Dessert Quesadillas

Remember the last post about fruit quesadillas? Many quesadillas later, they morphed into all-out dessert. Goat cheese was swapped out for requesón, the name for ricotta cheese in Mexico. Chocolate was added. And walnuts. And ice cream. At this point, the quesadillas were dessert, not lunch.

Has anyone else come up with dessert quesadillas? I don’t know and I don’t want to know. In my world, dessert quesadillas originated here on Cooking in Mexico, and I don’t want Google to tell me otherwise. I still remember how excited I was when I thought I was the first person ever to come up with walnutella, my own concoction of walnuts and Ibarra chocolate to make a Nutella-like spread. A quick internet search proved otherwise. Then there was the time I thought, Hey, no one else is doing tuna melt quesadillas! Wrong. They were all over the internet, too. So, if you see dessert quesadillas on the internet, don’t tell me, OK? Gracias.

Take almost any fruit — apples, mango, pears, strawberries, figs, even banana. I used mango and apple this time. Laying the tortilla flat, spread with ricotta cheese. Then top one half with fruit, chocolate and nuts, and fold the other half over. It’s ready for a hot griddle. Fruit, ricotta and chocolate could not be a more delectable combination.

Add a scoop of ice cream and some chocolate sauce, and all of a sudden a fancy dessert is happening. With everything prepped, this would be easy to put together for company, and would probably be a dessert they have not had before.

Dessert Quesadillas 8 servings

• 2.5 oz./70 g. dark chocolate, chopped, plus 1 oz/28 g. for sauce
• 2 teaspoons avocado oil or other neutral oil
• 4 whole wheat tortillas
• 1 cup/8 oz./230 g. ricotta cheese
• 1 apple, peeled and sliced 1/2″/1.25 cm. thick
• 1 mango, sliced 1/2″/1.25 cm. thick(see Notes below for instructions)
• 1/2 cup/50 g chopped walnuts plus additional chopped walnuts for garnish
• Vanilla ice cream

• 1. Make chocolate sauce: microwave or melt over low heat 1 oz./28 gr. dark chocolate in 2 teaspoons avocado oil, heating just until chocolate is melted, and mixing until smooth. Set aside to cool.
• 2. Divide ricotta among tortillas and spread to within 1/2″/1.25 cm. of edge.
• 3. On one half of each tortilla, place fruit, nuts and chocolate.
• 4. Fold in half and cook on medium hot griddle until brown and toasty, about 2-3 minutes on each side.
• 5. Cool about 5 minutes on a cake rack.
• 6. Cut each quesadilla in half. Top with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, drizzle with chocolate sauce, and garnish with additional chopped walnuts.

Notes:

~ Why whole wheat tortillas? Because they have more fiber, more nutrition, and much more flavor than white flour tortillas.

~ To slice a mango, stand it on end and cut the two cheeks off, slicing very closely to the seed. Without cutting through the skin, cut 1/2″ slices (see 3rd. photo). Holding one cheek in the palm of your hand, run the edge of a spoon between the flesh and the skin, releasing the slices.

~ Eight years ago, I wrote about making requesón. It’s actually easy, though I confess I don’t make it any more. We live in a dairy region where fresh cheeses are made at the local ranches and sold at the cremerías. It’s too easy to bring a carton home, made at a nearby rancho. Freshly made requesón pairs well with fruit and good bread.

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Fruit Quesadillas

It seems like winter ended not that long ago, but local peaches have already made their appearance. El Galope, a nearby little village, is known for its small, early peaches and we look forward to buying them from baskets on the roadside.

I started out to make a peach galette, but thought of quesadillas instead. They are easy enough. And what about the ripe mangoes and the odd apple in the fridge? Lunch was taking shape. Guajillo chiles added a subtle zip, along with pepitas – squash seeds – for some crunch. The chile skin proves too much like cellophane to chew on, so the chiles were soaked in boiling water, and then the flesh was scraped off from the inside of the skin.

Quesadillas have been common in Mexico ever since the Spanish arrival, which brought cows and the making of cheese. The very first letters of “quesadilla” signify the addition of cheese, though I hear that quesadillas in Mexico City do not necessarily contain cheese. But how do they hold together?

Swiss and goat were the only cheeses in my fridge, and as this cook’s mantra is to make do with what I have, they were just right. Oaxaca cheese, or string cheese, is the traditional cheese used in Mexico for quesadillas, but any cheese would be good here. Cheddar, Oaxaca, manchego, mozzarella. Use what you have.

