Calling all dessert lovers! Could we really celebrate Easter without a gorgeous dessert? I’m taking the fuss out of our Easter meal this year with a simple and easy Carlota! I decided to add cherries to my Carlota and change it’s traditional color of white to a festive pinkish-purple pastel. It’s the prettiest color but aside from that, the fresh cherry flavor only adds to this already delicious dessert…. pushing it all the way up in dessert ranks. Lucky for me, I was able to find all my ingredients at Northgate Market and pick up a few extra goodies while I was there. I hope you’ll try this Easter Cherry Carlota and make it whenever you have a bag of cherries hanging around.

Ingredients for Cherry Carlota:

• 1 ½ cups fresh cherries (pit and stem removed) + 6 more to decorate
• ½ cup fresh lime juice ( I used 3 large limes) (reserve peelings for zest)
• 2 cans (28 ounces) La Lechera Sweetened Condensed milk
• 2 cans (24 ounces) Carnation Evaporated milk
• 75 Marías Cookies
• Chocolate Easter bunny
• Jordan almonds or candy eggs

Directions:

Blend cherries, lime juice, La Lechera, and Evaporated Milk on high until cherries are completely pureed and mixture is a fluffy thick consistency.

Spray a springform pan lightly with a non-stick baking spray.

Pour ½ cup of cherry mixture on bottom on springform pan and spread it out to coat the bottom evenly.

Place cookies along the edge of the pan and then fill the bottom with a single layer of cookies.

Pour 1 cup of cherry mixture over cookies and continue to alternate between cookies and cherry mixture ending with the cherry mixture on top.

Refrigerate for 4 hours or preferably overnight.

Garnish top with lime zest, fresh cherries and Easter candy.

Serve cold and Enjoy!

Hoppy Easter.

If you are planning an Easter picnic, consider making my Torta De Milanesa De Calabacita!

I usually repurpose one of my senior pie photos on #PiDay because I make pie all year round. I felt this year deserved a brand new photo and something a little fantasy and hopeful. Mini apple pies seem to be a good portrayal of how I’ve been feeling. It’s almost as if I could touch the beginning of Spring and am anticipating some happy changes in the next couple of months. Fingers crossed. To be completely honest, I’ve hit the pandemic fatigue wall and know we are in the final stretch… just gotta hold on tight a little longer.

Gelatina Navideña is as traditional for my family as setting up our Christmas tree during the hoilday season. It’s a welcomed light treat to have on hand after a big meal. It usually makes it’s grand entrance onto the table and sits proud waiting to be cut so it could wiggle and jiggle from plate to mouth. With the Posadas (from Dec. 16^th to Dec 24^th) approaching I thought I would bring out this Gelatina Navideña for you to make in your home. I took the classic combo of cherry and lime and added creamy coconut to the mix for an amazing dance on the tastebuds. Plus it’s beauty represents the colors of Mexico and Navidad all at the same time! I hope you and your family and staying safe and healthy.

This post has been sponsored by NESTLÉ® LA LECHERA® and NESTLÉ® ABUELITA. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I’m not one to toot my own horn, but these Mexican Chocolate Tres Leches Cupcakes are so divinely delicious, they deserve to be celebrated by ALL this holiday season! I was shopping the Hispanic aisle at Walmart and spied a box of NESTLÉ® ABUELITA sitting next to NESTLÉ® LA LECHERA® . It was like all the pieces of the puzzle came together at once in my mind and I thought I should make a batch of Abuelita Chocolate Tres Leches cupcakes.  I wanted that unmistakable taste of authentic Mexican hot chocolate with a unique cinnamon touch for my Tres Leches cupcakes. Then I quickly thought of the creamy consistency, and sweet, luscious texture of La Lechera sweetened condensed milk and knew this would be my milk base. I made individual cupcakes for easy packaging and sharing with loved ones over the holidays, because ultimately that’s what it’s all about!

I was racking my head on how I could make Thanksgiving 2020 a nice experience for my family. My son is obviously disappointed that our annual trip to my cousin’s house for a feast is cancelled this year. I told him it’s a small sacrifice the whole country is making to save lives. I also promised him I would organize a zoom or facetime dessert meeting on Thanksgiving with the rest of our family. For some reason that still didn’t feel good enough for him. Then I suggested I write a recipe for a Dulce De Leche Pumpkin Pie and send it to all my family members so they could make it in their homes and we could eat our pies together virtually. My boy and extended family loved that idea and we are going to bring it to life this Thanksgiving.

This post has been sponsored by NESCAFÉ® . All thoughts and opinions are my own. NESCAFE® and CLASICO™ are trademarks owned by Société des Produits Nestlé S.A., Vevey, Switzerland.

