Flan Imposible. Photo: Ed Anderson, Courtesy of Ten Speed Press

When I was growing up in Texas, Mexican sweets were EVERYWHERE.  From paletas (popsicles) to moreliana cookies, I couldn’t get enough.  My mother used to shop at a supermarket chain called “Fiesta” and she always allowed me to try one different piece of candy each time we went through the check-out line.  The hard truth: there were so many, I could never try them all.  So you can imagine my excitement when I opened Fany Gerson’s “My Sweet Mexico: Recipes for Authentic Pastries, Breads, Candies, Beverages,and Frozen Treats,”  here at my desk in Boston.  Fany, a pastry chef based in New York and Mexico City, has worked and developed desserts for restaurants like Rosa Mexicano and Eleven Madison Park in New York City.   I caught up with her recently to learn more about her first cookbook.
 
PRK:  Fany, you now split your time between New York City and Mexico.  Does food help you maintain some sort of continuity between the two places?
FG: Absolutely. Food in Mexico is intimately linked to our culture and our culture is very family oriented so I really miss that living here [in NY].  Lunch is the biggest meal of the day and everyone eats at home; you make a point to sit and talk about your day. My friends here in the States are mainly Mexican or Latin and I think we all miss that element of the culture and food is definitely what connects us to home and each other.
 
PRK: How did you go about collecting all of these recipes? The desserts are from ALL over Mexico, not just the capital.
FG: My dad helped to guide me…he is an anthropologist.  Basically, I created index cards for each of the Mexican states and then I noted which regions were famous for what.  Then I figured out whether I should visit those places during certain festivals and once I finished, I created this master calendar.  Mexico City was my base but I traveled a lot.  And things would always come up….sometimes it turned into a scavenger hunt.  People would tell me about a certain person who made a certain dessert and I’d hunt them down.
PRK: I imagine a big challenge was not only getting these recipes but also writing them down into some form that could be followed?
FG:  Yes! The first challenge was getting people to share in the first place; people in Mexico are very protective of their prized recipes.  And then comes the measuring devices…some people would have old recipes (like use “ten cents of sugar,” and I’d have to calculate exactly what “ten cents” meant when that recipe was created.  Other considerations included altitude and climate; all of these things affect desserts.

PRK: In the beginning of the book, you spend a lot of time demystifying some of the common ingredients used throughout the book, everything from cajeta to tamarind.  Is there one ingredient you believe should be used more routinely in North American desserts or North American cooking, for that matter?
FG: The perfect crossover ingredient is Mexican cinnamon.  People use cinnamon a lot in the States but usually the cinnamon you find is a variety that is very spicy and not very flavorful.  But if people switched their cinnamon to the Mexican cinnamon, it would make a world of difference.

PRK: What do you hope people take away from your book?
FG:  As more and more people become interested in Mexican cuisine, they understand it’s not just about burritos.  I also hope people are as fascinated as I am with the vast culture of sweets in Mexico because it’s a very regional thing.  There are so many things to share and it was very hard to edit the recipes. I know we live in a moment where there isn’t a lot of time to do things but sometimes, it’s worth taking the time and the patience to prepare these sweets. It’s symbolic of creating something, of gathering with family, and taking the time to enjoy things.

Fany shares her recipe for “Flan Imposible” (PDF here).

1 cup cajeta, homemade or store-bought

Cake
¾ cup sugar
¾ cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, preferably Dutch processed
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon baking powder
Pinch of salt
½ cup buttermilk
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 egg, at room temperature
½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Flan
1 (12-ounce) can evaporated milk
1 (14-ounce) can condensed milk
4 eggs
½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
½ teaspoon salt

¾ cup coarsely chopped, toasted pecans or walnuts, for garnish
Preheat the oven to 375°F. Lightly grease the bottom and sides of an 8-inch cake pan.

Pour the cajeta over the bottom and sides of the cake pan using a brush or the back of a spoon (you can heat the cajeta very slightly in the microwave so that it is easier to spread).

TO MAKE THE CAKE, combine the sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl and whisk until well blended. In a separate bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, vegetable oil, egg, and vanilla. Add to the flour mixture, whisking until thoroughly combined. Pour the cake batter into the pan and set aside.

TO MAKE THE FLAN, combine the evaporated milk, condensed milk, eggs, vanilla, and salt in a blender and blend until there are no visible lumps. Pour gently over the cake batter.

Cover loosely with foil, place in a large baking dish, and fill the baking dish with hot water so that it comes halfway up the sides. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 50 minutes.

Remove the cake pan from the baking dish and allow to cool for at least 4 hours or refrigerate overnight. To unmold, lightly pass a warm knife around the edge, place a plate or dish on top, and carefully but rapidly flip over. Garnish with the toasted nuts. Serve cold or at room temperature.

SERVES 8 TO 10

Reprinted with permission from My Sweet Mexico: Recipes for Authentic Pastries, Breads, Candies, Beverages, and Frozen Treats by Fany Gerson, copyright © 2010. Published by Ten Speed Press, a division of Random House, Inc.”
Photo credit: Ed Anderson © 2010