• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

The Other Side of the Tortilla

  • HOME
  • ABOUT
    • CONTACT ME
    • FAQ
    • PRESS
    • PRIVACY POLICY
    • MEDIA KIT
    • ADVERTISE
  • RESOURCES
    • BOOKS
    • SHOP
    • INGREDIENTS
    • KITCHEN TOOLS
    • Thanksgiving
    • Mexican Christmas Traditions
  • RECIPES
You are here: Home / Recipe / Pan dulce / GARIBALDI

GARIBALDI

36 · Jan 21, 2011 · 39 Comments

305 shares
  • Share
  • Tweet

By now, you all know about my deeply rooted love for pan dulce, especially for a particular chochito-covered panque from El Globo called el garibaldi. In fact, El Globo is credited as the original maker of garibaldi, a little pound cake bathed in apricot jam and covered in white nonpareils. Many bakeries in Mexico try to emulate these little magical cakes, but nobody makes them quite like El Globo.

During our trips to Mexico City, we’ve always purchased them fresh to eat for breakfast. With a little café con leche, I can’t imagine a better way to start a day. On one occasion, we carefully wrapped a few to bring home with us to Chicago, but sadly they got slightly smashed in our carry-on luggage and from then on, we decided they didn’t travel well. And after eating garibaldi on countless visits to Mexico City, I returned from our most recent trip with a serious mission: to spend time in the test kitchen trying to recreate them so I wouldn’t have to wait until my next trip to Mexico to eat them. Looking at my calendar, five months is a long time – too long, if you ask me – to deny myself one of my favorite sweet treats.

There were two challenges I recognized immediately when I sat down to start developing this recipe. First, the pound cake had to be dense and flavorful but not too heavy. To solve this dilemma, I called in the big guns: my mom. She searched through her recipe drawer for a family recipe we were confident would work. (Thanks, Mom, and Grandma Audrey; I only made a few changes to the recipe.) And second, I knew the nonpareils were not going to be identical to the ones I could buy in Mexico, let alone the ones used at El Globo. Little did I know, finding nonpareils at all would be a challenge. I visited three grocery stores – including my usual go-to place in Pilsen, the Mexican neighborhood where I shop most often – and still no nonpareils in sight.

In Spanish, they’re called grageas, chochos or chochitos. But no matter what I asked for, I still wasn’t having any luck finding what I wanted. Finally after a suggestion from a few friends, I tried a craft store that carried Wilton cake decorating supplies and lo and behold, they had them. I bought two 3-ounce bottles and crossed my fingers that they’d do.

Once I finished making them, I sent samples home with three friends who grew up in Mexico and were familiar with garibaldi. José says they’re an amazing copy but that the chochitos were a little too crunchy (which we found lessened after 24 hours of softening when hydrated by the jam); of the other three, I only got one small suggestion but the overall verdict was that everybody loved them and wanted to know when I was making more.

I’m so excited I can finally have garibaldi at home and I hope you’ll try making these, as they’re a favorite of ours and there’s nothing I love more than introducing someone to a new favorite.

RECETA:

GARIBALDI

*This recipe requires a stand mixer. A silicone cupcake pan will also make this recipe easier, but is optional.

For the panque (pound cake):

  • 2 sticks butter, softened
  • 4 ounces of whipped cream cheese
  • 1 1/2 cups granulated cane sugar
  • 3 large eggs
  • 3/4 tsp vanilla extract
  • A pinch of salt
  • 1 1/2 cups all-purpose unbleached flour
  • 2 cups water (keep separate from the recipe)

Preheat the oven to 300ºF.

Beat the softened butter & cream cheese on low speed until creamy and fluffy. Gradually add the sugar, beating 5-7 minutes or until sugar is incorporated and soft peaks form. Add eggs one at a time and blend just until the yolk disappears. Add vanilla and mix well to incorporate. Combine flour and salt and gradually add to butter mixture, continually beating at low speed until blended after each addition. Once blended, beat batter on a low or medium-low speed for a few minutes until it looks fluffy with soft peaks.

Pour batter into greased silicone cupcake pan. (You can also use Pam to grease the pan if preferred – they make one that has flour in it and is specifically for baking). Do not fill each well more than half to three-quarters full or they’ll spill over during the baking process and you’ll have to trim them. Place the silicone cupcake pan on a baking sheet for stability. With an ovenproof 2-cup measuring cup (such as Pyrex glass), fill the measuring cup with 2 cups water and place in the oven with the cupcake pan. Bake at 300ºF at 45 minutes to one hour (the time will depend on your oven) or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Once the pound cakes are mostly cooled but still warm, remove from the silicone mold and place upside down on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

For the glaze and adornments:

  • 1/2 cup apricot or seedless raspberry jam or preserves
  • 1 tablespoon of warm water to dilute the jam
  • 3-4 ounces of white nonpareils (grageas blancas)

Heat the jam in a small saucepan or butter warmer (or at 20-second intervals in the microwave) until it is warm and more of a liquid consistency. Dilute with a tablespoon of warm water and mix well.

