What are some Popular Mexican Desserts

What Are Some Popular Mexican Desserts

When it comes to Mexican deserts there are many to choose from. Flan is a common and popular dessert. It is caramel custard. The dessert includes rich custard with a layer of soft caramel on top. The dish is known as flan in most of the world, even though it is a French word. Flan is simple to make and usually consists of vanilla flavored custard. You may be able to find them made in other flavors such as coconut, lemon, and other fruits.

Empanadas are another dessert found in Mexico. It is a stuffed pastry that contains different sweetened fillings depending on the country. Some fillings you can find in Mexico are cream, pumpkin, and a variety of fruits. In some states in Mexico, the empanadas are filled with different meats. Empanadas can be served as a dessert and also a breakfast food.

Chocolate has a rich history in Mexico. The Aztecs adopted the use of chocolate from earlier Mayan culture. Chocolate played an important role for the Aztecs. They used it both as a food and as currency. One of the items that the Spaniards acquired from the Aztecs was chocolate. The Spaniards took the chocolate back to Spain where it became the King’s official drink. The Aztecs made a variety of drinks with the chocolate which also included nuts, seeds, and honey. Champurrado is a chocolate drink that is very popular at breakfast time in Mexico. It is warm and thick. You can find people in the morning buying a cup by street vendors. It is also considered a dessert which can be served with Churros.

A dessert found in the Yucatan is called sapotes dulces. Sapotes are a fruit grown in Mexico. It is very rare to find the fruit in the United States. Sapotes have an orange flesh that has a unique flavor of being juicy, creamy and can often be said simmiliar to the flavor of coconuts, and vanilla. Sapotes dulces is a dessert using the fruit and mixing it with orange juice, rum, and sugar and served chilled. It is easy to make and has a great flavor.

Cajeta is syrup made in Mexico that’s main ingredient is caramelized milk. The process of making the syrup consists of slowly cooking down the sweetened liquid until it is thick. Sweetened milk is the most common ingredient of the syrup. Cajeta is eaten by itself, on pastries, and even as a topping on ice cream. The Hershey Company introduced their own cajeta targeted for Mexican food lovers that live in the United States.

There are many more Mexican desserts to please your sweet tooth. There is a wide variety of chocolates, cakes, cookies, candies, just to name a few. Recipes can allow you to experiment and discover new sweets. If you would like to sample them before making your own, some local authentic Mexican restaurants include these desserts. You may also have luck finding them at a Mexican grocer in your area. It will be easy for you to get hooked on these tasty and enjoyable treats.

MILE-HIGH BLACK-AND-WHITE FREEZER FUDGE

MILE-HIGH BLACK-AND-WHITE FREEZER FUDGE

Makes 24 small squares

Roasted Nuts

⅓ cup raw almonds, finely chopped

⅓ cup raw cashews, finely chopped

Vanilla-cashew fudge

½ cup plus 2 Tbsp virgin coconut oil, room temperature

½ cup plus 2 Tbsp smooth raw cashew butter

⅓ cup pure maple syrup

½ tsp pure vanilla bean powder

½ tsp pure vanilla extract

Large pinch fine sea salt

Chocolate-almond fudge

½ cup virgin coconut oil, room temperature

¼ cup smooth almond butter

½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder or raw cacao powder, sifted

½ cup pure maple syrup

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

Large pinch fine sea salt

Preheat oven to 300°F. Line a 9×5” loaf pan with a piece of parchment paper, with overhang.

Roast the nuts

Spread almonds and cashews over a small rimmed baking sheet and roast 10-14 minutes, until lightly golden and fragrant. Let cool.

Make vanilla-cashew fudge

In a bowl, stir together coconut oil, cashew butter, maple syrup, vanilla bean seeds, vanilla extract, and salt until well combined and completely smooth. Use electric beaters if necessary. With a spatula, spoon mixture into the prepared loaf pan and spread it out evenly. Immediately sprinkle on about one-third of the roasted nuts. Gently press down on nuts to adhere. Place pan in the freezer.

Make chocolate-almond fudge

In same bowl in which you made the vanilla fudge, combine coconut oil, almond butter, cocoa powder, maple syrup, vanilla, and salt and stir well until smooth and no clumps remain. Use an electric beater if necessary.

With a spatula, spoon chocolate fudge mixture over the vanilla fudge layer and spread evenly. Scatter remaining nuts all over the top of the chocolate fudge and lightly press down to adhere. Freeze for 60-90 minutes, uncovered, until completely solid.

Slice into small squares and serve immediately. Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 week or in the freezer for up to 1 month. Fudge melts at room temperature, so don’t leave on the countertop for longer than 15 minutes or so.

Tips

You can simply make one layer.
Feel free to change up flavour with different nut butter, nuts, extracts.
Can easily halve the recipe.
Can make cups instead of squares, layering into mini silicone molds.

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CHOCOLATE & HAZELNUT TORTE

CHOCOLATE & HAZELNUT TORTE

Cake

100g (⅔ cup) whole, blanched hazelnuts

250g (8½ oz) dark/bittersweet chocolate, roughly chopped

100g (7 Tbsp) salted butter

6 eggs, separated

½ tsp cream of tartar

120g (⅔ cup) caster/granulated sugar

Topping

200g (6½ oz) dark/bittersweet chocolate, roughly chopped

1 stick salted butter

4 Tbsp whole, blanched hazelnuts

A 23cm/9” round, springform pan, greased and lined with parchment paper

Preheat oven to 170°C (325°F).

Toast all the hazelnuts. Do not burn. Allow to cool, then set aside the 4 Tbsp for the topping and grind remaining nuts to a fine powder in a food processor.

Melt chocolate & butter in heatproof bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water.

In a bowl, beat egg yolks together with a whisk for 2 minutes, or until pale in colour. In a separate large bowl, with a clean whisk, beat the egg whites and cream of tartar until soft peaks are formed.

Add beaten egg yolks to melted butter/chocolate and whisk lightly. Add half the egg whites to this mixture and gently fold together with a spatula. Transfer this mixture to the bowl with the remaining egg whites, add the ground hazelnuts and gently fold everything together.

Spoon mixture into prepared cake pan and bake in preheated oven for 50 minutes or until skewer inserted into the middle of the torte comes out clean. Allow to cool completely before removing from pan.

For the topping, melt chocolate and butter together as described above. Add 2 Tbsp warm water and stir until smooth. Remove bowl from pan and allow to cool. Spread over the top of the torte using a palette knife. Roughly chop reserved hazelnuts and sprinkle them over the middle of the torte, to decorate.

LEMBAS BREAD

LEMBAS BREAD

Makes about a dozen squares

⅓ cup shortening or butter

⅓ cups sugar

1 egg

⅔ cup honey

1 tsp vanilla

2¾ cups flour

1 tsp baking soda

½ tsp salt

Preheat oven to 375°F.

Mix flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

Mix other ingredients, add dry. Mix together.

Roll out the dough ½ cm thick, cut into squares approx. 10 cm on a side, and score along the diagonal.

Bake on a greased cookie sheet for 8min.

Let cool on wire rack.

CHOCOLATE DREAM CAKE

CHOCOLATE DREAM CAKE

5 squares Baker’s Unsweetened Chocolate

½ cup butter

2 cups sugar

½ tsp vanilla

¼ tsp salt

2 eggs

½ cup sour cream

1 ½ tsp baking soda

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup boiling water

icing sugar

Heat oven to 350F.

Melt chocolate with butter over hot water; cool.

Add sugar, vanilla, and salt; mix well.

Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition.

Combine sour cream and baking soda; mix well.

Alternately blend in sour cream and flour 1/3 at a time on low speed of electric mixer.

Add boiling water; mix well. (Batter will be thin).

Pour into a greased and floured fluted tube pan.

Bake for 45-50 minutes, or until cake tester inserted in centre comes out clean.

Cool in pan for 10 minutes. Remove to plate and finish cooling.

Dust with icing sugar.

Preparation time: 45 minutes

Cooking time: 1 hour

CARROT CAKE

CARROT CAKE

¾ cup all-purpose flour

¾ cup sugar

⅓ cup toasted wheat germ

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp cinnamon

½ tsp baking soda

¼ tsp salt

¼ tsp nutmeg

2 eggs (substitute 1 banana for vegan version)

1 cup shredded carrots

½ cup cooking oil

Line bottom of a 10” round glass cake pan with circle of waxed or parchment paper.

Combine all ingredients in large mixer bowl. Beat with electric mixer on low speed to blend, then on medium speed for 2 minutes. Spread in prepared pan.

Microwave at MED 6 minutes, then on HIGH 2-5 minutes or until toothpick inserted in several places comes out clean.

Bake in oven at 350°F for 30 minutes, until toothpick &c.

Let stand 10 minutes to cool. Remove from pan. Cool completely.

Frost with your favorite lemon or orange butter icing, if desired.

BLUEBERRY COFFEE CAKE

BLUEBERRY COFFEE CAKE

1 ½ cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

¼ tsp baking soda

¼ tsp salt

¾ cup granulated sugar

6 Tbsp butter, softened

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 large egg

1 large egg white

1 ⅓ cups low-fat buttermilk

Cooking spray

2 cups fresh blueberries

1 Tbsp turbinado sugar (free-flowing brown sugar)

Preheat oven to 350F.

