Travel
This Buttery, Bejeweled Pastry Is the Best Thing I Ate in Mexico City
On garibaldis, the little Mexican cakes I can't get enough of.
As an upstairs neighbor, the United States—especially in states like Texas and California—has its own unique Mexican food culture, one that echoes the original cuisine in some ways. No party is complete without tortilla chips and salsa or guacamole, and we have a whole day of the week devoted to tacos (it’s so prevalent, even, that someone’s trademarked it).
This love for the foods of our southern neighbors, however, doesn't always extend to desserts. Sure, some of us in the U.S. are lucky enough to have a neighborhood paletería where we can sample an assortment of technicolor popsicles in flavors like sweet corn and mango with chile. Others may have access to Mexican bakeries that feature shelves laden with crackly conchas and other similar, lightly sweetened breads. Nevertheless, some of us may only be familiar with flan and churros (which are originally Spanish and found all throughout the Spanish-speaking world) and maybe tres leches cake (which is actually Nicaraguan).
But a trip to Mexico City in 2013 revealed the vast repertoire of cakes, pastries, ornate gelatins, and sweets that often take a back seat when talking about Mexican cuisine. A visit to any of Mexico City’s bakeries, such as El Globo, is like stepping into a pastry fantasy. There are towers of sweet indulgences scattered throughout the whole store. The set-up is similar to that of many Korean bakeries: You grab a tray and stroll through the shop, using tongs to grab your selections from island displays. There really is no gatekeeper between you and your goodies like in many American- and European-style bakeries.
One of the uniquely Mexican baked goods I kept coming across repeatedly called out to me with its distinctive appearance, until I finally gave in and tried one: Garibaldis are hard to miss in a bakery. They are essentially upside-down pound cake muffins that are glazed in apricot jam and then rolled in white nonpareil sprinkles. Sometimes they’ll include a dollop of chocolate ganache on top or a swirl of tangy cajeta, a type of caramel made from goat’s milk that is similar to dulce de leche.
These little cakes are said to have originated in El Globo bakery, which was founded by an Italian immigrant family in 1884. Due to the Mexican Revolution, the family (along with many other Europeans) fled Mexico and temporarily closed the bakery. Once things had quieted down, El Globo reopened in 1923.
Another Italian immigrant bakery, named Alberto Laposse, is credited as the inventor of the garibaldi cakes, naming them after the famous Italian revolutionary. Despite their Italian connection, these little muffins are now as much a fixture of local cuisine as tacos al pastor, and you can lose count of how many people you’ll see in the Mexican capital nibbling at these buttery treats along with their morning café con leche.
| 1 1/2 | cups all-purpose flour |
| 1 | pinch kosher salt |
| 1 | teaspoon baking powder |
| 1 | cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened |
| 1/2 | cup (about 1/2 package) cream cheese, softened |
| 1 1/2 | cups granulated sugar |
| 3 | large eggs |
| 1 | teaspoon pure vanilla extract |
| 1/2 | cup apricot jam |
| 1 | tablespoon warm water |
| 1/2 | cup white nonpareil sprinkles |
| 1 1/2 | cups all-purpose flour |
| 1 | pinch kosher salt |
| 1 | teaspoon baking powder |
| 1 | cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened |
| 1/2 | cup (about 1/2 package) cream cheese, softened |
| 1 1/2 | cups granulated sugar |
| 3 | large eggs |
| 1 | teaspoon pure vanilla extract |
| 1/2 | cup apricot jam |
| 1 | tablespoon warm water |
| 1/2 | cup white nonpareil sprinkles |
Written by: Carlos C. Olaechea
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10 Comments
My passion for baking has followed me for 50 years, I’m 59 now. My father took me and my brothers to learn how to bake since we were young. Years after, when I was almost 30 years old I moved to Paris, France, worked and studied new baking methods for two years, came back to Mexico in early 1990s and grew the company up to 94 stores and 1800 employees until we sold it in 1999. Fortunately I have kept the original Garibaldi recipe from my grand father Giovanni and worked with it for many years, actually I still do, let me explain. Four years after selling the company my passion for baking trigged in me to start a restaurant and bakery business named Cumpanio and Panio respectively, both founded in the beautiful town San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. It is in Panio where I still bake the famous Garibaldis based on the original recipe developed by my Grand father Giovanni, recipe that I would love to share with you in order to contribute the your interesting research and as a legacy from my dearest grand father.
Deeply grateful for your most kind article
Alberto Laposse
Whisk together: Butter 175 grams with all purpose sugar 160 grams until creamy consistence.
Add two eggs, 100 grams one by one, reduce speed at minimum until they are absorbed.
Separately add 1 tea spoon of vanilla extract into 90 grams of whole milk and 15 grams of trimoline or honey bee.
Sift 200g of all purpose flour with 2g of baking powder and 2 g of salt
At a minimum speed ad half the dry ingredients and half of liquid ingredients, let it integrate well and then add the remaking dry and liquid ingredients.
(Definitely Garibaldis original recipe does not include cream cheese)
After baking the cup cakes apply apricot marmalade diluted with syrup, brush it and then roll it in white small sugar drops, not too small, not too big as you want them to remain crispy and humid at the same time.
Buon appetito
Thank you, again, for sharing your family's history and the original recipe for garibaldis
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