In a series i’m starting called ‘Ask Barry’ i’m starting off with a request from 3 Year Old Sebastian who has asked me to attempt a Despicable Me inspired taco hat – or sombrero to be precise! This was very tricky indeedy, but I hope you’ll agree, worth it too! Instead of salsa or guacamole, Sebastian is a lot like me and asked for Nutella!
So to make this i’ve altered the recipe to that you see in the video because I feel like it could be stronger still, the masa harina is quite tricky to get hold of anyway but it does create a more reptile like surface, plain flour felt stronger!
First make a mould of a sombrero if you have one, or freestyle it using upturned bowl and a plate. Foil is easy to shape so ensure it will fit on your oven shelf. Also lightly lubricate the foil mould in oil.
Sift the flours into a large mixing bowl and add a pinch of salt. Slowly pour in the warm water in batches and stir as you go to make a dough, you may not need all of the water. It should start to thicken up and become stiff, eventually coming together as one or two lumps of dough.
Slowly roll out the dough between sheets of clingfilm and begin to wrap and lift it over the foil mould, repeat this process if doing in batches until the hat mould is completely covered. Keep an eye on any cracks that could form, we found it best to make it slightly thicker dough wise rather than thin or it increases the chances of cracking.
Bake in an oven pre-heated to 160c or equivalent, it should take around 25 minutes. We then turned the oven off and let it cool in the oven fully so it would not crack, it took a couple of hours to cool fully but definitely helped.
Once fully cooled pour warmed nutella carefully into the sombrero and spread evenly. Wearing on your head is optional. As an aside you could try making it with a ready made puff pastry or even pizza crust or pie crust rather than making the dough. I would chill it in the fridge though if you do that method before baking to hold it’s shape as ready made stuff has a tendency to shrink!