fudge Sundae Cake

1 cup all-purpose flour

3/4 cup granulated sugar

2 tablespoons cocoa

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup milk

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup chopped nuts (optional)

1 cup packed brown sugar

1/4 cup cocoa

1 3/4 cup hottest tap water

Ice cream

No ice cream.  : (

Heat oven to 350 degrees.  Mix flour, granulated sugar, 2 tablespoons cocoa, the baking powder, and salt in ungreased square pan, 9x9x2 inches.  Mix in milk, oil and vanilla with a fork until smooth.  Stir in nuts.  Spread in pan.  Sprinkle with brown sugar and 1/4 cup cocoa.  Pour hot water over batter.

Bake 40 minutes.  While warm, spoon into dessert dishes and top with ice cream.  Spoon sauce from pan onto each serving.  9 servings.

My Notes

I chose to use pecans for the optional nuts.  

I was out of brown sugar, but did you know you can make it?  I started with granulated sugar and mixed in enough molasses to make it resemble brown sugar.  Using the wire attachment on my mixer did a good job of distributing the molasses.  I didn't measure, but I would guess about 1 1/2 cups of sugar to about 1/3 cup molasses did it.  There were some lumps that I pressed out and others I ignored.  I noticed that the leftovers were even more like brown sugar after they had set overnight.

I didn't have a 9x9 pan but I used a rectangular pan that was close in volume to the square pan.

Use a fork to mix the dry ingredients together so you can reach the corners of the pan well.  

Once the batter was made, I spread the chopped nuts over it and somewhat mixed them in with a fork.  

Sprinkle the brown sugar and cocoa evenly over the entire surface of the batter.

Dry ingredients mixed and spread in pan.

Now they are wet and spread in pan.

Nuts on top and "mixed" in.

Water added.

Done!

The Verdict

Notice the directions say to serve it warm, not hot.  I learned earlier in life that when it is hot, the sauce is too runny and difficult to serve.  When the cake is warm, the sauce is thicker.  But also, when the leftovers are cold, the sauce is a definite pudding in texture.  

It tasted exactly how I recalled it -- good!  Chocolaty in a "from cocoa" point of view, sweet but not bad, and the sauce is a nice touch.  I didn't have ice cream, but that didn't matter.  I would have chosen vanilla to complement the "hot fudge" aspect and chocolate flavor.

The cake is definitely cake.  This was the first time I had nuts with it, which I liked.  So the texture was crunchy from the nuts, chewy from the cake, and creamy from the sauce.  You really can't go wrong with this.

My guest taster thought it was rich.  I don't think it was rich as compared to a cheesecake.  

Success!

Cake above, pudding below.  Amazing!

Betty Crocker suggests modifications:  use butterscotch chips or miniature marshmallows or raisins for the nuts.  Or a mixture of peanut butter and peanuts for the nuts.

I would suggest (without having tried it) to use coffee instead of water and to include cinnamon or other sweet spices to enhance the flavors.  

There is, on the next page, a similar recipe called "Lemon Pudding Cake" (can be modified to lime), if you are not interested in chocolate.  It does call for eggs, though.

Capirotada - Spanish pudding, a Pinedo recipe

When I first read Pinedo's recipe on pages 47-48 called "Capirotada," I was astonished at the concepts embedded in it.  This looks like an English bread pudding but doesn't contain the milk-and-egg mixture that soaks the bread.  Instead it uses a sugar syrup.  So I expected it to be a dessert.  Except it has green onions, tomatoes, and hard-boiled eggs.  So savory?  But then it also has raisins.  What is this thing?

Wikipedia provides a brief history of the dish, stating that it originated in Spain as a savory dish with meat and stale bread as early as the 1400s.  Then, with its introduction to Mexico during the Spanish Conquest, it slowly shifted to the sweet dish of today.  In fact, it currently is a favorite to consume during Lent and typically has cheese as its only savory ingredient.

