This Sweet Cheese Bread Is A Better Version Of A Quesadilla

The following recipe and excerpt for a quesadilla or sweet cheese bread are from “Setting a Place for Us: Recipes and Stories of Displacement, Resilience, and Community“ by Hawa Hassan. It’s available for purchase at Amazon.

This unique Salvadoran cake-bread hybrid is both sweet and savory and is eaten at breakfast, as a snack, or as a light dessert. It’s traditionally made with queso duro blando, a crumbly, semihard cow’s milk cheese, which can be found in the States only in neighborhoods with large Salvadoran communities. Queso Cotija or Parmesan makes a worthy substitute.

Quesadilla (Sweet Cheese Bread)

Difficulty:BeginnerPrep time: 15 minutesCook time: 40 minutesTotal time:1 hour 5 minutesServings:4 servings

Ingredients

• 1 cup unsalted butter, plus melted butter for the baking dish
• 1 1/2 cups rice flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 4 large eggs, separated
• 1 cup sugar, plus more for sprinkling
• 3/4 cup crema or sour cream
• 1/4 cup whole milk
• 4 ounces queso duro blando, queso Cotija, or Parmesan cheese, grated on the fine holes of a box grater
• 2 tablespoons sesame seeds

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Brush the bottom and sides of a 9 by 13-inch baking dish with butter.
2. In a small bowl, stir together the rice flour and baking powder. In a medium bowl, using an electric mixer, beat the egg whites on medium speed until foamy. With the mixer running, add 1/2 cup of the sugar in a slow, steady stream and beat until incorporated. Increase the speed to high and beat until the egg whites form soft peaks, 1 to 2 minutes. Set aside.
3. In a large bowl, using the electric mixer, beat together the remaining ½ cup sugar and the butter on medium speed until creamy. Add the egg yolks, crema, and milk, and beat just until blended. Then add the rice flour mixture and the cheese, and again beat just until fully incorporated. Using a rubber spatula, gently fold in the egg whites in two additions, mixing just until no white streaks remain and being careful to keep the batter light.
4. Pour the batter into the prepared baking dish. Sprinkle the top evenly with the sesame seeds and a little more sugar. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes. Let cool completely on a wire rack. Cut into squares to serve.

• Dinner
• Dinner Recipes