Christmas Desserts

By LANCE BRASHEAR

With Christmas season upon us perhaps you have already tried the traditional desserts served during the holidays.  The sweets on this page can be enjoyed throughout the year but are fancied even more during the holidays.  There are variations on the presentation and preparation of each but today’s recipes come from Chef Pablo Zambrano of the Hilton Colon Hotel and his book 111 Platos Populares del Ecuador.



Buñuelos de maíz

Ingredients

165 gr. Corn flower

165 gr. Flower

25 gr. Baking powder

Salt as desired

80 gr. Sugar

1 egg (beat)

300 ml milk

50 gr. Margarine

Vanilla drops

Oil for frying

 Preparation

Sift flower, salt, and baking powder into a bowl. Add cornflower and sugar. Incorporate egg and vanilla. Add milk gradually. Add margarine. Mix until you reach soft consistency. Fry in pan with hot oil.  Drain over absorbent paper.  Serve



Buñuelos de yuca con miel

Ingredients

250 gr. Yuca cooked and shredded

250 gr. Yuca raw and shredded

500 gr. Cheese, grated

100 gr. Butter

2 egg yolks

Salt as desired

Oil for frying

Preparation

Mix cooked and raw yucca. Add cheese, butter, egg yolks and salt.  Knead dough and form small balls. Fry in abundant oil.  Serve with brown sugar (panela) syrup.



Higos con queso

Ingredients

16 large, green figs

1 ½ bricks of Brown sugar (panela)

2 L water

Cinnamon

Preparation

Cut figs in a cross at the thinnest part.  Make sure the cut is not too deep to avoid separating the figs once cooked.  Soak for one day in water weighted down to avoid floating.  Drain water.  Put in boiling water, cook until soft and remove from fire.  Let sit in the same water until the following day.  Press each fig with your hand.

Dilute brown sugar in one liter of water. Strain.  Add figs.  Cook together with syrup and cinnamon.  Allow it to cook at low temperature without stirring.  Boil until the quantity of syrup is reduced by half and allow to cool.

Chef Recommendation:  The final liquid should be used to cover the figs completely. It will reduce by half during cooking.



Pristiños

Ingredients

250 gr. Flower

50 gr. Water

50 gr. White wine

100 gr. Vegetable fat/grease

10 gr. Baking powder

10 gr. Salt

Preparation

Put flower with water, white wine, vegetable fat, baking powder, and salt into a bowl.  Knead ingredients by hand.  Let sit for 15 minutes.   Stretch the dough with a rolling pin to 3mm thickness.

Cut into rectangles 17cm long by 6cm wide.  Break off the edges and unite the opposite sides forming a crown.  Fry in abundant oil until golden.

Chef’s Recommendation:

Serve accompanied with syrup or orange sauce.  For the syrup put over a fire: water, raspadura (crude sugar), and a piece of cinnamon, and strain.