Using a pastry brush or a spoon, coat the pound cakes with two applications of the jam and allow it to soak in to the cake for about five minutes for each application. It should soak about 1/8 of an inch into the cake. After the second application has soaked in, pour the nonpareils into a dish at least 2 inches deep or tupperware and roll each cake until they are completely covered in the nonpareils. They should just be sticky enough to allow the nonpareils to stick to the cake, but you shouldn’t have any jam oozing. If they ooze, the cake needs to sit longer while the jam soaks in more.

These will keep for about 4 days and should be stored on a cake plate with a dome top or in an airtight container. Note: the apricot (chabacano) are the traditional flavor; they also sell the raspberry (frambuesa) but they have not been around as long. Feel free to use whichever flavor jam you prefer.

Yields 12 garibaldi. Goes great served with a little café, chocolate caliente, or an atole.

  • Have you had garibaldi? What’s your favorite way to eat them? Let us know how they turn out if you make them at home!
36

Algo dulce, Breakfast and Brunch, Dessert, Mexico City, Pan dulce, Recipe El Globo, garibaldi, pan dulce, stand mixer

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. heidi leon says

    January 21, 2011 at 4:54 PM

    que delicia!, I´m so happy you decide to share this outstanding recipe with us!.

    Reply
    • Maura Hernandez says

      January 22, 2011 at 10:08 AM

      Heidi, I hope you will make these! I know how much you love them. If you can’t find the chochitos, let me know. I have a friend in your part of the world in Singapore who might be able to help find them.

      Reply
  2. Paula says

    January 21, 2011 at 10:56 PM

    Maura you have a talent to recreate the food that feeds our souls. Gracias!

    Reply
    • Maura Hernandez says

      January 22, 2011 at 10:12 AM

      Pau, so glad you stopped by and saw this recipe! There are so many things we love from Mexico that we just can’t get in the States, but little by little I’m trying to recreate recipes both so that we can enjoy them in between trips and so that someday our kids can grow up eating the things we love so much. We have so many friends who have come to the U.S. from Mexico who really miss things from home and it fills my heart to be able to recreate some of these recipes that remind us all of our México lindo y querido!

      Reply
  3. Juanofwords says

    January 22, 2011 at 6:27 PM

    RT @MauraHernandez: The ultimate pan dulce recipe: garibaldi! Now being served on The Other Side of The Tortilla ›› https://theothersideofthetortilla.com/201… …

    Reply
  4. Carrie at TikiTikiBlog! says

    January 24, 2011 at 9:28 AM

    I want you to take me to Mexico!

    Reply
    • Maura Hernandez says

      February 4, 2011 at 7:11 PM

      Carrie, I think we should have a ladies only vacation! No husbands, no kids. I will start trying to convince Ana 🙂

      Reply
  5. Silvia says

    January 28, 2011 at 9:17 PM

    I love el Globo!!! And you are going to kill me but I never had a garibaldi in my life!! However after reading your recipe I want to try them!!! LOL

    Reply
  6. Marcella says

    February 3, 2011 at 4:29 PM

    wow!! every time I go and visit my family in Mexico, I have to have one the first day I arrive!! and to my delightful surprise, they have created more flavors (I was there this past December)!!! as I was craving one in the worst way today, I frantically tried to see if I could somehow get them delivered or buy them in the USA, no luck! 🙁 and then I came across your receta and wow, it blew me away, thank you so much for doing the work and sharing it with us!! I can’t wait to go home and work on it this weekend, they are so worth it!! you have a new fan and twitter follower, thank you thank you thank you!

    Reply
  7. Daniela says

    April 5, 2011 at 2:56 PM

    Gracias, gracias, gracias!! You have no idea how much I’m craving a garibaldi right about now! I live in Mexico but the closest el globo bakery is about 1,000 miles away from me… so I will definitely try your recipe this weekend! Saludos!

    Reply
    • Maura Hernandez says

      April 6, 2011 at 12:58 PM

      Daniela, so happy that you found me then! Enjoy your homemade garibaldi and please let me know how they turn out! I would love if you’d post a photo to the facebook fan page wall to show everyone when you make them! 🙂

      Reply
  8. MC says

    September 7, 2011 at 8:27 AM

    Where can I buy the chochitos?

    Reply
    • Maura Hernandez says

      September 7, 2011 at 6:55 PM

      It depends where you live… but you can always order them online from baking supply makers. They’re often called nonpareils.

      Reply
  9. elisabeth says

    October 17, 2011 at 6:26 PM

    why are these cupcakes called Garibaldi?

    Reply
  10. ANONYMOUS says

    October 27, 2011 at 10:42 PM

    Amazing!! is the original el Globo recipe?

