Chinese Café Sweet Muffins (Panqué de café chino)

Robin: Despite what some might consider a misleading name, these delicious quick-bread muffins are part of the same vast and amazingly varied universe of Mexican sweet breads to which the ultra-famous conchas and polvorones belong. One important sub-category of this delicious array of breads is the pan de café chino or Chinese café bread, so called because it is of the type traditionally made by mom and pop restaurants in Mexico originally opened (and very occasionally still run) by people of Asian descent.

In the mid-1800s, immigrants from various Asian countries flooded into all of western North America, including Mexico, mostly to do the dangerous and backbreaking work of building railroads. Near the beginning of the 20^th century, many of these immigrants or their descendants opened small restaurants offering inexpensive meals for Mexican workers in the cities. Some of what they offered was Chinese fare, but what sold the most was the food most familiar to the customers. Uncomplicated prix fixe menus of Mexican dishes were served for the mid-day meal, but mornings and evenings saw a great demand for even simpler fare: coffee (often made with milk) or hot chocolate, with pastries to dip into the comforting liquid. Some of the sweet breads baked at the Chinese cafés, such as these muffins, came to be associated with those establishments and can still be purchased there to this day—at least for now. Sadly, this once-common type of simple restaurant is hurtling toward extinction.

Traditionally, this quick bread is baked in fancy fluted tin molds lined with rustic paper (often red in color) which is peeled off the muffin as it is eaten. You don’t need any fancy molds to make the muffins at home, however, as basic cupcake pans or mini loaf pans work equally well, and they can be lined with parchment paper or even everyday common cupcake liners. The ingredients and the recipe itself are simple and straightforward. These muffins are lightly fragrant and have somewhat of a sponge cake consistency. The pecans on top get deliciously toasted during the baking process, turning them into an unexpectedly flavorful garnish.

This recipe will make 24 muffins, 2 large loaves, or 10-12 mini loaves. It is an easy to cut in half, if you need a smaller amount of bread.

• Try also: Rustic Mexican Piggy Cookies

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Chinese Café Sweet Muffins (Panqué de café chino )

Quick bread, sponge-cake-like muffins similar to the ones you can buy at simple traditional mom and pop Chinese restaurants in Mexico.

Course bread, Breakfast, Snack

Cuisine Authentic Mexican

Keyword Chinese cafe, quick bread

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes

Total Time 40 minutes

Servings 24 muffins

Calories 235 kcal

Author Robin Grose / comboplate.net

Ingredients

• 1 ½ cups vegetable oil
• 8 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon orange extract
• 1 teaspoon almond extract
• 1 ½ cups sugar
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• ½ cup milk
• ½ cup chopped pecans
• Thin Kraft paper, parchment paper, or cupcake liners

Instructions

1. Turn your oven on to 350F/180C so that it can preheat while you make the batter.
2. Pour the oil into the large bowl. Add the eggs and the orange and almond extracts. Beat until very well combined—about half a minute if you are using an electric mixer, more if you are mixing by hand.
3. Add the sugar and continue to beat until the sugar is dissolved into the liquid.
4. Add half the flour (1 cup) and all the baking powder and beat. Pour in the milk, then beat again. Finally, add the other cup of flour and beat until well combined.

5. Line your baking pans. Traditionally, these quick bread muffins have been made in cupcake pans lined with a thin kraft paper (often bright red in color), but parchment paper also works well, as do commercial paper cupcake liners. If you are using kraft or parchment paper, cut rectangles that are large enough, when nestled into the baking tin, to cover the sides and bottom of each compartment and hang over a bit—say, 5 or 6 inches square for a standard cupcake tin. If you prefer to make large or small loaves of quick bread, line your loaf pans with the paper. Use your fingers to patiently nestle the paper into each cavity, folding as necessary so that it molds to the pan.

6. Pour the batter (which will be thin) into your baking pans until each compartment is about 3/4 full. Sprinkle a few of the chopped pecans over each muffin or loaf.
7. Bake your delicious quick bread muffins or loaves until they are golden brown on top and a knife inserted into the center comes out clean, about 25 minutes for cupcake size or 50 minutes for a large loaf pan.
8. Take your Chinese Café Muffins or loaves out of the oven and allow to cool to room temperature before removing them from the baking pans. Enjoy the muffins or slices of the loaves with hot chocolate, hot coffee, or a glass of cold milk. Store any leftovers tightly covered; they will be delicious for the next several days.

Recipe Notes

While the recommended combination of orange and almond extracts is exquisite, don’t hesitate to change the flavors for others you might have on hand: vanilla and lemon or lime, coconut with pineapple, or vanilla and maple extracts, for example.

Delicious recipes for pecan/walnut lovers:

• “Turtles on a Raft” (Rolo pretzel treats)
• Zucchini Nut Chocolate Chip Cookies
• Sweet Potato and Cinnamon Gelatine
• My Mom´s Pear Cake