Deconstructed cuisine takes on a Mexican classic: Carlota de limón

“Deconstructed” desserts are taking the baking satellite by storm! The word entered the lexicon of cuisine successful the 1990s, erstwhile Spanish cook Ferran Adrià, had the thought to interruption down accepted dishes into their halfway components, lone to reassemble them with a absorption connected the ocular and the sensory.

Imagine applying this method to desserts similar the Carlota de limón. 

Spanish cook Ferran Adrià. (Ferran Adrià/X)

A Carlota de limón is simply a accepted Mexican dessert, an easy-to-make concoction assembled successful layers and composed of evaporated and condensed milk, freshly squeezed lime juice, pick cheese, and those oh-so-good Galletas Marias.

The thought is to marque a layered icebox barroom by blending the milks and pick food and lime foodstuff into a gooey, saccharine base. A furniture of this substance is placed successful the bottommost of a baking crockery and topped with Galletas Marias. The adjacent furniture adds much goo, and the process continues until you person a fewer layers.

Now usage your imagination! Let’s accidental you’re having a meal party, but alternatively of making the Carlota de Limón successful a baking dish, cutting it, and serving it connected dessert dishes, you interruption it into parts — you deconstruct it.

You marque the pick food substance and spot it successful a delightful bowl. You interruption the cookies into crumbs, placing them successful different serving dish, but past you spell a measurement further: You whip up bowls of toasted coconut, candied lime peel, chopped pistachios, and caller berries, positive immoderate small, fresh-cut mint leaves. The thought is that each wound combines creamy, crunchy, tangy and saccharine — a accepted dessert, but 1 based connected your guests’ ain preferences.  

All these decorative, blessed dishes are past placed connected the table, enabling your guests to travel up with their own, delightful dessert. Some whitethorn similar much pistachios oregon coconut. Some whitethorn not similar Galletas Marias, but their idiosyncratic choices are seemingly endless and you’re present a culinary genius, the speech of the town.

Carlota de limón, deconstructed

Galletas Marias, oregon Maria cookies, are the instauration of this dessert. Made by the ubiquitous Mexican institution Gamesa, they’re Mexico’s mentation of the British Marie biscuit, introduced by mode of Spain. If you unrecorded extracurricular Mexico, Goya besides makes a Maria cooky you whitethorn beryllium capable to find much easily. (Gamesa)

Ingredients

For the Carlota de limón

• 1.5 cans evaporated milk
• 1.5 cans sweetened condensed milk
• 3/4 cupful freshly squeezed lime juice
• 1 ½ packages 8 oz. pick cheese
  • In the U.S., Philadelphia pick food is sold successful 8 oz. packages (225 g). In Mexico, Philly pick food is typically recovered successful 180 g (6.4 oz.) oregon 200 g (7 oz.) packages, truthful set accordingly. Also, Philadelphia pick food is not the aforesaid successful Mexico arsenic successful the U.S. due to the fact that it has little abdominous and moisture content. If utilizing Mexican Philadelphia pick cheese, adhd 19 g (0.7 oz) dense pick to the mixture.
• 2.5 packages Galletas Marias, crumbled (toasting optional)

For the garnishes

• Galletas Marias (crumbled and toasted, if you prefer)
• Candied lime peel
• Toasted sweetened coconut
• Chopped pistachios
• Fresh effect and berries
• Small, fresh-cut mint leaves.

Instructions

1. In a blender, oregon successful a vessel with a hand-held mixer, spot the evaporated milk, condensed beverage and lime juice. Blend oregon premix lightly to guarantee it is afloat incorporated.
2. With a spatula, disturbance the substance and incorporated pick food successful pieces. Process successful the blender. If utilizing a mixer, bushed for a fewer seconds until the substance is creaseless and coats the backmost of a spoon. If making with Mexican Philly pick cheese, adhd 19 grams dense pick to the mixture.
3. Place successful fridge until acceptable to serve.
4. Place pick cheese-lime substance successful a serving bowl. Accent with immoderate chopped mint oregon pistachios. Place all garnishes successful abstracted bowls. Set each connected your array and fto guests excavation in, providing them with their ain decorative dessert dishes.

Deborah McCoy is the one-time writer of mainstream, bridal-reference books who has turned her attraction to food, peculiarly sweets, desserts and fruits. She is the laminitis of CakeChatter and the writer of 4 baking books for “Dough Punchers” via CakeChatter. She is besides the president of The American Academy of Wedding Professionals.