Zacatecas Style Custard with Pecans- Natilla Zacatecana con nuez

Click here to go to printable recipe: Zacatecas Style Custard with Pecans

Following-up the Zacatecas-style sweet gorditas from my previous post, this natilla is another traditional dessert from than Mexican state. Nata is cream freshly skimmed from whole milk, and natilla is a diminutive form that names a creamy custard; the original recipe was brought from Spain during colonial times, and much later it has been adapted to the modern Zacatecan kitchen with a “tres leches” – “three-milk” approach, by using sweetened condensed milk, and evaporated milk, in addition to whole milk. Flavourings are usually added as toppings, such as chocolate shavings, or as in this case, roasted pecans.

Zacatecas Style Custard with Pecans-

Natilla Zacatecana con nuez

Printable recipe: Zacatecas Style Custard with Pecans

Ingredients (for 8 portions)

1 can (300 ml) sweetened condensed milk
1 can (354 ml) evaporated milk
350 ml whole cow’s milk
3 eggs
Roasted pecans

Place the three milks and the three eggs in a blender jar (photo below, left). Process for about one minute, until perfectly mixed (photo below, right):

Pour into a pan over medium heat, and warm up, stirring with a wooden spoon, until it starts to foam (photo below, left). Lower heat a little, to prevent boiling over, and continue cooking between 15 and 20 minutes, stirring constantly to avoid sticking to the bottom of the pan, just until the mix thickens and begins to gently gurgle, coating the spoon and the wall of the pan (photo below, right):

Remove pan from heat promptly, and beat vigorously with a whisk for a couple of minutes, so the eggs will not overcook or separate from the mix (photo below, left). Once cooled down slightly, divide into eight small ramekins (about 2/3 of a cup per portion, photo below, right):

Allow to cool down to room temperature, then cover and refrigerate until serving time. Top with pecans right before serving:

With just a couple of fridge staples and a few cupboard-stable ingredients, the recipe for this delicious dessert almost needs not to be inked to be remembered and prepared in a jiffy when dinner is nigh, as the sweet ending of an extemporaneous menu.

As I mentioned in my previous post, some people in Zacatecas like to eat sweet gorditas topped with nata; I have found that this natilla is a sterling alternative, as shown below:

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