Bombas de Anís Yucatecas

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Stand mixer with whisk attachment, or a hand mixer and a deep bowl
• •Small cast iron comal for toasting the anís
• •Molcajete or clean spice grinder
• •Two heavy sheet pans lined with parchment paper
• •Piping bag with 1/2-inch round tip
• •Microplane or fine rasp for the lime zest
• •Glass jar or metal galleta tin with a tight lid for storage

Instructions

1. 1

   Prepare the oven and trays

   Heat the oven to 200°F (95°C). This is not baking. This is drying. The bombas need a low, patient oven that pulls the moisture out without coloring the meringue. Line two heavy sheet pans with parchment paper. In Mérida the dulcerías use rejillas, fine wire racks set over the trays, but parchment works in a home kitchen.

   If your oven runs hot, prop the door open a finger's width with a wooden spoon. The bombas should stay snow-white. The moment they turn beige, the heat is wrong.
2. 2

   Toast and grind the anís

   Heat a dry comal or small skillet over medium-low. Add the 2 teaspoons of anís seeds and toast for 60 to 90 seconds, moving the pan constantly, until the kitchen smells unmistakably of licorice and the seeds darken half a shade. Tip them onto a plate to cool. Grind to a fine powder in a molcajete or a clean spice grinder. This is the flavor of the dulce. Skip the toasting and the anís stays flat and grassy.

3. 3

   Start the whites

   Wipe the bowl of a stand mixer and the whisk attachment with a paper towel dampened in vinegar or lime juice. Any trace of fat will keep the whites from climbing. Add the egg whites, cream of tartar, and salt. Beat on medium speed until soft, foamy peaks form, about three minutes. The foam should hold a soft curl when you lift the whisk.

4. 4

   Build the meringue

   With the mixer running on medium-high, rain the sugar in one tablespoon at a time. Take your time. Two full minutes for the whole cup. Rushing the sugar gives you a meringue that weeps in the oven and collapses on the tray. Once all the sugar is in, raise to high and beat for another five to seven minutes, until the meringue is glossy, stiff, and holds a sharp peak that does not droop. Rub a little between your fingers. If it feels gritty, keep beating. The sugar has to dissolve completely.

5. 5

   Fold in the anís

   Sprinkle the ground anís and the lime zest over the meringue. With a clean rubber spatula, fold gently in eight or ten strokes. No more. You want the anís evenly distributed without knocking the air out. The meringue should still hold its peaks. Pretty bombas come from light hands.

   The lime zest is not for citrus flavor. It brightens the anís and cuts the sweetness. In Yucatán the señoras grate it with a fine rasp directly into the bowl. A little goes a long way.
6. 6

   Pipe the bombas

   Scoop the meringue into a piping bag fitted with a 1/2-inch round tip. Pipe small mounds about the size of a hazelnut onto the parchment, spaced an inch apart. They will not spread. Press the tip down, squeeze, then lift sharply to leave a small peak on top. Scatter the reserved whole anís seeds across the tops, just a few seeds per bomba. If you do not have a piping bag, two small spoons work. The shape will be rougher, more abuela than dulcería, and that is fine.

7. 7

   Dry in a low oven

   Place both trays in the oven. Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes, rotating the trays once at the halfway mark. The bombas are ready when they lift off the parchment clean and feel dry and weightless. Crack one open. The inside should be a tight, crisp foam. If the center is sticky or chewy, give them another 15 minutes. When they are done, turn off the oven and leave the trays inside with the door cracked for another 30 minutes. This final rest finishes drying the centers and is the difference between a bomba that holds in the tin and one that goes soft by Wednesday.

8. 8

   Store like a Yucatecan

   Cool the bombas completely on the trays. Dust lightly with powdered sugar if you like, though the dulcerías in Mérida often leave them plain so the anís seeds stay visible on top. Store in a clean glass jar or a metal galleta tin with a tight lid. They keep two weeks if the humidity behaves. Yucatán in August is another matter. Así se hace y punto.

Chef Tips

• •Use fresh eggs but separate them cold and bring the whites to room temperature in the bowl. Cold whites whip into a tighter, less stable foam. Room temperature whites build the structure a bomba needs.
• •Whole anís seed, not anise extract, not star anise. Star anise is a different plant from a different continent and the flavor is wrong. Buy whole anís verde at a Mexican mercado or a serious spice shop. Pre-ground anís has lost half its aroma before it ever reached the jar.
• •Humidity is the enemy. If your kitchen is muggy, the bombas will weep and stick to the parchment. Make these on a dry day. In Mérida the dulceras work in the early morning before the Caribbean humidity climbs. Imitate that.
• •If your first batch goes beige, your oven is too hot. A proper bomba is bone-white, almost translucent, with the dark fleck of toasted anís visible inside. Color is a sign that the sugar started to caramelize, which means the texture is going to be chewy instead of crisp.

Advance Preparation

• •Bombas de anís keep two weeks in a sealed tin in a dry pantry. They actually improve after one day, as the anís perfume settles into the meringue.
• •The anís can be toasted and ground up to one week ahead. Store the ground spice in a small sealed jar away from light. Toast fresh if you can; the aroma fades.
• •Do not try to make these on a humid day and refrigerate them to compensate. The refrigerator is the worst place for meringue. The cold air carries moisture that will dissolve the sugar surface and turn the bombas sticky.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 6g)