Lúcuma pretzels....delicious!!

I recently bought powder lúcuma as its one of the 2 fruits I really miss from Chile (the other one is Chirimoya). I was very excited to try it in a recipe and here I am!. After making the successful chocolate pretzels from a previous post, I decided to do my very own variation with lúcuma....and let me tell you something, I like this one even better than the chocolate one!!...too good to be true? give it a go!:

Ingredients:
-100g or a generous 1/3 cup of unsalted butter.
-100g or 7 tbsp caster (superfine) sugar.
-1 egg
-200g of plain (all-purpose) flour.
-50g of lúcuma powder.

To decorate:
-Icing sugar

1. Lightly grease a baking tray or line with baking paper.
Beat together the butter and sugar in a mixing bowl until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg.

2. Sift together the flour and Lucuma powder and gradually beat in to form a soft dough.
Use your fingers to incorporate the last of the flour and bring the dough together. Make a ball, wrap with cling film and put in the fridge for 15 minutes.


3. Break pieces from the dough and roll into thin sausage shapes about 10cm/4 inches long and 6mm thick. Twist into pretzel shapes by making a circle, then twist the ends through each other to form a letter "B".

4. Place on the prepared baking tray, slightly spaced apart to allow for spreading during cooking.


5. Bake in a preheated oven, 190C/375F/Gas mark 5, for 8-12 minutes (not more or they'll probably burn).
The smell coming from the oven is just incredible.... and believe me, all your neighbours will be queuing up outside your door :-)
Leave the pretzels to cool slightly on the baking tray, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.


Sprinkle them with icing sugar, instead you can mix icing sugar and lúcuma powder to sprinkle your pretzels.

To store them, simply put them in an air tight container, a tin box is ideal.


I didn't want to dip them in chocolate like the choc pretzels I did before, simply because the lúcuma flavour is woth enjoying just the way it is, although nobody says you can't use chocolate!.

ENJOY! x

Lucuma powder...yay!

*In the picture: Lucuma fruit

I was born and raised in Chile and moved to England in 2005. I never thought I would miss any fruit as we get nearly everything here. But there are two that I REALLY miss: Chirimoya and Lúcuma. This last one in particular, the flavour is difficult to put into words and the ones who have tried it will agree with me.
You don't eat the fruit as it comes from the tree, it has a dry, pastry-like texture. The fruit is mainly processed and sold as purée or mixed with other ingredients, especially for puddings (desserts). Lucuma ice cream is very popular in Chile, also Lucuma mixed with dulce de leche and added to cakes....hmmm!...Gosh I'm dribbling already!.
A Chilean friend of mine who lives in Houston, Pilar, had a gorgeous recipe in her blog that made me miss Lucuma even more....Looking online I found Lucuma powder!!! I never imagined you could find it like that and I was even more surprised when I found it in the UK....BINGO!. So I bought 500g and received it in the post today....how fabulous!!!!!


I can't wait to use it...I have so many ideas already!.

If you want to know more about Lucuma:

NAME
Lucuma

LATIN NAME
Pouteria Lucuma

Also Known As
lucmo or eggfruit

ORIGIN
A tropical plant native to lands 1000 to 2400 m above sea level in Chile, Peru and Ecuador although it can be grown in some similar climates.

PARTS USED
Fruit

TRADITIONAL HERBAL USES AND MEDICINAL PROPERTIES
Lucuma is a deliciously sweet fruit prized for it's unique taste and used as a flavour in desserts, drinks and especially ice-cream (in Peru). Lucuma is a great source of of carbs, fibre and vitamins, especially iron, niacin and beta-carotene. Sugar wise it naturally contains glucose, fructose, sucrose, and inositol.
But it's real greatness is that it is a healthy part of any diet and a totally delicious flavour. In Peru, Lucuma ice-cream is more popular than strawberry or chocolate or vanilla!
Lucuma powder is quite suitable for Raw, Vegan and Vegitarian diets and is an increasingly popular ingredient in the finest raw food recipes.

