Key Ingredients To Use For The Best Sweet Tamales

Tamales are very popular snacks that perfectly satisfy your taste buds.

They can be made with a lot of different fillings, making them very popular for people to make all over the world.

They are originally from Mexico and are used as treats for parties or celebration days. 

Although tamales are often a savory snack, they can also be sweet.

If you want to learn how to make sweet tamales, you need to make sure that you have the right ingredients inside to create these tasty sweet treats that everyone will love!

This article will explain what the key ingredients to use for sweet tamales are so that you can create tasty treats for yourself, family, and friends.

You can find out more below about what sweet ingredients can be used in your recipes and why one tamale will not be enough!

What Are The Key Ingredients To Use For Sweet Tamales?

If you are looking to make sweet tamales, you might be unsure of what ingredients can be used as you do not want to spoil the tamales and make them too sweet.

However, there are endless possibilities with tamales and you can use almost any ingredients that you want inside!

Sweet Fillings

You can use lots of different fruits inside your tamales to sweeten the mixture, such as coconut, jam, raisins, berries, dried fruit, mango, or pineapple.

These fruits will give tamales a sweet taste and will incorporate some of your favorite flavors into a great snack.

You can add more than one of these ingredients to your tamales, it is up to you!

Chocolate and cream cheese are also popular sweet tamale fillings and are perfect for those with a sweet tooth.

You can create classic flavor combinations inside tamales, like chocolate and pecan, which you and your friends will love!

Sugar

This may seem like an obvious ingredient for sweet tamales, but without sugar, you will find that the mixture does not taste right.

As you are making sweet tamales, using sugar is important for sweetening the mixture, and you will not get the same effect by only using natural sugars from fruits. 

You do not need to add a lot of sugar, but you must add some.

You should keep tasting the mixture to make sure that you are happy with the amount of sugar that you use and that the tamales are as sweet as you want them to be. 

Masa And Masa Harina

Masa is a fresh dough that is very popular in Mexican cooking. It is a key ingredient in tamales, but it cannot be bought everywhere.

If you are unable to get your hands on fresh masa, you can use masa harina, which is a dry dough flour that can be used as a substitute.

You can find it in stores and it is an important ingredient to use to make tamales. 

Do You Need To Use Food Coloring?

You do not need to use food coloring when you make your tamales, but it is traditional to do so.

If you are using chocolate inside your sweet tamales, it will be more difficult to dye as it is already a darker color.

You might also find that if you are using berries in your sweet tamales, the juice will cause the mixture to change color, so you might not want to add any more. 

How To Make Sweet Tamales?

If you are looking to make sweet tamales, following this recipe can help you to create incredible treats that you will never want to stop making!

Leave the corn husks to soak in warm water while you make the tamales as you want them to be soft enough to use to wrap the mixture. 

Firstly, you need to put the sugar and butter in a large bowl and mix until it is creamy and fully combined.

To do this quickly, you can use a mixer, but if you do not have one, a whisk will do the job!

In another bowl, mix the fresh masa, baking powder, and your choice of sweet fillings. If you do not have fresh masa, use masa harina.

You then need to mix the ingredients and add a little bit of warm water. You can then also add drops of food coloring to the mixture to create a more appealing color. 

You can then add the sugar and butter mixture to the other mixture and work the dough until it looks soft like ice cream.

The dough may be too heavy for a mixture to beat, so you should either use your hands or a wooden spoon.

If the dough is too dry and keeps cracking, add more warm water and continue to beat the dough. 

Once the dough is the right consistency, check that the corn husks are soft enough to wrap. When they are, drain them well.

You can then lay a corn husk flat on the kitchen counter, put in a small bit of the mixture, and wrap it up.

Repeat this process until you have run out of the sweet mixture and corn husks. 

After you have finished assembling your tamales, they will be ready to steam.

Add an inch of hot water to the pot and cover it with aluminum foil, and place your rolled tamales standing up in the pot for steaming.

Cook the tamales for an hour on medium heat. 

You can then remove the tamales from the steaming pot ready to eat.

Make sure that they are completely cool before you eat them to avoid burning your mouth.

Remove the corn husks and enjoy the sweetness of the tamales!

Adding Extra Sweetness To Your Tamales

If you decide to add more sugar to the mixture, keep tasting it to make sure that you do not add too much.

Only add a small amount of sugar at a time to avoid going overboard. 

You can also add more sweetness to your tamales by using natural food coloring.

Using juices from fruits like strawberries or raspberries can add some extra sweetness, as well as using hibiscus tea.

You should make sure that the natural food coloring complements the flavor inside your sweet tamales and that it is not too overpowering. 

You can add chocolate in the form of Nutella, chocolate chips, or melted chocolate.

You simply need to mix the chocolate into the mixture and make sure that it is evenly distributed.

You need to make sure that you are happy with the amount of chocolate that you add as if you are adding more than one filling, you do not want it to overpower the tamales. 

Final Thoughts

To conclude, the key ingredients to use in sweet tamales are sweet fillings and sugar as they give tamales their sweetness.

Without these ingredients, you will not be able to taste any sweetness in the mixture and it will taste bland and bitter.

You can flavor your tamales with fruits, jams, and chocolate for a popular sweet treat!

You can use natural sugars in your tamales, but using solely sugars from fruits may not give you the right amount of sweetness.

Always add sugar in small amounts to make sure that you do not add too much, but keep tasting your mixture to ensure that you are happy!