Hojaldre de añasco: El hojaldre es todo un símbolo de Añasco
El hojaldre es todo un símbolo de Añasco
Holaldre Añasqueña no solo ha mantenido la tradición familiar de confeccionar el rico bizcocho, sino que ha llevado ese producto a otro nivel. (Suministrada)
Nota de archivo: esta historia fue publicada hace más de 3 años.
Por Lester Jiménez
Presentado por
PUBLICIDAD
Corría el año 1948 cuando don Luis Ruiz comenzó a confeccionar un bizcocho hecho de especias dulces con una receta muy personal, sin saber que 71 años después, el famoso hojaldre de Añasco sería considerado todo un símbolo de este pueblo.
Hoy, su nieta Bernadettte Ortiz, propietaria de Holaldre Añasqueña, no solo ha mantenido la tradición familiar de confeccionar el rico bizcocho, sino que ha llevado ese producto a otro nivel, dándolo a conocer en todo Puerto Rico y más allá de nuestras costas.
“Muchas personas que vienen aquí, especialmente del área metro, lo que conocen como hojaldre es la masa para hacer pastelillos.
Para nosotros, hojaldre es el nombre de nuestro bizcocho hecho con especias dulces y es típico de este pueblo. En nuestro caso, desde 1948 estamos haciendo un hojaldre con una receta secreta de la familia”, sostuvo Ortiz.
Cuenta la historia que unos españoles que se establecieron en el pueblo de Añasco trajeron consigo el hojaldre y de todas las personas que trabajaron con ellos, fue don Luis Ruiz quien se quedó con la receta y continuó la tradición en una pequeña fábrica en el pueblo.
“Mi abuelo comenzó a hacer el origjnal, un bizcocho redondo con el rotito en el medio. Con el paso del tiempo, fuimos añadiendo otras variedades. Mi tío, Federico Ruiz, comenzó a tirar el cupcake, pero cuando yo comencé a trabajarlo en 1991 y luego lo compré en el 1995, comencé a lanzar otros productos”, manifestó la heredera del reconocido postre.
Entre las nuevas variedades figuran el hojaldre con Nutella, almendra o chocolate chip; almejas con guayaba, queso o crema; galletas de hojaldre; megasombreros y hasta “mini loafs” confeccionados con guineo, batata o calabaza.
“La masa es la misma, solo le añadimos variedad de sabores”, sostuvo Ortiz.
“Cuando yo tomé el negocio, era un negocio de pueblo. Venían a comprar los que conocían, pero yo empecé a distribuirlo en distintos sitios”, agregó la empresaria, que cuenta además con sus tres hijos, Lizbeth, Alexandra y Manuel, quienes también están inmersos en el negocio familiar.
Actualmente, algunos de los productos pueden conseguirse en panaderías, gasolineras y otros establecimientos de gran parte de la zona Oeste, desde Quebradillas hasta San Germán.
Además, el producto ha llegado a otros confines gracias a la diáspora que se ha encargado de darlo a conocer en los Estados Unidos y otros países.
“Es bien curioso que, a pesar de que hay personas en Puerto Rico no conocen del hojaldre de Añasco, mucha gente de afuera sí lo conocen porque tenemos muchos clientes que compran para enviarlo fuera. Por ejemplo, los soldados. Este producto llegó hasta Kuwait”, acentuó con orgullo.
NUEVO ESTABLECIMIENTO
Con el paso del tiempo, la familia logró abrir un local en el área del Litoral en Mayagüez, pero el huracán María hizo estragos y acabó con el establecimiento.
Sin embargo, precisamente este viernes, Hojaldre Añasqueña abre un nuevo local en el casco urbano de Añasco, específicamente en la calle 65 de Infantería, muy cerca de la plaza pública y la Plaza del Mercado.
“Esta vez quise quedarme en Añasco porque este producto es de aquí. Siempre tenía en mente abrir un concepto donde la gente pudiera venir a comerse el hojaldre mientras disfrutaba de un cafecito, así que decidimos mudar toda la producción y el negocio aquí”, destacó Ortiz.
