Sopapillas with Pan-Roasted Pineapple & Rum Caramel Sauce
Serves 4
This is a beautiful plated dessert with flavors that are lushly tropical. The sopapillas here are less puffed than the traditional recipe; they’re made in such a way to provide a platform for the pineapple.
Ingredients #
- 3 cups White Wings “La Paloma” flour tortilla mix (or Quaker brand flour tortilla mix if you can’t find White Wings)
- 1 cup warm water
- Peanut or canola oil for frying
- Confectioner’s sugar for dusting
- 1 pineapple
- 1 stick unsalted butter
- 1 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
- ½ cup dark rum
- ½ tsp. vanilla
- ½ tsp. ancho chili powder
- ¼ tsp. ground cinnamon
- Whipped cream (optional)
- Coconut or vanilla ice cream (optional)
Instructions #
Make the sopapilla batter: #
Mix the tortilla mix with the warm water and a pinch each of sugar and salt. The dough should be slightly sticky. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside.
Prepare the pineapple: #
Cut the top and bottom off of the pineapple and stand it on your cutting board. Using a sharp knife, cut down the sides to remove the tough exterior. Trim off any remaining “eyes”. Cut the pineapple in half from top to bottom. Set 1 half aside for another user, and lay the other half on the board (flat side down). Cut it in half lengthwise. Angling your knife inward, cut out the tough “core” along the edge of each of the wedge. Slice the wedges into 1/3” – ½” slices. Place them in a colander over a bowl and set aside.
Make the Sopapillas: #
Heat oven to 200 F and place a wire rack on a rimmed baking sheet. Put ½” to 1” of oil in a medium skillet.
Turn the rested dough onto a floured work surface and divide it in half. Roll each half out large enough to cut a 6” by 6” square. Cut the square into 2 3” by 6” rectangles. Cut 4-5 interlocking rows of small slits in each rectangle.
Heat the oil in the skillet to 380 F. Take a dough rectangle and stretch it a little bit – very gently so that the slits open up, giving the rectangle a slightly net-like appearance. Carefully place in the oil and fry until golden brown. As each rectangle is done, remove it to the wire rack and keep warm in the oven.
Make the Pineapple and Rum Caramel Sauce: #
Place a large skillet over medium-high heat and add the butter. When the butter is melted and the foam subsides, add the brown sugar and cook, stirring gently but continuously until the mixture foams up and subsides.
All at once – but carefully to avoid spatters – add the pineapple and reserved pineapple juice to the pan. The sugar-butter mixture is much hotter than the boiling temperature of water, so be careful when doing this! Turn the heat to high and cook, stirring constantly, until the sugar starts to melt back into the sauce. Add the rum to the pan – again, carefully, as this will likely catch fire. Cook, stirring, until any flames die down. Reduce heat to medium-high. Add the vanilla, chili powder, cinnamon and a pinch of salt. Simmer until the sauce this thickened and the pineapple is tender.
To serve: #
Place one or two Sopapillas on each plate. Dust them lightly with powdered sugar. Spoon some pineapple over them, and spoon plenty of the rum caramel sauce around them. Optionally, serve with a bit of whipped cream and/or a small scoop of vanilla or coconut ice cream.