One of the key ingredients in this month’s recipe is cinnamon. Cinnamon, (Cinnamomum verum), comes from the bark of a bushy evergreen tree. The tree is native to Sri Lanka, the neighboring Malabar Coast of India and Myanmar. It is also cultivated in South America and the West Indies. Cinnamon is used to flavor a variety of sweet and savory foods, from confections to curries to beverages, and it is popular in baked goods in many places. Essential oil is distilled from the bark fragments for use in food, liqueur, perfume, and medications.
Cinnamon was once more valuable than gold. In Egypt it was sought for embalming and religious practices. In medieval Europe it was used for religious rites and as a flavoring. It was once the most profitable spice in the Dutch East India Company trade.
The cinnamon tree grows in moist well-drained soils and rarely reaches more than 49 feet in height. The thick simple leaves are usually oval. The fruit is a dark drupe. A drupe is a fleshy fruit with thin skin and a central stone containing the seed, e.g., a plum, cherry, almond, or olive. Cinnamon is harvested during the wet season by cutting the shoots close to the ground. The bark is peeled and dried for 4-5 days.
Ground cassia is reddish brown in color. Chinese cassia—one of the ingredients in China’s famed five spice powder—is less aromatic than that from Vietnam and Indonesia. Cassia from all three countries has a sweet, aromatic, and pungent flavor. Vietnamese, or Saigon, cassia is particularly highly esteemed.
Ingredients
- Hershey’s Chocolate Syrup or brand of choice
- Caramel sauce or honey
- Whipped cream in a can or whip 1 cup heavy cream with 1/4 cup sugar and 1 tsp. vanilla.
- Vanilla ice cream (caramel, butter pecan, or chocolate chip ice cream also work well)
Cinnamon Tortilla Triangles
- 6 medium flour tortillas
- 1/3 cup butter
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Melt the butter in the microwave. Mix the cinnamon and sugar together.
- Lay 2 tortillas flat and brush butter evenly over it. Sprinkle the tortillas generously with cinnamon sugar.
- Using a knife or a pizza cutter, cut the tortilla into 6 triangles and place it on a baking sheet with parchment.
- Bake for 9-11 minutes or until the tortillas are crispy and light brown.
To make the tortilla cups: Warm 4 tortillas in the microwave. Brush with butter and coat with the cinnamon sugar. Place each tortilla in a greased large-size muffin tin, gently folding the tortilla to make it fit. Bake at 350 degrees for 9-11 minutes. Let cool.
To assemble the sundae: Place the 4 tortilla cups in bowls or on plates and fill with your ice cream of choice. Drizzle chocolate sauce side to side over the ice cream. Slightly warm the caramel sauce or honey and drizzle over the ice cream, as well. Place whipped cream around the inside edges of the tortilla cup.
Place 2-3 tortilla triangles point down inside each tortilla cup. Serve.