It appears to me that Pinedo's recipe came from a time when the recipe was still shifting from savory to sweet. The 1400s recipe moistens the stale bread with broth and beaten eggs - and those ingredients were available in Mexico, so why the shift to the syrup?  I can't help but think someone like me who has a raging sweet tooth decided to try it, and liked it.  Or perhaps using sugar was a display of wealth used to impress an important person.  

Whatever the reason, I wanted to try it.  

My Translation

My Redaction

one 1-1/2 pound loaf of white bread

10 ounces mozzarella cheese, shredded

8 hard-boiled eggs, peeled

1 tablespoon butter

2 green onions, chopped

3 cups boiling water

1/4 cup fresh tomato, chopped and including the juice

3/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup raisins

3/4 teaspoon pepper

3 cups sugar

1 cup sliced almonds

Slice bread very thin, 1/4 inch thickness or less; toast to golden brown.

Slice the cheese or use shredded as I did.

Slice the eggs.

Melt the butter in a skillet, add green onions, tomato, and salt.  Saute it over medium-low heat until the tomato and onions are soft.  Don't let it get too dry.  

Add boiling water, raisins, pepper, and sugar to the skillet.  Simmer it about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Preheat oven to 250 degrees F.  While it is heating, assemble the capirotada.

In a 13 x 9 inch casserole dish, pour enough of the sauce to cover the bottom, distributing the raisins and onions across the bottom.  

Here is the order of the layers that start on top of the syrup on the bottom:

Bread

Cheese

Eggs

Almonds

Repeat until the casserole is full, making the last layer just bread, syrup, and almonds.  

Heat it through in the oven.  Don't bake it, just get it hot.  Then broil it for a few minutes to make the top golden brown.

Very thin!

Golden brown

This is just 2/3 of the syrup.

My Notes

Originally I thought she intended me to use tomato paste, not fresh tomato, but a look around the 'net showed a few recipes that used fresh.

The tomatoes and onion mixture smelled so good while it was frying!  And I didn't let it get "too dry."

Originally I used 2 cups of water and 2 cups of sugar with the spices, but after assembling the capirotada, I felt it looked too dry.  I let it heat for 20 minutes and checked it - the bread was definitely too dry.  So I made another batch of syrup with just salt and pepper - no onions or tomato - and brushed some over the top layer of bread then poured the rest over all the layers.  Another 10 minutes later, I noticed the cheese was melted.

I actually started with 1 cup of sugar and then kept tasting until it seemed "very sweet."  I realized this gave made a basic simple syrup with a sugar-to-water ratio of 1 to 1.

It wasn't time to serve it, so I dropped the oven temperature to about 225 deg just to keep it warm.  At serving time, I broiled it for just a few minutes to brown the top.

Distribute the veggies and fruit about the bottom of the casserole pan.

First bread layer.

All the layers except the top.

All done.  Maybe broil a little less so as not to scorch the nuts and raisins.

The Verdict

I had several friends as guest tasters - ones confident enough in my cooking that they requested me to experiment on them.  (!)  We had the capirotada along with a tossed green salad and baked chicken thighs.  (Notice that I had the thighs as a backup plan in the case no one liked the experiment; no one would go hungry.)

We liked it!  We found it intriguing to have the sweet syrup and syrup-soaked bread together with the cheese, eggs, raisins, onions, and almonds.  The pepper flavor came through but was not overwhelming, and made an interesting complement to the sweet syrup.  The cheese seemed to add body to each bite but did not, in itself, add much flavor.  Perhaps cotija cheese would be better?  

The almonds were a good idea as they added crunch to an otherwise soft dish.

The general consensus was that it was a good side dish - and it was nice to have the protein and non-sweet of the chicken to go with it.  (Whew!)

I was glad that I added more syrup to the mixture.  The bread was not dry, not even the top.  The lower layers of bread were very moist, and I liked that a lot.  

Layers!

Another guest taster tried it the next day and thought that it would make a very good brunch dish, because of the sweet bread (like French toast) and the eggs and onions (like an omelet).  

