Pay de Queso de Bola Yucateco

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •9 or 10-inch round baking dish or deep ceramic pie plate
• •Larger roasting pan for the water bath
• •Box grater with fine holes
• •High-powered blender
• •Small heavy saucepan for the caramel
• •Food processor for the cookie crust

Instructions

1. 1

   Grate the queso de bola

   Peel off the red wax coating and grate the entire ball on the finest holes of a box grater. You want a pile that looks like wet sand, not shreds. Edam is firm and aged, almost dry, and it does not melt smoothly into a custard if you leave it in fat strands. Take your time. This is the ingredient that makes the pay yucateco and not a regular flan. Que no te de pereza.

   If the queso de bola feels too hard to grate, leave it on the counter for fifteen minutes. Do not soften it any further. You want it firm enough to grate cleanly without smearing.
2. 2

   Build the Maria cookie crust

   Heat the oven to 350F. Pulse the Maria cookies in a food processor until they look like fine sand. Stir in the melted butter and the two tablespoons of sugar with a fork until the mixture holds together when you press it. Tip it into a 9 or 10-inch round baking dish or a deep pie plate. Press firmly across the bottom and up the sides with the flat bottom of a glass. Bake for 8 minutes, until just set and lightly toasted at the edges. Let it cool while you make the filling. Galletas Maria are not optional. They are the crust Tere Cazola used and they have been the crust ever since.

3. 3

   Make the caramel

   In a small heavy saucepan, combine the half cup of sugar with the two tablespoons of water. Set over medium heat. Do not stir. Swirl the pan occasionally as the sugar dissolves and the syrup starts to color. After about six minutes it will turn deep amber, the color of strong tea. Pull it off the heat the moment it looks right. A second too long and it goes bitter. Pour half into the bottom of the Maria cookie crust, tipping the dish to coat evenly. Reserve the other half in the pan for drizzling at the end.

   Burned caramel cannot be saved. If yours goes black or smells acrid, pour it out and start again. Five minutes of attention now is the whole difference.
4. 4

   Blend the custard

   Combine the grated queso de bola, condensed milk, evaporated milk, heavy cream, eggs, yolk, vanilla, and salt in a blender. Blend on high for one full minute. The cheese will not disappear completely. You should see a faint texture in the custard when you pour it. That is correct. A perfectly smooth pay de queso de bola is a pay that lost its identity. The salty fragments of Edam are the whole point.

5. 5

   Pour and bake

   Pour the custard slowly over the caramel-lined crust. Place the baking dish inside a larger roasting pan. Set on the oven rack and pour hot tap water into the roasting pan until it comes halfway up the sides of the pie dish. Bake at 350F for 45 to 55 minutes. The pay is done when the edges are set, the center wobbles slightly like a struck drum, and a knife inserted halfway between the edge and the center comes out clean. Do not overbake. A dry pay de queso is a sad pay de queso.

6. 6

   Cool and chill

   Lift the dish out of the water bath carefully and set on a rack. Cool to room temperature, about an hour. Cover and refrigerate at least four hours, preferably overnight. The custard needs to set fully and the salty edge of the Edam needs time to bloom against the condensed milk. This is not a dessert you serve warm. Mérida heat or not, it goes in cold.

7. 7

   Finish and serve

   Just before serving, gently rewarm the reserved caramel in its pan until it pours, adding a splash of water if it has thickened too much. Drizzle over the top of the chilled pay in a loose zigzag. Slice with a knife dipped in hot water and wiped clean between cuts. Eat it at the end of a long Yucatecan meal, after the cochinita and the panuchos and the relajo, when everyone says they are full and then has a slice anyway. Así se hace y punto.

Chef Tips

• •Buy the whole ball of queso de bola with the red wax intact, not the pre-cut or pre-grated versions. The wax keeps the cheese aged and dry, which is exactly the texture you need. A softer cheese will weep fat into the custard and break the set.
• •Mexican Maria cookies (Gamesa is the standard) are the right crust. British digestives are too rich. Graham crackers are too sweet and too American. If you cannot find Maria, look in any Mexican or Latin grocery before you compromise.
• •The water bath is not optional. Without it, the eggs cook too fast at the edges and you get a curdled, rubbery custard with a dry crust at the top. With it, the custard sets evenly and stays silky. No me vengas con atajos.
• •Make this the day before. The flavor at four hours is fine. The flavor at twenty-four hours is the dessert Tere Cazola actually sold. The cheese, caramel, and custard need that time to come together.

Advance Preparation

• •The pay must be made at least four hours ahead to set, and is meaningfully better made the day before. It keeps refrigerated for four days, covered.
• •The Maria cookie crust can be pressed into the dish and refrigerated unbaked up to one day ahead. Bake just before filling.
• •The caramel can be made one day ahead and held in the saucepan at room temperature. Rewarm gently with a splash of water to loosen before drizzling.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 186g)