Corn Cake (Bolo Pamonha com Romeu e Julieta)

I decided to do this cake on Friday afternoon just before a birthday party. My mother was making the birthday cake for our friends as a gift and it looked delicious. Because I didn’t want to be craving for cake later, I decided to make my own. This corn cake has the consistency of a pudding and the guava paste and cheese slices in the middle are the perfect touch. It’s so perfect that this combination of cheese and guava paste is called Romeo and Juliet in Brazil.

The cake was a success in my house. Everybody loved, but I ended up eating most of it.  Hopefully this will help me gain the 4 pounds I need to participate in a research study that I really want to be part. It is about meditation and I would be learning several techniques. Well, I will let you know if I pass the Body Mass Index requirement.

The only challenge of making this cake is to find the ingredients. But do not worry, they can be usually found in the Hispanic section of the Wal-Mart or in a Hispanic market. The ingredients are not really that exotic. First it is the condensed milk that I suggest you to buy the Nestle brand, since most the other brands are more liquid and may affect the consistency of the cake. The second is the guava paste which can be hard to find if you don’t live in an area where there are many Latin people. And the last is the queso fresco, which is a kind of fresh cheese that substitutes very well the cheese I’m used to use in Brazil. But don’t let that be the reason to stop you from making this amazing cake, you can use mozzarella or parmesan cheese.

I hope you enjoy this delicacy!

   Ingredients:

• 3 large eggs;
• 2 tablespoons of unsalted butter;
• 1 can of drained corn;
• 1 can of condensed milk;
• 1 cup of yellow corn flour;
• 6.7 fl oz of Coconut milk (or half a can);
• 2 tablespoons of all purpose flour Gluten Free;
• 3 tablespoons of shredded parmesan;
• 1 tablespoon of baking powder;
• 1 pinch of salt;

   Filling:

• Slices of guava paste;
• Slices of Queso Fresco (or Mozzarella);

   Procedure:

1. Cut a piece of wax paper and put it on the bottom of the cake pan. Then, grease and powder with Gluten Free flour the entire pan.
2. Preheat the oven to 360 degrees F.
3. Blend the drained corn with half a can of water, and pour it in a recipient.
4. Blend the eggs for about 2 minutes and then add the blended corn,  butter, condensed milk, corn flour (little by little), all purpose flour GF, coconut milk, parmesan cheese and the pinch of salt;
5. Put the mixture in a recipient and stir in the baking powder;
6. Now you should cut the guava paste and the cheese into thin slices and powder them with GF flour. This helps them to stay in place instead of sinking to the bottom when baking the cake.
   
7. Pour some of the mixture in the cake pan and add the guava and cheese slices. Repeat this step twice.
8. Bake it for 35-40 minutes or until is lightly brown.

Yes, Cheese Bread (Pão de Queijo)

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  The moment I decided to write this blog, I already knew what recipe would be the first. Cheese Bread!
                Oooooh cheese bread…you are the reason why I don’t crave other breads…

I learned to cook Pão de Queijo (cheese bread in Portuguese) with my mom, who had to learn how to make it when she married my dad.  You see, my father is from Minas Gerais, a state in Brazil that is known for many things, especially for its cheese bread! And my dad, like a good Mineiro (people from Minas Gerais), loves pão de queijo, and I, as a daughter of a Mineiro, could only love it too. There is even a joke about a Mineiro that found a magical lamp and wished for 2 cheese breads and a beautiful woman because he was too shy to ask for a third cheese bread 🙂
Many people told me that I reacted very well when I was diagnosed with gluten sensitivity because if it was them, they would have freaked out with the thought of not eating doughnts, pizza, cakes, etc.  In my case, I started thinking of what I could eat, and I literally jumped for joy when I remembered that cheese bread was gluten free.

This recipe is delicious. You can eat it with ham, salami, cheese, jam, butter, cream cheese, or by itself.

I am sure you will love Pão de Queijo, just like Mineiros do!

Ingredients:

• 5 cups of Tapioca Flour (It is Gluten Free)
• 1 cup (not too full) of Oil
• 2 ½ cups of Milk
• 6 eggs
• 2 cups of grated Parmesan Cheese
• 1 Tablespoon of salt

Procedure:

1. Measure the 5 cups of Tapioca Flour and put it into a bowl.
2. In a large saucepan, pour the milk, oil and salt and bring it to a high heat. When it starts to boil, remove it from the heat immediately (this happens fast, be careful) and mix it with the tapioca flour.
3. Stir the mixture until you get a smooth-textured dough. If you have a stand mixer, it will help you a lot in this step. If not, stirring the dough will be a great exercise for your arms.
4. Let the mixture cool for about 25 minutes. It is important to let the dough cool before you add the eggs, otherwise you won’t get the desired texture.
5. Stir in the cheese and one egg at a time. Mix it well. You can use the stand mixer here too.
6. When you get a homogeneous dough, make little balls of the size of a golf ball. Put some oil in your hand to help you shape the dough.
7. Place them in a baking sheet 1-2 inches apart.
8. Bake it in a preheated oven (375 degrees F) for 20-25 minutes, or until they are lightly brown on top.  The baking time may be more or less depending on the size of the balls you make.

*Notes: You can try this recipe with different kinds of cheese, like Mozzarella or Cheddar, but beware that some are oilier than others. In that case, you may need less eggs and oil. For example, if you use mozzarella, after you add the 5^th egg, you should check if the dough is too soft to handle. If so, don’t add more eggs. Also, if you use extra large eggs, you may only need 4 eggs.
You can freeze them before baking, and then you can eat warm and delicious cheese bread anytime you feel like it.

And there you have a great recipe of Cheese Bread. Enjoy it with some coffee or tea!

Let me know how your experience with pão de queijo goes. And if you have any questions, I will be glad to answer them 🙂

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