FOLKLORE AND HISTORY
Lucuma appears to have been cultivated since ancient times by the various indigenous races of the highlands of parts of Chile, Peru and Ecuador. It was an important offering to the gods and even now it is still respected by native cultures. The Ayacucho and Cajamarcan people both have powerful beliefs associated with the trees which are also still a major part of their diets.
Lucuma trees are depicted on pre-Columbian ceramics found at indigenous burial sites in coastal Peru far from where it can be successfully cultivated. This suggests it has been a popular fruit traded between cultures for a long time. It was certainly well known to the Inca (from whose language, Quechua, we get the name Lucuma) and was cultivated by them when the Europeans invaded.
Lucuma was documented by the Europeans in 1531 as growing in Ecuador. It appears in the botanical record again in 1776 when it was presumed exclusively grown in northern Chile. However in 1915 seeds were taken on behalf of the United States Government from Ollantaytambo, a mysterious pre-Incan megalithic city fotress. This suggests that either Lucuma production declined throughout the initial European invasion of the Americas or it's seemingly sporadic appearance is a result of patchy research. Either way it was not quickly adopted by the invaders and has become known as one of the “lost crops of the Inca”.
Today both Lucma production and demand is on the rise. In Peru Lucuma ice cream is believed to be more popular than vanilla, strawberry or chocolate!

DOSAGE
Eat as much of it as you like

PRECAUTIONS
None

*Info taken from: Indigo Herbs of Glastonbury where I bought the Lucuma powder from, they sell an incredible variety of herbal products and superfoods, take a look! *

Chocolate Pretzels

I like to bake, you know...but when its cold and rainy like today, I like it even more... so I grabbed one of my books, "Super Cookery, Chocolate & Baking" to look for a yummy treat... page 174 had it! "Chocolate pretzels", I saw this page many times before and thought they would be ideal for a birthday party, but not necessarily! they can also be a treat for your kids when they come back from school, or to have accompanied by a coffee with your friends.
As soon as I came back from dropping my little man at nursery, I put my apron on, rolled up my sleeves, tuned in to BBC Radio 2 and action begun.

The recipe as follows:
Ingredients:
-100g or a generous 1/3 cup of unsalted butter.
-100g or 7 tbsp caster (superfine) sugar.
-1 egg
-225g or 2 cups of plain (all-purpose) flour.
-25g or 1/4 cup of cocoa powder

To decorate:
-15g or 1tbsp of butter
-100g dark or milk chocolate to melt
-Icing sugar to dust or sugar sprinkles

1. Lightly grease a baking tray or line with baking paper.
Beat together the butter and sugar in a mixing bowl until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg.

2. Sift together the flour and cocoa powder and gradually beat in to form a soft dough.
Use your fingers to incorporate the last of the flour and bring the dough together. Make a ball, wrap with cling film and put in the fridge for 15 minutes.
3. Break pieces from the dough and roll into thin sausage shapes about 10cm/4 inches long and 6mm thick. Twist into pretzel shapes by making a circle, then twist the ends through each other to form a letter "B".


4. Place on the prepared baking tray, slightly spaced apart to allow for spreading during cooking.


5. Bake in a preheated oven, 190C/375F/Gas mark 5, for 8-12 minutes.
Leave the pretzels to cool slightly on the baking tray, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.


6. Melt the butter and chocolate in a bowl set over a pan of gently simmering water, stirring to combine.

7. Dip half of each pretzel into the chocolate and allow the excess of chocolate to drip back into the bowl. Place the pretzels on a sheet of grese proof paper or baking paper and leave to set. (If you want to use sprinkles, do it now before the chocolate sets).

8. When set, dust the non-chocolate coated side of each pretzel with icing (confectioners) sugar before serving.

These delicious pretzels are ideal for birthday parties, picnics... ideal with a coffee or glass of milk!. I made them for my son, when he comes back from nursery, but the friends coming over also get the benefit :-)