When my son and his girlfriend took a trip to Monterrey, Mexico, they brought me the ultimate nostalgia gift: a block of ate de membrillo. I remember my father and I buying this in Mexico and literally splitting the entire block between him and I in one sitting. So naturally, my immediate instinct was to tear into it but I fought my demons. Instead, I decided to test the limits of my sourdough starter and turn it into a sweet, gooey pastry.
Before we dive into the flour and chaos, what on earth is ate de membrillo? If you did not grow up eating it, membrillo is a dense, sweet paste made from the quince fruit. Quince is a tart fruit that looks like a lumpy yellow pear and has the consistency of dried cement so if you come across one in the wild, don’t try to bite it. However, when you slow-cook it with sugar, it transforms into a rich, ruby-red block that you can slice. It is sweet, fruity, and popular across Mexico, South America, and Spain, where people usually pair it with salty cheese. Today, we are stuffing it into sourdough with sweet cream cheese (Neufchatel to keep it lower in fat and calories), because why not? Because this paste is high in sugar content, I tweaked the recipe to be more friendly on the waistline.
Ingredients
- 315 grams water
- 115 grams active sourdough starter (fed the night before)
- 500 grams bread flour
- 11 grams salt
- 2 blocks Neufchatel cream cheese (softened)
- 1/2 cup monk fruit sweetener
- 1 block ate de membrillo (400 grams) cut into small cubes
Step 1: Mixing the Base Dough
Start by feeding your sourdough starter the night before so it is bubbly and ready to get to work in the morning. Measure your water into a stand mixer bowl, pour in the active starter, and mix until it looks nice and frothy. Dump in the flour and salt, then let the dough hook do the heavy lifting for about five minutes. Here’s a quick pro-tip: spray your dough hook with non-stick cooking spray or add some olive oil to it to prevent the dough from turning into an impossible mess to clean up after. Once everything comes together into a cohesive ball, transfer the sticky dough into a lightly greased container so it can relax. I personally use a large Tupperware that’s perfect for sourdough.
Step 2: Building Structure and Proofing
Give the dough a thirty-minute break on the countertop. You can also set it somewhere the sunlight will hit it to speed up the process and get you a fluffier dough. After that brief rest, perform one set of stretch and folds followed by a set of coil folds to build up the gluten structure. Cover the container and let it proof on the counter until it doubles in size. We’re not going for a typical sourdough bake here so we won’t be needing multiple sets of stretch and folds over a two hour period. We’re going for cinnamon role-like pastries so one set will be fine. You want to see plenty of big, happy air bubbles forming throughout the dough before moving on to the fun part.
Step 3: Prepping the Sweet Filling
While your dough is rising on the counter, set two blocks of Neufchatel cream cheese out so they soften completely. I chose this instead of the typical cream cheese block because Neufchatel contains roughly one third less fat and calories than cream cheese. Whip the softened cheese in your stand mixer with the monk fruit sweetener until the mixture is smooth and creamy. Next, chop your block of ate de membrillo into small, bite-sized cubes. Try your absolute best not to eat half the block while slicing it.
Step 4: Lamination and Embracing the Chaos
Add a sprinkle of flour onto a clean and disinfected countertop and pour your dough onto the counter. Gently stretch your proofed dough flat until you have a large rectangle. Avoid using a rolling pin and tearing the dough. Mine tore in one area but came out fine. Spread the sweet cream cheese mixture across the dough while trying to get as close to the left and right edges as possible. Once this is done scatter your membrillo cubes evenly over top. Now comes the moment of truth: rolling it up like a cinnamon roll. I used a dough scraper that I wet to avoid it getting to sticky. If your dough tears and collapses into a structural mess, don’t panic. Simply cut the messy mass into chaotic, bite-sized chunks and arrange them in a lightly greased glass baking dish. Cover them and let them proof for one hour.
Step 5: Baking to Golden Perfection
Pop the uncovered baking dish into a preheated 400°F oven for about thirty minutes. You will know it is ready when the dough is baked through, golden brown on top, and the sweet cream cheese filling is bubbling around the red membrillo. Let it cool just enough so you do not burn your mouth. Grab an iced cold brew coffee (feel free to use my recipe), pull off a warm piece (or five), and enjoy the magical balance of sourdough tang and fruit sweetness.
Let me know how this comes out and tag me on social media. I’d love to see your creation. If you have any ideas you’d like to see me create, let me know in the comments. Buen provecho!