Miami & Magadalenas

My recent holiday in Miami has ignited my gastronomic fervor. I love to cook, and do so as often as possible, but my diet week throughout the week is relatively simply--- cereal, omelettes  salads, yogurt, cheese, wine, dried fruit, and pizza.  Often on vacation I grow wary of dining out, my mother cited a craving for “simple food” as we browsed airport dining options pre-return flight, but on this trip, I experienced so many different flavors, it really didn’t grow old.

For starters, headed into this trip, I did not know that there was a significant Orthodox Jewish population in Miami Beach.  I was pleased to discover this, as I am a well-document lover of “Jew Food”, and have been known to make an effort to celebrate Jewish holidays during the year through ethnic meals.  Our best lunch of the trip was at a kosher hot dog shop, House of Dog.  M, my brother, ordered a burger topped with guac and chili. My mother and I both went with dogs, mais oui, mine topped with fried onions, peppers, kraut and buffalo sauce, aka the “Dracula” dog, and hers was smothered in tradition Reuben toppings---pastrami, kraut, and Russian dressing.   We picked up a ton of chocolate as gifts for family and friends at a kosher chocolate shop, Schokolade, and also enjoyed breakfast one morning at a kosher café. I know it’s not that bad for you, but a bagel with lox and cream cheese is one of my favorite “treat” breakfasts.

Dulce de Leche pastry & a Cortadito

CVS Baked Good Treasure

Nutty Magdalenas

Beach Snack of choice for the week

The cuisine of the week, however, was Latin (duh).  If I could start/finish each and every meal with a Cortadito, Cuban coffee with a bit of milk and sugar, I would be set. I swear-- my productivity would increase ten-fold. I tried to replicate it at La Colombe Monday morning by ordering a double espresso with a little bit of steamed milk, but it just wasn’t the same. There was also an abundance of delicious pastry.

I loved all the puff pastries stuffed with dulce de leche and topped with guava jelly, but my favorite did not come from behind the glass of some cute little Cuban bakery. It came from the shelves of CVS.


These little muffins, with 100% butter as the package proudly states, were delicious. I brought back 4 packages---two as gifts and two for my roommate and myself. They reminded me of Magdalenas, denser and cakier, but very similar. I give myself a get out of jail free car during vacation in terms of eating so I snacked on these all week.  I did the same thing traveling in Spain, purchasing bag after bag of Magdalenas from the nearest food store.

A couple weeks ago, I bookmarked a recipe David Lebovitz posted for nutty Magdalenas and after trying so many pastries, especially the muffins, I was more than inspired to give baking some sort of cakey-delicious muffin a go. These were fantastic!

Next time, I will definitely cut the sugar, perhaps by a whole 1/3 cup. They weren’t too sweet, but the amount of sugar just wasn’t really necessary. I would also consider using light olive oil to cut the calories a little, but use whatever you want. After indulging in buttery baked goods all week, the olive oil flavor really stood out. Of course, these guys also pack a load of nuttiness. I used ground almonds in the flour mixture, as I normally don’t have hazelnuts of hand.  If you really like almond cake, a splash of almond extract may be good in these as well, or maybe some cinnamon if you’re into that. I would make the recipe as is first, though, and then go from there, because you will definitely want to make them more than once. I cooked them about 5 minutes longer than the listed time, and they could have benefited from a few extra minutes… don’t forget to rotate your pans!