Macarrón de Coco y Almendras (Coconut-Almond Macaroons)

This was one of three desserts for our New Year’s dinner 2007. For the full menu, see this post.

Not exactly Cuban, but a big hit. . .and anyway, coconuts are tropical, right?

The original coconut macaroon (”Rochers à la Noix de Coco”) recipe came from the wonderful food blog Chocolate & Zucchini. I followed the directions exactly, but I was short on coconut, so I put raw almonds through my spice/coffee grinder until they became a coarse meal and substituted them for the missing coconut (a 1 to 2 coconut to almond blend). They came out delicious, although perhaps due to the heavier nature of the almonds, I ended up with only about 24 macaroons, instead of the indicated 32.

Soy Milk Bread Pudding

Adapted from Fannie Flagg’s Original Whistle Stop Cafe Cookbook’s Bread Pudding.

Serves about 8.

Ingredients

6 cups of French bread (cubed)
3 cups soy milk
4 egg whites (2/3 cup Quick Whites)
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 tablespoon natural vanilla flavoring
2 medium-sized apples (peeled and chopped into smallish pieces)
1 tablespoon olive oil

Method

1. Place bread in a large bowl and pour soy milk over it.
2. Let stand for 10 minutes, then mix well by hand.
3. Add egg whites and vanilla and mix well.
4. Combine sugar and cinnamon and add to mixture.
5. Stir in apple pieces.
6. Coat 9×9 pan with olive oil, then pour in bread mixture.
7. Bake for 30-45 minutes until firm.
8. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Lemon-Vanilla Yogurt Cake

What to do on a rainy day when you are out of flour and have no desire to go to the store? Use the spice grinder to make oat flour from oats! The recipe was adapted from Karen Cross Whyte’s The Complete Yogurt Cookbook’s “Poppy Seed Cake”, which actually used rice flour. Serves 8.

Ingredients

2 cups oat flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
pinch of salt
3/4 cup corn oil
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup non fat vanilla yogurt
grated rind of one lemon
3 egg whites, beaten stiff (if using All Whites Egg Whites: 1/3 cup + 3 tablespoons)
1.5 cups blueberries (fresh or frozen) OPTIONAL

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
   
2. Mix together dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt).
3. Blend yogurt, oil, brown sugar, and lemon rind.
4. Add yogurt mixture to dry ingredients and mix well. (If adding bluberries, mix into batter now).
5. Beat egg whites and fold into batter.
6. Pour batter into a greased cake or bundt pan.
7. Bake for 30 minutes or until slightly browned on top, and an inserted knife comes out clean.
8. Let cool before serving.

(With 8 servings, each serving is worth 9 points in Weight Watchers)

Buñuelos Cubanos (Cuban Fritters)

This was the one of three desserts from our New Year’s dinner 2007. For the full menu, see this post.

Makes about 36 smallish fritters

Part 1: The Buñuelos

Ingredients:

3 pounds of a mix of yuca, malanga, squash, sweet potato and plantains
2 eggs
1 tablespoon of grated orange of lemon rind
Flour as needed (may be about 2-3 cups)
Oil for deep frying

Method:

1. Peel the vegetables and cook them in boiling water until just soft (if cooking yucca, remember to remove the woody parts).
2. Drain water and put the cooked vegetables through a food processor or blender until pureed.
3. Beat the two eggs with a fork and mix into the puree.
4. Mix the “dough” by hand and slowly add flour until the mix no longer sticks to the hands.
5. Roll the dough into a thin tube.
6. Take about 10 inches of the tube and make a figure eight (8).
7. Heat the oil and fry until golden.
8. Put into a shallow pan or tray.

Part 2: The Syrup (Almibar)

Ingredients:

1 cup of sugar
1/2 cup of water
One or more of the following: 1 stick of cinnamon, teaspoon of vanilla, 1/2 teaspoon anise seeds, grated lemon rind

Method:

1. Put ingredients into a small pan over medium heat.
2. Cook while constantly mixing until syrup thickens slightly.
3. Pour over buñuelos.

(Adapted from Estela de Jesus)

Flan de Queso (Custard Cheesecake)

This “flan” that I first tasted in Guadalajara, Mexico, is perhaps closer to an American cheesecake in texture, but still retains the caramel flavor associated with a traditional flan. This was one of three desserts for our New Year’s dinner 2007. For the full menu, see this post.

Serves 12.

Part 1: Caramel

Ingredients

3/4 cup white sugar
1/2 teaspoon lemon rind

Method:

1. Put sugar and lemon rind in a small metal pan.
2. Continue stirring over medium high-heat until the sugar melts into a light brown syrup.
3. Quickly pour into a pyrex dish and move dish around to cover the bottom and sides. The syrup will harden into a shell, but during the baking, will melt to create a caramel sauce for the custard.

Part 2: Custard

Ingredients:

1 can condensed milk
1 can evaporated milk
2-3 tablespoons of natural vanilla flavoring
5 medium eggs
7 oz (almost 1 package) cream cheese

Method:

1. Beat eggs and mix with other ingredients in a blender.
2. Pour mixture into caramel-lined pyrex.
3. Bake in a water bath (”bain-marie”) at 325 degrees F for about 1-1.5 hour, until the custard is set.
   

   Tips for cooking custards in a bain-marie, from The Joy of Cooking:
   - Use a roasting pan large enough to accommodate the pyrex comfortably
   - The pyrex dish should not touch the bottom or walls of the pan. This can be achieved either by setting a cake rack in the pan or covering the pan bottom.
   - Set the pyrex in the dry pan and put the pan into the preheated oven, then pour enough scalding-hot tap water into the pan to reach 1/2-2/3 of the way up the side of the pyrex.
   - The custard is set once the center appears quivery when the cup is gently shaken. Test for doneness by inserting a knife two thirds of the way from the side of the dish toward the center. The knife should come out practically clean.

4. Cool to room temperature, then cover and put in the refrigerator for at least 4 hour.
5. To unmold: quickly dip the pyrex into hot water, loosen around the edge with a knife and turn upside down over a big plate that is deep or wide enough to catch the caramel syrup.