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22 recipes

Rebanadas de mantequillaButtered sweet bread slices

When yesterday's pan dulce goes stale, Mexican bakeries slice it thick, spread it with butter, dust it with sugar and toast it until crisp, and the result, rebanadas, often sells out first. At home it is a ten-minute afternoon treat with hot chocolate or a glass of cold milk, and a good way to use up a loaf of brioche, a pan de yema or a few bolillos. This version uses butter, so it is vegetarian. Chef's tip: let the butter get really soft so it sinks into the bread instead of sitting on top.

17 minMexicanBaking
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Polvorones de nuezPecan butter cookies

Christmas cookie tins, wedding tables and bakery counters all over northern and central Mexico hold polvorones, small domes of toasted pecan shortbread that crumble to dust in the mouth, which is how they got their name. They are rolled twice in icing sugar, once warm and once cold, so they look snowy. Old recipes used lard; this one uses butter, so it is vegetarian, and it contains wheat and tree nuts. Chef's tip: toast the pecans first, which turns a plain cookie into a deeply nutty one.

40 minMexicanBaking
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Pan de muertoDay of the Dead bread

From mid-October, bakeries from Mexico City to Puebla stack their shelves with these domed loaves, and families set one on the ofrenda for the souls who return on 1 and 2 November, then share the rest with hot chocolate. The crumb is soft and rich with butter and egg, scented with orange zest and orange-blossom water, and the knobbly strips across the top stand for bones, with a small ball for the skull. A sugar crust or a dusting of sesame finishes it. Chef's tip: shape the bones from dough you have held back and chilled, so they keep their ridges instead of melting flat in the oven.

70 minMexicanBaking
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Marranitos de piloncilloPig-shaped gingerbread biscuits

Every pan dulce case in Mexico has a row of little brown pigs, called marranitos in the centre, cochinitos in the north and puerquitos in between. They are soft, cakey biscuits sweetened with dark piloncillo cane sugar, spiced with cinnamon and a touch of anise, and dunked into café de olla or cold milk in the afternoon. They are made here with butter, so they suit vegetarians, and contain egg and wheat. Chef's tip: roll the dough thick, about 1 cm, because thin pigs bake into hard crackers instead of soft cakes.

42 minMexicanBaking
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Pan de eloteFresh corn cake

Across central Mexico, from Morelos to the State of Mexico, pan de elote is baked when fresh corn is cheap in late summer and sold by the slice at market stalls. Despite its name it is more cake than bread: fresh kernels blended with butter, eggs and condensed milk bake into a dense, custardy, golden loaf that tastes of sweet corn. It contains wheat and egg. Chef's tip: use the starchiest, most mature corn you can find, because young sweetcorn makes a wetter, flatter cake.

65 minMexicanBaking
by KrazyBadal 0 views

GaribaldisJam-glazed sprinkle cakes

Named after a famous old Mexico City bakery, garibaldis are little dome-shaped butter cakes coated in warm apricot jam and rolled in white nonpareils, so they look like snowballs on the counter. Chilangos buy them by the bag for afternoon coffee and school lunchboxes. The cake is dense and buttery, the jam gives a sharp, sticky contrast and the sprinkles a light crunch. Chef's tip: brush the jam on while the cakes are still warm, as the sprinkles then stick evenly.

45 minMexicanBaking
by KrazyBadal 0 views

CocolesAnise sweet bread

In the markets of Puebla, Tlaxcala and Mexico City, cocoles are the plain, honest bread of the morning: diamond-shaped, deep brown from piloncillo, fragrant with anise and studded with sesame seeds on top. They are not very sweet, so people eat them with café de olla or split them for a cheese torta. Old bakers used lard; this version uses vegetable shortening, so it stays vegetarian and vegan. Chef's tip: steep the anise in the warm piloncillo syrup, so its flavour runs through every bite.

55 minMexicanBakingVegan
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Bisquets mexicanosFlaky biscuits

Mexico City cafés such as the old breakfast halls of the Centro serve bisquets split hot with butter and strawberry jam alongside café con leche. They are taller, sweeter and more cake-like than American biscuits, with a shiny egg-washed top and layers that pull apart. They contain wheat, egg and dairy. Chef's tip: cut straight down with a sharp cutter and never twist, so the sides stay open and the bisquets rise tall.

