Let Them Eat Pastel

I'm not one for telling you what to do, but now that summer's over, you are going to stop obsessing over your waistline and that little black dress with the sales tag still attached that you have hanging in the back of your closet and hope to fit into some day. You are going to bake this cake and love every bite. Even if you'll hate yourself in the morning. And everyday for the rest of your life. I promise.

What is there not to love about a cake that is all things to all people: light but rich, creamy but darkly sensual, a little sweet and a little hot—with a flan face and a Mexican chocolate soul? The flan is especially delightful when you top it with Cajeta, a pourable caramel made from goat's milk. Despite its fancy appearance, it really is ridiculously facilísimo—easy to make. Plus, there is no need to bake this cake in a pan of boiling water as you do with flan clasico.

Now that I have become the self-styled "Divissima of Mexican Cuisine", I have had to prove my chuletas--chops to my friends and family—most all of them great cooks. So when one of my wily cuñaditas—sisters-in-law—very sweetly asked me to bring a fab Mexican dessert to a family fiesta, I knew that she had thrown down the gauntlet. So I pulled this special recipe from my arsenal.

As I arrived, all of us sisters-in-law were laying our dishes on the table. Everyone was discreetly eye-balling everyone else's food. I laid my dish without saying a word. Then I pulled off the cover and let "el cake-y" speak for itself.

When I saw the look on my sister-in-law's face, I knew I had struck gold.

Oh, yeah.

As you can see, the result was sensacional. (Please click photo.) The original recipe called for box cake mix, but I decided to bake it from scratch, adapting it from the Devil's Food Cake recipe from a box of Softasilk Cake Flour and adding a few touches of my own. If you want to do it the box cake way, that's fine, but make sure you doctor up the batter with the ingredients I have listed.

Me, The Mexican Cuisine Diva? Can anyone be more delusional? Only don't feel too bad for me. . . . After wowing them with this cake at the fiesta, it pretty much sealed the deal—for now, that is. You never know what that little sister-in-law of mine will think of next.

Which is your favorite cake recipe? Let me know by clicking "comments" link at the end of this post.

Flan/Chocolate Cake with Cajeta Caramel Topping

What you need:
A Bundt pan
2 mixing bowls
Whisk or beater
Non-stick cooking spray
An electric beater
Rubber spatula
A large pan

Ingredients:

Cajeta (available in the Mexican section of your supermarket, or at a Mexican foods market). Or, use caramel flavored ice cream topping.

For Flan (Top Portion of the Cake):

3 Eggs

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1 12 ounce can of evaporated milk1 14 ounce can of condensed milk

Thoroughly beat together all ingredients. Set aside.

For Devil's Food Chocolate Cake (Bottom Portion of the Cake):

1 box of Devil's Food Cake Mix

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon powdered cinnamon

1 teaspoon hot chili powder (California or New Mexico)

1 tablespoon Ibarra's or Abuelita's Mexican Chocolate, finely grated

Follow written instructions, except use milk instead of water. Add vanilla, chili powder, cinnamon and Mexican chocolate to cake batter. Beat until well blended. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare the flan and the devil's food cake mixtures. Spray the inside of the Bundt pan with non-stick cooking spray. Pour a generous amount of Cajeta caramel along the bottom of the pan. Add devil's food cake mixture to two-thirds up the sides of the pan. Shake the pan a little bit so that the cake mixture settles evenly. In a circular motion, pour in the flan mixture. (What? Put in the flan mixture after you put in the cake batter? Yes. It seems counter-intuitive, but trust me on this one.)Put a large pan on the oven rake and pour some hot water in it, up to one inch, and put the Bundt pan with the batter in it. (Oops!  I forgot to do that!)  Bake the cake for 40 to 45 minutes, or until done. To test doneness, insert a tooth pick in the center of cake until it comes out clean.Take out of the oven and let cool for about 15—20 minutes.Invert onto a plate.

A Cup of Mexican Hot Chocolate Nostalgia

Nostalgia can sometimes play tricks on you. Some memories are so vivid that you literally feel the same emotions you felt as when they first happened. Others are nebulously indistinct, evanescent as a coastal fog at midday. Did they really happen, or was it just your imagination? The wry expression of a person you've just met, a musical notes wafting out of a storefront door as you walk past, the whiff of someone's perfume--all these can trigger memories of people or events from your past. For me, just smelling Mexican hot chocolate brings me back to a cold February evening of my childhood.My sisters and I are sipping hot Mexican chocolate from bright blue enameled tin cups while sitting at the kitchen table, covered with a white cotton tablecloth, cross-stitched in red roses that our mother embroidered before she met our dad. She serves us large chunks of toasted bolillo, a Mexican roll that resembles a deflated football, hot from the oven and smothered in butter for us to to enjoy with our hot chocolate. The fragrant aroma of bittersweet chocolate, mingled with the scent of almonds and cinnamon spice, fills the entire house. From the brightly illuminated kitchen we watch as our parents, still young and guapitos, slow dance in the darkened living room to Serenata Sin Luna (Moonless Serenade), José Alfredo Jimenez's intensely romantic, yet sweetly melancholy mariachi ballad. Presently, a snappy little cumbia comes on. Instantly forgetting the chocolate, we all jump out of our seats to join in, hopping, rather than dancing around and stepping on their feet. What brings more happiness to a child than to see one’s parents delight in each other’s company? I do not think that this lovely childhood memory would have been quite the same if we were all drinking a spot of tea with biscuits, wouldn’t you agree?

I read somewhere that Mexicans consume over 5 pounds ( 2.26 kilos) of chocolate per year, more than any other people. Perhaps the Europeans were the first to add sugar and milk to chocolate, but we Mexicans gave it soul, and if you adore chocolate, well dear reader, then perhaps you have a Mexican soul, too.

So to all you Mexicans out there who are reading this post, I will not presume that you do not know how to prepare Mexi hot chocolate (that is unless you're a Mexican guy), but I love how this one combines chocolate with three other flavors, cinnamon, vanilla, and chili, most of them just a few of Mexico’s deliciously sublime gifts to the world. You will not really notice the chili, but everyone who drinks this will taste the difference. No need to tell them right way. Just wait for the compliments, and only tell them about the chili after they have finished the last drop. Buen provecho, and may this delicious Mexican hot chocolate help you create some memories that you will never forget.

Mexican Hot Chocolate with a Little Kick of Chili

(Have some culinary courage!)

1 quart milk

2 round tablets of Mexican Hot Chocolate, or to taste (Ibarra's, etc., available at most grocery stores, or go online)

1 tablespoon vanilla

1 pinch salt

dash of chili powder (go ahead, add more, a lot more!)

dash of cinnamon to taste

semi sweet chocolate pieces or sugar to taste (optional)

Cut up the chocolate, or do as my mother used to do, grate it. In a saucepan, bring the milk and the chocolate to a boil.

After the chocolate has completely melted and is thoroughly blended with the milk, add the salt, cinnamon and the chili powder.

Simmer for about 10 minutes or so, and then, roll the handle of a molinillo (see picture, above) in the chocolate between the palms of both hands. Or, using a whisk or a electric manual beater, beat until very foamy.

Serve immediately with hot buttered bolillos or french bread straight out of the oven.