December 3, 2009 by Nathalie Herling.

Claypot Canela, Panela, Rum Sauce

This recipe was inspired when I was given about 20 lbs of Colombian Panela!!! What a surprising ingredient to use for cooking sweets. Offers a complex rich almost Maple Syrup/Brown Sugar flavor. This recipe was tested to rave reviews at a Chamba Claypot food demonstration at the Newark, NJ Art Museum.

The Newark Art Museum has a very choice collection and a fabulous Museum Shop full of very heartfelt quality items from around the world (Chamba Cookware available). For clay pottery lovers!!!! the musuem currently is featuring an inspiring exhibition thru Jan 1oth, 100 Masterpieces of Art Pottery, 1880-1930 http://www.newarkmuseum.org/ArtPottery.html .
Claypot Canela, Panela, Rum Sauce

Super easy and great to make in a claypot. I used a smallish oval chamba pot. You could use any shape medium clay pot… I found the Chamba pot cooked the liquid slowly to give this sauce a great texture that was even more intense the following day.

4 cakes of Panela, approx 16 ozs more is fine too (usally hard cakes of boiled down raw sugar cane, resembling brown sugar, Available in Latin,
Carribean and Indian grocery stores. Many different brands and names. Panela, piloncillo,…http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panela)
2 Cups of Water
1 Cup of Dark Rum - I used a dark 4 year old, Nicaraguan Rum, Flor de Cana, Excellent and a great value http://www.flordecana.com/ A Delightful Rum to sip while you are cooking this sauce too!
4 sticks of Cinnamon. I prefer the turkish vs the mexican cinnamon since it stays hard in the sauce, not prone to flaking and easier to fish out of the finished syrup.
4 Full Stars of star of anise
Melt the panela with the water, cinammon, star anise and rum. Cook over low heat long enough to reduce the sauce to a nice syrup consistency. About twenty min to half an hour. Keep an eye on your cooking sauce and stir it from time to time to you get a consistance you would like to pour on pancakes. Test the sauce by taking a spoon full and pour it slowly back in the pot. If you like how it looks as a sauce then its ready. It will thicken slightly as it cools.
Pour on cake, cream puffs, ice cream, pancakes. A rich caramelly tasting sauce with a delightful taste.
This also a good sauce to mix or to pour on many other baking treats like cheese cake and pumpkin pie.The whipcream below is magical over Pies and Cakes.
For Creampuffs,
Make a classic Puff and fill with the following whipcream and drizzle the Claypot Canela, Panela Rum Sauce.
Panela, Canela, Rum Whipcream
2 Cups Whipping Cream
1/4 C of cooled Panela, Canela Rum Syrup above.
Mix the syrup into the cream. Whip until you have a nice glossy topping.

 A very memorable flavor.

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October 29, 2009 by Nathalie Herling.

If you are looking for Pan de Muertos in New York City go to Don Paco Lopez Panderia http://www.donpacolopez.com/ at 2128 3rd Ave and 116th St.

Wonderful painted windows will help you quickly find this traditional Mexican Bakery.

They have a good offering of three types.

2 were with the classic crossbones one with sesame seeds and powdersugar options, and the flatter child like figure with red sugar. All of these are very tradional shapes and have the egg bread flavor. The child figure is particularly used on altars for Oct 31st when the children are believed to return for sweet treats.

At the bakery they also have a wide variety of Mexican melted sugar skulls in various sizes available.

If you are in Williamsburg, Brooklyn go by Fuego http://jsauli1.web.officelive.com/default.aspx at 249 Grand St.  There you can find a wide selection of El Dia de los Muertos folkart including minatures, Flasks with Calaveras, cool Posada bags, tin hearts, huge skull pillows…. and  just set up a small sugar skull altar with molded sugar skulls in two sizes.

Check out the little photos hidden inside of many. Soon I will be posting how to make Diorama sugar skulls and examples from my Dia de los Muertos cooking workshop.

For Sugar Skull molds, La Sirena www.lasirenanyc.com on 27 E 3rd St in Manhattan has molds for sale and folkart as well. Nice paper cutouts for your altar too.

For the manufacture and full selection of sugar skull molds visit The Mexican Sugar Skull Company http://www.mexicansugarskull.com

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December 3, 2007 by Nathalie Herling.

Sweet Christmas Tamales

1 C of Raisons
1/3 C of Rum

2/3 C of softened butter
2 C of Tamale Masa
1 T Vanilla
2 T Rum
1/4 Sugar
1 t of Baking Powder
1 t of Salt
2 C Lukewarm Water
1/2 t of Ground Cinnamon

1/2 C of Pecan pieces

18 to 20 corn husks

Put the Raisins in a sauce pan and heat until plump up in the 1/3 C of Rum, about 3 min. Let cool. The raisins will absorb up most of Rum.

In a large bowl combine the butter, masa, vanilla, rum, sugar, cinnamon, and water.
Mix on Medium for 5 min. Let sit for 5 min.

Take a corn husk and put a thin coating of masa on the husk. Do not put it on the pointed tip but make like a square rectangular of thinly applied dough. You can also put a 2 T flattened glob in the center is another technique. I have started using a masa spreader. If you are going to make tamales regularly this under $10 investment is pretty cool.
Spread out all your Masa Dough on the corn husks.

In the center of each husk spread about one T of rum raisins. And about 3 broken up pecan halves.

Fold the husk the way you like. Tie is you like but if you fold and turn up right you will not necessary need to tie. Since these are considered Holiday tamales you might want to tie to tear off a piece of the husk and tie around to look like a present.
Put the little packages standing upright in a steamer for 1 hour.

Be-careful removing not to disturb the husk packages too much or to get hurt by the steam.

Let cool and serve.

For a fancy dessert you can accompany these with ice cream or a sauce of chocolate, raspberry, vanilla, tamarine or brown sugar sauce.

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