San Cristobal Meringue Pastries (Gaznates)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Metal pastry tubes or smooth frying dowels
• •Heavy 4-quart pot for frying
• •Deep-fry thermometer
• •Stand mixer or hand mixer
• •Piping bag with plain round tip
• •Wire rack set over a tray

Instructions

1. 1

   Make the dough

   Whisk the flour, sugar, and salt in a bowl. Rub in the manteca de cerdo with your fingertips until the flour feels sandy. Add the egg yolks, warm water, and aguardiente. Mix until a firm dough forms. If dry flour remains at the bottom, add water one teaspoon at a time. The dough should feel smooth and tight, not sticky.

2. 2

   Knead and rest

   Knead the dough on the counter for 6 to 8 minutes, until it becomes elastic and stops cracking at the edges. Cover with a clean cloth and rest for 30 minutes. Do not skip the rest. Wheat dough needs time to relax or it will shrink back while you roll it. No me vengas con atajos.

   If the dough tears when stretched thin, cover it and rest it 10 minutes more. The señora in San Cristobal was right: if it breaks, it needs rest.
3. 3

   Roll the sheets

   Divide the dough into 18 pieces. Roll each piece on a lightly floured surface into a thin oval, about 5 by 4 inches. You should almost see the shadow of your hand through it. Thick dough gives you a heavy tube. Gaznates should be brittle outside, airy inside, and light enough to eat before you realize you have eaten three.

4. 4

   Wrap the tubes

   Lightly oil metal cannoli tubes or smooth wooden dowels made for frying. Wrap one dough oval around each tube, overlapping the edges by 1/2 inch. Brush the seam with a little water and press firmly so it seals. Leave the tube ends open. The oil must reach inside and crisp the pastry cleanly.

5. 5

   Fry until brittle

   Heat 2 inches of oil or fresh manteca de cerdo in a heavy pot to 350F. Fry 3 or 4 wrapped tubes at a time, turning often, until pale gold with small blisters across the surface, 2 to 3 minutes. Do not brown them like churros. Gaznates from San Cristobal stay light. Drain on a rack, then slide the pastry shells off the tubes while still warm enough to release.

   If the pastry darkens in less than a minute, the oil is too hot. If it absorbs oil and looks dull, the oil is too cool. Control the fire. That is half the recipe.
6. 6

   Cook the syrup

   Combine the sugar, water, and lime juice in a small saucepan. Cook over medium heat without stirring until the syrup reaches 240F, the soft-ball stage. If you do not have a thermometer, drop a little syrup into cold water. It should form a soft ball that flattens between your fingers. This syrup cooks the meringue and gives it structure.

7. 7

   Whip the meringue

   While the syrup cooks, beat the egg whites with the cream of tartar until they hold soft peaks. With the mixer running, pour the hot syrup in a thin steady stream down the side of the bowl. Keep beating until the meringue is glossy, white, thick, and no longer warm, 8 to 10 minutes. Beat in the Mexican vanilla. The meringue should stand in firm peaks without sliding.

8. 8

   Fill the gaznates

   Transfer the meringue to a piping bag fitted with a plain round tip. Fill each fried shell from both ends so the center is packed, not hollow. Work the same day you plan to serve them. The shell and the meringue are enemies over time: one wants to stay crisp, the other carries moisture. Fill too early and the pastry softens. Saber cocinar es saber vivir.

9. 9

   Wrap for serving

   Serve the gaznates on a clay plate or wrap each one loosely in colored paper the way they are sold at coleto bazaars. Do not add chocolate drizzle, sprinkles, or piped frosting. The sweet is the fried shell and the meringue. Cada estado, su propia cocina.

Chef Tips

• •Use fresh manteca de cerdo in the dough if you can get it from a good butcher or market vendor. Old lard tastes stale and will announce itself in the pastry. La manteca es el sabor, but only when the manteca is clean.
• •Metal cannoli tubes work in a modern kitchen. In older market kitchens, cooks used smooth reeds or wooden forms reserved only for sweets. Use what works, but keep the shape long and open.
• •The meringue must be Italian-style, made with hot syrup. Plain whipped egg whites will collapse and weep inside the shell. That is not a shortcut. That is a failure waiting politely on the tray.
• •Gaznates are not supposed to taste of chile, lime, or chocolate. Not every Mexican sweet is built on cacao or heat. This is a Chiapas highland confection of wheat, sugar, egg, and frying skill.
• •If the weather is humid, fill them close to serving. San Cristobal's cool highland air is kinder to crisp pastries than a wet coastal kitchen in July.

Advance Preparation

• •The dough can be made one day ahead, wrapped tightly, and refrigerated. Let it sit at room temperature for 30 minutes before rolling.
• •The fried shells can be made one day ahead and stored uncovered or loosely covered in a dry place. Airtight containers trap humidity and soften them.
• •The meringue is best made the day of serving. Fill the gaznates no more than 2 hours before they go to the table.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 40g)