40 minMexicanBaking
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Rosca de reyesEpiphany bread ring

On the evening of 5 or 6 January, offices, schools and families all over Mexico cut a rosca de reyes for the Three Kings, washing it down with hot chocolate. The soft orange-scented ring is jewelled with candied fig, quince paste and cherries and striped with crunchy sugar paste; hidden inside is a tiny figure of the baby Jesus, and whoever finds it in their slice must host a tamales party on 2 February. Always tell guests there is a figurine and warn little children, as it is a choking risk; a whole almond is a safer stand-in. Chef's tip: push the figure in from underneath after baking, so it does not melt or show.

80 minMexicanBaking
by KrazyBadal 0 views

MantecadasMexican muffins

Red pleated paper cups give mantecadas away at once on the bakery tray, from Monterrey to Mérida. Inside is a tender, golden, slightly orange-scented sponge, richer than a cupcake and topped with a domed crust, eaten for breakfast or merienda with milky coffee. They contain egg, butter and wheat. Chef's tip: let the batter rest for 20 minutes before baking, which gives the tall, cracked dome bakery mantecadas are known for.

40 minMexicanBaking
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Postre MassiniCustard sponge with burnt sugar top

Montevideo's birthday cake of choice since the early twentieth century, the Massini is two thin layers of sponge sandwiching a thick filling of whipped cream folded with egg-yolk custard, crowned with a thin glassy crust of torched yolk and sugar. Bakeries across Uruguay sell it on Sundays. Traditional versions sometimes add a sweet fortified wine to the custard; this one is alcohol-free. The custard is cooked to a safe 71 °C. The common mistake is assembling with warm custard, which melts the cream into a puddle. Chef's tip: if you don't have a blowtorch, put the sugared top under a very hot grill for a minute and watch it closely.

80 minParaguayanBaking
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Chipotles en adoboSmoked jalapenos in adobo sauce

Chipotles are ripe jalapeños smoked slowly over wood until leathery; in Puebla and Veracruz the reddish, plump mora type is the everyday one, and the tan, leathery meco is prized for its deeper smoke. Simmered in a sweet-sour adobo of tomato, onion, garlic, vinegar and piloncillo, they become the soft, glossy chillies that go into tinga poblana, albóndigas en chipotle, bean soups and a quick chipotle mayonnaise. Homemade, they are smokier and less sugary than the tinned kind, with sauce that is brick red, tangy and thick enough to coat a spoon. Common mistake: toasting the dried chillies too long; a few seconds a side is enough, because scorched chillies make the whole jar bitter. This is a low-acid chilli preserve, so it is kept in the fridge or freezer, never canned in a water bath. It is ready when the chipotles are plump and soft enough to crush with a spoon and the adobo has reduced to a glossy sauce. Chef's tip: blend one or two chillies with their sauce and freeze it in an ice-cube tray, so you can add a single cube to a pot.

70 minMexicanBasicsVeganGluten freeSpicy
by KrazyBadal 1 views

Za'atar spice blendThyme, sumac and sesame blend

In Palestinian homes za'atar is both a herb and the blend made from it, kept in a jar beside a bowl of olive oil so torn bread can be dipped in one and then the other at breakfast; children grow up on it, and it goes to school in sandwiches. The blend is mostly dried wild za'atar (or thyme and oregano), tangy with sumac, nutty with toasted sesame and seasoned with salt. Common mistake: grinding it to dust; it should be coarse and slightly flaky. Chef's tip: rub the dried leaves with a few drops of olive oil before mixing; it wakes their aroma and helps the sumac cling.

15 minPalestinianBasicsVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Cajeta de CelayaGoat milk caramel

Celaya, in the Bajío of Guanajuato, has made cajeta for centuries, once packing it into little wooden boxes (cajetes) that gave it its name. It is caramel cooked from goat's milk, so it is looser and has a gentle tang compared with the cow's-milk dulce de leche of Argentina. Mexicans spread it on crêpes and churros, pour it over ice cream, sandwich it between obleas (wafers) and turn it into glorias. A splash of rum-flavoured 'envinada' cajeta exists, but this one is plain and alcohol-free. Chef's tip: use a pan at least three times the volume of the milk; it foams high when the bicarbonate goes in.

95 minMexicanBasicsGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

CoyotasPiloncillo-filled turnovers

Coyotas were first baked in the Villa de Seris neighbourhood of Hermosillo, and today Sonorans buy them by the dozen in paper bags to eat with morning coffee or take as a gift when they travel. They are flat, round, pale pastries with a crisp, crumbly crust and a thin layer of molten piloncillo inside, like a giant cookie with a toffee middle. Some bakers add guava or cajeta, but brown sugar loaf is the classic. Chef's tip: pinch the edges firmly and prick the tops; otherwise the hot sugar bubbles out and burns on the tray.

