Candy

This caramel recipe has the right amount of butter and cream to make it nice and chewy but not too sticky. The honey and corn syrup, which also help to give it a chewy quality, are interchangeable in this recipe. If you don’t have any corn syrup, you can use all honey. Likewise, if you prefer the caramel to taste less like honey, substitute more corn syrup for the honey. Be diligent in watching the candy thermometer: If you overcook caramel by just a few degrees, it will become stiff and hard to bite. Likewise, if you take it off too soon, the caramel won’t be firm enough to stand on its own.

Serve these nuts as candy, use them to garnish a cake, or fold into homemade ice cream.

This is a delicious way to use the peels of citrus after they’ve been juiced. Candied peel, either plain or dipped in chocolate, makes a zesty ending for a meal. Candy only unsprayed, organic citrus fruit.

Italian meringue is a firm cooked meringue made with boiling sugar syrup. It can be used alone as a frosting, or I sometimes pipe it into rosettes and dry them out in a low oven for tasty treats. Use a candy thermometer to make sure the sugar syrup reaches 235°F. By adding the hot syrup to the egg whites while whipping, you’ll be cooking them to approximately 140°F, the pasteurization temperature for eggs.

Most of my desserts are fairly low-maintenance to assemble, so I hesitated to include the recipe for these in this book. But they are so incredibly irresistible and delicious—imagine a homemade candy bar with a chewy caramel center—that I decided it would be unfair not to. Take care not to overcook the caramel, so it stays soft and chewy and doesn’t become hard and brittle. Investing in a candy thermometer takes away the guesswork and ensures a perfect outcome.

When I was a kid, these were always sold in candy shops, and I loved them. They were considered far too exotic to make at home; or at least no one would consider doing such a thing. Years later I learned how. Turns out, of course, they couldn’t be easier, and now they are a wintertime staple in my house.

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.

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.

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.