Beso de Monja Poblano

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Heavy 2-quart copper cazo or thick-bottomed saucepan
• •Candy thermometer for the almíbar
• •Stand mixer or copper bowl with balloon whisk
• •Piping bag with 1/2-inch round tip
• •Talavera platter from Puebla for serving

Instructions

1. 1

   Reduce the milk

   Combine the milk, 1/4 cup of the sugar, and the canela stick in a heavy saucepan or copper cazo. Bring to a gentle simmer over medium-low heat and cook, stirring often, for 60 to 75 minutes, until the milk reduces to about 1 1/2 cups and turns ivory. Slow-reduced milk takes time. Condensed milk is not the same thing, and it will taste like the shortcut it is.

2. 2

   Bind the filling

   Remove the canela stick. In a bowl, whisk the yemas de huevo with the remaining 1/4 cup sugar, the ground almendra pelada, and salt until thick. Slowly whisk in half of the hot reduced milk, then pour everything back into the saucepan. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, for 8 to 10 minutes, until the cream coats the spoon and reaches 160F. The yemas bind, the almonds thicken, and the cinnamon binds the aroma. Stir in the vanilla, transfer to a bowl, press parchment against the surface, and chill until firm.

3. 3

   Prepare the trays

   Heat the oven to 225F. Line two baking sheets with parchment. If you need help keeping the size even, trace 1 1/4-inch circles on the underside of the parchment. These should be small, two-bite dulces, not bakery cookies pretending to be generous.

4. 4

   Grind the almonds

   Pulse the 3/4 cup almendra pelada with the azúcar glass and canela molida until fine. Stop before the almonds turn oily. You want a dry meal that can fold into the meringue without dragging it down. Smell the almonds first. If they smell stale, the dulce is already lost.

5. 5

   Cook the almíbar

   Combine the 1 cup sugar and water in a small saucepan. Cook without stirring until the syrup reaches 240F, the soft-ball stage. Do not add corn syrup. An almíbar is sugar, water, heat, and attention. No me vengas con atajos.

6. 6

   Whip the meringue

   When the syrup reaches about 225F, begin whipping the claras de huevo with the lime juice and salt until foamy and soft peaks form. With the mixer running, pour the 240F almíbar in a thin stream down the side of the bowl. Beat 8 to 10 minutes, until the meringue is glossy, firm, and the bowl no longer feels hot. This is the structure of the beso. Rush it and the shells weep.

7. 7

   Fold and pipe

   Fold the ground almond mixture into the meringue in three additions, using a wide spatula and slow turns. Pipe small rounds onto the prepared sheets. Leave space between them. Tap the trays once on the counter to settle the peaks, but do not flatten them. They should stay plump, like little convent kisses.

8. 8

   Bake the shells

   Bake for 65 to 75 minutes, rotating the pans once, until the shells are pale ivory, dry to the touch, and lift cleanly from the parchment. Turn off the oven and leave the shells inside with the door cracked for 45 minutes. If they brown, your oven is too hot. Puebla's convent sweets are disciplined, not toasted.

9. 9

   Fill the besos

   Pair the shells by size. Pipe or spoon 1 teaspoon of chilled crema de yema onto the flat side of one shell and press another shell gently on top. If using cajeta, use a thick cajeta de leche de cabra, not caramel sauce. Dust lightly with azúcar glass and a breath of canela molida. Let them rest 20 minutes before serving so the filling softens the center slightly. Así se hace y punto.

Chef Tips

• •Buy almendra pelada from a shop with turnover. Almonds go rancid quietly, and sugar will not hide it. Pregúntale a las señoras del mercado.
• •This is not a French macaron. Do not add food coloring, flavored buttercream, or little decorative nonsense. The almond, yema, milk, and canela are enough.
• •For the cajeta version, use cajeta de leche de cabra cooked slowly in a copper cazo. Caramel sauce is not cajeta. Condensed milk boiled in a can is not cajeta either.
• •Humidity is the enemy of meringue. If the day is rainy, bake the shells a little longer and store them airtight until filling. The convents understood weather better than most modern recipe writers.

Advance Preparation

• •The crema de yema can be made 2 days ahead and kept refrigerated, covered directly on the surface so it does not form a skin.
• •The meringue shells can be baked 3 days ahead and stored airtight at room temperature. Do not refrigerate unfilled shells.
• •Assemble the besos the day you serve them. Once filled, they keep their best texture for about 4 hours.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 40g)