Since this month’s theme was up to me, and “sweet breads” had already taken their turn, I decided to spice things up and have us all try our hand at Latin Bread / Pan Latino! You probably don’t have a favorite bread originating from Latin America set & ready to go for this month, so let me give you just a bit of direction. Latin America is the region of the Americas where the “romance” languages (Spanish, Portuguese, French) are primarily spoken and includes the following countries:

Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, and Venezuela

So, for the month of February we are going to enjoy breads from any and all of these nations! Open up your cookbooks, check the internet, ask your abuelita…and bake some Latin bread!

To be a part of Bread Baking Day #27: Pan Latino, you just need to do the following by March 1st, 2010:

1. Bake bread that originates from a Latin American country (see list above).
2. Post about it on your blog with a link back to this announcement and eventually to the round-up.
4. Your recipe should be written in English or Spanish.
5. Email me at canelaycominoATgmailDOTcom and include:

• Subject: BBD #27
• Your name
• Your blog’s name and URL (permalink)
• The name of your bread, the country the bread is from and the URL (permalink)
• A 250-pixel-wide photo

A final round up will be posted on my blog on March 5, 2010. Please feel free to promote the Bread Baking Day event by adding the logo to your blog post.

In eight months, I have moved TEN times. Yes, I agree…it is a lot. I have tried to cook in all of those kitchens. But as I have been constantly on the move, the foods I have made and eaten seem to be rather the same over and over. Things here are beginning to settle down, I have actually moved into a place with the plan to stay until at least May 2010. For me right now, that is amazing! And the kitchen! There is a gas stove! I say all of this to say that I have been in the kitchen again, enjoying some things that I haven’t tasted in a while and making some recipes that I have wanted to make for over a year! This kitchen will be a place to create, enjoy, relax and be inspired.

Being that it is fall here in the states, I wanted to share one of the traditions that my friends and I have of going to Apple Hill – a collection of 56 farms where you find crafts, animals and of course, apple everything! These photos are from a recent trip I took to visit. I hope to get back there soon in order to capture the beautiful change of colors in the leaves. There are many days when my heart is sad to be here in the US, but when I get to play like this it is a reminder that there is a lot of things to enjoy and cherish here too.

I hope to get back into sharing Peruvian recipes, markets and kitchens with you as well as begin to tell you where to find Peruvian restaurants and ingredients even here in the US. My desire is to give you a greater love for Peru and is delicious flavors!

Forgive me for my absence. I look forward to getting back to reading some of your blogs soon too.

I was pleased to bake up several treats that day and since I seem to be the master of indecision, I wanted to make sure I had something chocolate-y, something citrusy and another fruity type dessert by the end of the day. I might have kneaded some bread as well. I am starting to feel bad for my guests, it seems I serve them a plateful for dinner and overwhelm them with dessert.

When faced with the idea of a French Yogurt Cake, I couldn’t help but balk at the idea of a mere loaf. It just didn’t live up to “dessert” for me that day. I chose to head another direction with this recipe. Instead of baking the batter up in a loaf pan, it got poured into a 8″ springform. After the cake cooled, I split it horizontally to make two layers. In between the layers, I spread lemon curd. You know, lemon cake…lemon curd.

But then, here’s where I got crazy. I really wanted something that was going to scream different, exciting, and “eat me!” all at the same time. So, I whipped up some Blackberry Buttercream Frosting to top the cake with. Could you resist a delicious slice of citrus-y lemon cake topped with fresh blackberry buttercream? Yeah, I didn’t think so either!

French Yogurt Cake is being served up for Tuesdays With Dorie. This weeks TWD recipe was chosen by Liliana of My Cookbook Addiction (where you will find this weeks recipe). Enjoy more French Yogurt Cake by visiting the blogroll at the Tuesdays With Dorie website. Or, see what other goodies we have enjoyed on past weeks!

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To learn about other Current Food Blog Events or their round ups, check out the Current Event listing here at Canela and Comino. A Current Event button has been added to the site, so you can check the listing at any time!

Blackberry Buttercream Frosting

1/2 cup of butter, softened
1/2 cup of fresh blackberries, washed & dried
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
1 teaspoon of lemon zest
1/8 teaspoon of salt
1 (16-oz.) package plus 1 cup of powdered sugar

1. Beat butter, blackberries, vanilla, lemon zest and salt at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy.

2. Gradually add the powdered sugar, beating at low speed until blended and smooth after each addition.

Blackberry Buttercream Frosting is being served up for Food In Color: Pink. Food In Color is hosted this month by Priya’s Easy N Tasty Recipes. For informations about other Current Food Blog Events or their round ups, check out the Current Event listing here at Canela and Comino.

