Tex Mex Desserts

A baked custard and caramel dish known as flan is a common Tex-Mex dessert.

Tex-Mex is a type of cuisine that is based on the traditional foods of Mexico, but with an Americanized twist. Authentic Mexican food mainly uses peppers, beans, tomatoes, corn tortillas, meat, seafood and cilantro. Tex-Mex uses many of the same ingredients, but it deep fries the dishes and serves them with higher fat condiments like cheese or sour cream. Tex-Mex desserts are decadent and flavorful and use cinnamon, caramel and honey as their main flavor notes.

Sopapillas

A sopapilla is a Mexican-based dessert that is a common staple on Tex-Mex dessert menus. It consists primarily of pieces of fluffy, yeast-based dough. The dough pieces are deep fried in hot oil until the outsides are golden brown and crispy, while the insides are soft and chewy. The dough pieces may be sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar, while the dough is still hot. The cinnamon and sugar particles then stick to the hot oil. Sopapillas may also be topped with drizzled honey instead of cinnamon and sugar. Tex-Mex restaurants may Americanize basic sopapillas by stuffing the dough pieces with cheesecake filling before deep frying them.

Flan

Flan is a traditional Mexican custard dish often served at birthday celebrations. Variations of authentic flan are often used in Tex-Mex cuisine. Its base is made of a mixture of cream, eggs, milk and sugar that is heated to a boil on the stovetop until it forms a thick liquid. The custard is then transferred into a baking dish or individual ramekins and baked until the custard is firm. The finished baked custard is generally topped with melted caramel to add richness.

Churros

Churros are a Tex-Mex dessert that is similar to sopapillas, but with a different shape and texture. Rather than being made from a yeast-based dough, churros are made from a batter that usually consists of flour, milk, butter, eggs and sugar. The thin batter is then transferred into a pastry piping bag, so it can be distributed as thin strips into hot oil. The strips are deep dried until they are crispy, and they are deep friend until the batter is completely heated through. Churros are usually topped with cinnamon and sugar and served alongside dipping sauces like chocolate or melted caramel.

Fried Ice Cream

Fried ice cream does not have a definitive Mexican influence, but it's a common Tex-Mex dessert. The ice cream is frozen more solidly than it would be for normal consumption, so that it doesn't melt during the frying process. The overly frozen ice cream can be coated in egg or crushed cookie or cereal crumbs before being lightly fried to warm and soften the ice cream. Fried ice cream can be served alone or drizzled with chocolate or caramel sauce.

References

• Global Gourmet: Southwestern Foods
• Special Libraries Association: Tex-Mex Cuisine
• Seattle Post-Intelligencer: "Is It Real or Is It Tex-Mex?"