Salvadoran Sweet Bread to Brighten Up Your Morning

None of her relatives had ever made a quesadilla, because it was so easy to buy back home. Its variations are almost endless, including ones based on rice flour, yuca flour or masa harina, for different calibrations of density and loft. Vasquez chose all-purpose flour as “the most accessible starting point,” she says. In her recipe, she beats egg yolks with sugar, then grates in queso duro blando and mixes it with milk and crema Salvadoreña, the thick top skimmed off fresh cream and left to turn gently sour. It’s akin in tang to crème fraîche, which may be used instead; in a pinch, Vasquez has even improvised with diluted yogurt. (She notes that some recipes call for up to five different kinds of dairy, and in El Salvador, bakers who are also cheesemakers may skip the crema and just add whey.)