Here yet are more of Yucatán’s pan dulce, explained
Pan dulce is a big deal in Yucatán and everyone has their favorites. No single list stands a chance of covering the wide variety of pan dulce that the region has to offer.
In our first article, we introduced readers to the wonders of several favorites including conchas, cuellitos, mantecadas, and orejas.
This time we are back with 10 more delicious treats straight from Mérida’s best bakeries.
So get yourself a coffee, hot chocolate, or tall glass of milk, and let’s get down to business.
Bolitas de queso come in all shapes and sizes, ranging from just a couple inches across to the size of a baseball. But regardless of their size, they are always flaky, sprinkled with sugar, and filled with cream cheese. They are extremely popular and can be found at breakfast buffets, kids’ parties, baptisms and are for sale just about everywhere.
Conitos de crema are a rolled pastry filled with cream and topped with a little sugar. The cream filling is sometimes more of a meringue but is normally a custard. The pastry itself is usually not that sweet, as the sweetness comes more from the filling.
Saramuyos are a type of pan dulce made with wheat, eggs, and plenty of margarine. They are named after the fruit of the same name, but when I was a kid I used to call them volcanoes because I guess that is what they looked like to me. They are crunchy around the edges but much softer as you work yourself in. But the best part is the saramuyo is its sugar topped peak.
A budín resembles an English bread pudding and is usually topped with cinnamon and filled with raisins. Budín is not a favorite amongst most kids, because, unlike most pan dulce, it is not insanely sweet. But, at least in my opinion, they are delicious and have a fantasticly thick texture.
A pastelito de guayaba is a crumbly pastry stuffed with guayaba, or guava, a paste made from the fruit of the same name. They are covered in powdered sugar and are often sold in a paper wrapper. They can be a bit hard to find, as they are not sold in most bakeries.
Rosca de queso de bola is a type of tort or cake topped with Edam cheese. Some recipes also mix in small amounts of the strong dutch cheese into the batter for an extra rich taste. If you have spent any time at all in Yucatán you know that Edam cheese is extremely popular here, but that is a story for another time.
Tutis are a traditional flaky cheese stuffed pan dulce traditional to Yucatán. The name comes from the Maya word tuut, which means filling. They are very crunchy and can be found in round or square shapes.
A triangulo is a puff pastry generously topped with white sugar. They obviously get their name from their triangular shape and can be found at just about any panadería in Yucatán.
Pastelitos de lomo are a type of small empanada-shaped puff pastry filled with minced pork. They are sometimes made to be sweet, but more savory variants can also be found. They can be nice, but don’t expect to find all that much pork inside.
Trenzas are buttery pastries weaved into the shape of a trenza, or braid. They are sometimes sold topped with chocolate sprinkles, cinnamon, or sugar.
If you missed out on last week’s article on pan dulce make sure to check it out here.
Has your favorite pan dulce still not make the cut? Let us know and maybe we will include it in a future installment.
Senior Editor Carlos Rosado van der Gracht is a Mexican expedition/Canadian photographer and adventure leader. Born in Mérida, Carlos holds multimedia, philosophy, and translation degrees from universities in Mexico, Canada and Norway.
