Chicano Bakes: Recipes for Mexican Pan Dulce, Tamales, and My Favorite Desserts

by Esteban Castillo

In this companion cookbook to Chicano Eats, the blogger, and winner of the Saveur Best New Voice People's Choice Award shows off the sweet and dreamy side of Chicano cuisine in 80 recipes for irresistible desserts, cakes, tamales, pan dulce and drinks.

With Chicano Recipes from My Mexican American Kitchen, Esteban Castillo offered his readers a look into his life, family, and culture. For Esteban, sharing stories and recipes from his childhood was a cathartic experience, and seeing so many people make and enjoy the foods that meant so much to him growing up was a dream come true.

Now, this rising food star mines his culinary roots once more. Chicano Bakes features many of the mouthwatering delights Esteban enjoyed throughout his childhood, from Pan Dulce Mexicano (Mexican Sweet Bread), Postres (Desserts), and Pasteles (Cakes) to Antojitos (Bites) and Bebidas (Drinks). Here are easy-to-make recipes sure to become fan favorites,

Pan Dulce Mexicano (Mexican Sweet Bread)

Conchas de Vainilla (Vanilla Conchas)

Tres Leches Cake

Churro Cheesecake

Red Velvet Chocoflan

Ponche de Granada (Pomegranate Punch)

Tamales de Elote (Sweet Corn Tamales)

Strawberry Guava Shortbread Bars

Bolillos

Polvorones

Tamales de Chile Rojo (Red Chile Beef Tamales)

Rompope (Mexican Milk Punch)

Esteban encourages everyone--no matter their level of experience in the kitchen--to get baking, especially those in his community who may be intimidated or discouraged by other cookbooks that overlook their cultural tastes and traditions. Illustrated with more than 100 bright and inviting photographs that capture the flavor of the Chicano Eats brand, Chicano Bakes is an homage to a culture that has existed in the U.S. for generations--and whose influence continues to grow.

Genres: Cookbooks, Cooking, Nonfiction, Food

224 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 1, 2022

About the author

Hola!

I’m Esteban and I currently live in Southern California. I received a Bachelors Degree in Public Relations with a Minor in Graphic Design from Humboldt State University, and I currently work in PR/Digital Marketing during the day.

I decided to start Chicano Eats because I’m proud of my roots, and I’d like to invite you to experience un pedacito de mi cultura and traditions through food.

As a Chicano (or Mexican-American) I have the privilege of being part of two completely different cultures, and I hope you get to enjoy recetas I grew up with and stories from my experience as a queer Chicano.

Reviews

[Miss✧Pickypants ᓚᘏᗢ · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a gorgeously designed book that piqued my interest because I had little knowledge about Mexican baking and it did not disappoint, I learned a lot! I loved the book's vivid cover, vibrant color palette and that there were glorious full-page color photos for each and every recipe.

The book focuses primarily on desserts but does include a couple of non-dessert chapters for Antojitos (small bites) and Bebidos (drinks). I appreciated the liberal use of buttermilk in many of the dishes and will be trying my hand at the Pan de Elote, which is described as a fusion between pound cake and cornbread and sounds heavenly.

The recipes are extremely well written with thorough instructions. While the recipes are touted as easy-to-make on the back cover, the book seems geared towards cooks with some experience. Cooks with less experience should be able to follow the detailed instructions, and with some practice be able to master the more elaborate recipes.

[Leah · Rating 5 out of 5]

I made the cinnamon rolls & OMG!! They’re so simple & SO delicious!!!:)

[Laura Bone · Rating 5 out of 5]

Goodreads Giveaway

Won this in a Goodreads Giveaway. It's got some really cool recipes and great photography. I like how the author talks about the recipes and their importance in his life and/or Mexican/Chicano culture.

[Carrie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Frothy layouts but the recipes seem promising- I would like to make the berry hibiscus danishes.