50 minMexicanBaking
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Empanadas de calabazaSweet pumpkin turnovers

When the cold fronts reach Monterrey in November, panaderías start stacking trays of empanadas de calabaza next to the conchas, and families bake them at home for Day of the Dead and Christmas. A tender, lightly sweet pastry is folded around a thick purée of pumpkin cooked with piloncillo, cinnamon and anise, so each half-moon tastes like a spiced pumpkin pie you can hold. They are eaten with café de olla or a glass of milk. Chef's tip: cook the filling until a spoon leaves a trail across the pan; watery pumpkin turns the pastry soggy.

100 minMexicanBaking
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Pastes de Real del MonteBeef and potato pasties

Cornish miners arrived in the silver mines around Real del Monte and Pachuca in the 1820s, and their pasties stayed: today the hilltop town in Hidalgo has paste shops on every street, selling them warm from the oven to visitors and locals all day. The classic filling is close to the original, diced beef, potato, onion and parsley seasoned with plenty of pepper, sealed in a short, buttery crust and baked until the juices turn to gravy inside; Mexican kitchens added a little chilli and many other fillings, including chicken in mole, which you can use instead of the beef. Eat them with a hot salsa or alone, with coffee. Chef's tip: cut the beef and potato small and evenly, about 1 cm; it all cooks raw inside the pastry, so even pieces are what make it tender.

100 minMexicanBaking
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Tortitas de Santa ClaraShortbread with pumpkin seed cream

The nuns of the Santa Clara convent in Puebla are credited with this biscuit, and the city's Calle de los Dulces still sells it in boxes stacked beside camotes and jamoncillos. It is a crumbly, lightly sweet shortbread round, covered with a thick, pale cream made from ground pumpkin seeds, sugar and milk, which sets to a soft fudge-like layer. They are eaten with coffee in the afternoon and taken home as a gift from Puebla. Chef's tip: grind the peeled pumpkin seeds as fine as you can before cooking; any coarse bits make the topping gritty.

75 minMexicanBaking
by KrazyBadal 0 views

QizhaNigella seed cake

Qizha is Gaza's own sweet: a dense, near-black semolina cake made with a paste of roasted nigella seeds, eaten especially in winter and during Ramadan, when bakeries in Gaza City stack trays of it. It tastes nutty and slightly bitter, a little like dark sesame, softened by syrup and topped with almonds or pistachios. Nigella paste is sold in some Middle Eastern shops; if you can't find it, grind toasted nigella with tahini as below. Common mistake: over-toasting the nigella, which turns it acrid; stop as soon as it smells fragrant. Chef's tip: rest the mixed batter for 30 minutes before baking so the semolina swells and the cake slices cleanly.

60 minPalestinianBaking
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Pastel tres lechesThree milks cake

Pastel de tres leches is the birthday and celebration cake of Mexico and much of Latin America: a light, airy sponge drenched in a mixture of three milks (evaporated milk, sweetened condensed milk and cream) until it is soaked through but still holds its shape, then topped with whipped cream. It is cold, milky and sweet, and every bakery from Mexico City to Guadalajara sells it by the slice. The sponge is made with whisked eggs for lightness, so it drinks up the milk without collapsing. Chef's tip: let the cake soak in the fridge for at least 4 hours, ideally overnight; the milk needs time to work its way into the centre and the cake slices far more neatly when cold.

90 minMexicanBaking
by KrazyBadal 0 views

ConchasSweet bread buns

Conchas are the most famous pan dulce (sweet bread) in Mexico, piled high in every panadería and eaten for breakfast or merienda with hot chocolate or coffee. The bun is soft, slightly sweet and enriched with egg and butter, and it wears a crunchy, crumbly topping of sugar, fat and flour scored into the seashell pattern that gives it its name. Make some vanilla and some chocolate topping for the classic mix. Chef's tip: shape the dough into very tight balls before adding the topping; the tension makes them rise up instead of spreading out, so the shell cracks into neat stripes.

180 minMexicanBaking
by KrazyBadal 0 views

ChajáSponge, peach and cream cake

Chajá was created in 1927 at a bakery in Paysandú, a city on the Uruguay River, and named after a local bird whose feathers look as fluffy as its crumbly meringue coat. Today it's Uruguay's birthday and celebration cake: layers of light sponge soaked in peach syrup, filled with whipped cream, peaches and dulce de leche, then covered in crushed meringue. It's sweet, soft and crunchy at once, best on the day it's assembled. Chef's tip: soak the sponge but not too much; it should feel moist, not wet, or the layers slide.

90 minParaguayanBaking
by KrazyBadal 0 views