Authentic Mexican desserts made easy: Paletas, Pay de Queso and Jericalla

Dreaming of a vacation to Mexico but can’t afford one? We have some authentic Mexican desserts for you to try in the comfort of your home. With these recipes, you can taste a slice of Mexico at barely any cost plus satiate your craving for anything sweet too. For the Paletas recipe we have used strawberries but in case you want a different flavor, substitute the fruit with any other fruit of your choice, such as mangoes, cherries, or kiwis.

1. Paletas

(Makes 10 popsicles)

Ingredients

• 720 gm fresh or frozen (thawed) strawberries
• roughly chopped
• 60 gm sugar or honey
• 60 ml fresh lime juice
• Water, as needed

Instructions

1. If using strawberry great, if not chop half of the fruit you're using into tiny pieces to fasten up the blending. If using frozen fruit, let it thaw then cut them down into smaller pieces.
2. Keep the chopped ones aside and put the unchopped fruit, sugar, and lime juice in a blender. Run the blender until smooth adding a little water if it gets too thick to blend.
3. Once fully blended, add the chopped strawberries into the blender, and using a spatula mix, then scrape out and pour into popsicle molds. Make sure to leave a little space on top, the popsicles will expand while freezing.
4. Tap the mold firmly against your kitchen counter to get rid of any trapped air bubbles. Push sticks into the filled molds and freeze for 4-6 hours.
5. After the Paletas have frozen completely, run the underside of the molds in warm water to loosen them. Then pull them by the stick from the molds.

2. Pay de Queso

(Serves 8)

Ingredients

• For the Pie Crust:
• 190 gm cookies or biscuits
• 60 gm walnuts
• 225 gm butter, melted
• 400 gm brown sugar
• ¼ tsp ground cinnamon

For the Filling:

• 450 gm cream cheese, room temperature
• 180 gm sugar
• 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
• ¾ tsp vanilla extract
• A pinch of salt
• 240 ml heavy whipping cream
• 2 eggs, room temperature

Instructions

1. Crumble the cookies or biscuits you picked into a fine powder for the pie crust. Add them to a big bowl with the walnuts, butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon, and mix to coat the crumbs well.
2. Transform to a standard springform pan and scrape up some to coat the side, enough to cradle the filling later. Press down the mixture to get a compact mixture. Set aside.
3. Beat cream cheese in a large bowl and gradually add the sugar while still beating, until smooth and less grainy.
4. Sift flour and salt into the bowl and mix, then pour in the vanilla extract and mix it in.
5. whip the heavy cream vigorously in a separate bowl until soft peaks form. Fold this into the cream cheese bowl with a spatula.
6. Add eggs one at a time, mixing after each addition just until combined.
7. Pour into the prepared crust pan.
8. Preheat the oven to 190°C and place the pan in the center of the oven.
9. Bake for 5 minutes and immediately reduce the heat to 160°C and bake for 30 more minutes.
10. Switch off the oven and let the cheesecake rest inside for 15 minutes. After this tike open the oven and remove the Pay de Queso.
11. Let it cool down for 20 minutes on your kitchen counter, preferably on a wire rack.
12. Refrigerate the cheesecake for 1 hour before serving.

3. Jericalla

(Serves 4)

Ingredients

• 375 ml whole milk
• 160 ml evaporated milk
• 70 gm sugar
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs + 1 egg yolk, room temperature (or 3 medium eggs)
• Water, as needed

Instructions

1. Heat milk, sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla extract in a saucepan for 5 minutes on medium flame. Once the milk starts to bubble reduce the heat to low and cook for 15 minutes while stirring.
2. Switch off the flame and let the milk cool down. Once warm, strain through a metal sieve. Discard the solid bits.
3. Whisk the eggs in a small bowl and add them to the cooled milk, otherwise, the egg will get cooked, quite literally.
4. Preheat the oven to 180°C. Arrange 4 ramekins on a large baking dish with the sides raised.
5. Pour the milky egg mixture into each ramekin and transfer to the oven. Then pour hot water carefully around the ramekins, creating a water bath. You need the water halfway up the sides.
6. Carefully transfer the baking dish to the oven and bake for 30-35 minutes.
7. Poke with a toothpick, once it comes out clean, turn on the broiler mode and broil for 5-7 minutes, until the tops are blackened.
8. Remove the whole thing from the oven post-broiling and let the ramekins cool slightly, out of the water bath.
9. Chill the ramekins in the fridge for 1 hour. Serve and enjoy.