Mexican Inspired Sweets

You can have these desserts separately or you can put them together for the ultimate Mexican dessert.

 

Aaron Sanchez's Mexican Brownies

Ingredients:

2 sticks unsalted butter, plus more for greasing
2 cups sugar
4 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2/3 cup good-quality unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground Mexican cinnamon (canela)
1/4 teaspoon pequin chili powder or cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 9x13-inch baking dish with parchment paper, leaving an overhang on two sides. Press the paper into the corners of the pan and lightly grease the paper with butter.

Melt the 2 sticks of butter in a nonstick saucepan over medium-low heat; do not boil. Remove from the heat and let cool slightly. Add the sugar, eggs, and vanilla to the saucepan and stir with a wooden spoon until combined.

Add the cocoa, flour, cinnamon, chili powder, salt, and baking powder, and mix until smooth. Spread the batter in the prepared pan and bake until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out fudgy, 20 to 25 minutes. Cool in the pan on a rack, then use the parchment paper to lift out the brownies before slicing.

Source: Food Network, recipe by Aaron Sanchez. You can find it here.

Notes: These brownies had a surprising amount of heat. Serving ice cream on top of them was perfect because it tempered the heat of the brownies perfectly. Even without the ice cream though, these brownies are perfect.

 

Dulce de Leche Ice Cream

Ingredients:

2 cups whole milk
1 cup heavy cream
1pound dulce de leche (about 1 2/3 cups); preferably La Salamandra brand
1/8 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3/4 cup chopped pecans (2 1/2 to 3 oz), toasted, optional

Directions:

Bring milk and cream just to a boil in a 3-quart heavy saucepan over moderate heat, then remove from heat and whisk in dulce de leche until dissolved. Whisk in vanilla and transfer toa  metal bowl. Quick-chill by putting bowl in a larger bowl of ice and cold water and stirring occasionally until cold, 15 to 20 minutes.

Freeze mixture in ice cream maker until almost firm, then fold in pecans.

Transfer ice cream to an airtight container and put in freezer to harden, at least 1 hour.

Source: Epicurious. you can find it here.

Notes: This was so good. We made two batches. One bath was made without nuts and the second batch was made with toasted chopped almonds. This ice cream was sooo good. Smooth, sweet, and with a wonderful caramel flavor. I personally felt that while it was awesome on the Mexican brownies, the delicate flavor of the ice cream was a little overpowered by the heat of the cayenne in the brownies. So, top your brownies with this ice cream by all means, but be sure to have a few spoonfuls of the ice cream without the brownie to fully appreciate this wonderful ice cream.