Mexican

Brightly colored gelatins filled with different layers—translucent or pastel—and over-the-top gelatin figurines are sold everywhere in Mexico. I couldn’t have a book on Mexican sweets without at least one gelatin, so I picked one that has familiar flavors. Think of it like a Creamsicle in a whole new presentation. This recipe is based on one from a book by Josefina Velázquez de León. Make sure you use fresh oranges for the best flavor.

The coast of Colima, a small state in southwest Mexico, is renowned for many candies, particularly coconut ones. The vibrant candied limes retain a slight bitterness that contrasts nicely with the sweet coconut filling. Eating them will make you feel like you are walking along the beach.

When I visited the city of Monterrey, a family friend, Amado, lovingly and kindly drove me around, showing me the wonderful delicacies of the surrounding towns. He took me to the small town of Marin where Martha Chapa has a small shop famous for her cookies, where I tried an amazing tomato empanada that I couldn’t stop thinking about. She told me how to make the jam, and, when she saw how excited I was, she gave me a large container filled with it. I kept eating spoonfuls of it on my way home and adapted the recipe once I was back in my kitchen. You can keep the jam chunky, or, if you like a smoother consistency, you can pulse it in a food processor after it’s cooked. The jam can be made well in advance and will keep for months if properly stored. It is very tasty on its own and I recommend that you make a big batch.

My mother’s friend Yoya Estrada is one of the sweetest ladies I’ve ever met, and she transmits her kindness through her hands. She shared this family recipe from Durango with me a few years ago, and it’s one of my favorites. It lasts awhile if it’s well wrapped. Enjoy it sliced on its own or serve it with an assortment of cheeses, even though that is not the traditional Mexican way.

Guava is one of the most sensual fruits, and it truly shines when it’s cooked. Filled with luscious caramel and toasted pecans, this treat defines sinful. Look for guavas that are soft to the touch and fragrant. You can also find them frozen or puréed, but make sure they’re not loaded with sugar or anything else.

Tejocotes are small fruits similar to crab apples but are quite sour and have inedible seeds. The name derives from the word texocotl, meaning “sour, wild, or hard fruit,” and they are abundant at the end of the year. My maternal grandmother, Juanita, used to make this delicious treat and always reserved a huge jar just for me.

These sweet peaches are used often in Mexican cooking primarily to decorate cakes and to eat with ice cream or pancakes. I thought it might be nice to have this recipe so you can make some at the height of peach season and use them in the colder months when fresh local ones are out of the question.

This is a four-generation recipe that is still enjoyed today by Estela Elizondo’s family in Monterrey, Mexico. I have made these many times and really like them. If you like a little heat, toss them with about 1 teaspoon ground chile, such as chipotle or guajillo, mixed with the superfi ne sugar. To me, that makes these traditional strips of sweetness have a little fun while dancing along on your palate. You can use the leftover grapefruit flesh to make the Red Sorbet Terrine with Hibiscus Compote (page 196).

As my friend Josefina says, we Mexicans love two kinds of sweets: the really over-the-top sweet, sticky ones that make your teeth ache, and the tart-spicy ones that make your mouth pucker, scorch your palate, and make the tip of your tongue salivate. Many of these latter kinds are made with tamarind. This recipe is one that most people think of when it comes to dulce de tamarindo. They are sold along the highways and beaches of Acapulco. Even when they are mixed with sugar, they remain tart and acidic; however, I have included an option for adding citric acid for those who really want an extreme puckery sensation. These tamarind balls have seeds in them. You can make them without the seeds, but it’s a little extra work (however, I don’t think you’ll mind sucking the seeds, trying to get all the tasty candy off).

There are countless sweets made from shredded or ground coconut, called cocadas. Some are cooked with milk and baked; others are mixed with piloncillo, thickened with eggs, and finished with liqueur or simply cooked in their own juice. How to choose one recipe? This was no easy task, but I chose this particular one from a small village in Yucatan, where I found a stand that sold more than twenty different kinds. The fresh lime zest brightens the slightly burnt flavor of the caramel that enrobes the tasty coconut morsels. This could even be used as a sort of jam if cooked a little less. For a little more information on coconut, see page 9.

Crystallized fruit is basically fruit that’s been cooked for a long time in a sugar or piloncillo syrup until it is almost translucent (hence the name). t is customary to presoak the fruit overnight in lime or calcium oxide so hat it retains its shape after the long cooking process. The town of Santa ruz Acalpixa in Xochimilco is one of the best places to appreciate the normous variety of candied fruit, including prickly pears, figs, oranges, cactus paddles, and even chiles. A word of caution, though: beware of bees when making this! The process takes several days, but it’s quite simple and the fruit will fast for a several months and up to a year if stored properly. You can use he same method for many kinds of fruit, so pick some that are in season but slightly underripe so they don’t fall apart.

It’s no secret that there is a playfulness in Mexican culture, and it is very apparent in the names and shapes of our sweet breads. One of the most amazing panaderías I’ve ever visited is Horno Los Ortiz in Morelia. The owners are some of the most creative people I’ve ever met. They spend months shaping dough into intricate figurines that will form a nativity scene like no other. Their signs, specially designed boxes, and skillfully adorned breads for the holidays are remarkable. Their artistry is still present in their daily bread, but on a much simpler and smaller scale. These little pig faces, made from flaky pastry and filled with delicious pastry cream, are similar to ones they were selling during one of my visits. They a very fun project indeed.

