4 Traditional Mexican Desserts you can make at home
Whether you’re taking part in a Potluck or responsible for bringing Traditional Mexican Desserts or fancy a sweet treat to spice up your day, Mexican cuisine is full of delicious treats that are surprisingly easy to make at home.
Don’t waste your money or precious time in the stores looking for sub-par Traditional Mexican Desserts. With these incredible Mexican dessert recipes, the entire familia will be at your mercy!
- Flan
Ingredients
- 2/3 cups white sugar
- 1 can sweetened condensed milk
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 1 cup milk
- 5 eggs
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
Method
- Preheat oven to 350’F or 175’C
- Heat sugar in a large non-stick saucepan over medium heat, shaking occasionally
- Once the sugar starts dissolving and turning brown, take off the heat and let sugar turn a dark golden-brown color – avoid the temptation to over-stir as this causes the sugar to crystalize
- One sugar has caramelized, pour into a casserole dish or loaf pan and swirl to thoroughly coat the bottom of the pan
- In a blender, add sweetened condensed milk, cream, eggs, milk, and vanilla and blend for 1 minute
- Pour creamy liquid over the sugar until the casserole dish is filled
- Place dish into a larger pan and add 1” of hot water to the outside pan
- Bake for 50-60 minutes and allow to rest before serving
- Sopaipillas
Ingredients
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 tbsp shortening
- 1/3 cup warm water
- Oil (for frying)
- Honey (optional)
- Confectioners’ sugar (optional)
Method
- Combine flour, baking powder, and 1/4 tsp salt in a large bowl
- Cut in shortening until fine crumbs form
- Gradually add the water, tossing with a fork, until the dough comes together in loose balls
- Place dough on a lightly floured surface
- Knead for 3 minutes until smooth
- Cover and let rest for 10 minutes
- Roll into a 12”x10” rectangle and cut into 12 squares with a knife (or circles with a cookie cutter)
- Heat 2” oil in a deep fat fryer to 375’F
- Fry sopaipillas for 1-2 minutes on each side before draining on paper towels
- Serve warm, dusted with confectioners’ sugar, and drizzled with honey
You can also make sopapillas with homemade tortillas and a delicious cheesecake filling. For the best ever homemade tortilla cheesecake sopapillas, you will need a quality tortilla press like this one – https://unocasa.com/products/tortilla-press
- Tres Leches Cake
Ingredients
- 4 large eggs, whites and yolks separated
- 2/3 cups sugar
- 2/3 cups cake flour
- Dash salt
- ¾ cups heavy whipping cream
- ¾ cups evaporated milk
- ¾ cups sweetened condensed milk
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- ¼ tsp rum extract
Toppings
- 1 ¼ cups heavy whipping cream
- 3 tbsp sugar
- Dulce de leche (optional)
- Fresh strawberries, sliced (optional)
Method
- Line a 9” springform pan with greased parchment paper and preheat the oven to 350’F
- Beat egg yolks until slightly thickened, then add 1/3 cup sugar slowly, beating on high speed until thick and yellow
- Fold in flour, 1 third at a time
- Add salt to the egg whites in a separate bowl and beat on medium (clean beaters) until soft peaks form
- Add remaining sugar to the egg whites 1 tbsp at a time, beating on high until sugar is fully dissolved and glossy soft peaks appear
- Fold a third of the egg whites into the yolk batter at a time
- Gently spread batter into prepared pan and bake for 20-25 minutes
- Leave to cool for 10 minutes in the pan before transferring to a wire rack
- While cake cools, mix together cream, evaporated milk, condensed milk, and vanilla and rum extracts
- Place cake on a rimmed serving plate and poke holes in the top with a skewer or fork
- Brush cream mixture over the cake and refrigerate, covered, for 2 hours
- In the meantime, beat the remaining whipping cream until it thickens. Add sugar and beat until peaks form
- Spread topping on the cake and finish with strawberries and dulce de leche
- Traditional Mexican Desserts Wedding Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 cups butter, softened
- 1 cup confectioners’ sugar (plus extra)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup finely chopped pecans
Method
- Preheat oven to 350’F
- Cream butter, 1 cup confectioners’ sugar, and vanilla until light and fluffy
- Gradually beat in flour, then add pecans
- Shape tablespoons of dough into 2” crescents and place 2” apart on ungreased baking sheets
- Bake for 12-15 minutes or until light brown color
- Roll dough in the extra confectioners’ sugar while still warm
