Marquesitas Yucatecas con Queso de Bola

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Cast-iron marquesitera or flat stovetop pizzelle iron
• •Box grater with fine holes
• •Wide wooden board for rolling
• •Small saucepan for warming the cajeta

Instructions

1. 1

   Build the batter

   In a wide bowl, whisk the eggs with the sugar until the sugar dissolves and the eggs go pale. Add the milk, water, vanilla, and salt. Whisk again. Sift the flour and cornstarch over the liquids and whisk until smooth. Stream in the melted butter while whisking. The batter should be the thickness of heavy cream, no lumps. Rest it on the counter for fifteen minutes. Resting relaxes the gluten and the wafer will turn out crisp instead of leathery.

   If your batter is thicker than heavy cream, thin it with a tablespoon of water at a time. Thick batter makes a soft marquesita. The whole point of this dessert is the crackle.
2. 2

   Shred the queso de bola

   Take the queso de bola out of the refrigerator twenty minutes ahead so it shreds clean. Peel off the red wax and trim away any dry rind. Shred it on the fine holes of a box grater. You want soft pillowy shreds, not chunks. The marquesita is hot and crisp, the cheese is cool and salty, that contrast is the dish. Set the cheese in a small bowl beside your work station.

3. 3

   Heat the marquesitera

   Set a cast-iron marquesitera or a flat pizzelle iron over medium heat. If you have a stovetop pizzelle press, heat both plates evenly by flipping it every minute for about five minutes. The iron is ready when a drop of water dances and evaporates almost immediately. Brush both plates lightly with melted butter the first time only. After that, the wafer has enough fat to release on its own.

   If you do not have a marquesitera, a Belgian pizzelle iron is the closest substitute. A waffle iron will not work. The plates need to close flat and thin. This is the tool the dish requires.
4. 4

   Press the wafer

   Ladle about three tablespoons of batter into the center of the hot iron. Close it firmly. Cook for 60 to 90 seconds per side over medium heat, until the wafer is deep golden and the edges look dry and lacy. Open the iron carefully. The wafer should lift away in one round piece, crisp at the edges and still pliable in the center. Work fast from here. You have about ten seconds before the wafer sets.

5. 5

   Fill and roll while hot

   Slide the hot wafer onto a wooden board. Drizzle a generous spoonful of warm cajeta down the center. Top with a fistful of shredded queso de bola, all the way to the edges. Roll the wafer tightly into a cylinder, working from one side to the other. Press the seam closed with the heel of your hand. The cheese will start melting against the hot wafer the second it touches. That sound, the soft sizzle of cajeta hitting hot cheese, that is how the cooks at the Plaza Grande in Mérida know they did it right.

   If the wafer hardens before you can roll it, the iron is too hot or you waited too long. Reduce the heat slightly on the next round and move faster. La cocina no es decoración, es trabajo.
6. 6

   Serve immediately

   Stand the marquesita upright in a small clay cup or hand it directly to the person who is going to eat it. Dust with a pinch of ground canela if you like. Eat within two minutes. A marquesita that sits is a marquesita that goes soft, and a soft marquesita is no marquesita at all. Repeat with the rest of the batter, one at a time. Así se hace y punto.

Chef Tips

• •Queso de bola is sold whole, wrapped in red wax, in the refrigerated case of any Mexican market that takes itself seriously. If you cannot find the whole ball, a Dutch Edam wedge from a good cheese counter is the correct substitution. Gouda is a compromise, not an upgrade. Skip cheddar entirely.
• •Cajeta de Celaya, the goat's milk caramel from Guanajuato, is the traditional sweet half of this dish. Coronado is the reliable brand. Dulce de leche made from cow's milk will work but tastes flatter. The faint tang of the goat's milk against the salty cheese is the magic.
• •Marquesitas are a one-at-a-time dessert. Do not try to make ten at once and pile them on a plate. They go soft in minutes. Press, fill, roll, hand it over. Press the next one. That is the rhythm of the Plaza Grande and it is the rhythm of a marquesita made right.

Advance Preparation

• •The batter can be made up to four hours ahead and held in the refrigerator. Whisk it again before pressing, as the cornstarch will settle.
• •The cheese can be shredded one hour ahead and held covered at room temperature. Cold cheese does not melt against the wafer the same way.
• •Marquesitas themselves cannot be made ahead. They are a dessert of the moment and they do not survive ten minutes on a plate, let alone a refrigerator.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 85g)