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Good Question: What Dessert Goes with Mexican Food?

This is a dilemma we've faced before, and it isn't helped by the blah desserts we usually find on the menus of Mexican restaurants. Here's a question from Renee:

I'm supposed to take dessert to a dinner party tomorrow night. What do you recommend to go with a Mexican meal?

 
 

We're assuming that this meal will be the type of Mexican food we're used to in American restaurants: tortilla chips, guacamole, beans, spicy meat, and lots of cheese. All of that adds up to a pretty heavy meal (plus sweet margaritas). A good antidote to that might be a citrus dessert- something flavored with lime or orange.

Mexico is also known for flan, really good vanilla, chocolate (which the Aztecs gave us, thank you very much), and spices like cinnamon and ground chiles. There are also churros, the long Spanish doughnuts that are also popular in Mexico, and sopaipillas, which are very much like beignets.

Here are some recipes:
Spicy Boozy Mousse, from the Kitchn
Rosemary Lime Sparkle Ice Cream, from our Best Lick! Contest (above, right)
Clementine Cake, from Nigella Lawson
Classic Flan, from Bon Appétit
Coffee Flan, from Gourmet
Chocolate Chili Bites, from Chocolate & Zucchini (which Faith reviewed here)
Churros, from Michelle Bernstein (above, left)
Cinnamon Ice Cream, from Gale Gand

Any other suggestions for Renee?

Related: Dessert for a Spanish Dinner?

(Images: Food Network; reader Marilyn)

Tags

Good Questions, Sweets, dessert, Mexican

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Comments (25)

Orange flan (and melon balls) -- more Spanish than Mexican, but it works for me!

http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/vanilla-orange-flan

posted by mschatelaine on February 13th 2009 at 10:08am
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Tres leches, if you have enough time - you just have to bake a generic yellow cake from a box mix and then soak it in sweetened condensed milk, heavy cream and evaporated milk until it all soaks in (it takes a few hours, and is easiest overnight). Then you ice it with chantilly cream and dish it out - its heavenly and easy and appropriate for mexican food.

posted by fib on February 13th 2009 at 10:12am
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At tex-mex restaurants here in Austin, they serve Tres Leches cake or sherbet for dessert. (Pineapple is the best!)

Maybe a sundae with vanilla ice cream, dulce de leche sauce, and gamesas cookies? The ethnic section of your grocery store can probably set you up.

posted by IroquoisCasual on February 13th 2009 at 10:14am
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Depending on where you live you can get dried hibiscus flowers at any mexican store, steep them in hot water and add sugar and make a drink called agua de Jamaica. If you make it a little thicker with more sugar it makes the best sorbet you've ever had and it is very mexican and very refreshing.
Mexican Chocolate Ice cream is great too. You basically make vanilla ice cream and melt three and a half discs of mexican hot chocolate in it while it is cooking.

posted by Benny's Dad on February 13th 2009 at 10:15am
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Let me add a 3rd vote for Tres Leches cake. I made the Alton Brown recipe last summer and it was amazing! I sprinkled some fresh raspberries on top to cut through the creaminess a bit. So good.

posted by hyperRevue on February 13th 2009 at 10:28am
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If I wasn't making tres leches, I'd do something with chocolate and cinnamon.

posted by sara jane on February 13th 2009 at 10:35am
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I make that Nigella Clementine Cake several times a year. It is great, but I don't really see it going with most Mexican food. I also wonder how sopapillas, churros, and other heavy typically fried foods would do after they have been sitting for a while.

I think something small and simple like chocolate cupcakes spiced with chili would be great and travel well. Tres leches travels and holds up very well. If you do ice cream you can garnish it with mango slices topped with lime, chili, and salt.

posted by kmarie on February 13th 2009 at 10:37am
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You could do Mexican wedding cookies and horchata ice cream. Flan or empanadas are nice, too. I like tres leches cake, but it can come out really (almost painfully) sweet, so watch your recipe if that's not what you're aiming for.

posted by OneWallKitchen on February 13th 2009 at 10:44am
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tres leches is definitely a top choice but I find it too soggy. :\

They have dessert tamales and I consider a calabaza empanada a dessert

Buñuelos is another choice. they are crunchy fried tortillas with lots of sugar and other stuff on it. My grandma makes it for Christmas time. Don't know if its cool to serve during February since its more of a traditional Mexican dessert during the holidays.

posted by witchbaby on February 13th 2009 at 10:51am
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how about manchego and membrillo? YUM! (and no prep) http://www.elise.com/recipes/archives/006144membrillo_quince_paste.php

posted by jbhansen on February 13th 2009 at 11:42am
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Topolobampo (Bayless' restaurant in Chicago) sometimes serves a very simple rustic tart with dark chocolate and fresh raspberries. I don't know if it's traditional, but it's wonderful and suits the meal perfectly.

