Make Your Own Gula Melaka Quesillo At Home This Hari Raya Puasa

What is quesillo?

Think the Venezuelan version of the more ubiquitous French flan or caramel pudding, which got its name (quesillo means “little cheese” in Spanish) because of the air bubbles that might form during the cooking process, creating tiny holes in the custard that resemble Swiss cheese. These holes result from the use of whole eggs rather than just egg yolks, which are used in flan. We found that adding cream cheese, blitzing the batter in a food processor till smooth, and pouring it into the baking tin through a fine sieve, created a silky smooth pudding with no air bubbles.

If you follow our recipe instructions to the letter, you should have no problems unmoulding the quesillo as the liquid caramel prevents the custard from sticking. It’s best to unmould it when the custard has had time to cool a little and set (about 20 minutes after it comes out of the oven), which prevents it from breaking as it falls onto the plate. 

Warm quesillo is wobblier than cold quesillo, so serve it according to your personal preference. The custard firms up a little as it cools, which makes it feel richer in the mouth. The gula Melaka caramel, however, remains delightfully molten and will cascade satisfyingly down the sides of the pudding to create a smoky, honeyed sauce. 

How is quesillo different from flan?

Flan is sweetened and enriched with sugar and milk, while quesillo calls for condensed milk rather than sugar, so it is richer than flan. Today’s viral quesillos also call for cream cheese, which, as far as we can tell, isn’t part of traditional recipes.

Is it a dessert that’ll make you feel jelak?

All that dairy and eggs sound like it’ll make for a heavy dessert, but this quesillo is still silky and light, if denser than a flan thanks to the use of cream cheese, which you’ll barely taste. Because it’s firmer, quesillo is kinder to the noob cook as there is less risk of breaking when you unmould it. If we’re being honest, we prefer a traditional creme caramel over quesillo for its lightness. However, tastewise, there isn’t a big difference. 

In the spirit of Ramadan, we swapped gula Melaka for sugar in the caramel to give it a deeper, local flavour. We loved that the gula Melaka lent the caramel a hint of smokiness and a more complex flavour.

GULA MELAKA QUESILLO

Makes one 7 or 8-inch pudding; serves 8 -12 pax

Ingredients:

• 100g gula Melaka
• 4 tbsp water
• 4 eggs
• 250g cream cheese, softened at room temperature
• 390g (1 tin) evaporated milk
• 200g condensed milk
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• ½ tsp fine salt

Method:

1.    Melt gula Melaka in a saucepan over medium heat to form a syrup. Simmer for 2 mins and pour through a fine meshed sieve into an 8-inch (7-inch if you want a taller custard) baking tin or heatproof dish.

2.   Place a steaming tray in a wok or pot large enough to fit your baking tin. Add water and bring to a simmer over medium heat. 

3.  Meanwhile, add eggs, cream cheese, evaporated milk, condensed milk, vanilla and salt into a blender and blitz till smooth.

4.    Pour mixture through a fine sieve into the baking tin and steam for 55 mins. Use your fingertips or back of a spoon and gently tap the surface of the quesillo to check if it’s done. It should spring back slightly. 

5.    Remove from the steamer, allow to cool for 20 minutes, then place a serving plate over the top of the baking tin. Carefully overturn the tin onto the plate, then remove tin. Serve quesillo immediately. Refrigerate leftovers.

Photos: Dillon Tan