Discovered in a Dusty Journal: Orange & Cinnamon Doughnuts, a Mexican Delight from 1945

Passport & Plate - Rosquetas de Naranja (Orange Doughnuts)

Mexico | Friday, March 6, 2015 | 5 photos

Ingredients:
1 lb Flour
3 teaspoons Baking powder
1 Orange, zested and juiced
3 Large Eggs
1 cup Whole Milk
¾ cup Granulated Sugar
1 stick of Butter, room temperature, cut into cubes.
Vegetable oil
Cinnamon Sugar: 1 cup Sugar and 2 teaspoons Ground Cinnamon

How to prepare this recipe

1. In a large bowl, sift together the flour and baking powder.
2. In a second bowl whisk eggs, orange juice, and zest. Whisk in milk; then, stir in sugar until it is dissolved.
3. Using your hands, mix the butter and flour until it forms small pills.
4. Form a well in the center of the flour and pour in the wet ingredients. Using your whisk, form into a batter.
5. Fill a small electric deep fryer, or a saucepan with deep sides, with 2 inches of vegetable oil. The oil is ready when a dollop of dough immediately begins to sizzle.
6. Deep fry doughnuts until golden brown, flipping them once. Remove from oil with a slotted spoon and set the doughnuts on a plate lined with paper towels to drain. Allow them to cool while you add another batch to the oil, then roll doughnuts into cinnamon sugar. Serve immediately.

The story behind this recipe:

I asked my husband-to-be where he would like to go for our honeymoon, and he surprised me when he said “Mexico!” I was game: I am a historic gastronomist, which means I look to culinary history to inspire my contemporary kitchen. I jumped at chance to explore the food and culture of another country.

On our first full day, we arrived in Mexico City and went on a street food and market walking tour. It gave us our training wheels on what to eat and how to order: mixed meat tacos, topped with grilled nopalitos; Chicarron de Queso, a roll of crispy fried gouda; and stewed chicken sauced with a rich, complicated mole. We didn’t eat in a restaurant the entire time we were in the city, a fact that horrified even my most adventurous foodie friends: “You ate street food? In MEXICO?” they exclaimed when we got home.

My favorite morning in the city was spent digging through a local flea market, looking for treasures. The first thing that caught my eye was a yellowing composition book. The pages were handwritten, in Spanish, but I could recognize the format: lists of ingredients, followed by directions. It was a recipe book, dating from 1945.

The first recipe in the book was Rosquetas de Naranja, doughnuts flavored with orange zest and rolled in cinnamon sugar. When I tried them at home, they fried up crispy on the outside with a soft, cakey center. Their gentle orange flavor is perfect for a party or brunch with friends—as long as you remember they are best fresh and hot.

This recipe book was my prize souvenir from my journey. I still have much to learn from its pages, but every time I eat Rosquetas de Naranja I feel a personal connection to the cooks of Mexico’s past.