Quesillo

[mascarpone]

Several weeks ago I was walking with my girlfriend at 9:30 PM in Washington Heights/Yeshiva U. area when we discoverd, among a plethora of hair salons that were operating at full capacity (I found it intersting as it was 9:30 PM on Saturday), this tiny bakery on Saint Nicholas between 184 and 185 Street. The name of the place is Triana Bakery. Among other things, they have excellent flan and Quesillo as well as other Domincan sweets (dulce di coco and arepa somonara) that I have yet to try. I can't remeber the price of the individual slices, despite the fact that I have been back there several times.

Where else can one find great Latin American pastries?

[SobaAddict70]

There's a Colombian bakery in Astoria on Broadway, between Steinway Street and 38th Street. Can't remember the name of the place (or even if it still exists), but the best cheese bread buns could be had there. Anyone familiar with the neighborhood and can confirm?

I used to live in Astoria but haven't...not for several years.

Soba

[Pan]

Thanks for the post, mascarpone.

I didn't know what quesillo was, so I did a web search. From this web site (in Spanish), I found out that it is a Venezuelan version of flan, and the only way it's different is that whereas flan is made with egg yolks only, the whole egg is used in quesillo.

[mascarpone]

I had an interesting chat with Maria, the main baker at Triana Bakery-Cafeteria. She said that there are similarities between quesillo and flan--sugar, egg (yolk and whites), liquid vanilla. The differences, according to Maria the baker, are that quesillo is made with condensed milk, evaporated milk, and regular milk while flan has powdered milk and water.

Maria, who was very impressed that I had posted a review of her bakery on the internet, said she would be interested in giving cooking classes on Domincan pasteries to anyone who was interested.

Triana Bakery/Cafeteria

1493-95 St. Nicholas Avenue (184 & 185 St.)

Tel. 212-740-6198, 212-740-2583

Todas Clases de Sandwich, Bizcocho Dominicano, para Cumpleanos, Bodas, Bautizo, etc.

NB. Milagros, the voluptuous baker at the counter, may try to seduce any unsuspecting men with a sweet tooth.

Edited January 31, 2005 by mascarpone (log)

[LJC]

According to the Venezuelan woman I married, quesillo and flan are made from essentially the same recipe (venezuelans use condensed milk, whole milk and both yolks and whites) however quesillo is cooked longer and winds up with lots of little holes where flan is solid. Quesillo is a bit drier and has a more burnt carmel flavor and flan is creamy and "light".

[mascarpone]

According to the Venezuelan woman I married, quesillo and flan are made from essentially the same recipe (venezuelans use condensed milk, whole milk and both yolks and whites) however quesillo is cooked longer and winds up with lots of little holes where flan is solid.  Quesillo is a bit drier and has a more burnt carmel flavor and flan is creamy and "light".

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Perhaps recipes vary from country to country. Triana is a Dominican bakery...

[Bux]

Perhaps recipes vary from country to country. Triana is a Dominican bakery...

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My guess is that recipes vary from household to household and from pastry chef to pastry chef. Carmen Aboy Valldejuli, who wrote the book on Puerto Rican cooking (Cocina Criolla is the name of the book) offers several recipes for plan. Flan de Leche uses milk and whole eggs. The recipe with evaporated milk also calls for whole eggs. Nevertheless, all of the flans I've ever had in Puerto Rico were far more eggier than any creme caramel in France. I'm sure they all had a surplus of yolks in addition to any whole eggs.

[mascarpone]

Perhaps recipes vary from country to country. Triana is a Dominican bakery...

←

My guess is that recipes vary from household to household and from pastry chef to pastry chef. Carmen Aboy Valldejuli, who wrote the book on Puerto Rican cooking (Cocina Criolla is the name of the book) offers several recipes for plan. Flan de Leche uses milk and whole eggs. The recipe with evaporated milk also calls for whole eggs. Nevertheless, all of the flans I've ever had in Puerto Rico were far more eggier than any creme caramel in France. I'm sure they all had a surplus of yolks in addition to any whole eggs.

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Thanks for the tip on the cookbook, Bux. As flan is my current obsession, this is a more economical option.