Quesillo de Parchita

Venezuela's caramel custard sharpened with passion fruit: condensed milk and parchita pulp baked slowly in a caramel-lined mould to a dense, creamy, bracingly tart flan

Origin: Venezuela

From the journey of Passion Fruit.

The quesillo is the Venezuelan national dessert, and though it belongs to the great family of Hispanic caramel custards it is emphatically not a flan. Where a Spanish flan is made with fresh milk and many yolks and baked to a smooth, delicate set, the quesillo is built on the tin of sweetened condensed milk and on whole eggs, and it is deliberately baked so that the eggs set into a dense, close, faintly honeycombed texture riddled with small holes; the name is generally said to come from that cheese-like appearance. It is the cake of every Venezuelan birthday and family gathering, turned out of its mould so that the dark caramel runs down over the pale custard. Of all its variations the parchita version is the best loved. Passion fruit, called parchita in Venezuela, brings exactly what a condensed-milk sweet most needs: a sharp, perfumed acidity that cuts through the sugar and the richness and leaves the palate clean. The finished quesillo is pale gold, dense and creamy, intensely sweet and intensely tart at once, and pooled in bitter caramel. It is the balance that makes it, and no other fruit does the job so well.

Ingredients

Caramel

150 g caster sugar
3 tbsp water

Custard

395 g sweetened condensed milk (1 tin)
200 ml passion fruit pulp, sieved (from about 8 to 10 passion fruit)
5 whole eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 pinch salt

Method

Make the caramel: heat the sugar and water in a heavy pan over a medium heat without stirring, swirling the pan occasionally, until it turns a deep amber. Pour immediately into a 20 cm round mould or tin and tilt to coat the base, then set aside to harden.
Heat the oven to 170°C (150°C fan). Halve the passion fruit, scoop the pulp into a sieve, and press it through to give about 200 ml of smooth, seedless juice.
Put the condensed milk, sieved passion fruit pulp, eggs, vanilla, and salt in a blender and blend for 30 seconds, just until smooth and combined. Pour into the caramel-lined mould.
Cover the mould tightly with foil and set it in a roasting tin. Pour boiling water into the tin to come halfway up the sides of the mould, and bake for about 1 hour, until the custard is set with only a slight wobble at the very centre.
Lift the mould from the water, cool to room temperature, then refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight. To serve, run a knife around the edge, invert a deep plate over the mould, and turn out so the caramel floods over the custard.

Notes

The quesillo is meant to be dense and slightly holey rather than silky; if you prefer a smoother custard, strain the blended mixture and bake at a slightly lower temperature. The proportion of passion fruit can be pushed higher for a sharper result, though too much liquid will keep it from setting firmly. The same method makes the plain quesillo de leche condensada, and versions with coffee, coconut, or lime are equally common on the Venezuelan table.

The Gastrographer

Name: Quesillo de Parchita
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 1 h
Total time: 5 h
Yield: 8
Cuisine: Venezuela
Ingredients: 150 g caster sugar; 3 tbsp water; 395 g sweetened condensed milk (1 tin); 200 ml passion fruit pulp, sieved (from about 8 to 10 passion fruit); 5 whole eggs; 1 tsp vanilla extract; 1 pinch salt

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Journey Point Map Key

Ingredient originTrade or transit route

Became a culinary stapleColonial / trade control