The name of this crunchy, sugary pastry alludes to their shape. You will find enormous ears in Mexican bakeries, but I’ve made smaller ones, which are perfect to serve for brunch or with coffee. They’re traditionally made with puff pastry, but I’ve used a mock puff recipe so you can make them at home easily, with less guilt (there is much less butter), and still have plenty of flavor and texture. I like to keep the ready made dough in the freezer so I always have them on hand for guests.

It was dark and chilly outside as my friend Claudia Santa Cruz showed me how to make these marvelous crunchy morsels. As the egg whites whipped, her youngest daughter (about eight years old and a natural-born chef) measured the sugar she would later carefully pour. We moved to the dining room and three generations filled countless trays of the white kisses that would sit in the oven overnight. Claudia’s mother took several to her home because they didn’t all fit in the oven. I woke up around 5 A.M. to take a peek, and there was evidence that someone else had already been there, so I knew it was okay to take one. I took another, and before I realized it, I’d had a full meringue breakfast in the silent morning.

When we were little, my sister Yael and I would often hang out with our aunts Cucus (her real name is Lina, but I don’t think we knew that back then) and Alex. They liked to take us to the parque España, one of the few parks in Mexico City, and I always made sure to ask my mom whether she needed us to drop off or pick up anything from the dry cleaner, which was only a few blocks away from the park. I was such a good daughter. . . . Truth be told, there was an ulterior motive. Across the street was a wonderful bakery, and I would always get strawberry jelly–filled doughnuts with a sugary topping. Invariably, I would squirt jelly all over myself and get my aunts in trouble, because my mother warned them not to give us sweets too often. The bakery, unfortunately, no longer exists, but my memory of what those doughnuts tasted like still does—even though the last time I had them was almost two decades ago. They are a bit time-consuming to make but well worth the effort. You can substitute the jam for a store-bought kind, but if you happen to be making these during strawberry season, I highly suggest you give it a try because it is quite easy and absolutely delicious!

I want to thank Victor Gomar for sharing the recipe for these quick and fun morning pastries that are more like cookies. The sugary cocoa dough in the center helps shape them like a belt buckle and the same dough can be used to make playful worms (gusanitos) filled with jam (opposite page), Pastry Cream (page 164), or Cheese Filling (page 103).

The last days of October are filled with the aromas of marigolds, copal (incense), toasted canela, orange blossoms, aniseed, mole, tortillas, and wood. Many people are busy preparing for the Día de los Muertos celebrations that take place during the first days of November (the main festivity is on the 2nd). The celebration dates back to the Aztec times, when it was believed that the deceased embark on a journey, eventually leading them to the Mictlan, the highest level of the underworld, where they would finally rest in peace. People gather in cemeteries and bring the deceased’s favorite foods and music. It is a way to celebrate the time we had with our loved ones and keep their memory alive. The cemeteries are filled with laughter, mariachis, food, lights, and flowers, and it is a celebration of life. There are many different breads made for this celebration. In Michoacán, they are sculpted into shapes of flowers, the Virgin Mary, skulls, and animals. In Oaxaca, you will find round breads topped with sesame seeds and colorful heads coming out of them. In the center of Mexico, the dough is made with pulque (a fermented beverage made from the maguey plant) instead of yeast, giving it a very distinctive, somewhat herbal, acidic flavor. Many places dust the tops with pink sugar to remind us of the ceremonial use of bread. The varieties are too many to count, but this one is perhaps the most well known. This recipe is adapted from Maricu, a chef from Mexico City who owns a cooking school of the same name. Even though you may not celebrate Día de los Muertos, I encourage you to make this delicious bread decorated with “bones” and take a moment to remember those who are no longer with you in this life.

The small bicycle town of Pomuch in Campeche has some of the best bakeries in Mexico. One of the oldest, La Huachita, still uses a brick oven and has been around for 120 years. They were kind enough to let me spend hours as a spectator, and this is a recipe I adapted from one of their creations. These small sugary breads are slightly flaky, buttery, and filled with a rich cream cheese mixture.

Three kings bread is a colorfully decorated bread adorned with candied fruit and a sugary topping and with a tiny plastic figurine baked into it. In Mexico, this bread brings friends and families together for the annual Three Kings celebration on the January 6.

Campechanas are fragile, crunchy, glasslike sweet treats that crumble as you take a bite. Valle de Bravo, a town a few hours from Mexico City, has some of the best ones, but you can find them everywhere. Funnily enough, though, they are hard to find in Campeche, where their name comes from. They are a bit tricky to make, but once you start, you’ll quickly get the hang of it. You may be surprised by the amount of fat that goes into these, especially because you couldn’t tell from eating them. The lard or shortening is what makes these incredibly flaky. You will need a very thin rolling pin that is at least 15 inches long and no thicker than the stick of a broom; you can find one at a hardware store or a woodshop.