Olive oil cupcakes. It began in 1910, Sevilla

The story tale tells that in 1910 a woman named Ines Rosales started to make tortas de aceite (olive oil pastries) by hand and selling them at the train station in Seville, South of Spain. She became so successful that had to employ the local women of the village to help her with her business which was based always on hand making and using the best quality of extra virgin olive oil and unbleached wheat flour. The crisp sweets crackers were soon an speciality of Andalucia and enjoyed through Spain.

The tradition continues today, after over a hundred years, conserving the hand made production, including the individual wrapping! As you can watch in the video above, the woman that is being interviewed can wrap 21 tortas in one  minute. She has been working for the company Ines Rosales for twenty years as a liadora, doing the same job, so you can really say  "the practice make you wise" and I add, definitely fast!

The shop of Ines Rosales is in Huevar del Aljarafe, in Sevilla, in case you have the fortune to stop by. My advice is that if you make the trip to visit this delightful place, stock up your pantry with  a few boxes of these tortas because once you try them, it is impossible not to like them, and you will need to go back to get some more. Although nowadays you can easily place an order online, but the experience won't be the same.

One of the memories I will always have about my beloved dad is precisely the strong connection to food. He was a passionate cook and a life lover. His optimism encouraged him to face each day as it was special, unique, even when the sorrow day didn't have much to offer him. He fought against an empty sensation because his life was evaporating by the dammed cancer. He was a distinctive  person for me, for my family and for all the hearts he touched with his sincere smile before he passed away.

But I should go back to my happy story. I was saying that when I was little, my family used to spend summer holidays, July and/or August, where my dad was born, in Punta Umbria, a fishing village in the South of Spain. Before and after the divorce. I remember getting utterly excited about those summer holidays, not only because I would see my dad everyday when I woke up, not feeling distressed by him going away again, but also because I knew he would spoil us with the Andalusian specialities such as cuadraditos de cidra, alfajores, pestinos de miel, bizcohuelos, galletas de canela...and of course, the tortas de aceite. Hummm, my mouth is watering. I can even smell them.

These sweets have to last all summer! He warned us. My dad said it with total authority, in a loud voice. However, I could see from my tiny seat that a half smile was reflected in the car mirror, as he knew, delighted, that we would gobble them up during our first week in Punta Umbria, if lucky.

Every beginning of summer, on our way to Punta Umbria from Madrid, my dad would fill up the back of that already squeezed car - with the six of us plus 5 suitcases- with boxes with the logo Ines Rosales stamped on them. Is any other better way to start your holidays?

You could imagine how anxious and desperate we were to open and unwrap those little pastries. And we did as soon as the car stopped its engine opposite to our chalet of Paseo del Mar 8. I have got the vivid scene of me given the first bite to one of the tortas de aceite, spilling sugar and sweet crumbs all over my skirt and on the cold marble of the kitchen floor.  I was eleven and the happiest girl in Punta Umbria, I am sure.

Food makes me happy, but especially if it is accompanied by a story, like these tortas that Ines Rosales started to make more than a hundred years ago. I should be grateful to her for giving me the chance to share my own family story about her tortas with you and with my children, who tasted them for the first time last week - we had a picnic at the park, in a sunny afternoon, after picking my daughter up from school.

Why are these tortas so special for you, mum? Aurelia asked me.
Because they are delicate, special, unique. Like your grandfather Juan Andres I replied, feeling like he was right there, enjoying the picnic with us, smiling because the tradition continued over the years, from generation to generation.



PS: If you are curious about how the factory still makes the tortas by hand, go to this video:
http://youtu.be/gOSVg2PomMk

Authentic taste experience for my children

Extra virgin olive oil and chocolate cupcakes (makes 12)

I got inspired by the main ingredient of the tortas, the extra virgin olive oil, that I decided to create my own "olive oil cupcakes" to bring as well to the picnic. This recipe is easy and healthy with the goodness of the golden liquid instead of butter. They are extremely moist!

• 1 cup self raising flour
• 1/2 cup whole meal flour
• 1/2 cup almond meal
• 3 tablespoons cacao sweetened or 1 tablespoon unsweetened
• Pinch of salt
• 1/2 cup chocolate dark chocolate chips
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 eggs, room temperature
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 cup vanilla yogurt ( or plain yogurt plus 1 teaspoon vanilla essence), room temperature
• 1/2 cup milk, no cold

1. Preheat oven 180 ( or 160 fan forced).
2. In a big bowl, whisk all the dry ingredients to incorporate air (no need to sift)
3. In a medium size bowl, beat the sugar with the eggs. Slowly add the olive oil and when it is well mixed, add the yogurt and milk.
4. Quickly, add the wet mixture into the flour bowl, but do not stir too much otherwise the cupcakes will be dry. The batter will be a bit wet, don't worry.
5. Evenly spoon the batter into 12 prepared muffin papers and place in the oven for 20 -25 minutes or until the top is golden