The Chabela cake hides a deep love story and seeks to represent the loss of that love in each bite.Max courtesy
CHAPTER 2. CHABELA
The Chabela cake is the protagonist of the second Chapter of As chocolate water in which you begin to unveil the sad story of heartbreak that Tita will live. Pedro promises that he will ask for his hand and in an unexpected turn Mom Elena denies permission to marry her – for being the youngest and who must take care of her until the last day of her life – instead offers Rosaura in marriage. Pedro and Rosaura marry In Las Palomas, and Nacha and Tita are in charge of the banquet that includes the famous Chabela cake. While preparing it, Tita is very sad and cries, making it a cake that, bite bite, It causes an uncontrollable sadness.
How to prepare a Chabela cake?
Ingredients to make the mass
- 175 grams of first granulated sugar
- 300 grams of sifted flour
- 17 eggs
- Lemon scrape
Ingredients to fill
- 150 grams of Chabacano paste
- 150 grams of granulated sugar
Ingredients to do the fondant
- 800 grams of granulated sugar
- 60 drops of lemon and enough water to soak sugar
Ingredients for nougat
- 10 clear eggs
- 500 grams of sugar
Preparation
Bread of the cake
In a pot add 5 egg yolks, 4 whole eggs and sugar. They beat until they have a thick dough and then add two more whole eggs. They continue to beat and continue to add eggs of two by two until they are finished. By adding the last two eggs, the lemon zest is also added. Stop beating the dough until it is thick enough so it is time to add the sifted flour (three times) little by little and stir it. Grease a mold with butter and sprinkle with flour before adding the mixture. It is baked for 30 minutes, let cool to split the bread by half horizontally.
Pake filling
In a pot add the Chabacans and a little water to put them on the fire. Once they boil, you go through a strainer and the paste that is results in the fire while moving it until it takes a jam consistency. Remove from heat and let cool. This mixture is put in the middle of the bread breads.
Cake fondant
In a pot put sugar and water to the fire, it is very important to always be moving it with a wooden shovel or a spoon. Let it boil. After, strain and move on to another pot where the lemon will also be added to the fire and the Until the mixture can become a loose ball – during this process clean the pot with a humid trap – and empty in a damp pot, sprinkle on top and let cool. With a spatula, Beat until you empanize. To apply the fondant it is necessary to put a tablespoon of milk and return to the fire until it dissolves; The carmine is added and only the upper part of the cake is covered with this mixture.
Cake nougat
Beat the egg whites yy the sugar to the point of strong strand – the result of cooking water and sugar at 110ºC – to finally put on the banks of the cake.
What is carmine in Mexican cuisine?
An ingredient that was strange to see this chapter was carmine, but at the beginning of the 20th century it was quite common. The carmine that is added to the Chabela cake is a natural coloring coloring purple hue which is extracted from the cochineal that was used to give color to certain foods of that time.