Sweet steamed cakes of corn and wheat flour enriched with butter, eggs, sugar and cheese, dotted with raisins and steamed inside aromatic achira leaves. A tender, faintly cheesy Ecuadorian sweet enjoyed with coffee.
A traditional Ecuadorian steamed dessert wrapped in achira (canna) leaves, its name derived from the Quechua word for something bundled or wrapped. Marrying native corn with cheese, sugar and eggs introduced after the Spanish conquest, it is served at family gatherings, holidays and festivals, eaten at breakfast with coffee or hot chocolate, and is a fixture alongside colada morada during the November Day of the Dead.
Light, moist and gently sweet, each cake has a soft crumb studded with plump raisins and a savory whisper of cheese that keeps it from being cloying. The achira leaf lends a faint herbal fragrance that perfumes every bite.
Creaming butter and sugar then folding in flour and leavening traps air for a light, cakey crumb that sets gently in the moist heat. Steaming inside achira leaves keeps the cakes from drying while infusing a subtle aromatic note.
Variations
some use only wheat flour, banana leaves substitute for achira, fillings may add nuts, sweetness varies
On the Palate
Where Quimbolitos sits in the Ecuadorian flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 10
How it's made
7 steps · 30 min
- 18 min
Cream butter with sugar until pale and fluffy.
Watch outCream the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy — all the lift comes from the air you beat in now; under-beat it and the cakes steam up dense.
- 25 min
Beat in eggs one at a time until smooth.
- 37 min
Fold in corn flour, wheat flour, baking powder and grated cheese to form a soft batter.
- 43 min
Stir in raisins and a touch of aniseed or liquor.
- 512 min
Spoon the batter onto cleaned achira leaves and fold into sealed packets.
Watch outFold the achira leaf into a snug, fully closed packet — a loose fold lets steam water in and the batter leaks out before it sets.
- 65 min
Arrange the packets in a steamer over simmering water.
- 745 min
Steam about 40 to 45 minutes until set and springy, then cool slightly before unwrapping.
Watch outSteam until the cake springs back when pressed and no longer looks wet — a springy top means it's set; pull it early and the center stays raw.
