Huevos Moles de Sor Juana

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Heavy 2-quart saucepan
• •Fine-mesh strainer
• •Wooden spoon
• •Candy thermometer
• •Small talavera cups or shallow talavera platter

Instructions

1. 1

   Prepare the yemas

   Separate the eggs carefully and pass the yemas de huevo through a fine-mesh strainer into a bowl. Do not beat air into them. You want smooth yolks, not foam. If a little white clings to the yolk, remove it, because those strands cook faster and leave lumps.

2. 2

   Grind the almonds

   Grind the almendra pelada until fine but not oily. A small food processor works if you pulse and stop before it becomes paste. The almond is not decoration here. It thickens the sweet and gives it the quiet body convent dulces need.

3. 3

   Make the almibar

   Combine the sugar, water, canela, and salt in a heavy saucepan. Bring to a steady simmer over medium heat and cook until the syrup reaches punto de hebra, about 223F to 225F, or until a drop between two fingers pulls into a thin thread once cooled slightly. Remove the canela. Do not use corn syrup. This is almibar, and the technique is the inheritance.

   If you do not use a thermometer, test a small drop on a cool plate first. Hot syrup burns. The thread should be delicate, not a hard candy strand.
4. 4

   Temper the yolks

   Whisk the strained yemas slowly while adding two or three tablespoons of hot almibar in a thin stream. Add another two tablespoons the same way. This raises the temperature of the yolks without shocking them. Pour yolks straight into the pot and you will make sweet scrambled eggs. The nuns at San Jeronimo knew better.

5. 5

   Cook the custard

   Lower the heat to the gentlest setting. Pour the tempered yolks back into the saucepan with the remaining almibar, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon. Cook for 8 to 12 minutes, scraping the bottom and corners, until the mixture turns glossy, thick, and falls from the spoon in heavy ribbons. It should not boil. If you see bubbles breaking hard at the surface, pull the pan off the heat and keep stirring.

6. 6

   Add almond and jerez

   Stir in the ground almendra pelada and cook 3 to 5 minutes more, until the mixture thickens enough that the spoon leaves a clean path across the bottom of the pan for one second. Add the jerez at the end and stir until absorbed. If the sweet tightens too much, add one tablespoon of milk. Only one. This is a correction, not a rescue mission.

7. 7

   Cool and serve

   Spoon the huevos moles into small talavera cups or one shallow talavera platter. Let cool to room temperature, then chill at least 2 hours. Serve in small portions. It should be dense, glossy, and spoonable, with canela first on the nose and egg yolk richness underneath. Asi se hace y punto.

Chef Tips

• •Use fresh eggs with deep yellow yemas. Pale, tired supermarket yolks make a pale, tired sweet. Preguntale a las senoras del mercado if you have a stall that sells good rancho eggs.
• •Jerez means dry sherry here, not a sweet cooking wine. Use a measured hand. The jerez should sharpen the sugar, not announce itself like perfume at a baptism.
• •This dessert has no chile, no lime, no garnish parade. Not all Mexican food needs chile to prove where it is from. This one proves it with sugar work, yolks, almonds, and convent discipline.
• •If the custard curdles, strain it immediately while warm and stir hard. It may become acceptable, but it will not be the same. Next time temper slowly. Recetas probadas y garantizadas, but only if you respect the heat.

Advance Preparation

• •Huevos moles can be made one day ahead and held covered in the refrigerator. The flavor settles and the canela becomes rounder overnight.
• •Do not freeze this dessert. The yolk texture breaks and turns grainy.
• •Grind the almendra pelada up to two days ahead and keep it airtight in the refrigerator so it does not turn oily or stale.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 70g)