No passport is required to discover the sweet, rich world of Mexican desserts
Everyone knows Mexico’s savory dishes. Tacos, guacamole, burritos, enchiladas and others are firmly entrenched in the American culinary lexicon. Mexican cakes and pastries, however, remain lesser known, left to discover. Fortunately, Central Oregon’s Mexican bakeries are full of crunchy, flaky, creamy and sweet postres — desserts that transport your palate to a delicious place south of the border. At each of these bakeries, display cases teem with treats — rich, caramel custard and chocolate flan; elaborately decorated cakes, rows of cookies covered in sprinkles or colored pink-and-green to resemble watermelon slices and more. Embark on a sweet journey in Bend’s backyard. No suitcase or plane ticket needed.
Milhojas Thousand-Layer Cake
Colima Market, Bend & Chavez Market, Redmond
Defined by its countless paper-thin layers of flaky pastry with a creamy filling, at Colima Market, milhojas is made with a lemon cream-cheese filling, topped with whipped cream and adorned with intricate flower-shaped mosaics of sliced strawberries, blueberries, kiwi and other fruit. The pastry, with its satisfying crunch and rich cream, is an irresistible combination of flavor and texture, said Yamely Chávez Kennedy, CEO of the family-run market and bakery.
Popular for birthdays and other celebrations in Hispanic communities, the delectable pastry—not unlike a mille-feuille or Napoleon—is one that many Americans likely haven’t tasted, Chavez Kennedy said. It’s sold by the slice, which makes it easy to try, or order a full, rectangular sheet cake, decorated for birthdays or other celebrations.
During the Christmas holiday, tradition reigns with treats such as Rosca de Reyes, or three king’s bread, which celebrates the biblical story of the three kings who followed a star to find the newborn Jesus and bring him gifts. Baked within the sweet, wreath-shaped bread is a little plastic baby figurine symbolizing the Messiah. The desserts are made in the Colima Market bakery and are sold there and at their second location, Chavez Market, Redmond.
Colima Market
228 NW Greenwood Ave., Bend
Chavez Market
2498 S Hwy 97, Redmond
Tres Leches Cake
Panadería y Pastelería El Moy, Bend
This light and airy sponge cake is moist and delicious because it’s soaked overnight in a combination of three milks, or tres leches: evaporated milk, condensed milk and whole milk. It’s topped with piped rows of sweet whipped cream, drizzled with chocolate sauce and crowned with a cherry. Baking it, allowing it to cool, adding the combined milks and decorating it is a 12-hour process, said Alejandra Reyes, co-owner of Panadería y Pastelería El Moy. The result is dessert that will captivate even those who don’t typically indulge in sweets.
As if this tempting confection couldn’t get any better, they make a mocha version too.
Tres leches cake helped Reyes and co-owner Moyses Maldonado start the Bend business, which had its grand opening in August. Reyes had been going door-to-door, selling the cakes and brought a tray of them to the restaurant Hola! The meeting led to inclusion in the first Central Oregon Taco Fest in May, which drew attention to the new endeavor, Reyes said. Stop in for an individual portion or order a full cake to be enjoyed tres times more than expected.
Panadería y Pastelería El Moy
1375 NE 2nd St., Bend
Conchas
La Frontera Bakery, Redmond
This colorful, soft and brioche-like sweet bread is made by scoring the top of the dough so that when baked, it opens into a seashell-shaped creation, hence the name. Concha means shell. At La Frontera Bakery, owner Andoreni Luna Hernandez offers pink, yellow, white and brown versions, perfect with coffee for breakfast or alongside hot chocolate after a day outside in the snow.
At the family-run La Frontera, as well as at each of these bakeries, conchas are sold alongside Mexican cookies and pastries adorned with colorful sprinkles, or puffy, softball-size pillows of brioche rolled in sugar and filled with luscious, fluffy whipped Bavarian cream.
La Frontera Bakery
1604 S Hwy 97, Redmond
