Closed for Inventory

No, not my favorite store.

No, not the local supermarket.

I am talking about the ENTIRE COUNTRY OF PERU! That's right, we are having a NATIONWIDE CENSUS today. Truthfully, I think it is more funny than bothersome. Sure, I had to make sure to buy some last minute items from the tienda, the corner store, last night since no store would be open today. But, what this "nationwide shutdown" has granted me is a few more run throughs on my cupcake creation for today's deadline of the Cupcake Round-Up II at Vanilla Garlic and Cupcake Bakeshop.

I have mentioned before that it is often at night, just as I am willing and ready to fall asleep that thoughts and ideas of recipes crowd my mind. It was one of those evenings a few weeks ago that got me thinking about this idea and I do believe it is *perfect* for the Cupcake Round II - Reinvention.

You may have heard that I have a passion for Peruvian food. I love the flavors, the freshness and the incredible taste! That goes for the soups, the breads, the stews, the seafood and so many other things. However, I must admit their desserts are a bit casera. What do I mean? They are not fancy, delicious, eye-popping kind of desserts. They are rather plain and often lack...something.

Do I like any of the Peruvian desserts? Oh, I like them, don't get me wrong! But, often my liking them is directly related to me making them again and again - adding, adjusting - until I find that perfect blend of Peruvian recipe with my own touch. Arroz con Leche is a perfect example. If bought on the street, it is a simple mixture of soggy rice, milk, sugar which is sprinkled with cinnamon and drizzled with sweetened condensed milk. But if you are lucky enough to taste the Arroz con Leche made in my house, you are in for a delectable dessert combining creamy rice, sweetened condensed milk (or as I referred to it last night - "Nest-lay" - the Spanish pronunciation for Nestle!), hints of cinnamon and clove, flavored with orange peel and topped off with a splash of port wine. OH YUM!


I wanted to create a cupcake based on Arroz con Leche. Being that I can be somewhat of a perfectionist, my ideal creation would include each and every ingredient I use for Arroz con Leche, just baked into a little cake. My first batch was way to dry and turned out more like Arroz con Leche bread. It will probably taste really good with hot sweet milk. My second batch turned out to be the best in terms of cake texture and form. I will blame my blender for the minor problem I had with the grains of rice remaining in too large of pieces. In an effort to remedy the rice, I added the batter back to the blender which caused the third batch to be too rubbery and not cake-like enough.

Arroz con Leche Cupcakes

1 cup of cooked brown rice (no salt, no oil!) (could use white rice also)
1 cup of low-fat milk
1 cup of sweetened condensed milk
1/3 cup of Canola oil
2 cups of flour
1/2 cup of sugar
2 teaspoon of baking powder
1 teaspoon of baking soda
1/2 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon of ground cloves
1 teaspoon of orange peel powder (if using fresh orange peel, add it to the rice mixture)
2 eggs, lightly beaten
3 tablespoons of port wine

Preheat oven to 350F. In a blender combine brown rice, low-fat milk, sweetened condensed milk and oil. Puree until smooth. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves and orange peel powder. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add rice mixture, eggs and port wine. Stir just until combined. Fill cupcake holders with about 1/4 cup of batter. Bake at 350F for 22-25 minutes. Remove from oven and cool in pan for 3 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Makes 12-15.

Orange Icing

6 tablespoons of sweetened condensed milk
1 1/2 cups of powdered sugar, sifted
1 1/2 teaspoons of orange juice
ground cinnamon to decorate

Combine sweetened condensed milk, powdered sugar and orange juice; stirring until smooth. Spread over cupcakes and sprinkle with cinnamon. Enjoy!

One day soon, I will make the real version of Arroz con Leche. Promise. (Updated with the Arroz con Leche link.)