Sweet Treats For Valentines Day

By Luz Ana Osbun

At La Tortilla Factory’s Test Kitchen, our chefs have found a myriad of  ways in which to use tortillas. This month, in honor of St. Valentine’s Day, we’ve created a few sweet treats to share with everyone. These recipes are very sensible, but appear and taste VERY decadent.

I enjoy that many of our recipes incorporate fresh fruit. For instance, to make the Apple Strudel a la Mode (photographed below), we divided a fresh fruit filling amongst four tortillas, wrapped the tortilla around the filling, turned the strudel seam-side down, brushed the surface of the tortilla with an egg wash before baking, and then baked it for about 30 minutes (until lightly browned) at 350 °F.

Apple Strudel Filling:

• 4 Apples (Braeburn, Gala, or Granny Smith)
• ¾ cup Raisins
• Juice from 1 Lemon
• 4 Tablespoons granulated  sugar
• 1 teaspoon groudn cinnamon

When strudel is lightly browned, dust lightly with powdered sugar, and serve warm with a dab of light whipped cream, or pair with your favorite cup of coffee! The Filling is enough for about 4 strudels, and serves about 8 people

Fresh Fruit Tartletts:

You may also use tortillas to make tartlett shells, such as in our Fresh Fruit Tartletts (photographed at left). We created the tartlett shells by cutting a tortilla into a circle using a serrated pasty cutter (to give the tartlett a pretty scallped edge). We then pressed the cut tortilla rounds into metal tartlett shells, then baked the shells for about 30 minutes at 350 °F (or until golden brown). The shells should have a crispy texture after baking. After cooling to room temperatire, fil the shells with homemade pastry cream, and top with fresh berries, such as strawberries, rasberries, or blueberries.

Chocolate Dipped Canolis

If you cannot resist the urge for chocolate, then try our Chocolate Dipped Canolis. To make the canoli simply wrap a tortilla around a canoli form (which can be purchased at any specialty cooking store), and bake at 350 °F (or until golden brown). Dip each canoli into melted dark bitter sweet chocolate and let cool. After cooling, fill each canoli (using a pastry bag) with pastry cream. Try creating chocolate dipped butter cookies for a special Valentine’s Day dessert platter!