Popular Ecuadorian Desserts
Dulce de Leche, Helado de Salcedo, Helado de Paila and More
Ecuadorians love their sweets, and never skip dessert. Here are some of their favorites that you won't find anywhere else.
One traditional recipe is tres leches (“three milks”) cake, so named because it is made with whole milk, condensed milk and evaporated milk. The finished product is disturbingly moist – some would say soggy – but once you’re used to the texture, it’s quite tasty.
Helado de Paila
According to legend, helado de paila (“kettle ice cream”) was invented in the northern city of Ibarra about 100 years ago. Since then, it has spread all over the country, and is a uniquely Ecuadorian treat. It is made with concentrated, all natural fruit juice, ice, sugar and egg whites, all mixed together in a large copper kettle. The kettle is cooled by layers of chopped ice and straw on its stand. The ice cools the kettle, which allows the mixture to freeze slowly. As it freezes, the ice cream is stirred constantly until it thickens.
The end result is a strong, tasty ice cream that most closely resembles a sherbet. You’ll know some of the favorite flavors: mango, strawberry, chocolate – but others are more exotic fruits found only in the tropics, like taxo, mora (a sort of blackberry) and guanabana. You can get helado de paila in places where Ecuadorians tend to congregate, such as parks.
Helado de Salcedo
Salcedo is a town in central Ecuador known for its ice cream. This treat is made by filling in an empty mold or cup with layers of flavor, which are milk-based. For example, they’ll pour in a layer of strawberry and let it freeze before adding another layer. When they do the last layer, they put a stick in it for you to hold. The end result is a hunk of ice cream, roughly cone-shaped, with two to five layers of flavor and sold on a stick. They are very tasty: simply ask the vendor what the different layers of flavor are. Helados de Salcedo are difficult to find if you’re anywhere but Salcedo, but you can’t miss them if you’re there. They even have a statue of a multi-colored ice cream at the entrance to town!
Dulce de leche
Dulce de leche, which roughly translates to “sweet of milk” or “milk candy” is a dairy-based syrup similar in taste and consistency to caramel. Ecuadorians enjoy it as a treat spread on crackers or cookies. You can find it in small plastic tubs anywhere that sells fresh dairy produce. The best place to try it is probably the town of Cayambe, which is famous for its bizcochos, or biscuits, made of corn meal and salt and baked until golden brown. Ecuadorians never pass through Cayambe (which is about an hour and a half north of Quito) without stopping for a few bizcochos, which they dip in dulce de leche.
