German Pancakes and Mexican Carlota

It was an international weekend. We enjoyed the multi-cultural Ethnic Expo food boths on Saturday and I attended a really fun Diwali Tea Party on Sunday. Also on Sunday we tried two EASY recipes that were hits in our house - German pancakes and Mexican Carlota.

This version of German pancakes are made in muffin tins. Couldn't be easier. No worrisome flipping. They are simple and delicious and versatile. The boys really like them and like helping make them. What could be better?



German Pancakes
3 eggs
4 Tbsp melted butter
1/2 c milk
1/2 c all-purpose flour
dash of salt

Blend the ingredients in a blender. For some reason, a whisk doesn't work as well. Spray a muffin pan well. Fill with pancake batter half-way. Cook for 15 minutes at 400 degrees.

They will puff up like a souffle and have a little well in the middle - perfect for toppings. They pop right out of the muffin pan. We like them with syrup or fresh fruit and powdered sugar. I like that there is no sugar in the recipe but they have a great taste. This recipe makes 9 muffins. Could easily double it. I don't recommend using a mini muffin pan. They didn't work as well. So easy and really good!


And now, on to Mexico.

I learned to make Carlota at a recent Cooking Club get-together. I can't believe I had not had this dessert in Mexico. It seems like something that I would have had - and it would have been great for young kids like we had at the time we lived there.

I think the lime really adds to this dessert. Brennan gave it a 4 out of 5 stars because he thought the lime made it too "bitter" (tart). He finished his helping though so it couldn't have been too bad. David and Thomas gave it a big thumbs up.

Carlota
Gamesa Maria Cookies
1 can evaporated milk
1 can sweetened condensed milk
Juice of 4 limes

I find Gamesa Cookies in a box at Wal-Mart. They are from Mexico but they're readily available in the U.S. now. A friend from Japan thought you could easily use ginger snaps or graham crackers. I think the Maria's work well because they don't get soggy in the milk mixture.



Put the two milks in a blender and add the juice of 4 limes. Blend for 2 minutes, scraping down the sides of the blender if necessary.

Pour a little bit of the mixture into the bottom of an 8x8 glass dish. Place the Maria cookies in a single layer on top of the milk. Add more milk mixture and another layer of cookies. Continue layering milk and cookies until you have 4 layers of cookies. Top with the remaining milk mixture. Cover and chill for 2 hours.

Two easy and delicious recipes. Two countries. One blender. Enjoy!