Traditional Peruvian Sweet Treat – Mana

28 Jul Traditional Peruvian Sweet Treat – Mana

Mana is a traditional Peruvian sweet treat that was prepared by the convent nuns and now is a very popular treat that you will find in almost every wedding. Normally it will be presented as little balls, fruit forms or even caramelised. The look and feel are almost like marzipan, but it has no nuts and the main ingredient is yolks. If you have a sweet tooth you will love this mana recipe for sure because is an easy and simple way of doing it. Instead of the traditional way of moving a pot for hours until it has the correct consistency, we will use a microwave and a few minutes but you have to be careful and follow the instruction to prevent burning ( I have made that mistake so trust me in the step by step :P)

You can double, triple, etc the recipe, but this time I will do the smallest amount just to give it a try. 

Ingredients:

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup evaporated milk

4 egg yolks at room temperature

Icing sugar

Prep:

• You will heat the sugar and evaporated milk in a pot at low temperature until the sugar is dissolved. Set aside.
•  Put the egg yolk in a bowl and break them with a whisker. Add a little of the warm milk and whisk well to temper the mixture and avoid the yolks to cook. Add the rest of the milk to the mixture. 

• Sift the mixture into a microwave-proof bowl that is triple the volume of the mixture (it will grow when it heat).

• Cook for 4 minutes but open the microwave every minute and beat it well with the whisker. You will notice that it looks like a scrambled egg but don’t panic it will become a smooth cream as soon as you whisk it.

• Put it in another bowl and stick a film over the mixture, that will prevent the formation of a crust. Let it cool in the fridge for 1/2 an hour. 
• When is cool sift some icing sugar into the table and put the mixture over and knead it adding as much icing sugar as you need it until it doesn’t stick to your fingers. Then you can form a simple ball and decorate it with some sprinkles or form little fruits. 
• Enjoy this traditional Peruvian sweet treat – mana and let us know what you think, too sweet for you or you love it!