I prefer whole wheat flour tortillas to corn tortillas, though flour tortillas are more commonly used for quesadillas in northern Mexico. If you use corn tortillas, they need to be lightly oiled first on the outer side to prevent them from drying out. Whole wheat tortillas contain vegetable oil, which makes them resemble the flakiness and crispness of pie crust when toasted on the griddle. Probably white flour tortillas would be the same, but white flour anything offers no flavor when compared to whole wheat flour.

The quesadillas were assembled on the griddle. Fruit slices, cheese, a smear of scraped chile and a few pepitas sprinkled over everything. Try to get cheese on every piece of fruit to stick it in place when the toasted quesadilla is picked up.

Guajillo chiles are a common chile in Mexico, and should be found in any Mexican grocery store, or they can be ordered online. They are very mild, and described as having a “green tea or stemmy flavor with berry tones, a little piney and tannic, with a sweet heat” by Mark Miller in The Great Chile Book. They may also be labeled chile guaco, chile mirasole, or, where I live in Jalisco, chile liso. A very good, all-round chile to have in your cocina for many Mexican dishes.

Cook for 3-5 minutes on each side, turning when there are nice brown spots and the tortilla is starting to crisp.

Two peach quesadillas, two mango quesadillas, and one apple quesadilla were offered for lunch.

Fruit Quesadillas 2 servings

• 4 whole wheat tortillas (or white flour or corn tortillas)
• 2 cups sliced or grated cheese
• 2 chile guajillos, stem end opened and seeds shaken out
• 2 cups sliced fruit
• 4 tablespoons pepitas

1. Bring a small pot of water to a boil, turn off heat and add chiles to soak for 10 minutes.
2. Preheat griddle or skillet over medium low heat.
3. Cut chiles in half lengthwise, and scrape off flesh, using one half chile per quesadilla.
4. Distribute cheese over open tortilla.
5. Place fruit and pepitas on one side of tortilla and fold over in half.
6. Toast on griddle for 3-5 minutes per side, until toasty brown spots appear.
7. Cut each quesadilla in half and serve warm.

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Ancho Mole Cookies

I wanted to make a pretty cookie, but it just wasn’t going to happen. I really thought I could do it. I’ve probably made thousands of cookies by now, but they were mostly the drop kind. Not the freeze, roll into a three-sided triangle shape, roll in sesame seeds, freeze again, slice really thin through the hard chocolate and nuts without distorting the shape kind. But the Ancho Mole Cookies sure tasted good, despite being less than the perfect triangles I was hoping for.

Epicurious had the recipe for Ancho Mole Cookies on their web site recently, and as soon as I saw it, I knew I was going to make it. The combination of chocolate, chile, cinnamon, sesame seeds, fruit, and nuts — ingredients in a classic mole sauce — was pure genius, and immediately caught my attention and went on the “bake soon” list. Plus, they were just so dang pretty. Perfect equilateral triangle slices, with dried fruit shining through like stained glass.

Russ noticed I was busy in the kitchen, and asked what I was making. “Cookies for the blog.” Russ: “My name is Blog. That’s my new name, Blog”. Blog gave them his seal of approval, really liking the chile bite combined with the chocolate, fruit and nuts, and he didn’t care that they weren’t equilateral triangles.

Instead of dried fruit, I used fruta cristalizada, a common treat in Mexico, where entire halves of camote (sweet potato), large chunks of papaya or calabaza (winter squash), whole figs and many other fruits are cooked in a sugar syrup until candied, but still tender on the inside. The colors are like gems. If you are not in Mexico, use any dried fruit you have on hand.

Make these cookies. Don’t be put off by my misshapen attempt. I plan on making them again, and just not obsessing over achieving a triangle cut as specified in the original Epicurious recipe. Round cookies are fine. A good cookie is a good cookie, regardless of shape.

Omit the chile if you are faint of heart/palate. And use white flour, if you are not of the whole wheat persuasion. If you use ancho chile powder, be prepared for a mouth tingling zip that leaves you reaching for another cookie.