El nuevo establecimiento contará con toda la variedad de productos y, además, servirá desayunos y café.
La novel propuesta no solo servirá para mantener viva la tradición familiar, sino que, además será fuente de nuevos empleos.
Se espera que, para su apertura, cuente con, al menos, nueve trabajadores entre producción y servicio y con la expectativa de ampliar esa cantidad.
El horario del establecimiento será de lunes a sábado de 5:30 a.m. a 5:00 p.m.
También pueden llamar al 787- 806-8219 o buscarlos a través de las redes sociales.
“Yo me siento satisfecha por el hecho de que pude continuar la tradición familiar y mi deseo es que siga a través de mis hijos o de otras personas que quieran mantener esa tradición”, sentenció Ortiz.
Puerto Rican Spice Cake; Hojaldre
I get commissions for purchases made through links in this post.”
A tasty spice cake whose origins are in the western town of Añasco, Puerto Rico. As I take on this journey of Puerto Rican cooking, I find myself face to face with some never-seen-before recipes, which this is one of them.
Today we’ll learn:
- What is Hojaldre?
- What’s in a name?
- When do we eat Hojaldre in Puerto Rico?
- What you’ll need to make this recipe
- Other Tools
- How to make Hojaldre
- In Summary
What is Hojaldre?
Hojaldre in its simplest form is a spice cake. In the town of Añasco in Puerto Rico, hojaldre has been made famous. There is a bakery that concentrates on nothing more than this tasty cake and in variations of the same.
The bakery has been in business since 1948, bringing to Puerto Rico an amazing cake that would go great with a hot cup of coffee. Today I bring you my retention to this Puerto Rican spice cake.
The cake itself is not super sweet, but the spices add depth and contrast to its flavor. I dusted mine with powdered sugar, which added sweetness to the recipe, but the cake is moist and flavorful even without powdered sugar. Almost instantly, I was craving a cup of coffee to go along with my slice of cake.
Want to try the real hojaldre from Puerto Rico? Click this link
What’s in a name?
If you know Spanish, you will soon see that hojaldre is the Spanish name for Puff Pastry. I have inquired on this, and the name Hojaldre is in homage to another Spanish recipe. Now, I have researched and found that Spain has a spiced bar cake. This cake has spices in the mixture, along with raisins and nuts added to the batter. My recipe for my Puerto Rican spice cake does not call for that, but I could easily see how it would be a great addition.
Now, my focus has been to learn the recipe. So for today, I bring you the basic recipe. In the future, you will see variations to this tasty recipe.
When do we eat Hojaldre in Puerto Rico?
Almost every recipe was popular at a specific event or time of the year, and I do not believe Hojaldre is any different. As food and ingredients become more accessible, so do the recipes. If I were to make an uneducated guess, I believe the use of spices indicates the availability of the cake. You’ll almost immediately think of the holidays due to the prevalent cinnamon and nutmeg profile when eating it. At the same time, because the flavor profile is of spices, I could easily assume that it makes it a good year-round recipe, not confined to a seasonal ingredient. Today, hojaldre can be purchased all year round at the bakery of its birth.
What you’ll need to make this recipe
I ended using 3 bowls to make this recipe. One to mix the eggs and two to sift the flour and spices three times before adding it to the egg batter.
A hand blender, of course, will come in handy unless you want to get in a nice arm workout and whip the eggs into the batter with a hand whip. The recipe called for a bundt cake pan. I do not own a bundt cake pan, so I used my springform cheesecake pan, and it worked just as great! Do what you can with what you have. However, part of me was about to run out the door to buy the bundt pan. Brownie pan or muffin pans also work well. I would say do not fill all the way to the edge. Allow room for batter expansion.
Other Tools
You will also need a sifter or mesh strainer to sift the flour and the confectioner’s sugar. I did buy a handheld sifter a few months back, and I have used it more than I expected ever to use it and for this recipe is comes quite handy since we sift the flour three times before we use it. One last piece of equipment is the cooling rack. For many years I did not have a cooling rack, so I would take the rack from the toaster oven and prop it or invert it to have room for the item to cool.