There are a lot of really nice Mexican dessert beverages you could serve instead of pastry/ice cream/etc -- Mexican hot chocolate, Cafe de Olla, etc.

posted by shikaakwa on February 13th 2009 at 11:59am
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If it's cold out, how about a rich hot chocolate with chili?

If not so chilly, you could layer tropical sorbets (thaw, spread, freeze) until you have a layered thing.
Definitely search out some of Rick Bayless's recipes--his desserts look amazing.

posted by ValHalla on February 13th 2009 at 12:38pm
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I did a really rich vanilla bean ice cream one time and made a chocolate sauce on top that included lots of cinnamon, some instant espresso, and a sprinkle of good chile powder. Inspired by the mexican mochas every coffee shop in LA has, and it gave my guest a small shot of caffiene to get them through the ride home.

Also, I think flan is amazing. There are a million ways to dress it up (I've done coconut flan with a pineapple rum sauce) and everyone loves it, it's refreshing after a spicy meal, and it's pretty easy to make. I always double the egg yolks called for in most recipes.

posted by mangabanga on February 13th 2009 at 1:06pm
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sopapillas are delish. mexican chocolate ice cream is good, too. you could get creative with fruit as well - mango, kiwi or other tropical fruits like papaya would pair well.

posted by aneelee on February 13th 2009 at 1:09pm
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Tres Leches is really a gamble. Even in my Latino family, you find most people either love it or absolutely hate it.

I would suggest Capirotada, which is a Mexican bread pudding traditionally served during Lent. There's many variations, but usually sprinkled w/ shaved coconut, color sprinkles, raisins, etc., and very pretty to look at!

posted by sophisticatedsoul on February 13th 2009 at 1:28pm
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I always like fresh fruit things with mexican food. Blend together some mint and some sugar, then sprinkle over pineapple (or fruit salad, or whatever). Tres leches is really tasty as well, though not as easy-peasy as fruit.

posted by leenwebb on February 13th 2009 at 1:35pm
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Its all about the cajeta (mexican caramel)!!! You can drizzle it on pancakes after dinner, put it inside churros, on icecream. The other desert would be Mexican Hot Chocolate or champurrado with whip cream and cajeta on top! YUM

posted by SydneyBristow on February 13th 2009 at 2:10pm
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Oh yes pina (pineapple) tamales are really sweet too and make great desert!

posted by SydneyBristow on February 13th 2009 at 2:11pm
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The Homesick Texan has a great recipe for sopapillas. Hot ones serve well with vanilla or cinnamon ice cream.

posted by wunami on February 13th 2009 at 2:22pm
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Take some pan dulce and champurrado or Mexican hot chocolate to dip it in!

posted by dLo on February 13th 2009 at 2:30pm
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I would go with a fruit tart. the dessert doesn't have to be mexican...but you will probably want it to be light.

posted by ljh on February 13th 2009 at 2:53pm
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As a Mexican let me tell you one of the very few real Mexican desserts: crepas con cajeta. Crepes with Mexican dulce de leche, which is different from Argentinian one as it is made with goat milk and not cow milk. And it's very very different. Better, of course :D

posted by Sol on February 13th 2009 at 4:49pm
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I think warm/fresh churros, cut into 3-4" pieces, on top of a vanilla bean ice cream would go well. Another variation is to make some bunuelos that are heavy coated in cinnamon sugar. Taco shops, that i've seen in San Diego, make a modified bunuelo by using leftover flour tortillas. They cut them into wedges, deep fry them, and coat them with a lot of cinnamon sugar. You can do the deep frying ahead of time. But it's always nice to reheat the pastries, before serving, to re-ignite the cinnamon aroma, and for the added crispy texture. Like the churros, serve the bunuelos with a nice vanilla ice cream.

posted by johnnytakes5 on February 14th 2009 at 2:15pm
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I made this Mexican Turtle Chocolate Mink (essentially a baked pudding) for Valentine's Day and loved it! (Substituted Dulce de Leche for Cajeta b/c I couldn't find it...) http://www.gourmet.com/recipes/2000s/2005/12/mexican-turtle-chocolate-mink

I also spiced up the Chocolate Blackout Cake on Cook's Country by adding cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, and cayenne to this recipe:
http://www.cookscountrytv.com/recipes/detail.asp?docid=7814

I know neither one is authentically Mexican, but they both did taste good ...

posted by schong on February 16th 2009 at 3:51am
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http://www.recipezaar.com/Mexican-Banana-Bake-21169

I served that at a party and got rave reviews. It was seriously delicious. No claims that it's authentic, but the flavors would probably complement the meal well. Pineapple chunks roasted in rum and brown sugar and served over ice cream would also probably be a great ending.

posted by maggiepcs on February 18th 2009 at 7:00am
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