Ancho Mole Cookies

• 1 cup (4 oz/115 g) nuts (I used walnuts)
• 1¼ cups (6.34 oz/180g) raw sesame seeds, divided
• ¼ cup (.84 oz/24g) pure, ground ancho chile powder
• ¼ cup (59ml) agave syrup
• 2 cups (256 g) whole wheat or all-purpose flour
• ½ tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 12 Tbsp. (6 oz/170 g)unsalted butter, room temperature
• ½ cup (33.55 oz/100 g) sugar
• 1¾ tsp. kosher salt
• 3 large egg yolks (save the egg whites for brushing on the rolled cookie dough)
• 1 Tbsp. vanilla extract
• 1 cup (130 g) dried fruit, such as papaya, mango, or pineapple, cut into (¾”) pieces. I used papaya cristalizada. The weight may vary, depending on the moisture content of the dried fruit.
• 3/4 cup (4 oz/110 g) chocolate chips or chopped dark chocolate

1. Heat oven to 350 F. Toast nuts and 1/4 cup sesame seeds for 10 minutes, tossing halfway through. Set aside.
2. Blend all dry ingredients, chile and cinnamon included.
3. In standing mixer, cream butter and sugar until creamy, about 3 minutes. Add eggs and vanilla and beat an additional minute. Add agave syrup and beat until well blended.
4. With mixer on low speed, gradually add dry ingredients until blended.
5. Stir in nuts, toasted sesame seeds and dried fruit.
6. Divide dough in half. Roll each half into a 10″ log and wrap each one in plastic wrap or wax paper, rolling again to make each log smooth. Freeze for 20 minutes on a flat surface.
7. Now you have a choice. Either follow Epicurious’ instructions and slap the cold cylinder on the counter to form a 3-sided triangle form, OR skip that and leave as a perfectly round log shape. Whichever your choice, leave wrapped and freeze an additional 15 minutes.
8. Working with one log at a time, unwrap and brush with egg white. Roll in remaining 1 cup of sesame seeds, covering surface completely. Freeze unwrapped for about an hour, until surface is firm but not frozen.
9. Pre-heat oven to 350 F/180 C.
10. Slice each log into 1/4″ (6.35 mm) slices. If dough warms and becomes soft while slicing, return to freezer for 10-15 minutes. Place on parchment-lined baking sheet, spaced 1″ (25 mm) apart.
11. Bake 10-12 minutes, until edges are set, but centers are still soft. Let cool on baking sheets.

Notes ~

~ Ancho chiles are dried, smoked poblano chile, with a complex, smokey flavor. The powdered form is common, and is found in many salsas and moles.

~ Mole ( MOH-lay) is a classic Mexican sauce used for chicken, pork, almost any meat. I’ve even spooned it over sautéed tofu slices. The states of Oaxaca and Puebla are famous for their mole. Depending on ingredients, mole can be green, yellow, black or red, and there are more than a dozen different ways to prepare it. Fruit, chocolate, seeds, nuts and chile are typically found in mole sauces. Bottled Doña María mole sauce is the easy way to make a mole dish at home. You’ll find it in the Mexican food aisle if you are north of the border. For those of you south of the border, Doña María is in every little grocery store in Mexico.

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All photos and text are copyright protected. Do not copy or reproduce without permission.

Rosca de Reyes

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Tomorrow, January 6, is the day when the three kings, the wise men of the Christmas story, will bring gifts to the good little girls and boys in Mexico. This is Epipany, called Dia de los Santos Reyes on my Mexican calendar, and it is the offical end of the Mexican Christmas holidays. A sweet, decorated bread, the Rosca de Reyes, the (bread) ring of the kings is served to all, whether you have been good or bad.

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This bread has a muñeca, a little ceramic doll, tucked into it to represent the baby Jesus. Whoever finds it in their slice is obligated to serve tamales to guests on Dia de la Candelaria, February 2. Because this can be an expensive meal (two tamales per person, at least, for twenty to thirty or more people), sometimes the one with the muñeca conceals it in their mouth and doesn’t own up. For this reason two or three muñecas may be in one bread, with the hope that at least one person will annouce they are the lucky one who will host the tamale dinner.

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Most people in Mexico buy their Rosca de Reyes from a panederia (bakery) or supermercado. If you have a baking inclination, here are two recipes from past years. Rosca de Reyes are yeast breads decorated with ate, a dried fruit paste, and formed into a ring. This recipe is a classic Rosca de Reyes from 2010. My favorite, from 2011, Mini Rosca de Reyes with Frangipani, is a bit more work with homemade almond paste, though you could use store-bought. Either way, be sure to slip in a muñeco, or use a shelled almond as a stand-in as I did.

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Leftovers toast well, and also make great French toast, maybe my favorite way to eat Rosca de Reyes. And now that the holidays are over, it’s time to take down the agave flower Christmas “tree”. And start eating salads.

