Mexican Christmas Traditions

Mexico City: my visit to Casa Azul

4 · Aug 4, 2010 · 14 Comments

Calle Londres-Pan800px — the corner of calle Londres & Allende in Coyoacán

At 247 calle Londres, where Londres meets Allende in a colorful old part of Mexico City called Coyoacán, lies the Casa Azul – the place where Frida Kahlo once lived and that is now a museum in her honor. I imagine that the blue walls both inside and out have probably been repainted several times over to maintain the vibrant shade of cobalt blue that I’ve never quite seen replicated outside of Mexico City, but I still had this eerie feeling when I stepped inside like I was stepping back in time. It's a feeling I often get when visiting Mexico City – and in some strange way, it's one of the reasons it feels like home to me. I had to suppress the urge to touch the paint, as if I might be lucky enough that a little bit would rub off and I could take a little piece of that cobalt blue home to Chicago with me.

I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve actually traveled to Mexico City by now, but the one thing I haven’t lost track of is how many historical and cultural places I still haven’t yet visited. Until a few weeks ago, Frida’s Casa Azul was one of them. I’d passed by it before, both walking and driving, on my way to the mercado in Coyoacán. Someday, I’ll visit every last one on my list. But this day was dedicated to Frida.

frida house 1-500px — view of Frida's bedroom, studio and library from the garden

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¡Feliz Cumpleaños, Frida!

2 · Jul 6, 2010 · 7 Comments

Today, July 6, marks the 103rd birthday of one of Mexico’s most famous female artists of all time: Frida Kahlo. Born in Mexico City in 1907, this talented woman is also one of the most influential artists of Latin American descent of the twentieth century. Frida, who became well-known in her teenage years, would later marry another famous Mexican artist, Diego Rivera – who was also 21 years her senior.

I know I haven’t posted lately, mostly due to technical glitches that have prevented me from moving my site over to a self-hosted space and implementing a new design to make your experience at The Other Side of The Tortilla a much richer one. But I couldn’t let dear Frida’s birthday pass without any kind of fanfare.

LasFiestas-Cover-Frida — "Las Fiestas de Frida y Diego: Recuerdos y Recetas"

You see, to me, Frida is much more than just a painter. Among many other things, Frida was also a cook. On my last trip to Mexico City, I visited a local bookstore where I scored a copy of a book I’d been trying to find for more than a year, to no avail. After I was elated to find not one, but several, copies of the book I had been coveting for so long, I began perusing the shelves for other books that I’d undoubtedly be unable to find at home in the U.S. or on Amazon. I spotted a navy blue spine in the stack that said “Las fiestas de Frida y Diego” – and given my curiosity and lack of a schedule to be anywhere any time soon, I sat down among the stacks of books and paged through what was to become one of my favorite cookbooks. I sat there paging through it, soaking up the images and the stories for more than a half hour.

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A new, improved Tortilla coming soon!

2 · Apr 30, 2010 · 2 Comments

It's been a few weeks since I've posted and I wanted to write you all a little note about why. Soon, The Other Side of The Tortilla will relaunch with a better, more interactive design! I'm moving hosting in an effort to better serve all of you and to provide some cool new features that I cannot integrate on my current platform. I promise it will keep the same, clean style that so many of you have written me saying you love so much.

I've been working on a redesign since the beginning of April, and it should be ready to be implemented sometime in the next few weeks. Thanks so much for all your patience and support - I can't wait to show you the new site! I hope you'll keep checking back. In the meantime, you can still access all my old posts here. Once the redesign takes effect, all the old posts will be imported to the new site so you'll still be able to search and find some of your favorite recipes and stories already posted here.

Hasta pronto,
Maura

Carlota de limón

139 · Apr 10, 2010 · 14 Comments

Carlota de limón or postre de limón is an easy dessert served during holidays, as well as during the spring and summer. A Carlota, also sometimes known as a Charlotte in English, is an ice box cake.

In Mexico City, this dessert is often simply called postre de limón. No matter what it’s called, though, it's a perfect dessert to share with family and friends.

Carlota de limon, a Mexican ice box cake

What is a carlota or ice box cake?

Ice box cakes became popular in the 1930s and 1940s when home freezers became accessible to many households. The ice box cake is a spin on a traditional Charlotte that was easier for the average housewife to create at home.

