One of the holiday season’s most decadent dessert ideas might also be one of its easiest to make: Concha Bread Pudding that you can set and forget in the slow cooker.
Made with a fragrant custard with notes of cinnamon and rum, all you need to add in otherwise is a few chopped-up conchas. Day-old pieces of the Mexican sweet bread are best, but any leftover or fresh ones you have will work perfectly for this bread pudding.
Other than that, it’s a simple manner of loading everything into the slow cooker, setting it for a few hours, then coming back to a luscious and sumptuous treat. This concha bread pudding is the perfect dessert to have going on in the background while everything else comes together for the holiday feast.
You can find all of the ingredients necessary for this one-pot sweet at Northgate Market, who will also have the full recipe in a holiday cookbook coming out soon. In the meantime, you can peep the directions to get this festive food party going below:
Servings: 5
Step 1
Butter the inside of a crock pot/slow cooker with 1 tablespoon of unsalted butter. Add the concha cubes to the pot.
Step 2
In a large bowl, whisk together the heavy cream, egg yolks, brown sugar, cinnamon, rum, salt, and vanilla extract. Pour the egg mixture over the conchas, ensuring it covers every piece. Gently push down on bread with a spatula or spoon so that the concha on top soaks up the liquid as well.
Step 3
Cover and cook for 3 1/2 hours on a low setting. Turn off the crock pot and let cool for 15-20 minutes before serving with a heaping scoop of creamy vanilla ice cream.
Created in partnership with Northgate Market
Thanksgiving is the time to enjoy some traditional season favorites. There’s the turkey, cranberries, mashed potatoes, gravy… and of course, a heaping basket full of abuela’s tamales.
While Thanksgiving may not be a Mexican holiday, it has integrated itself into Chicano culture, and this turkey is the epitomization of that fusion.
Made with Doña Maria Mole Original, this turkey comes with a depth of aromas and flavors your standard Thanksgiving bird is missing. It’s perfect to bridge together the sides of tamales and mashed potatoes that are sure to come with the annual tradition.
Everyone will be fighting for the two legs with the flavors going on in this bird. And even when the big holiday is all said and done, the leftover meat is going to make for some incredible recalentados.
This twist on a Thanksgiving turkey will be featured in Northgate Market’s upcoming holiday cookbook. But if you’re wanting to do a practice run or two before then, you can view the recipe, whose ingredients can also all be found at Northgate Market, below.
For the turkey
1 (13-pound) turkey, thawed, neck and giblets removed
8 tbsp (1 stick) unsalted butter, divided
10 cloves garlic, peeled
2 ribs celery, chopped
3 medium carrots, chopped
1/2 white onion, quartered
1 navel orange, quartered
Salt & pepper
For the Mole sauce
1 (16.75 oz) jar Doña Maria Mole Original
32 ounces turkey stock
6 ounces Mexican-style chocolate
1/2 yellow onion, roughly chopped
5 large garlic cloves, peeled
1 cinnamon stick
1 (15-oz) can whole roasted Roma tomatoes, strained
3 tablespoons raw shelled peanuts
3 tablespoons raisins
1 tablespoon pumpkin seeds
4 tablespoons sesame seeds, divided
2 whole cloves
1/4 teaspoon anise seeds
1/4 teaspoon coriander seeds
1/2 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/8 teaspoon dried thyme
1/8 teaspoon dried oregano
For garnish
Fresh thyme
Fresh rosemary
Fresh oregano
Small navel oranges
Lemons
Directions
Step 1
Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Place turkey in a large roasting pan, and season inside the cavity with salt and pepper. Stuff the cavity with 4 tablespoons butter, garlic, celery, carrots, onion, and orange. Rub the remaining butter on the skin of the turkey on the outside, then season the skin with salt and pepper. Roast for about an hour until skin is golden brown.
Step 2
While the turkey is cooking, add the mole paste into a large stock pot over medium-high heat. Add turkey stock, chocolate, onion, garlic, and cinnamon. Bring everything to a boil and stir frequently to melt the mole paste and chocolate. Cook for about 20 minutes, until the mole paste and chocolate has dissolved. Remove from the heat, then fish out the cinnamon stick.
Step 3
Pour your mole sauce into the blender, and add the remaining ingredients for the sauce. This includes tomatoes, peanuts, raisins, pumpkin seeds, 2 tablespoons of sesame seeds, cloves, anise, coriander, peppercorns, allspice, thyme, and oregano. Blend on low, as the liquid will be hot. Once all the ingredients are mixed, turn the speed to medium/high and continue to blend to a puree.
Step 4
Push the liquid mole sauce through a sieve into a large bowl. The sauce consistency should be velvety and yet thick enough to slowly run off a back of a spoon. Reserve 2-3 cups of mole sauce to serve with the turkey on the side, but use some to baste the turkey.
Step 5
Pour mole sauce over the turkey. Reduce oven temperature to 350° degrees and continue to cook, basting every 30 minutes for an additional two hours or until an internal temperature of 165 degrees is reached.
Step 6
Transfer turkey to a cutting board and allow to rest. Carve the turkey, and serve with spoonfuls of heated mole sauce and a sprinkle of sesame seeds.
Created in partnership with Northgate Gonzalez Markets.