[Diana Ramirez · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has easy to follow recipes that come out great. The aqua frescas are especially simple yet delicious! I am hoping to make many more recipes from this book.

[Syntha Green · Rating 5 out of 5]

I will never not want guava pastries. I love the addition of the lime to the cream cheese, looking forward to many many pans of brownies and guava strawberry bars

[Dree]

Made:
Dulce de Leche Brownies: I cheated and used a can of dulce de leche but my goodness these were delicious

[Todd · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't bake, and I don't cook, but I like looking through cookbooks from time to time. This one (and its earlier companion, Chicano Eats) came highly recommended from colleagues and the Harper LibraryLoveFest team.

The first thing that I noticed about the recipes and photos in this book was how many of them seemed much more accessible than in a lot of dessert cookbooks. Simply decorated sheet cakes, for example, rather than the usual artistic, towering, fondant-covered type. There's a major retro vibe design throughout, which makes me wonder how long this book will last before it feels weirdly dated, but the recipes themselves seem like they're timeless.

One review claimed that the ingredients are expensive, which I suppose is relative, but I found this to be quite the opposite. Almost every ingredient can be found in general supermarkets, and most are available at discount stores such as Aldi and Lidl.

Four stars, and even I think I could take on one of the simpler sheet cakes if I put my mind to it!

[Dara · Rating 3 out of 5]

So far I’ve only gotten the chance to make the vanilla conchas. It took me 5 1/2 hours. I don’t have a stand mixer, so I had to mix everything by hand, on top of the combined 3 hours (& 10 minutes) I had to wait for the dough to rise, on top of me having a life outside of these conchas & getting distracted. The conchas themselves were okay, but absolutely not worth it. 6.5/10

[Andrianna · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love cookbooks that include color photos for all recipes! This is a great overview of lots of different Mexican/Mexican-American treats - it's not completely comprehensive but it has a great selection. The descriptions are fun and informative, and the recipes are easy to follow.

[Leu · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not quite as approachable as Chicano Eats, I feel like this might be slightly intimidating for a beginning baker, but the recipes sound fantastic and are super nostalgic to what you get at the panaderias

[Queer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Chocoflan; hibiscus white chocolate cookies; strawberry guava shortbread bars

[Claire · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stunning photos and the recipes are well written but truthfully contains nothing I would be interested in making myself

[Courtney · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is 100% aesthetic. I haven't made anything from it yet but everything looks amazing!

[Sherrie · Rating 3 out of 5]

The recipes were interesting but ingredients were very expensive.

[Cecile · Rating 3 out of 5]

Looking for tamale recipes to cook with my child. I found one interesting, could not have thought that up myself recipe in a book with 'tamales' in the title.

[Audrey Barnard Mossberg · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful and colorful cookbook with a lot of variety in the recipes. I can’t wait to try some of them!

[Dray · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very nice compilation. Good solid recipes covering a range of baked goods, mostly sweet but some savory.

[Kate]

Only made the no-bake cookies and cream cheesecake bars (my oven is broken). They were a hit although I found them too rich! I really want to make the chocoflan which also appears in Chicano Eats.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

Made the choco flan which turned out good. some good recipes

[Deb · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lot of Mexican favorites with fun twists. The recipes are accessible if you have access to or are familiar with Mexican ingredients. I have items like hibiscus (jamaica) flowers and guava paste in my pantry, and am excited to see recipes that use them. There are a number of things in here I want to try. I did actually make the dulce de leche chocoflan from the recipe in the New York Times before I even knew of the cookbook. It was easy (except for some unmolding issues just before serving) and was devoured at the potluck I took it to. I want to try the guava strawberry bars next.

[Rosa · Rating 5 out of 5]

There's a few recipes where he omits water from the ingredient list, but it's on the directions (sort of annoying).
FYI, although you see a flan on the cover, there's no plan recipe on this book.

Despite the above 2 complaints, it's totally worth it.