Pay de Nuez de Castilla Poblano

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •9-inch tart pan or shallow ceramic pay dish
• •Rolling pin
• •Baking sheet for toasting nuez de Castilla
• •Pie weights or dry beans
• •Small heavy saucepan

Instructions

1. 1

   Make the dough

   Whisk the flour, sugar, and salt in a bowl. Rub in the cold butter with your fingertips until the mixture looks like coarse crumbs with a few pea-sized pieces left. Stir the egg yolk with 3 tablespoons ice water, then drizzle it over the flour and mix just until the dough holds when pressed. If it crumbles, add the last tablespoon of water. Do not knead it like bread. This is pastry, not bolillo.

2. 2

   Chill and roll

   Press the dough into a flat disk, wrap it, and chill for at least 45 minutes. Roll it on a lightly floured table into a 12-inch round. Fit it into a 9-inch tart pan or shallow pay dish, pressing it into the corners without stretching. Trim the edge. Chill the shell for 20 minutes more. Cold dough gives you clean sides and a tender bite.

3. 3

   Toast the walnuts

   Heat the oven to 350F. Spread the nuez de Castilla on a baking sheet and toast for 7 to 9 minutes, until the nuts smell warm and deep but have not darkened much. Cool them, then chop 1 cup finely and leave the remaining 3/4 cup in larger pieces for the top. Walnut burns fast. Watch it. Bitter walnut will ruin the whole pay.

   If the walnuts taste dusty or rancid before you bake, do not use them. Old nuts make old-tasting pay. Preguntale a las senoras del mercado.
4. 4

   Blind bake shell

   Line the chilled shell with parchment and fill with pie weights or dry beans. Bake for 15 minutes. Lift out the parchment and weights, then bake 6 to 8 minutes more, until the bottom looks dry and pale gold. This protects the pastry from the heavy filling. Skip it and the center turns soft. No me vengas con atajos.

5. 5

   Cook the syrup

   Combine the grated piloncillo, dark brown sugar, heavy cream, butter, cajeta, cinnamon, and salt in a small saucepan. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring, until the piloncillo dissolves and the mixture turns glossy, about 5 minutes. Let it cool for 10 minutes. If you pour hot syrup into eggs, you get sweet scrambled eggs. Nobody needs that lesson twice.

6. 6

   Build the filling

   Whisk the eggs, egg yolk, vanilla, and rum or brandy if using. Slowly whisk in the cooled piloncillo mixture. Stir in the finely chopped toasted nuez de Castilla. The filling should look thick, dark, and speckled with walnut. Pour it into the warm shell, then scatter the larger walnut pieces over the surface.

7. 7

   Bake until set

   Bake at 350F for 32 to 38 minutes, until the edges are set and the center still has a small, slow wobble when you move the pan. The top should be deep brown and shiny in patches, not dry. It will finish setting as it cools. Pull it too late and the filling turns hard. Puebla's sweets ask for attention.

8. 8

   Cool and serve

   Cool the pay completely, at least 1 hour, before slicing. A warm slice will collapse because the filling has not settled. Dust very lightly with powdered sugar if you want, or leave it plain. Serve in narrow pieces on talavera with cafe de olla. Saber cocinar es saber vivir.

Chef Tips

• •Use nuez de Castilla when you can find it, especially in late summer around the chiles en nogada season. Regular English walnuts are the closest substitute outside Mexico, but they are a compromise, not an upgrade.
• •Piloncillo gives the filling its dark mineral sweetness. Brown sugar alone makes the pay flatter. If your piloncillo is too hard to grate, shave it with a knife or warm it briefly near the oven.
• •A tart pan gives a cleaner edge, but a shallow ceramic pay dish works too. In Puebla, the table matters. Put it on talavera if you have it.
• •Do not add chocolate chips. Do not add corn syrup. Those belong to another dessert. This pay is about walnut, piloncillo, egg, cream, and patience.

Advance Preparation

• •The pastry dough can be made two days ahead and kept refrigerated, or frozen for one month.
• •The finished pay keeps well for two days at cool room temperature, covered loosely. Refrigerate after that, but let slices come back to room temperature before serving.
• •Toast the nuez de Castilla one day ahead and store it in a sealed jar once fully cool.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 130g)