It includes a filling layered with cookies that needs to be frozen in order to get the right consistency, which is almost ice cream-like. It's similar to a trifle or a traditional Charlotte, but does not necessarily contain Bavarian cream or custard. Instead, a carlota usually contains fruit.

What ingredients are in a carlota?

There is some debate about the method and the kind of cookie to be used: ladyfingers versus galletas María. While ladyfingers, sponge cake or even stale bread dipped in butter have been used since the 1800s (it was invented by a French chef), galletas Marías are most common in a Mexican carlota or postre de limón.

Carlotas can be made with all different kinds of fruits. My favorite kind uses lime juice, but feel free to try other fruit juices or purees. I have found that citrus juices thicken the filling slightly better than other fruit juices or purees.

I use cream cheese in my recipe, which gives it a dense, creamy texture.

What kitchen tools do I need to make a carlota?

It's easiest to prepare this dessert

glass trifle dish or casserole dish (you can also use small, footed ice cream or trifle dishes for individual servings)
citrus juicer
citrus zester or microplane grater
stand mixer or handheld mixer
pastry brush
wax paper or parchment paper
spatula

Carlota de limón

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Author: Maura Wall Hernandez
Prep Time: 30
Cook Time: 1 hour (inactive)
Total Time: 1 hour, 30 minutes
Yield: 10-12 servings 1x
Category: Dessert
Cuisine: Mexican

Print Recipe

Description

How to make a Carlota de limón (postre de limón). This Mexican icebox cake is also known as a Charlotte in English.

Ingredients

Scale

1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk, also known as leche condensada (La Lechera)
1 can (12 ounces) evaporated milk, also known as leche evaporada
1 to 1 ¼ cup fresh-squeezed lime juice
zest of 1 lime
8 ounces whipped cream cheese
1 sleeve of galletas María

Glaze for the galletas María:

½ cup granulated cane sugar
¼ cup water

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Instructions

Juice enough limes to yield 1 to 1 ¼ cup juice–about 10 to 12 limes (more if you use smaller key limes). Set juice aside.
In the stand mixer bowl (or a glass bowl if using a handheld mixer), add the sweetened condensed milk, evaporated milk and whipped cream cheese until smooth. Mixture will be somewhat soupy because of the liquid evaporated milk.
Slowly add the lime juice while stirring. Mixture will begin to thicken. Add the lime zest. Blend until lime juice and zest are completely incorporated. Cover and refrigerate.
In a small saucepan, heat the granulated cane sugar and water until it becomes a light amber syrup. Remove from heat and let cool slightly.
Line a cookie sheet with wax or parchment paper and place the galletas María in rows on the sheet. Using a pastry brush or the back of a spoon, lightly coat the tops of the cookies with the syrup. This will seal them a little and prevent them from getting too soggy before the filling gets cold enough in the freezer. When the cookie tops have dried, flip them over and brush the other side. You’ll have a little bit of glaze left over, which you can use for something else or discard.
When the cookies have dried completely, line the bottom and sides of your trifle or casserole dish with whole cookies. Remove the filling from the refrigerator and pour some over the bottom layer of cookies, being careful not to drown the cookies on the sides. Use a spatula to even out the filling if necessary. You’ll layer cookies & filling until you reach the top of your dish. You can either use whole cookies or, as I sometimes like to do, coarsely crush the cookies for the middle layers. For the top layer, I like to use crushed cookies with one whole cookie placed in the center.
Carefully place your dish into the freezer and allow it to set for at least two hours. If you use individual-sized dishes, you may need less time in the freezer, and if you use a deep dish like a trifle dish (as shown above), you may need more than two hours. It’s also fine to leave in the freezer overnight if you want to make it the day before you plan to serve the dessert. The ideal consistency will be like an ice cream cake.
Remove the dish from the freezer about five to 10 minutes to soften slightly before serving.

How to make champurrado

303 · Apr 4, 2010 · 16 Comments

Champurrado is a chocolate atole, a masa-based drink that is popular in Mexico.

Atole is made with a nixtamal (corn) base from dissolving masa in water, sometimes with piloncillo, and heating until it becomes thick. It’s a stick-to-your-ribs type drink that’s guaranteed to keep you warm. It can come in many flavors. Vanilla atole, strawberry atole, and champurrado are the most typical flavors, but other flavors, such as pumpkin atole, fruit and nut flavors, also exist.

While champurrado is similar to Mexican hot chocolate in that they're both in the hot, chocolate beverage category, the major difference is the taste and texture from the corn base.

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