Name: The Duke’s Kiss (Beso del Duque)
Yield: Makes one 13-x-9-inch cake (10–12 servings)
Cuisine: Spanish
Ingredients: ¼ cup sesame seeds; 2 cups water; 2⅓ cups sugar; A strip about 2½ inches long from the outer layer of a canela stick; 1 teaspoon freshly ground canela; 2 2⅛- ounce boxes animal crackers; ¼ cup dark raisins; ¾ cup dry sherry (I use fino); 6 large eggs, separated; ¼ cup slivered blanched almonds

Preparation info

Makes one 13-x-9 inch cake (
10–12
servings)

Difficulty
Medium

Appears in

Zarela's Veracruz

By Zarela Martínez

Published 2001

About

Who was the duke, and whom was he kissing? Spanish and Mexican desserts tend to leave you scratching your head over the meaning of their titles, but you can guess that it was a very sweet kiss. Egg-based sweetmeats and cakes bathed in perfumed sugar syrups are part of the Moorish tradition that came from Spain to Latin America and still exists in Mexico to some extent. Beso del duque is one of the most unusual members of the large tribe. The basic cake reminds me a little of a