Pay de Plum Cups (a.ka. Good Ombrés)

Sun Diego Eats
Sun Diego Eats -

And what is ‘pay‘ you may ask. A pay is Spanish (and kind of phonetic) for ‘pie’, and it’s pronounced like ‘bae‘. Really. It specifically refers to chilled pies with dairy-based fillings like cheesecake (pay de queso) and a key lime pie-esque creation (pay de limón). I had my first pay de limón in a tiny café called Chiquitito Café (incidentally chiquitito also means tiny) in Mexico City. Instead of a traditional pie with a crust and filling, the whole thing was ingeniously served in a cup, with Maria cookies crumbs in the bottom, a creamy condensed milk and lemon filling, and crushed little meringue shrapnel bits on the side. It was my first day in Mexico and after waking up early to go get my biometrics taken for my visa I wasn’t sure where to head to next. I don’t often travel alone and actually 90% of my solo trips are for visa renewal purposes, so I think I lack a bit of the purpose and courage of intentional solo travelers. I was regaled with tales of being wary of Mexico City and my mother lamented me having to go there at all, even more so unaccompanied. But sitting in this cute café, with its black and white minimalist decor, free wi-fi, strong cortados and a new favourite dessert really drove home the fact that there was not much to be scared of here, just like there isn’t much to be scared of in most places. Just as in a café in Abbot Kinney in LA or in the Marais in Paris, people sat behind the pale glow of their Macbooks, scrolled through their Instagram feeds and sipped coffee as others passed by walking their dogs or on their way to work.

There are obviously ‘bad’ neighborhoods in Mexico City, just like there are relatively more unsafe neighborhoods in New York or San Diego. But the whole time there I never felt unsafe or even unwelcome. Even accidentally walking through a tented camp from education reform protestors and some more unsavoury alleys in the downtown area, all I got were mildly confused looks and occasionally recommendations of good food nearby. What I am trying to say is, in Mexico City, just like in most of the world, most people are good people trying to do the right thing, and they are more like us than we imagine. There is no need for walls to shield us from our neighbors, and with election results that I found deeply shocking and saddening that includes our neighbors within, whether they be immigrants (like myself) or the ‘other half’ who voted differently. Although it is comforting when in anger to dismiss most Trump supporters as racist, uneducated mysogynists (and sorry with the endorsement of groups like the KKK some no doubt are), this is likely a very small fraction of the total. I imagine most people are good people who believe they were doing what is best for themselves and their country. I also believe those people were mistaken but there is nothing to do now but to try to come together and to put together a personal effort to help the people who might be most adversely affected by this new government – refugees, minorities, women with limited access to healthcare, and our already kind of f*cked climate. If you don’t believe this government will do what you would like it to the best course of action is to do it yourself (and to vote in 2/4 years!). Whether that be to donate to Planned Parenthood, to support immigrant-run businesses, to volunteer at your local branch of the International Rescue Committee, to stand with the Black Lives Matter movement, to consume less and recycle more, or to get your aunt who doesn’t believe in global warming to watch Before The Flood.

As someone who cannot vote but lives here and is finally getting their green card in a couple months (fingers crossed) I not only hope for the best but will try and DO my best as well. I’m here for the long run (unless that green card things goes sideways…)

There should probably be some kind of nifty segway here back into the recipe but I spent a lot of time transitioning into this smoothly and now will abruptly go back to talking about how much I like desserts in cups. 

I loved the idea of serving this in a cup and the texture of the crushed Maria cookies. Maria cookies are rather plain round cookies, similar to a Rich tea biscuit, and they are normally destined for more fun applications like dunking in tea or being incorporated into desserts. You can find them at Hispanic markets or Target.

Here they are perfect as a powdery/crunchy vanilla crumb base to a rich mascarpone and ricotta cream topped with an almond-y marzipan lid and finished with a tangy pluot plum coulis on top. Obviously I made this when pluots were plentiful but other fruits – strawberries, blackberries, peaches, etc. would all be appropriate here and since we are blending them, frozen fruits would be a-ok (see very fall appropriate). Also I was having trouble naming these guys (pays de plum….with marzipan….and mascarpone?) when a friend suggested a clever name: Good Ombrés. I quite like it.

RECIPE:

PAY DE PLUM CUPS

Makes 4

INGREDIENTS:

Plum Coulis:

• 2 plums or equivalent amount of other fruit (frozen ok)
• 1/4 tsp gelatin
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 3 tablespoons of honey or sugar

Whipped Mascarpone Ricotta:

• 1 cup of mascarpone
• 2/3 cup of ricotta (low fat ok)
• 4-6 tablespoons of honey or sugar
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla paste
• 4-8 tablespoons of milk or water

Assembly:

• 2 cups of Maria cookies or similar
• 2/3 cup of marzipan paste

INSTRUCTIONS:

Plum Coulis:

1. Cube and if wanted, peel, the plums and then blend them with the honey and gelatin in a blender.
2. Transfer the mixture to a small pan and heat and stir over low heat just until simmering for the gelatin to dissolve.
3. Turn off the heat, add in the vanilla, and set aside.

Whipped Mascarpone Ricotta:

1. In a blender, add all the ingredients for the mascarpone and ricotta base and blend for at least 3 minutes until entirely smooth. Start with 4 tablespoons of milk/water and if it is not blending add more tablespoon by tablespoon until it gets going.
2. Taste for sweetness and adjust accordingly. Set aside and chill before serving.

Assembly:

1. Crush the cookies until they are mostly powder with some “pebble-y” bits. You can do this pulsing it on a food processor or with a ziploc bag and a rolling pin if you want to go old-school.
2. Roll out the marzipan into a thing 1/4 in sheet. Use the serving cups you will use to stamp out circles of the marzipan. Set aside.
3. Once ready to assemble: layer the cookie crumbs at the bottom, followed by the whipped mascarpone ricotta, the marzipan “lid”, and then the coulis. Serve immediately or if you want it can sit in the fridge for a day but the marzipan hardens a bit when cold so you might want to layer it differently to make it easier to eat.

Many of the pays in Mexico are made with with good ol’ cream cheese (queso crema) but I wanted to up the ante with some airy mascarpone blended with ricotta base for a velvet-y smooth base. This one is simply sweetened with honey but you could add condensed milk if you want a more traditional pay flavour. I like the base here a bit less sweet than usual since the marzipan can pick up where it leaves off. They can be prepared the morning of but if left to sit for more than a day the cookie crumbs start to absorb moisture and their texture becomes a bit soggy. If you can’t find Maria cookies, Rich tea cookies are a great substitute and lacking that, digestive biscuits would be ok too although they are a bit richer in texture.

Andddd here’s a list of more organizations to volunteer or donate to.

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