Pay de Guayaba con Queso de Bola

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •9-inch pie plate, glass or ceramic
• •Heavy small saucepan for cooking down the ate
• •Wooden spoon
• •Microplane or fine grater for the queso de bola and the lime
• •Rolling pin
• •Pastry brush for the egg wash

Instructions

1. 1

   Make the masa for the crust

   In a wide bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, and salt. Scatter the cold butter cubes over the top and work them in with your fingertips, pressing each cube into a flat flake. Stop when the mixture looks like coarse cornmeal with pea-sized bits of butter still visible. You want those flakes. They are what give Yucatecan pay its crisp bite under the soft guava. In a small bowl, whisk the egg yolks with the vanilla and three tablespoons of ice water. Pour over the flour mixture and bring it together with a fork until it just holds. Add another tablespoon of water only if the dough refuses to come together. Press into two discs, one slightly larger than the other, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate for at least one hour. Cold dough rolls clean. Warm dough fights you.

   Yucatán is hot. If your kitchen is warm, freeze the butter for 15 minutes before you cut it and chill the flour in the refrigerator. The cooks at the Mérida panaderías keep everything cold because the climate gives them no choice.
2. 2

   Cook the guava paste down

   Place the cubed ate de guayaba in a small heavy saucepan with the milk and the cinnamon stick. Set over low heat. Stir constantly with a wooden spoon as the paste melts. It will go from cubes to a thick, glossy, deep-pink puree in about eight to ten minutes. Do not walk away. Ate scorches the second you stop stirring and burned guava is a flavor you cannot hide. When the mixture is smooth and the spoon leaves a trail across the bottom of the pan, pull it off the heat. Fish out the cinnamon stick. Stir in the lime zest. Let it cool completely. It will set to a soft, spreadable consistency, exactly what you want.

3. 3

   Roll the bottom crust

   On a lightly floured surface, roll the larger disc into a 12-inch round, about an eighth of an inch thick. Roll from the center outward, giving the dough a quarter turn between passes. Drape it over a 9-inch pie plate and press it gently into the corners without stretching. Trim the overhang to about half an inch. Refrigerate the lined plate while you roll the top.

4. 4

   Fill, layer the queso de bola, and seal

   Spread the cooled guava filling evenly across the bottom crust. Scatter one cup of the grated queso de bola directly over the guava in an even layer. The salt of the cheese against the sweet of the ate is the entire reason this pie exists. Roll the second disc into an 11-inch round. Lay it over the top. Trim the overhang to match the bottom, then fold the edges together and crimp with your thumb and forefinger or press with a fork. Cut three or four short slits in the top to let the steam escape. Brush the surface with the egg wash. Scatter the remaining half cup of grated queso de bola across the top, then sprinkle with the two tablespoons of sugar. This is what gives the Yucatecan pay its signature gold-and-salt crust.

   Use queso de bola, the wax-coated Edam that sells in every Mérida market. Substituting young Edam from the deli case will work in a pinch. Cheddar will not. The pay needs the firm, slightly nutty, properly salty character of the bola. No me vengas con atajos.
5. 5

   Bake until deep gold

   Heat the oven to 375°F (190°C). Place the pie on a sheet pan to catch any guava that bubbles through. Bake on the middle rack for 40 to 45 minutes. The crust should be deep gold, the cheese on top should be melted and browned in spots, and you should see the guava barely bubbling through the slits. If the edges darken too quickly, cover them with strips of foil for the last 15 minutes. Let the pie cool on a rack for at least one hour before slicing. Warm guava is molten and runs everywhere. A rested pay cuts clean and the flavors settle into themselves.

6. 6

   Serve at room temperature

   Cut into wedges and serve at room temperature with a small cup of café de olla or a glass of cold milk. In Mérida, it is the pie at the end of a Sunday comida, after the cochinita pibil has been put away. The salt of the queso de bola against the bright sweetness of the guava is what every Yucatecan recognizes the second the first bite hits. Así se hace y punto.

Chef Tips

• •Use ate de guayaba in firm block form, the kind sold in waxed wooden boxes or thick bars at any Mexican market. La Catrina and San Pablo are reliable brands. The soft jarred guava paste from the supermarket jam aisle is a different product entirely and it will weep liquid into your crust.
• •Queso de bola is the Yucatecan name for the wax-coated Edam wheels sold across the peninsula. If your market does not carry it under that name, ask for Edam. Young Edam from the deli counter works. Cheddar, Monterey Jack, and mozzarella do not. They will not give you the salt or the firmness that defines this pie.
• •Do not skip the lime zest. Yucatecan repostería leans heavily on citrus, and the zest in the guava filling is what keeps the sweetness from going flat. Use the green Mexican lime if you can find it.
• •The pie is better the day after you bake it. The flavors settle and the crust softens just enough. Keep it covered at room temperature, not in the refrigerator. Cold dulls both the cheese and the guava.

Advance Preparation

• •The dough can be made up to two days ahead and refrigerated, or frozen for up to one month. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before rolling.
• •The guava filling can be cooked down up to three days ahead and refrigerated in a sealed container. Bring it back to room temperature before spreading so it does not tear the crust.
• •The baked pie keeps covered at room temperature for two days. Do not refrigerate. The crust suffers and the cheese on top turns waxy.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 215g)