Atole and its chocolatey cousin champurrado are commonly enjoyed during the festive winter months. If you want to get a jump on atole season, though, this pumpkin version is designed to be enjoyed during Fall.
For those who’ve never tried atole, the warm, masa-based beverage is the ideal comforting drink for the colder seasons. This version incorporates spices like cinnamon and star anise while mixing in pumpkin puree for an autumnal flavor.
One of the keys to this recipe lies in its sweetening agent, piloncillo. The cone-shaped “sugar” can be found at places like Northgate Market, and is an unrefined ingredient made from boiling and evaporating cane sugar juice. It’s flavors are key to bringing the atole to life.
You can view the full recipe to this fall-based Pumpkin Atole in Northgate Market’s new holiday cookbook, arriving in early December. If you want to make it ahead of then, though, check it out below.
Servings: 9-10
Ingredients
1 cup masa harina
6 cup water, divided
4 cups milk
1 cup pure canned pumpkin
2/3 cup grated piloncillo
1 1/2 tbsp pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp ground turmeric
pinch salt
1 vanilla bean split
1 large hollowed pumpkin (approximately 11” wide), small hollowed pumpkins for cups (approximately 4-5” tall and wide)
Extra long cinnamon sticks, star anise and pumpkin pie spice for garnish
Directions
Step 1
In a medium bowl, combine masa harina and 2 cups of water. Stir well to avoid any lumps.
Step 2
In a large saucepan, combine milk, pumpkin puree, remaining water, piloncillo, pumpkin pie spice, turmeric and salt. Whisk together until piloncillo is dissolved. Bring to a simmer over medium heat.
Step 3
Slowly stir the masa harina mix into the saucepan, add the vanilla bean and bring back to a simmer, whisking occasionally. Reduce heat to medium-low and keep simmering until thickened to desired consistency, approximately 5-10 minutes.
Step 4
Serve hot or warm in a large pumpkin punch bowl, using small hollowed pumpkins as mugs. Garnish with a cinnamon stick straw, star anise and a sprinkle of pumpkin pie spice.
Created in partnership with Northgate Market
It’s tradition on Dia De Los Muertos to place ofrendas, or offerings, on altars so that deceased ancestors will come back and visit their families. Tamales, in both sweet and savory form, are one of the most common foods used as an ofrenda, making these dessert tamales a colorful and tasty offering for both eating and placing on the family altar.
This version of a dessert tamal evokes the colors and tastes of fall, utilizing both orange and white sweet potatoes as the chief components of the filling.
For an extra hit of sweetness, OREOs are incorporated into both the masa and creamy interior. Activated coconut charcoal also gives the masa a deep black hue, making the tamales as vibrant as they are flavorful.
You can get all of the ingredients to make these dessert tamales at Northgate Market, who will be launching a holiday cookbook with this recipe and more in early December. If you want to make the tamales before then, though, the full recipe is below.
Servings: 15
25 corn husks
26 Oreo cookies, just the cookie
2 1/2 pounds plain masa
¾ cup granulated sugar
2 ½ Tbsp activated coconut charcoal
¼ cup evaporated milk
For the orange filling
Creamy filling of 26 Oreo cookies
1 pound sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 2-inch pieces
6 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1 egg
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
For the white filling
Creamy filling of 26 oreo cookies
1 pound white sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 2-inch pieces
6 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1 egg
10 tablespoons powdered sugar
For the drizzle topping
1 bottle Cacique Crema Mexicana
1 cup powdered sugar
Step 1
Combine corn husks and enough water to cover in a large bowl. Soak overnight.
Step 2
Bring a large pot of water to a boil, add sweet potatoes and cook for 25-30 minutes or until tender. Drain and set aside.
Step 3
Separate each Oreo cookie, scrape off creamy filling and place in a separate bowl. Place cookies in a food processor and process until a small crumble texture (about 1 ½ cups of crumbled cookie). Set creamy filling aside.
Step 4
Place masa in a large bowl. Add evaporated milk and mix with a hand held mixer on a slow setting. Add cookie crumbles in ½ cup increments, add charcoal in tablespoons increments, add sugar in increments as well. Continue mixing until color is evenly distributed.
Step 5
In another large bowl, combine creamy filling, egg, cream cheese, brown sugar, and sweet potatoes. Mix with a whisk or electric mixer until all ingredients are completely incorporated. Repeat this step with the white sweet potato mixture.
Step 6
Drain corn husks and pat dry. On a working surface, place husk with pointy side towards you. Scoop ½ cup masa mixture on husk and spread with a spoon or masa spreader, leaving a 1 ½ inch border on the sides, place 2 tablespoons sweet potato mixture on the center. Fold one side of corn husk over filling then fold the other side, overlapping. Fold the pointed side up and turn over to keep it from unfolding. Use a piece of corn husk to tie if necessary. Repeat with remaining corn husks.
Step 7
Arrange tamales upright in a steamer. Fill with hot water right below the rack and heat over medium heat. Cover top of tamales with a layer of remaining husks and a damp towel; cover with lid, bring to a boil and reduce to medium, adding water as needed. Steam for 90 minutes. Remove tamales from steaming. Let cool before serving.
Step 8
Optional: to make a creamy drizzle topping, add powdered sugar to crema mexicana and drizzle on tamales.
Created in partnership with Northgate Markets.
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