I made several batches of bread thinking that “this one” would be the chef I would use. The third chef was taken from a batch of delicious challah bread and started instantly. I know that if it went into the fridge, it wouldn’t see daylight for another week!

All in all, this was a simple recipe. It took a bit of planning to make it through the many steps, but it was enjoyable for me to see after many hours that the yeast had in fact given rise to something greater. I found that each time I added flour, it was about a cup short than what the recipe called for. I am used to the humid climate of Peru and was trying to make judgment based on the texture and feel of the dough instead of the recipe itself.

Although we really enjoyed the flavor of the bread, I found that mine spread instead of rose on the last round. I would certainly love to try again for a higher, more whole-y bread. Good thing I still have two “chefs” hanging out in my fridge.

Pane Francese is being served up as the Bread Baking Babes challenge of the month. This months challenge was hosted by Sara of i like to cook, March’s kitchen of the month. You too can be a bread baking buddy and earn a badge! You have until March 29th to bake this bread. Check out further details on becoming a buddy on i like to cook. Visit the Bread Baking Babe blogroll or enjoy one of the other Bread Baking Challenge breads which I have baked.

My dear friend is celebrating her birthday today. Without me. So I decided to join in the celebration by making a delicious dessert for her. However, this is not just any dessert! This was one that several months ago, she copied for me out of a magazine. She knows how crazy I am about collecting recipes and trying different things. I kept looking at the copied page and every time I did I thought of her. How could I make this and not have her near to share it with her?

Then it came to me. A birthday surprise! This tart was made to honor my friend, her birthday and her next year of life. What a perfect way to celebrate!

Chocolate Tart with Almond Shortbread Crust

Crust
1/2 cup of whole-wheat flour
3/4 cup of flour
1/2 cup of ground almonds
1/4 cup of sugar
1/2 teaspoon of salt
25 grams of cold butter, cut into small pieces
2 tablespoons of canola oil
1 tablespoon of ice water

Filling
1 1/2 teaspoons of unflavored gelatin
2 tablespoons of water
3/4 cup low-fat milk
2 large egg yolks
2 1/2 tablespoons plus 1/4 cup sugar, divided
1 tablespoon of flour
60 grams of bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
1 teaspoon of almond extract
2 egg whites
1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar

1. To prepare crust, whisk together wheat flour, flour, almonds, 1/4 cup sugar and salt in a medium bowl. Cut butter into the mixture until pea sized crumbs form. Add oil and water, mixing until incorporated. Turn the dough out into a pie plate or tart pan (it will be crumbly), spread evenly and press firmly all the way up the sides then press down the bottom to form a crust. Chill for at least 30 minutes.

2. Preheat oven to 400F. Bake the crust until the edges begin to brown, about 15 minutes. Cool completely on a wire rack.

3. To prepare filling, sprinkle gelatin over water in a small bowl; let stand, stirring once or twice, while you prepare the rest of the filling.

4. Heat milk in a medium saucepan over medium heat until bubbles begin to form around the edge, but do not boil. Remove from heat to cool slightly.

5. Whisk egg yolks, 2 1/2 tablespoons of sugar and 1 tablespoon of flour in a small bowl until combined. Gradually whisk in 1/2 cup of the hot milk. Whisk the egg yolk mixture into the pan with the remaining hot milk. Return to the heat and cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon (do not boil), about 2-3 minutes. Remove from the heat; add in the chocolate and let sit for one minute. Whisk gently until completely smooth.

6. Heat the gelatin mixture in the microwave for 10-15 seconds to soften. Whisk in the softened gelatin and almond extract until smooth.

7. Beat the egg whites and cream of tartar in a large bowl with an electric mixer on low speed until frothy. Increase speed to high and beat until soft peaks form. Gradually add the remaining 1/4 cup sugar and beat until stiff peaks form, 3 to 5 minutes. Gently fold one-third of the egg whites into the chocolate mixture until blended. Add the rest of the egg whites and fold carefully until there are no white streaks.

8. Spoon the filling into the crust; smooth the top with the back of a spoon and chill, uncovered, until set, about 1 hour. Decorate and serve!

Note, the magazine portrays this as a creamy chocolate almost ganache looking tart. However, the final result is actually a jello like chocolate layer. It is light and delicious, but certainly not creamy and rich.