Chef Lupita
Colima Layered Custard Trifle (Ante Colimote)
Colima's celebration ante layers eggy marquesote with wine syrup, almond-coconut custard, and crystallized figs, a cold dessert built for the family table, not for tiny plates.
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Limones Rellenos de Coco Colimenses
Created by
Colima's coconut-stuffed limes are coastal candy: bitter lime rinds softened, sweetened over several days, then packed with a dense paste of fresh coconut and sugar.
Desserts
Mexican
Make Ahead
Special Occasion
1 hr 30 min
Active Time
2 hr 30 min cook•74 hr total
Yield24 stuffed limes
Colima owns this sweet through geography. Tecoman gives you the lime groves, the coast gives you the coconut palms, and the women in home kitchens turn both into candy that waits patiently on the table for baptisms, Christmas trays, and family visits.
This is not a quick dessert. The lime rinds have to be softened, emptied without tearing, soaked to pull out the bitterness, then candied slowly until they turn translucent and firm enough to hold the coconut. No me vengas con atajos. If the rind is still harsh, the syrup will not save it. If the coconut is dry and old, the filling will taste like paper.
I learned a version of this in Colima from a señora who kept the limes under a clean cloth on her kitchen table and changed the soaking water like a ritual. She used fresh coconut, piloncillo only when the coconut was not sweet enough, and a clay dish from Comala for serving. Nothing precious. Just discipline, fruit, sugar, and time. Saber cocinar es saber vivir.
Colima became one of Mexico's major coconut and lime states in the 19th and 20th centuries, especially around Tecoman and the coastal corridor toward Manzanillo. Limones rellenos de coco belong to a wider Mexican tradition of convent and home confectionery, where fruit peels were preserved in sugar after the colonial expansion of cane cultivation. The Colima version is distinct because it joins two local crops, lime and coconut, in a candy that is built around preservation rather than immediate serving.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
small Mexican limes
Quantity
24
firm, thin-skinned, unblemished
pickling lime (cal) or food-grade calcium hydroxide
Quantity
1 tablespoon
water
Quantity
10 cups, divided, plus more for soaking
granulated sugar
Quantity
5 cups
piloncillo
Quantity
1 cup
finely chopped
Mexican cinnamon stick
Quantity
1
kosher salt
Quantity
1/2 teaspoon
freshly grated coconut
Quantity
4 cups
whole milk
Quantity
1 1/2 cups
granulated sugar for the coconut filling
Quantity
1 cup
pure vanilla extract
Quantity
1 teaspoon
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| small Mexican limesfirm, thin-skinned, unblemished | 24 |
| pickling lime (cal) or food-grade calcium hydroxide | 1 tablespoon |
| water | 10 cups, divided, plus more for soaking |
| granulated sugar | 5 cups |
| piloncillofinely chopped | 1 cup |
| Mexican cinnamon stick | 1 |
| kosher salt | 1/2 teaspoon |
| freshly grated coconut | 4 cups |
| whole milk | 1 1/2 cups |
| granulated sugar for the coconut filling | 1 cup |
| pure vanilla extract | 1 teaspoon |
Equipment Needed
- •Sharp paring knife
- •Small narrow spoon for hollowing limes
- •Wide heavy pot for candying
- •Wire rack set over a tray
- •Shallow clay serving dish from Colima or Comala-style red clay
Instructions
- 1
Prepare the limes
Scrub the limes well. With a sharp paring knife, cut a small lid from the stem end of each lime, no wider than a coin. Save the lids. Use a small spoon or the handle of the spoon to loosen and remove the pulp without tearing the rind. Work slowly. A torn lime will leak syrup and refuse to hold the coconut.
- 2
Firm the rinds
Stir the pickling lime into 6 cups cold water until cloudy. Add the hollowed lime shells and lids. Let them sit for 4 hours, then rinse them very well under running water. Cal keeps the rind from collapsing during candying. Use food-grade cal, not construction lime. Así se hace y punto.
If you skip the cal, the limes will still be edible, but softer and more fragile. That is a compromise, not an upgrade. - 3
Draw out bitterness
Put the rinsed lime shells in a pot and cover with fresh water. Bring just to a gentle boil, cook 5 minutes, then drain. Repeat this boiling and draining two more times. After the third drain, cover the limes with cold water and let them soak 48 hours, changing the water morning and night. The water pulls out the sharp bitterness. The rind should still taste like lime, not medicine.
- 4
Candy the limes
Combine 5 cups sugar, the piloncillo, 4 cups water, the cinnamon stick, and salt in a wide heavy pot. Bring to a simmer and stir until the sugar dissolves. Add the drained lime shells and lids. Cook uncovered over low heat for 45 to 60 minutes, turning gently, until the rinds look glossy and slightly translucent. Let them cool in the syrup overnight.
- 5
Make coconut paste
Combine the grated coconut, whole milk, 1 cup sugar, and vanilla in a heavy saucepan. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring often, until the milk reduces and the coconut gathers into a thick, spoonable paste, 25 to 35 minutes. It should hold its shape when pushed with a spoon. Fresh coconut matters here. Bagged sweetened coconut is already someone else's candy.
- 6
Drain and fill
Lift the limes from the syrup and set them opening-side down on a rack for 30 minutes. Fill each shell generously with coconut paste, pressing lightly so there are no hollow spaces. Put the small lime lids back on top if they fit. The candy should look full, not stingy.
- 7
Rest before serving
Arrange the stuffed limes in a shallow clay dish and let them rest at room temperature for at least 2 hours, or refrigerate overnight. The rind and coconut need time to settle into each other. Serve whole or halved, with a little of the syrup spooned around them if you like. Recetas probadas y garantizadas.
Chef Tips
- •Buy limes that are firm, heavy, and clean-skinned. If they are dry or thin as paper, they will tear when you hollow them. Preguntale a las senoras del mercado. They know which crate came in fresh.
- •Use fresh coconut if you can. Crack it, peel the brown skin if you want a cleaner filling, and grate it fine. Frozen grated coconut is the next best choice. Sweetened packaged coconut is too wet with sugar and too dead in flavor.
- •Do not use green food coloring. A candied lime rind should be pale green to yellow-green, glossy from syrup, not the color of a plastic toy.
- •These are sweets from Colima, not a chile dish. Not all Mexican food is chile and salsa. This is a 32-state cuisine, and the coast has its own sugar work.
Advance Preparation
- •The hollowed limes can finish their 48-hour soak one day before candying. Keep them covered with cold water in the refrigerator after the final water change.
- •The candied lime shells can sit in their syrup for up to 3 days before filling. The texture improves.
- •Finished limones rellenos keep refrigerated for 1 week in a covered container. Bring them to room temperature before serving so the coconut softens.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 stuffed lime (about 75g)
Calories
230 calories
Total Fat
6 g
Saturated Fat
5 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
1 g
Cholesterol
4 mg
Sodium
50 mg
Total Carbohydrates
46 g
Dietary Fiber
3 g
Sugars
41 g
Protein
2 g
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