Success!

I tried the syrup before it all went onto the layers, and loved the mixture of sweet, onion, tomato (very faint, but there), and pepper.  The salt was not discernible, but it needed to be there and none of us felt like the dish needed more.

By the way, it was good hot from the oven and also warmed up as leftovers.

Persimmon Jam, yet another persimmon recipe (1940s)

I know, I know!  You are thinking, "ANOTHER persimmon recipe??"  Did I mention I had a lot of persimmons?  And, well, The California Cook Book also had a recipe for persimmon jam.  (See the February 1 and March 1 posts for the other persimmon recipes.)

Found on Archive.org.

Mine are Fuyu persimmons, which means they are not astringent if not fully ripe, unlike the Hachiya variety I learned to eat first.  You can eat them when they are crisp-firm like an apple or softer or (my favorite) so soft they are like eating pudding.  That is when they are the sweetest.  

Pages 319 - 320

Ms. Callahan said the persimmons for her jam need to be as soft as jelly, and so I saved a bunch of the very soft ones just for this recipe.  They didn't all get soft at the same time, so I kept them in the refrigerator while waiting for enough to make the recipe.  Some were much riper than others.

My Redaction with Notes

2 cups persimmon pulp from very ripe persimmons

2 cups sugar

I used a few more persimmons than what you see here to get 2 cups.

My persimmons were so ripe that cutting them up was not an option.  I broke open the skin and used a spoon to scoop out the pulp.  Remove the seeds as needed -- not all persimmons have seeds, but some do.  I did not include the skin.

Instead of pushing the pulp through a sieve, I used a stick blender to puree it.

I chose to use a double boiler and set the water level so it went up the sides of the insert.  

After I mixed the pulp and the sugar, I put the insert into the double boiler for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, while the pulp got to "simmer" temperature.  I noticed it steamed a little at that time and a few bubbles formed along the edge of the mixture.

The clean jars were filled with water and heated in the microwave for 10 minutes to help sterilize them.  I was not intending to fully can the jam, just get it in very clean jars to store in the refrigerator.

Then I set the timer for 20 minutes and stirred the mixture continuously while it cooked.  I noticed it got thicker as the time went on. 

I ladled the jam into the empty, hot jars, put on the lids, then put them into the refrigerator.

Two cups pulp.

Pureed.

See the bubbles?  I call that "simmering."

Inside the blue circle you can see a little pile-up of jam.  Thicker!

Three jars like this and a little extra.

The Verdict

I managed to keep the mixture from boiling and noticed that the maximum temperature was 175 degrees F.  So I had hoped for no bitterness.

The jam was beautifully thick; just right I would say, for spreading (or even eating off the spoon).

Beautiful!

The flavor was fascinating.  I know it was just persimmons and sugar, but I would swear it tasted like it had spices in it, like cinnamon and ginger or allspice.  I got the persimmon flavor and the sweetness, but it wasn't too sweet, which surprised me.  And no bitterness!  

The texture was intriguing, too.  It was pretty smooth, which is probably because I pureed the pulp.  It also had a slight gelatinous quality to it.  Not in an off-putting way.  I'm not sure what caused that.

So success!  

When I was first contemplating the recipe, I thought I would probably want to add spices to it, but I know now it is not necessary.  The only adaptation I might make would be to add a little lime juice to the jam once it was cooked and before it went into the jars.  Just a thought, anyway.

Adobo para carne de cerdo - Pork Marinade, a Pinedo recipe

Encarnación Pinedo, in her cookbook, El cocinero español, mostly arranged her recipes in categories with those categories in alphabetical order in Spanish.  (I say "mostly" because not all recipes in a category seem to fit into that category.  For example, under her "Fritters" category, we find a recipe for carmelized peanuts.)

Under her "Adobos" category, there is a recipe for a pork roast marinade on page 3.

