Julio Acosta is the Executive Sous Chef at Oyamel Cocina Mexicana, a hotspot in Washington D.C. known for serving the best of Mexican cuisine. Part of Cultural Committee member José Andrés’ restaurant group ThinkFoodGroup, Oyamel won a Bib Gourmand in the 2017 and 2018 Michelin Guide to Washington, DC and is named for the oyamel tree, considered a sacred fir native to central Mexico. Hailing from Lima, Peru, Julio feels passionate about his Latin American heritage and weaves this into his cooking. His recipe for the colonial dessert Encanelado highlights the nuanced history of his native Peru as a former part of the Spanish empire and a mix of many native cultures. Sweet and full of cinnamon, this dessert cake will satisfy your sweet tooth and then some!
Encanelado
For the manjar blanco
Ingredients
Condensed milk 2 cans
Evaporated milk 2 cans
Procedure
Put both milks in a thick bottom pot and cook at low heat stirring constantly until it thickens. It is ready if you are able to see the bottom of the pot. Remove from the heat. Cool down.
For the sponge
Ingredients
160 g all purpose flour
8 tbsp sugar
8 eggs
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
Butter to grease the baking tray
Procedure
1. Whip the eggs and sugar using an electric mixer at high speed for about 5 minutes until ribbon stage is achieved.
2. Mix and sift all the dry ingredients. Add them to the eggs and sugar mixture slowly and gently folding it in using a spatula.
3. Transfer to a greased and flour-dusted baking tray with parchment paper.
4. Bake in a preheated oven at 360°F for 15-20 minutes until a knife comes out dry after sticking it in the center of the cake. Cool it down before unmolding.
For the pisco syrup
Ingredients
300 ml water
300 g sugar
150 ml pisco
5 cinnamon sticks
Procedure
Place all the ingredients in a pot, bring to a boil, and simmer for about 5 minutes until the sugar has dissolved and most of the alcohol has evaporated. Reserve.
Assembly
1. Cut the sponge in half, through the middle, length wise using a bread knife in order to create two even layers.
2. Divide the still warm pisco syrup in equal parts and start brushing the first half of the cake with it.
3. Then, spread evenly half of the manjar blanco on top of the syrup brushed cake.
4. Place the other half of the cake on top. Proceed to repeat the same process of brushing syrup and spreading manjar blanco.
5. Dust the surface with lots of ground cinnamon using a sieve.
Allow the encanelado to cool down in the fridge for a couple hours before serving.
