Handmade Flour Tortillas

‘Handmade Flour Tortillas?!’ you say.  

Actually, not so difficult. Not difficult at all, in fact.

I don't know about you, but when I'm having a good week, I make sweet things. . . cakes, brownies, whip up a batch of espresso buttercream ('No biggie!' I say flippantly).  

When I'm having a bad week, though, (and this was truly a bad, bad week), I make bread. I have never owned a bread machine; I've always wanted one, but in Japan, they're quite pricey and I always think, 'Well, I can knead.  I have hands!' (I also do not own a rice cooker, and make rice in a pan nearly everyday. In Japan, this can be seen as an abomination. People ask me 'How can you possibly make rice without a rice cooker?', and my answer is always 'It's easy.') That being said, bread is not always easy; there's the kneading, the rising, the rising, AND more rising.  


But tortillas?  A snap.  No yeast, no problem, so it goes. 
Also, no oil when cooking the tortillas makes for very easy clean-up.

 As you can see, I could not locate my rolling pin, hence the substitute 

(which happened to be a gift from my mother-in-law; it's a suction tool for a brand of tupperware.)

Handmade Flour Tortillas

Ingredients:

3 cups all purpose flour

1 tsp. salt

1/3 cup (80 ml) oil

up to 1 cup (250 ml) warm water

Combine flour and salt in a mixing bowl. Make a well in the center, and add the oil and warm water (only adding enough water as necessary) to form a soft dough. Knead for about 5 minutes, or until the dough is smooth and elastic. Cover with a towel and place in a warm place for about an hour.  Divide dough into small balls (depending on what size of tortillas you prefer). Cover the balls with a towel or plastic wrap so that they don’t dry out. On a lightly floured surface, flatten a small ball with the palm of your hand (this makes it easier to roll into a circular shape), and then roll out until fairly thin with a rolling pin. Heat a dry skillet (heavy iron skillet, if possible) over medium heat.  Cook the tortilla for about a half a minute to a minute on each side.  If bubbles start to form, press down with a  spatula. Repeat with all of the dough. The tortillas should be slightly browned but still soft. After cooking each tortilla, stack them, wrapping them in a towel and fold over.  (I learned this trick somewhere; it helps keep them more pliable.) Store tightly wrapped.

Use for quesadillas, burritos, or anything else you can dream up.

Like. . .Cherry Tomato-Oregano Tortilla Pizza!

Old World Danish Coffee Cake

This Christmas, my mom emailed me that she was making a coffee cake recipe I had made a long time ago (probably when I was about 12 years old).  I had a recollection of this recipe as something I'd found in a very old cookbook as being something similar to the origins of original German coffee cake.  I had entered the local bake contest, and actually won a prize at the time.  But, the kicker:

It's filled with crushed cookies!

Yes. yes. Yes!

I mean, how could something filled with crushed cookies possibly be bad?

Old World Danish Coffee Cake

1 pkg. or 1 TBSP. dry yeast                            Filling:

1/4 cup warm water                                        1 1/4 cup crushed cookies

1/2 cup milk                                                     1/4 cup melted butter

2 1/2 - 3 cups flour                                           1/4 cup sugar

3/4 cup butter                                                   1 cup raisins

3 TBSP. sugar

1/2 tsp. salt (omit if salt in butter)

1 egg

Soften yeast in warm water and milk.  In large bowl, measure 2 cups flour.  Cut

in butter.  Add sugar, salt, egg, and yeast mixture.  Blend

Add 1/2 to 1 cup more flour to form stiff dough.  Knead about 3 mins.

Cover, let rise in warm place 1 hour.

Divide dough in half, rolling one half with hands into a sausage shaped strip

24 in. long.  Flatten, then sprinkle 1/2 filling mixture.  Seal with fingers.

Shape on baking sheet.  Repeat with remaining dough.

Sprinkle with sugar and nuts.  Bake (375) 25-30 mins.  Drizzle with glaze

made from confectioners sugar and milk.

Chocolate Sprinkle Toast

Yum!

Chocolate sprinkles on buttered toast. 

Could life be any better, really?

Simplicity, simplicity.

Cake Tarts (aka Nanban Ourai)

Ok, I'm not going to lie.....this recipe is my attempt at a replica of one of my favorite sweet treats that I've had in Japan. (Sorry, folks, it's not mochi ice cream.)

It's. . .

Nanban Ourai!

What on earth is a 'Nanban Ourai'?

A Nanban Ourai is the MOST delicious cross between a cake and a pie that I've ever experienced. That may sound strange, I suppose, but consider if it was the best of both worlds:  a buttery, rich crust that melts in your mouth with a raspberry filling AND a soft madeleine like cake on top.  Individually wrapped, just the right size, and in a cute package to boot. It's my little version of heaven.

And they have a fall version with my favorite filling:  marron (chestnut)!

Alas, this version is only available for a couple of months, and they go fast.  Last year, I was too late, and I had to wait a whole year before I could get my chestnut fix. So, this year, I thought, it was either buy a lot and freeze for the duration of the year (like a good friend of mine used to do with Cadbury cream eggs back in high school) or figure out the recipe.

I did the latter, and darn, are they ever good!

Cake Tarts

(Nanban Ourai)

Ingredients:

1 recipe Pie Crust Dough (store bought or see recipe below)

1/4- 1/2 cup raspberry jam (for the regular version) or sweetened chestnut paste

For cake:

3/4 cup (110g) flour

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

a pinch of salt

2 large eggs, at room temperature

3/4 cup (150g) sugar

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

8 tablespoons (115g) butter, melted and cooled to room temperature

powdered sugar for dusting

1. Preheat the oven to 350ºF (180ºC).

2. On a floured surface, roll out small balls of  pie crust dough to 1/4 inch thickness to fit individual tart pans (or a madeleine pan, as I used).  Alternatively, you could make one big tart in a regular tart pan.  Lay the pie crust gently in the pans and crimp or flute the edges. Put the tart pans in the refrigerator while you prepare the cake batter. 

3. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.

4. In a large bowl, whip the eggs until foamy, then whisk in the sugar and then the almond extract. Whisk in half of the flour mixture, then gently stir in half of the melted butter. Stir in the remaining flour mixture, then the rest of the butter.

5.  Take the tart pans out of the refrigerator and spread a layer (not too thin but not too thick) of raspberry jam or the chestnut puree on top of the pie crust.

6.  Spread a layer of cake batter on top of the jam or puree.  Be careful not to overfill.

7. Bake the tarts for 15-20 minutes for small/individual tarts, and 30-45 minutes for one larger tart or until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean. Let the tarts cool completely on a wire rack.

8.  Carefully remove the tarts from the pans and dust with powered sugar, if desired.

Pie crust dough recipe:

Ingredients:

• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup butter, chilled and diced
• 1/4 cup ice water
• 
  
• In a large bowl, combine flour and salt. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in water, a tablespoon at a time, until mixture forms a ball. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight.