Mexican Desserts and Drink Recipes from the Yucatan

Mexican desserts we find today were born during the Spanish colonial years. European pastrymaking techniques introduced by convent cooks were, over the years, combined and refined by a thousand Mexican housewives.

Nowadays, the typical Mexican dessert blends a country rich in history with the tropical fruits and flavors found locally. It may seem rather strange to some but chili can often be a primary ingredient in traditional Mexican desserts, however, in the tourist zones of Cancun the sweet palettes of tourists are also fully catered for.

Fruit with Lime and Chilies

Fruit

• 4 cups cut up and peeled fruit such as coconut, mango, watermelon, pineapple, papaya and cantaloupe.
• 1 lime cut in half
• salt chile powder

Divide fruit into 2 cups or bowls and squeeze lime juice over the fruit. Sprinkle with salt and chile powder to taste.

Makes 2 servings

Cacahuates Fritos

Peanuts

• 1 dried onza chile
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• juice of one lime
• 1/2 skinned raw peanuts
• 8 small cloves of garlic peeled
• 1 tbsp dried whole pequin chiles

Toast the onza chile in a nonstick skillet over low heat. Remove and throw away the stem and then grind the chile and salt together with a mortar and pestle. Add lime juice to chile mixture and set aside. Toast peanuts and garlic cloves together in a skillet over low heat for about 5 minutes. Shake the skillet to keep the ingredients from burning. Add pequin chiles and toast for 1 minute longer. Transfer to a dish and drizzle chile-lime mixture over the peanuts. Serve warm.

Makes 4-8 servings

Sweet Tamales

• 4 ounces dried corn husks (about 32 husks)
• 1 1/4 cups masa harina
• 2 golden delicious apples peeled, cored and coarsely chopped
• 1/3 cup raisins
• 1 cup and 1 tbsp sugar
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 cup vegetable shortening
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt

Separate husks and soak in a large bowl of hot water until pliable, about 1 hour. Put masa harina into a medium bowl and add 1 1/4 cups boiling water and beat with a wooden spoon until smooth. Cover dough with plastic wrap and set aside to cool to room temperature, about 1 hour. Place rains, apples, 5 tbsp sugar, 1 tsp cinnamon and 3 cups of water into a medium pot and simmer over medium heat for about 30 minutes. Strain leaving 1 cup of the cooking liquid. Transfer fruit to a bowl and mash with a fork. Then add vanilla. Set aside fruit and cooking liquid to cool completely. Beat the vegetable shortening in a large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add masa dough and remaining sugar and cinnamon and beat until smooth, about 1 minute. Gradually add 3/4-1 cup of saved cooking liquid while continuing to beat mixture until it reaches the consistency of a thick cake batter. Add baking powder and salt and beat masa dough about 1 minute more. Drain the husks. Tear 8 husks lengthwise into 48 thin strips and set aside. Place 24 husks, concave side up, on work surface. Place 2 tbsp of masa dough into the center of each husk and spoon 1 heaping tsp of mashed fruit in the center of the masa. Fold long sides over the filling and then tie the ends of the tamale shut with the husk strips. Repeat process to make 24 tamales. As you make each tamales. place them upright leaning one against the other in the top of a steamer. Place steamer over a pot of simmering water over medium heat, cover, and steam husks until husks separate from filling easily, about 1 hour. Allow to stand for about 15 minutes before serving.

Makes 24 tamales.

Michelada

Beer

• Salt
• 1/2 cup fresh lime juice
• 1 12 ounce bottle of mexican beer
• 1-2 dashes of Worcestershire sauce
• 1-2 dashes of tabasco
• half a lime cut into wedges

Run a lime around the rim of a glass and the salt the rim of the glass. Fill the glass half way with ice and then about 1/3 full with lime juice. Top off with beer. Add worcestershire sauce and tabasco. Serve with lime wedge on rim of the glass if you like.

Makes 2.

Sangrita

• 1 cup fresh orange juice
• 1/2 cup fresh lime juice
• 2 tbsps grenadine
• 1 tsp cayenne or 2 tsp bottled hot sauce

Mix all ingredients together and season with salt to taste. Refrigerate until well chilled and serve in a shot glasses as a chaser to shots of tequila.

Makes 2/3 cups

Agua de Sandia: Watermelon Punch

Watermelon

• 8 to 10 lbs watermelon trimmed of rind and cut into chucks and seeded
• 3 to 5 limes quartered
• ¼ to ½ cup sugar

Puree watermelon pieces in a blender or food processor. Strain into a large wide mouthed jar to catch stray seeds. Squeeze limes into jar adding the rinds of the limes. Add sugar and 6-8 cups water and mix well. Adjust flavor with more sugar or limes to taste. Add lots of ice and ladle into tall glasses.

Makes about 1 gallon