Combine flour, baking powder & soda, and salt. Mix.

Place granulated sugar and butter in a large bowl, blend well. Add vanilla, egg, and egg white; mix well. Add flour mixture and buttermilk alternately to sugar mixture; mix after each addition.

Spoon half of batter into 9-inch round baking pan coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle evenly with 1 cup blueberries. Spoon remaining batter over blueberries; sprinkle evenly with the remaining blueberries. Sprinkle top evenly with 1 Tbsp turbinado sugar.

Bake for 50 minutes or until a wooden stick inserted into centre comes out clean. Cool in pan 10 minutes on wire rack; remove from pan.

Cool completely on wire rack.

BLUEBERRY AND APRICOT CRUMBLE

BLUEBERRY AND APRICOT CRUMBLE

Fruit

0.7kg (1 ½ lbs.) fresh apricots

200g (6-8oz) fresh blueberries

Zest and juice of ½ lemon

¼ cup packed light brown sugar

¼ tsp freshly ground nutmeg

Topping

¾ cup all-purpose flour

¼ cup rolled oats

¼ cup sliced almonds

¼ cup + 2 Tbsp packed light brown sugar

¼ tsp freshly ground nutmeg

Pinch salt

1 (4oz) stick chilled butter, cut into cubes

Preheat oven to 350F and have ready an 8×10-inch baking dish.

For the fruit

Halve, pit, and quarter the apricots and combine in a bowl with the blueberries, lemon zest and juice, brown sugar, and nutmeg. Set aside to macerate while you prepare the topping.

For the topping

In another bowl, combine flour, oats, almonds, brown sugar, nutmeg, and salt. Using your fingers, rub the butter into the mixture until it forms clumps.

Give the fruit a stir and then pour it into the baking dish, making sure apricots and blueberries are evenly distributed. Evenly sprinkle the topping over the fruit.

Bake in the oven until topping is golden brown and fruit is bubbling around the sides, about 40 minutes. Remove from oven and let sit at least 20 minutes before serving.

BLACK & WHITE CUTOUT BROWNIES

BLACK & WHITE CUTOUT BROWNIES

This recipe makes 16 2-inch square white or dark chocolate brownies. To make a pan of each and reverse the middles, you’ll need double the ingredients listed below. You will end up with 32 reversed-center brownies.

3 oz (85g) semisweet or good white chocolate, coarsely chopped

1 stick (4 oz or 113g) unsalted butter, plus extra for greasing pan

¾ cup plus 2 tablespoons (6 1/8 ounces or 175 grams) sugar

2 large eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

¼ tsp table salt

⅔ cup all-purpose flour

1-inch heart or other shaped cookie cutter

Preheat oven to 350F.

Line an 8×8-inch square baking pan with foil, with ends of foil extending over opposite sides of pan. Repeat with second piece of foil in opposite direction. Butter foil.

Melt white or dark chocolate and butter together in a bain-marie until it is 90% melted; remove from heat and stir the mixture until it is smooth.

Whisk in sugar. Whisk in eggs, one at a time, then vanilla. Add flour and salt together, stirring until just combined.

Spread into prepared pan and bake for 25 to 30 minutes (for the dark chocolate version) and 30 to 35 minutes (for the white chocolate version).

Cool wire rack in freezer to make cutouts easier. Transfer brownies to a cutting board, and cut into squares.

Warm to room temperature, or freeze for later.

If making cutouts:

Repeat the above recipe with the other type of chocolate (in parallel if two pans are available).

While both are still cold, use a small cookie-cutter to cut out shapes from each brownie, and transfer to the other colour.

APPLE CAKE

APPLE CAKE

½ cup unsalted butter, melted

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup granulated sugar

½ cup packed light-brown sugar

1 ¼ tsp baking soda

½ tsp salt

2 tsp ground cinnamon

1 ½ tsp ground ginger

¼ tsp ground nutmeg

1 ½ lb apples, peeled cored, and cut into 1” chunks

½ cup wheat germ

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

Few spoonfulls of milk

Icing sugar, for dusting

Preheat oven to 350F.

Spray a 9×12” baking pan with Pam, set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugars, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg.

Add apples, wheat germ, butter, and eggs; stir just until combined.

Add just enough milk to moisten the mix a little.

Spoon into a pan; smooth with a spatula.

Bake 40-45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean.

Cool in pan.

Dust with icing sugar to serve.