My main focus these days is being present with my family. This allows me to savor all special moments, especially during the holiday season. I have learned one thing for certain in 2020, and that is family time is absolutely precious and needs to be celebrated as such. To ensure I have the energy to do so… I reach for that rich bold flavor of  NESCAFE® CLASICO™ at high noon to get me over that nagging mid-day crash. First, I run over to Walmart to pick up all my ingredients, then jump into a dessert making frenzy to share with my family over a laugh and a smile.

 My Mom reminds me that my great grandma used to say “There’s always room for gelatina.” As a Latina, it is part of my genetic make up to not only want to eat a slice of gelatina, but to make it look like an invite to the rest of my family too. I make my NESCAFE® CLASICO™ con leche y cajeta gelatina as an open invitation to the table for my family to share a moment at the end of the day. I use NESCAFE® CLASICO™ in my gelatina along with a cajeta for the creamy layers, and wow does it make a difference. All the ingredients are easy to find…. I got mine at my local Walmart store. I hope you’ll try this easy recipe and share it with your familia too.

Ingredients for NESCAFE® CLASICO™ con leche y cajeta gelatina:

• 6 teaspoons Nescafe Clasico
• 7 – cups hot water
• 6 tablespoons brown sugar
• 9 – envelopes of gelatin or agar-agar
• 4- cups of milk or
• 1 – cup sugar
• 2 – cups cajeta

Directions:

1. Spray a 12 cup bundt pan with a non- stick cooking spray. Be sure to spray the center cone as well. Set to the side.

2. Set out 6 separate bowls. In 1 of them add 2 cups boiling hot water, 3 teaspoons NESCAFE® CLASICO™, and 3 tablespoons brown. Mix to combine. Sprinkle 1 ½ envelope of gelatin over coffee mixture mix until completely incorporated and gelatin powder is dissolved.

3. Pour into the bundt pan. Place the pan in the fridge for 60 minutes. 

4. In a small sauce over a low flame add in 2 cups of milk and 1 1/2 packets of gelatin. Mix the mixture constantly with a rubber spatula until all gelatin has dissolved, then add in 1/2 cup of sugar and mix in until the sugar dissolves into milk. Remove from flame and allow to cool while the coffee portion of gelatin is setting in the fridge.

5. You will know if the first layer is done by pressing on the top with your finger…. if your fingerprint is left in the top, then you are safe to add the next layer.

6. Gently pour in a milk layer and place gelatin mold back in the fridge for 60 minutes. 

7. Next in a small sauce over a low flame add in 1 1/2 cups of water and 1 1/2 packets of gelatin. Mix the mixture constantly with a rubber spatula until all gelatin has dissolved, then add in 1 cup of cajeta and mix in until the mixture combines completely. Remove from flame and allow to cool while gelatin is setting in the fridge.

8. Remove gelatin from fridge and add the next cajeta layer, place back in the fridge for 60 minutes.

9. Repeat steps 2 -8.

10. Once you are done with the last layer place back in fridge and let firm overnight.

Unmolding:

11. The un-molding of the gelatin mold can be a little tricky. First with both hands gently pull gelatin away from the wall of your bundt pan, using your fingertips. Work your way all the way around little by little. Don’t forget the center. In a big bowl filled up with warm/hot water, slowly glide the bundt pan into the water bath and let it rest there for about 15 seconds. You will see the insides of the bundt pan become slightly moist… this is the sign you are looking for. Remove pan from water and dry it off with a towel. Then place a plate on top of the pan and flip it over to invert gelatin mold onto the plate. Gently remove the pan and you will have a beautiful and delicious gelatin mold. Place it back in the fridge until ready to serve.

12. Can be made up to 4 days in advance. Keep covered with plastic wrap in the fridge. 

Here’s a recipe for Nescafé iced coffee!

When I was a little girl I used to walk down the street to a teeny tiny small candy factory (the size of a walk in closet) that sat at the end of my block. For some reason the woman who worked there by herself took to me and my hundreds of questions. I was that kid, I’d knock on the door and ask if I could come in and watch. As time passed the woman looked forward to my visits and we became friends. She schooled me on the world of Mexican candy making. In the midst of making batches of cocadas, and cajeta… she would also make candied fruit. On the days when I was lucky she would have left over pumpkin and make calabaza en tacha and send me home with a batch for my family. My grandfather used to get so excited when I would arrive home with it. I ate mine plain and he would pour a little milk over his. Those were some of the most impressionable moments of my young childhood that will stick with me forever.