My Translation

This recipe intrigued me because of her use of mint.  Now I have been experiencing historical cooking for decades, so I am used to seeing ingredients that are otherwise familiar to me being used in ways that are different than what I grew up with.  But mint with meat and it wasn't even a mint sauce or jelly on lamb?  I had to give it a try.

My Redaction

2 dried New Mexico chiles

8 dried costeño chiles

4 tablespoons chopped garlic

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon pepper

1/2 cup chopped peppermint, stems and all

1 cup chopped Italian oregano (a cross between oregano and marjoram)

1 cup apple cider vinegar

2.8 pounds boneless pork cushion meat

I love the colors!

Remove stems and seeds from the chiles.  Soak the chiles in hot water to cover until soft, about 15 minutes.

While they are soaking, chop herbs.  Put into a container large enough to comfortably hold the pork.  Add the salt and pepper.

Put the chiles and garlic into a blender with just enough of the soaking water to blend it.  I got a thick, red liquid with small chunks of chile and garlic in it. Pour this into the container.

Use the vinegar to rinse out the blender, pouring it all into the container.

Mix the marinade in the container.

Add the pork.  Turn the meat until all sides are covered by the marinade.   Spoon some marinade over the top.

Cover and refrigerate for 3 hours, turning the meat occasionally.

Drain off liquid but leave the paste and herbs on the surface until ready to roast.* See note below.

When you are ready to roast the meat

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.  

Remove pork from the refrigerator.  Rinse off marinade and pat dry.

Place the pork on a baking sheet with low sides. 

Bake at 425 for 15 minutes, then turn the temperature down to 375 degrees F to finish the baking.  Start checking the internal temperature about 30 minutes in - the goal is 145 degrees F.  Recommended baking time is 15 to 20 minutes per pound.

When baking is done, cover the meat with a tent of foil and let it rest for 10 minutes.  Slice thin and serve.

Pureed chiles and garlic

Herbs, pepper, and salt

Have not yet added the vinegar

At the start of the marinating process

After 3 hours

Two days later, ready for the oven.

My Notes

The goal was a strongly-flavored marinade, and that is what decided the amount of ingredients I used.

I used those amounts of chiles because that is what I had available.  Feel free to change the amounts and the varieties.

I know that different mints have different flavor profiles, but peppermint was the only mint available in my yard at the time I made the recipe.

Similarly, my oregano is nearly dead so I turned to Italian oregano as a substitute.

*My reading on using vinegar in a marinade is that if you leave the meat in it too long, the meat gets "chalky" in flavor and possibly gets a weird texture.  So I chose three hours for the meat to have contact with the vinegar part.  

Once the meat was just in the paste and herbs, it rested in the refrigerator for two days until I had time to bake it.

I removed the meat from the oven when its internal temperature was 140 deg F because resting will allow for more cooking and we like our pork rare.

The Verdict

It looked beautiful just out of the oven.  

Mmmmmmmmm!

Slicing it showed the pale pink we want in our pork roasts. (Note:  The US pork industry is well-known for being safe from trichinosis - but if your local pork supply is suspect, cook it to an internal temperature of 145 deg F to be safe.)

Yes, mmmmmmmm!

My guest taster and I tried various parts of the sliced meat to see how the marinade worked.  We both noticed that the flavor was stronger near the edges and got lighter more towards the middle.  This is not surprising because the marinade was near the edges!

Overall, the marinade flavor was not strong, which I think was good.  It was there and it definitely enhanced the flavor of the meat.  

We both liked the subtle mint flavor!  The mixture of chiles, garlic, oregano, and mint was good, although we couldn't really distinguish the chiles, garlic, and oregano from each other.  I suspect that you could use more of each and still make a good marinade.  Or let it marinate longer, but I don't know how long until the vinegar makes the meat chalky.

It was a pork roast with additional flavors that were good and not overwhelming.  Success!  The leftovers were tasty, too.  Reheating allowed the marinade flavors to shine through better than eating the meat cold.