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Chocolate prune cake

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Childhood memories of Cadbury Fruit and Nut chocolate bars from the years we lived in England come to mind now and then. Pastelerias (cake shops) in Mexico make very tempting, creative cakes, evidence of European immigrant and foreign government influence. What about a chocolate cake that takes its inspiration from Cadbury’s raisins and almonds? Am I starting a new thing? No. Recipes for Cadbury cakes are all over the internet, mostly from the U.K. Every time I think I might have come up with a new recipe, I find it’s been on the internet for years. Oh well, here’s a very different chocolate cake from this immigrant, me. It’s made moist with prune puree, filled with almonds and raisins, and special enough that it will be our New Year’s Eve dessert and see us into 2021.

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Prune puree works some kind of culinary magic, so that less fat and sugar still produce plenty of sweetness and tenderness. Only 1/4 cup of sugar is used, and 1/4 cup coconut oil or butter. Coconut oil seems to work its own chemistry, making for more tender cakes.

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At the risk of sounding like a commercial for Costco, bakers south of the border can get very good Kirkland brand almendras (almonds), ciruelas secas (prunes), and chispas de chocolate (chocolate chips). But don’t go to Costco for pasas (raisins). Mexico’s markets and little stores have the best, tinted with reds and purples, and two to three times larger than raisins north of the border. They taste sweeter, too, but maybe that’s due to my own enthusiasm for these colorful morsels. In Mexico, you can find them in generically labeled bags or in bulk.

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Our New Year’s Eve menu is yet to be planned. Maybe French onion soup with a cheese souffle. No tamales or atole tomorrow night, you ask? Well, when Emperor Maximilian thought he could rule Mexico, his plans failed, but the wonderful cuisine of France stayed. I don’t think we’ll be the only ones in Mexico enjoying French dishes tomorrow night. Bon appetit! I mean, Buen provecho!

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The Chocolate Prune Cake is already baked, and because it’s extra moist, it will still be fresh and tender tomorrow evening. That is, if we don’t eat it all by then. You may notice there remained five pieces for the photo above. Will I ever learn to take photos, then eat?

For New Year’s Eve, Russ and I will be staying home with our pup, Yolo, enjoying each other’s company, maybe a movie, and definitely good food. May you enjoy the same. Feliz Año Nuevo!

Chocolate Prune Cake ~ 9 – 12 servings

• 1.5 cups (10.6 oz/300 g) pitted prunes
• 1 cup (6.7 oz/190 g) chocolate chips or chopped dark chocolate, divided
• 2 large eggs
• 1/4 cup (60 ml) melted coconut oil or butter
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 cup (4.5 oz/125 g) whole wheat pastry flour or regular whole wheat flour (for gluten free, see notes below)
• 1/2 cup (1.65 oz/48 g) unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/4 cup (1.75 oz/50 g) sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup (3 oz/85 g) almonds, coarsely chopped
• 1/2 cup (2.25 oz/63 g) raisins
• Confectioner’s sugar to dust on cake (optional)

1. Cut parchment paper to fit bottom of 8″ or 9″ baking pan. Grease and flour sides of pan.
2. Simmer prunes in 1.5 cups (355 ml) water for 10 minutes, or until prunes are very tender. (See note below.)
3. Puree undrained prunes, while still very warm, in food processor with 1/2 cup chocolate chips, eggs, oil and vanilla.
4. Preheat oven to 350° F (180° C).
5. Sift dry ingredients into large bowl.
6. Stir prune mixture into dry ingredients with remaining 1/2 cup chocolate chips, almonds and raisins.
7. Pour into prepared baking pan and bake for 35-45 minutes, or until toothpick tests mostly dry. This is a very moist cake, so some crumbs will stick to toothpick when cake is done.
8. Cook in pan for 5 minues.
9. Run a thin knife around inside edges and invert onto cake rack to cool.

~ Notes

~ Prunes from Costco are very moist, almost wet. But if your prunes are the drier variety, use 1 3/4 cups of water to simmer prunes.

~ Pastry flour, with its lower gluten content, is preferred for tender cakes, but not available in Mexico unless you have a large supermarket that carries Bob’s Red Mill products. Most of us in Mexico will have to make do with regular flour, whole wheat or white.

~ For a gluten free cake, replace the wheat flour with Bob’s Red Mill 1 – 1 Baking Flour. According to Bob’s website, this flour can replace regular flour with an equal amount of Bob’s Red Mill 1 – 1 flour, cup per cup. I have not tried this, but it has very good reviews on Amazon.

© 2009-2020 COOKING IN MEXICO ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

All photos and text are copyright protected. Do not copy or reproduce without permission.