Mostachudos. The best kept secret
- Yael Camhi
- Jul 31, 2017
- 3 min read
For me, mostachudos are the most Sephardic confection ever, and although any Sephardic woman will tell you that her granma's recipe is "the true and only one", the truth is that we are talking about a delicious and fine confection made out of walnuts with variations depending on where the recipe originated, or on the family's traditions. There are recipes made out of walnuts only. There are others that mix walnuts and biscuit in different proportions. Some are perfumed with rose water, orange blossom water or simply orange rind.
In Sephardic confectionary there are no cakes or pies as they are known in other cultures. Instead, they prepare very sweet confections, that are enjoyed with extra bitter coffee.
In latitudes where the heat spoils any culinary preparation very fast, sugar acts like a preservative that extends the life of the sweets and that is why a great variety of oriental sweets is prepared with syrup.
The recipe for mostachudos is actually very simple. Walnuts, sugar, spices, biscuit. To reach perfection, excellent quality ingredients must be used. Walnuts should be very fresh. Aged nuts are noticed immediately because the large amount of oil they contain, take a nasty stale taste that can't be hidden even after they are mixed with the syrup.
"Extracting" the recipe of mostachudos from a Sephardic woman is not an easy task ... Since I'm such a good person :), here is mine, which is wonderful, and traditional in Bar and Bat Mitzvah, engagement parties, weddings and fadas, שמחות בת (baby namings).
The Recipe
Ingredients:
- 1 cup ground walnuts
- 1 cup ground champaigne buscuits (*)
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup water
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
- 2 tbsp. rose or orange blossom water
- Confectioners sugar as needed.
- paper tins
(*) In some countries they are called "lady fingers" or french biscuits. See the picture.
Preparation:
- In a medium pot, put together the sugar, water, cinnamon stick and rose or orange blossom water. Simmer over low heat, stirring ocassionally to thicken, to obtain a syrup not too thick.
- While the syrup is simmering, mix the nuts, biscuits and ground cinnamon in a bowl.
- Once the syrup is ready, add the walnuts mixture to the pot, stir and cook for about 1 minute. Remove the pot from the heat and let stand.
- With the aid of two teaspoons, take portions of the nuts and syrup mixture and form little balls the size of a cherry (could be bigger but I like them that size) and roll over the confectioners sugar. Put in the paper tins and let stand.
Useful tips:
1) The amount of biscuit may vary depending on personal preferences. The recipe is for two cups of dry ingredients but the propotions may vary. The only rule is that it must be more nuts than sugar or at least 50-50.
2) As the mostachudos cool down, they form a crust on the outside but the inside remains soft. This is normal and delicious...
3) Don't be tempted to add more scented water. Too much will taste like parfume (your grandma's parfume!)
4) These sweets will last perfectly for a month, although real cases have not yet been documented: they are so delicious that will normally disappear before 24 hours. They can be stored in a box with a lid, outside the refrigerator.
As usual I would love to hear your comments or at least say "Hi" to let me know you were here.
Love, Brajá y Salú (ברכה ובריות) and Be'teavón!
Yael
PS: If you are in Chile and would like to try these delicacies but do not dare to make them yourself, remember that I can do them for you. Just email me or leave a message in the comments.
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