Recipe
Yemitas
Cuban yemitas made with egg yolks and syrup, rolled in fine sugar. The sweet treat of childhood birthdays, in two versions.
- Preparation1 h 30 min
- Cooking30 min
- Total time2 h
- Servings25 yemitas (about 40 in the version most common in Cuba)
- DifficultyMedium
Yemitas are probably the sweet that most quickly transports us back to childhood. There was always a mother who brought them to school activities, they were made for birthdays, and on occasion, they were even served at saint's day parties.
Those yellow little balls, sometimes creamier and other times more sugary, amazed both adults and children. There are different yemitas recipes, and here we show you two ways to make them: the traditional or basic version, which is creamier, and the most common in Cuba, which is more sugary.
Ingredients
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Method
Syrup and mixture
- In a saucepan, place 1 cup of sugar, the water, the lemon juice, and the lemon peel. Stir and let it cook until a syrup forms.
CiberCuba - The syrup will be ready when, upon lifting the spoon, a continuous thread forms. You should obtain the equivalent of ¾ cup.
- Remove the lemon peel and let the syrup cool.
- Beat the egg yolks, add the vanilla, and incorporate the syrup little by little.
CiberCuba - Place the mixture in a saucepan over low heat and stir continuously with a spatula until you obtain a dense mixture. You will see that gradually its color changes to a more intense or toasted yellow.
- Remove the mixture from the heat and let it cool. From here, you can follow one of the two versions.
CiberCuba
Traditional or basic version
- With a spoon, pour portions of the mixture onto a greased plate or small baking dish and refrigerate.
- When the mixture is well chilled, form the little balls and roll them in fine sugar. This yields about 25 yemitas.
CiberCuba
Version most common in Cuba
- Add the remaining cup of sugar to the mixture and mix well.
- With a small spoon, take portions of the mixture, form little balls, and roll them in fine powdered sugar. This yields around 40 yemitas.
Decoration
- Decorate the yemitas with jam, ground cinnamon, or a touch of chocolate cream, or leave them natural so their sugary crust shines.
CiberCuba
