Conchas using Scalded Flour Method

Conchas,  also referred to as "pan de huevo" are sweet buttery buns from Mexico. They are famous for their crumbly shell-patterned sugar topping and soft fluffy texture. They are eaten with coffee and milk but mostly with Mexican hot chocolate for breakfast or late supper- known as merienda, a tradition that dates back to the 16th century.

Carrot Chili Pepper Quinoa Salad

I love exploring cuisines and I love to cook from books. So when the hosts of Food of the World decided to travel to Mexico, I picked up a couple of avocados, a pineapple and some jalapeño peppers from the grocery store,  a copy of The "I Do Not Know How To Cook" Book Mexican from the library, then flipped through the pages of the book to find a match for the ingredients in hand. 

Mexican Carrot Cake

I love a traditional carrot cake with cinnamon and nutmeg and bits of walnut. It is rich and flavorful and probably one of  my all time favorite desserts. However from time to time I like to experiment with other recipes, specially when the list of ingredients lists an ingredient that I would have never imagined or considered otherwise.. Such was the case with this Mexican carrot cake.. The list of ingredients was short. It did not include any kind of flour. However "flour tortillas" were part of it and those were enough to arrest my curiosity.