Salvadoran Quesadilla (Sweet Cheese Pound Cake)

First things first: a Salvadoran quesadilla has nothing to do with a tortilla. It's a cake — a dense, buttery, faintly sweet pound cake made with rice flour, eggs, sour cream and a salty Central American cheese, baked in a sheet pan with sesame seeds on top and cut into squares. In El Salvador it's the bread of the afternoon coffee: every panadería sells it, every pupusería in Los Angeles and Houston and DC has a tray by the register, and every Salvadoran abroad has a relative who mails it in foil. It's the dessert that surprises Americans most — "it's a quesadilla?" — and the one they ask for the recipe for.

This is the version I bake at home in the US, with the cheeses you can actually find, the rice-flour question settled, and the reason so many homemade quesadillas come out dry (it's the baking time, not the recipe). For everything else on the site in English, see the recipes in English page.

What is a Salvadoran quesadilla?

A sweet cheese bread, somewhere between a pound cake and a cornbread in texture: tight, moist crumb, golden crust, a nutty crunch of sesame on top. The name comes from the cheese — queso — the way the Mexican one does, but the dishes are unrelated; the Salvadoran quesadilla is closer to a Spanish quesada. Traditionally it's made with rice flour (harina de arroz), which gives the characteristic fine, slightly sandy crumb, and with queso duro blando or queso seco, the salty aged white cheeses of the region, balanced by sugar and crema. You eat it at breakfast or at 4 pm with black coffee, never as a plated dessert.

Ingredients, US edition

• Rice flour: Goya and Bob's Red Mill rice flour are in the Hispanic or gluten-free aisle of most supermarkets; Asian markets sell it by the bag for a dollar. It's what makes the crumb right. All-purpose flour works — the cake is softer and more like a regular pound cake.
• The cheese is the flavor. Best: Salvadoran queso duro blando or queso seco (Olanchito, Petacones, La Chona — any Central American market, and most Latin markets in Salvadoran neighborhoods). Good substitutes, in order: cotija, grated Parmesan, or queso fresco with an extra pinch of salt. Parmesan is the one most Salvadoran-American families use now, and nobody complains.
• Crema: Salvadoran crema (Olanchito, Cacique crema salvadoreña) if you can; full-fat sour cream otherwise — it's very close.
• Sesame seeds on top are not decoration; they toast in the oven and are half the flavor.
• Butter — real, unsalted. A lot of it. This is not a light cake.

How to serve Salvadoran quesadilla

With coffee. That's the whole answer — black coffee or café con leche, mid-morning or at 4 pm, a square on a napkin. It's also breakfast (with a plato típico of beans, eggs and plantains it's the sweet thing on the side), and it shows up at velorios, baptisms and Christmas. It keeps beautifully, which is why it travels in foil across state lines. If you're setting out a Central American spread, put it next to a plate of Honduran pastelitos — sweet and savory, same neighborhood.

Frequently asked questions

Is a Salvadoran quesadilla the same as a Mexican quesadilla?

No. The Mexican one is a tortilla folded over melted cheese. The Salvadoran quesadilla is a sweet, dense cheese cake made with rice flour, eggs, sour cream and salty white cheese, topped with sesame seeds. They share only the word queso.

What cheese is used in Salvadoran quesadilla?

Traditionally queso duro blando or queso seco — salty, aged Central American white cheeses. In the US, cotija or Parmesan are the closest and most common substitutes; queso fresco works with extra salt.

Can I make it with all-purpose flour instead of rice flour?

Yes, 1:1. You'll get a softer, more typical pound-cake crumb. Rice flour gives the finer, slightly sandy texture of the bakery version.

Why is my quesadilla dry?

Over-baked. Pull it when the top is golden and a toothpick shows a few moist crumbs — it finishes cooking in the pan. Too little butter or low-fat sour cream will also dry it out.

Is it a dessert or a bread?

Both and neither — it's a pan dulce, a sweet bread eaten with coffee. It's sweeter than cornbread and saltier than cake.

How long does it keep?

3–4 days covered at room temperature, a week in the fridge, and it freezes well for 2 months in squares. Ten seconds in the microwave brings a cold square back.

One last thing

The first time someone who grew up in San Salvador tastes a square of this and goes quiet for a second, you'll know you got it right. Leave a rating below if you bake it, and tell me which cheese you used — the cotija-versus-Parmesan debate is real.