Pay de Queso Bajacaliforniano

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •9-inch springform pan
• •Heavy-duty aluminum foil for waterproofing
• •Deep roasting pan for the water bath
• •Stand mixer with paddle attachment or hand mixer
• •Fine-mesh strainer
• •Microplane for the lime zest

Instructions

1. 1

   Build the galleta Maria base

   Heat the oven to 325F. Crush the galletas Maria in a food processor until they look like wet sand. No big shards. Combine with the melted butter, two tablespoons of sugar, and the flaky salt. The mixture should hold together when you squeeze a handful. Press firmly into a 9-inch springform pan, covering the bottom and pushing up the sides about one inch. Use the flat bottom of a glass to compact it. A loose base falls apart when you slice. Bake for 10 minutes until the edges turn golden and the kitchen smells like toasted butter. Cool while you build the filling.

   Galletas Maria are the base, not graham crackers. The galleta has a cleaner, less sweet flavor that lets the cream cheese and the fruit do the work. No me vengas con atajos.
2. 2

   Beat the cream cheese alone

   In a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, beat the room-temperature cream cheese on medium for three full minutes until it is completely smooth, with no lumps. Scrape the bowl down twice. If the cream cheese is cold, you will have lumps in the finished pay and there is no fixing them later. This is the step everyone rushes. Do not rush it.

3. 3

   Add the milks and the eggs

   With the mixer on low, pour in the leche condensada in a slow stream. Then the leche evaporada. Scrape the bowl. Add the eggs one at a time, beating just until each one disappears. Overbeating the eggs incorporates air and the pay will crack across the top. You want it smooth, not fluffy. The Baja version is dense and silky, not whipped.

4. 4

   Finish the filling with lime and vanilla

   Add the lime zest, the vanilla, and the lime juice. Mix on low for thirty seconds, just until combined. The lime is what makes this a Baja pay and not a generic cheesecake. The acid cuts the richness of the leche condensada and brightens the cream cheese. Without it, the pay tastes flat and heavy.

   Use limones mexicanos, the small green ones, if you can find them. Persian lime works but the perfume is different. The Mexican lime has the citrus note that belongs in this dessert.
5. 5

   Bake in a water bath

   Wrap the bottom of the springform pan tightly in two layers of heavy-duty foil to keep water out. Pour the filling onto the cooled crust. Set the pan in a deep roasting pan and pour hot tap water around it to come one inch up the sides. Bake at 325F for 50 to 55 minutes. The pay is done when the edges are set but the center two inches still jiggle slightly when you nudge the pan. It will look underdone. It is not. The residual heat finishes the center.

6. 6

   Cool slowly in the oven

   Turn the oven off and crack the door open a few inches. Leave the pay in the oven for one hour. This slow cool prevents the top from cracking. Then remove from the water bath, run a thin knife around the edge of the pan to release the pay from the sides, and refrigerate uncovered for at least three hours, preferably overnight. La cocina no es decoracion, es trabajo. The wait is part of the recipe.

7. 7

   Cook the guava or mango glaze

   While the pay chills, make the glaze. In a small saucepan, combine the fruit puree, the sugar, the lime juice, and the water. Bring to a simmer over medium heat. Cook for five to seven minutes until the fruit darkens and the kitchen smells like the orchards in San Vicente. Taste it. Add more sugar only if the fruit needs it. Mango is sweeter than guava. Adjust to the fruit you have. Whisk in the cornstarch slurry and cook for one more minute until the glaze is glossy and coats the back of a spoon. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve if you used guava. Cool completely before glazing the pay.

   If the guavas at your market are pale green and hard, they are not ready. Wait. Or use mango from a vendor who lets you smell it before you buy it. Si no conoces el mercado, no conoces la cocina.
8. 8

   Glaze and serve

   Once the pay is fully chilled and the glaze is at room temperature, release the springform ring. Pour the glaze across the top of the pay and tilt the pan to spread it evenly. The glaze should pool slightly at the edges, the color deep amber for guava or sun-yellow for mango. Return to the refrigerator for thirty minutes to set the glaze. Slice with a hot wet knife, wiping between cuts. Serve cold. Recetas probadas y garantizadas.

Chef Tips

• •The cream cheese must be at full room temperature. Cold cream cheese will leave lumps that no amount of beating fixes. Pull it out of the refrigerator three hours before you start. Asi se hace y punto.
• •Galletas Maria are sold at any Mexican grocery and most large supermarkets in the United States. Gamesa is the standard brand. If you cannot find them, use a butter cookie like a Petit Beurre. Graham crackers are a different cookie and they make a different dessert.
• •If guava and mango are out of season, do not use the watery imported fruit. Use a good Mexican guava paste, ate de guayaba, thinned with a little water and lime juice over low heat. A substitution is a compromise, not an upgrade, but this one holds up.
• •The pay must be fully chilled before the glaze goes on. Warm filling and warm glaze means a sad, runny pay. Overnight is best. Six hours is the minimum.

Advance Preparation

• •The pay de queso must be made at least one day ahead. The texture is wrong if you slice it the same day. Plan for it.
• •The unglazed pay keeps refrigerated for four days. Add the glaze the day you serve.
• •The fruit glaze can be made up to three days ahead and stored in a jar in the refrigerator. Warm it gently to a pourable consistency before glazing.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 247g)