TORTILLA DESERTS?

Desert Tortillas?

            Travel is supposed to be broadening, and I did not mean it in the sarcastic sense, which refers to the waistline or hips. Rather, we gather new ideas while seeing new places and different people as well as get a new perspective on the familiar. Tortillas have appeared in this column before in a variety of guises, but unexpectedly, this column was not inspired by a trip to Mexico. The unlikely place for my discovery and inspiration for Desert Tortillas was New Brunswick, Canada. 

            Returning from a leisurely fall trip around Nova Scotia, we stopped one night in Moncton and had dinner at the eclectic and unlikely named Montana Cookhouse. I should have known better than to listen to the desert menu after a large and flavorful barbecued beef rib. But, at the mention of a Tortilla Cheesecake, I naturally succumbed to curiosity and ordered one. It was huge, beautifully presented and to my downfall, absolutely delicious.  The simplest description would be: a 10 inch flour tortilla folded over a cheesecake filling in a half moon shape with the sides crimped shut, fried in vegetable oil and drained, placed on a large plate, smothered with caramel sauce and amply topped with whipped cream. Anyone even partially finishing this masterpiece was bound to feel AMPLE.

            Should you be also tempted to reproduce this extravaganza at home, it could be done with a smaller expenditure of calories. The advantage here of course is the ready availability of tortillas, so that a desert that would require the preparation of a very rich crust and careful selection and fitting of a pan, now only requires a smaller amount of the filling.

                                                Moderate Tortilla Cheesecakes

            With an electric mixer beat together 8 oz cream cheese, ½ cup sugar, ½ tsp. lemon extract, ½ tsp. vanilla,  2 eggs, 1 Tblsp. cream, 1 Tblsp. flour. Soften in microwave for 15 seconds four 8 inch thin flour tortillas.  Moisten the edges of each tortilla with egg beaten with ½ Tblsp. water and  place ¼ of the cheese mix in the center of each tortilla. Fold the tortilla in half, pressing tightly together the moistened edges. Place on a parchment lined baking sheet and with a pastry brush cover the top with the rest of the beaten egg for a glaze. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 25-30 minutes until the top is brown and the filling is set. Serve warm or cold with a line of  caramel or chocolate sauce across the top. If you want to gild the lily, a small dollop of whipped cream would look pretty.

            Having been inspired by tortilla deserts, the fall apple season beckoned to try a fruit version of this type of desert as an easier variable on pies and strudels.

                                                Tortilla Apple Turnovers

            Peel, core and slice in medium slices 4 large apples. Sautè the apple slices in 2 Tblsp.  butter over medium high heat for 5-8 minutes, turning the apples once with a spatula. Sprinkle with cinnamon and 1/3 cup sugar in the last minute on the stove. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly, Soften four 8 inch tortillas as above. Spread ¼ of the apple mixture along one side of each tortilla, sprinkle with a few raisins or chopped nuts if desired and roll each tortilla tightly around the filling, securing if necessary with a toothpick. Place on a parchment lined baking pan and baste the top with some cream or ‘half and half’. Sprinkle with grated nutmeg and bake in a 350 degree oven for 25 to 30 minutes. Serve warm with a side of ice cream if desired.

            Good cooks have made various turnovers and filled baked deserts for centuries.  Adding tortillas to the long list of venerable pastries certainly makes a tasty and convenient sense.

(I. Winicov Harrington lives in Waldoboro and is the author of “How to Eat Healthy and Well for Less than $5.00 a Day: the Smart-Frugal Food Plan”; website: www.winicov-harrington.com)

Bring Back Election Day Cake!

            Poor Marie Antoinette got in BIG trouble for saying: “Let them eat cake”, but I will take the risk with the hope of increasing Election Day turnout this year. What I am referring to is the traditional Election Day Cake that originated in New England, but now seems to have gone out of fashion.

            I was first made aware of this tradition a year ago by my sister in law Joyce, who loves to bake with both an international and historic bent. A bit of research on my part uncovered a wealth of information as well as recipes.

The history goes back to Colonial times, when eligible young men were summoned for military duty to the nearest town. The stressed women of the town would spend days baking for the expected onslaught of hungry men, so called Training or Muster Cakes. After the Revolution, American voters would travel great distances and either bring their own provisions or be hosted by the towns where the election was held.

Thus evolved a yeast based large and dense cake with fruit, spices and raisins, sometimes augmented with brandy or sherry to keep up the strength of the voters together with vast quantities of ginger beer.  The cake was baked as a large loaf or in an 8 or 10 inch tube pan. The ingredients sound a bit like fruitcake, but the product is somewhat lighter.

The Election Cake first associated with Hartford Connecticut was so popular, that it was included in the 1796 edition of American Cookery, by Amelia Simmons. Here is her original recipe, though it might be a bit extreme for the average household.

            Election Cake (A. Simmons)

“Thirty quart flour, 10 pound butter, 14 pound sugar, 12 pound raisins, 3 doz. eggs, one pint wine, one quart brandy, 4 ounces cinnamon, 4 ounces fine colander (coriander?) seed, 3 ounces ground allspice;  wet flour with milk to the consistence of bread over night, adding one quart yeast; the next morning work the butter and sugar together for half an hour, which will render the cake much lighter and whiter; when it has rise light work in every other ingredient except the plumbs (plums/raisins??), which work in when going into the oven.”

No mention is made of baking conditions, but then you were expected to know how your oven would work with this many loaves of cake, enough to feed all the voters from a town. It was evidently a costly proposition, since there are records dating back to 1771 of Hartford’s General Assembly reimbursing an individual for the ingredients of an Election Day Cake. A more accessible modern day recipe is provided by the  Culinary Institute of America, in case you would like to serve this special treat at your house.

            Election Day Cake (Culinary Inst. of America)

Dissolve ½ cup sugar in ½ cup water and when cool pour over  1 ½  cups dried fruit (cranberries, golden raisins, blueberries), add ½ cup American whiskey and set aside. In medium mixing bowl combine ½ cup warm water with ½ cup milk, stir in 1 package rapid rise yeast combined with 1 cup whole wheat flour and allow to sit 30 minutes. Lightly spray and flour an 8 inch tube pan. Sift together ½ cup whole wheat flour, 2 cups all-purpose flour, ½ tsp. ground nutmeg, ½ tsp. ground cloves, 1 tsp. cinnamon, 1 tsp. salt and set aside. Drain the fruit mixture, reserving the syrup for later use as a glaze. In a standing mixer beat together ¼ lb unsalted butter cut in cubes with 1 cup sugar, then beat in 3 eggs. Turn the beater with a paddle attachment to low and add the flour and yeast mixture (the sponge). Add the flour mixture and mix until well blended, stir in the drained fruit. Place the batter in the pan, cover and set in a warm place to rise, about 1 ½ to 2 hours. Bake cake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 45 to 60 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean. Allow to cool in pan for 5 minutes and turn out on a wire rack to cool.  When cooled, brush on reserved syrup and cover with the glaze.  The glaze: combine 1 cup confectioners sugar with 2 Tblsp. reserved fruit syrup and stir until smooth.

So, let us revive this tasty and filling Election Day tradition!

(I. Winicov Harrington lives in Waldoboro and is the author of “How to Eat Healthy and Well for Less than $5.00 a Day: the Smart-Frugal Food Plan”; website: www.winicov-harrington.com)