My Sweet MexicoBy Fany Gerson My first experience with Mexican sweets was a stop at a small pastry shop in Orange County, south of Los Angeles. The doughnuts and other baked goods were remarkable both in taste and diversity—I was hooked. Years later I came across Fany Gerson’s 2010 book, “My Sweet Mexico,” and I was hooked again. From sweet tamales and three kings bread to burnt milk ice cream and coconut-stuffed limes, it turns out that Mexican sweets can be highly regional and therefore unknown to most of us north of the border or, for that matter, even those living in the next town. Yes, there are churros and tres leches cake, but how about Oaxacan lime sorbet, champurrado (a chocolate corn porridge) or gorditas de piloncillo (sweet fried masa cakes)? What comes through in this wonderful and surprising collection of recipes is their pre-Hispanic, Arab and Spanish lineage. The former offers pumpkin seed brittle and cacao beverages; Arab culture contributes marzipans and fruit sweets, while Spanish influence shows in the use of cinnamon, wheat, dairy, nuts and sugarcane. This book offers a kaleidoscope of desserts, along with a case study in the merging of cultures and ingredients. Christopher Kimball |
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