Tortitas de Maiz

I couldn't find much anecdotal information about this recipe, since every Google search for tortitas de maiz took me to a Spanish-language website, and, alas, I speak no Spanish.  From what I can gather, however, these thick corn cakes are a traditional Mexican breakfast food (and I would guess elsewhere in Latin America), very much like a sweetened version of polenta.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup water
• 1 cup plain non-dairy milk
• 1/2 cup vegan sugar
• 2 tablespoons vegan butter
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 and 1/2 cups yellow cornmeal
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 3 Ener-G eggs
• Cooking spray

1. Combine the water, milk, sugar, butter, and salt in a saucepan and bring to a boil.  Gradually add the cornmeal, stirring constantly with a whisk.  Remove from heat and let stand for 10 minutes.  Stir in the vanilla extract and Ener-G eggs.

Note: the mixture will be very thick while it stands, as shown below, but becomes watery enough to be deemed batter again after adding the vanilla and Ener-G eggs.

2. Heat a skillet or griddle coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat.  Spoon 1/3 cup batter per tortita onto the pan.  Cook for about 2 and 1/2 minutes to 3 minutes on each side, until nicely golden brown.  Repeat with the remaining batter to make 9 tortitas total.

Note: I preferred using my griddle because that way I could work in batches, rather than making 1 tortita at a time.  If you use a skillet, I recommend making only 1 at a time, so that you have room to flip the corn cake over.  I also found that, since the batter was thick, it helped to flatten each portion with a spatula once on the griddle; it doesn't spread the way, for example, pancake batter does.

You can serve the tortitas plain, or top them with fresh fruit, a little maple syrup, or vegan powdered sugar for a yummy treat.

Nutrition Info:
9 servings (1 cake), Calories 192 

Tasting Notes:
Oh my goodness.  For whatever reason, I was expecting this to taste like a pancake made with cornmeal instead of flour, but no.  No, this is just about the yummiest, sweetest "polenta" you'll ever come across.  So sweet in fact that the corn cakes truly need no embellishment...although when topped with powdered sugar and maple syrup they were heavenly and verged right into "5" territory. 

Rating:
4