I guess you could do the same with an oven rack, but you will need considerably more space. The cooling rack I use now is collapsible and quite handy. I have two of them, and they can stack while in use. A feature I use during the cookie baking super bowl, The Holidays.
How to make Hojaldre
Start by preheating the oven to 350ºF. Set the oven rack in the middle. Grease and flour lightly a round 9×3 ½-inch Bundt pan. I did not have the bundt pan so I used my springform pan. Other options are muffin pans, brownie pans, or a loaf pan.
In a bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
Sift together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and salt three times (3x), and add to the cream mixture, alternately with milk and sweet wine. For the sweet wine, I used a Moscato with no special flavor. To learn more on the use of alcohol in cake baking, please follow this link!
- 1.
Flour with spices; cinnamon, nutmeg. allspice, and cardamon - 2. Sift the flour 3 times before incorporating it with the egg mixture
- 3. ⅓ cup of sweet wine and milk
- 4. Mix well and alternate between flour
- 5. . . Sweet wine . . .
- 6. . . . and milk.
Flour with spices; cinnamon, nutmeg. allspice, and cardamonTurn batter into pan and bake in a preheated oven for 1 hour, or until a toothpick, inserted in the center, comes out clean. I did bake my cake for the full hour, which in turn gave me very dark edges. The cake was considerably wet still at 40 minutes, so I would suggest shooting for 50 minutes. I baked my cake in a convection oven, which changes a bit of the baking times.
- Cake pulled from the baking pan and onto a cooling rack
- A look inside the cake once cooled to see the fluffy density
Remove from the oven and let it cool on a wire rack for 5 minutes. Remove the cake from the pan and let it cool on a wire rack. Set on a platter and sprinkle with confectioner’s sugar.
In Summary
Although I have heard of this cake before, I have never had it. I have had the hard cookies that had a very similar flavor profile, which this cake took me back to. Fortunately, I have always enjoyed spice cakes and this one came out as a great surprise. I will definitely recreate it.
Print Recipe
Hojaldre Añasqueño
A Puerto Rican spice cake that originated from the town of Añasco. This recipe makes a moist cake filled with aromatic spices that is not too sweet to accompany your moring or afternoon cup of coffee or tea.
Prep Time25 mins
Cook Time45 mins
Total Time6 hrs 44 mins
Course: Desserts
Cuisine: Puerto Rican
Keyword: Hojaldre, Spice Cake
Servings: 8 to 12 slices
Calories: 429kcal
Author: Zoe Morman
- ½ pound butter at room temperature
- 2 cups brown sugar firmly packed
- 6 eggs
- 3 cups flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons ground nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon ground cloves (I did not have ground cloves, so I used ½ teaspoon allspice and ½ teaspoon cardamon)
- ¼ teaspoon salt table salt
- 1 cup milk
- ⅓ cup sweet wine I used Moscato wine
- Confectioners’ powdered sugar sifted (to garnish)
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Grease and flour lightly a round 9×3 ½-inch Bundt pan
In a bowl, cream butter and sugar, until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
Sift together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and salt three times (3x), and add to the cream mixture, alternately with milk and sweet wine.
Turn batter into pan and bake in a preheated oven for 45 minutes or until a toothpick, inserted in the center, comes out clean.
Remove from the oven and let it cool on a wire rack for 5 minutes.
Set on a platter and sprinkle with confectioners’ sugar.
- I did not have any ground cloves, so I decided to substitute with ½ teaspoon of allspice and ½ teaspoon of cardamon.
- I didn’t use all allspice because allspice could lend a soapy flavor if overused. I also didn’t use all cardamon because I was not sure how it would have turned out. I have not have had this cake with just ground cloves, so I made these substitutions a bit on the blindside.
- I didn’t use all allspice because allspice could lend a soapy flavor if overused. I also didn’t use all cardamon because I was not sure how it would have turned out. I have not have had this cake with just ground cloves, so I made these substitutions a bit on the blindside.