    Reply
  11. Nangel says

    December 5, 2011 at 12:28 PM

    Que delicia!!! El Globo deberia tener una sucursal en cada ciudad del mundo… Gracias!

    Reply
  12. GarEli says

    December 28, 2011 at 7:45 PM

    Hola!! me ha encantado tu receta,la pondré en práctica y te aviso, GRACIAS por compartirla.
    Tengo solo una gran duda…. en qué ayuda las dos tazas de agia en el horno?

    Besos y Bendiciones!

    Reply
  13. Kristina says

    June 24, 2012 at 8:32 AM

    Of the pastries my in-laws bring back from El Globo, these are my favorite! Do you know what the differences are in the healthy version that they make?
    I used your recipe to make these the other day and they turned out great. I think they get better the longer they sit around. I particularly like the little bite-size ones I made with a mini-cupcake pan. I ran out of nonpareils about halfway through, so I coated the rest of them in poppy seeds. They are terrific too! The taste reminded me a bit of my eastern European grandmother’s poppy seed strudels. The little black cakes are a nice contrast to the white ones.

    Reply
  14. Elena Guerrero says

    July 12, 2012 at 10:27 AM

    Thank you soo much for the recipe…I love the garibaldis every time we go to Mexico we always make it a tradition to stop at El Globo and bring some home 🙂

    Reply
  15. Ana Hillman says

    July 12, 2012 at 5:00 PM

    OMG! i DREAM about garibaldis from el globo! like you, my grandma travels with them often, bringing them to us from mexico city whenever she can.. usually they’re smushed, but they’re equally as delicious! i will try this recipe ASAP! THANK YOU!

    Reply
  16. dany says

    August 2, 2012 at 2:06 PM

    OMG!! I am sooo happy that I came across your blog!! I LOVE El Globo’s garibaldis… have been eating them for years. I don’t live in Mexico, but go there every few years, and now that my dad lives there he packs them up and brings some to me when he visits. I can’t wait to try this recipe!!!

    Reply
  17. Tati says

    August 5, 2012 at 5:07 AM

    Hi there, I recently made the Garibaldis following your recipe and they came out great. Thank you very much for sharing your tips and recipes.

    Reply
  18. Gaby says

    August 11, 2012 at 8:52 PM

    Well my question is, how many garibaldis can you make with this recipe??

    Reply
    • Maura Hernandez says

      September 13, 2012 at 8:21 AM

      Hi Gaby, thanks for your question. Near the bottom of the post, it says that the recipe yields (or makes) 12 garibaldi (using a normal-sized cupcake pan).

      Reply
  19. Chris says

    April 7, 2015 at 9:49 PM

    These are incredibly delicious! Our bakery in El Paso (El Prado Bakery) is currently trying to create these “pieces of heaven” but want to put them out once they are completely authentic. Love the site btw!

    Reply
  20. Cindy says

    May 12, 2016 at 4:31 PM

    I am so excited to try this recipe! I always ask my aunts to bring these lovely pancitos from Mexico when they visit. I’ve looked over a lot of recipes and they mostly use baking powder. Is this recipe correct without it? Just making sure they will turn out right. Thank you!

    Reply
    • Maura Wall Hernandez says

      May 13, 2016 at 12:25 PM

      Hi Cindy, yes it’s correct there is no baking powder in this recipe. It’s based off a cream cheese pound cake recipe that’s been in my family for ages. The cakes should come out dense due to the cream cheese and moist due to the water that you put in the oven to keep them from drying out.

      Reply
  21. Annie says

    December 21, 2016 at 4:42 AM

    I love these cakes. Whenever I’m in Mexico City I grab as many as I can

    does anyone know how to make the chocolate version ?

    Reply
    • Maura Wall Hernandez says

      January 1, 2017 at 10:01 AM

      Annie, I don’t have a chocolate version but I will work on one this year!

      Reply
      • anne says

        January 3, 2017 at 5:19 AM

        After I had my batter complete, I tried mixing in 1/2 cup cocoa powder and they came out very good.

        Reply
  22. annie says

    December 21, 2016 at 4:50 AM

    how do you make the chocolate version ?

    Reply
  23. Nancy Carlson says

    August 17, 2019 at 11:46 AM

    Ok, so, I just made these and they are fabulous tasting and super adorable! Some things I did wrong or figured out for next time,
    I was about to put the batter in the pan and noticed I forgot the sugar! I dumped it in, whizzed it a couple times and it worked fine!
    This makes more than a 12 cup regular muffin pan holds. I was able to get 8 mini ones besides.
    I mixed strawberry and apricot jam because I didn’t have enough of either. That’s fine too.
    I much prefer the mini ones and will do those next time, super cute and a nice 2 bite treat.
    You probably need at least 3/4 cup jam to have enough to coat twice, and this is important step because the cakes need to be kinda soaked with delicious jam.
    They cooked at 30 minutes in 300 degree convection oven.
    A little fussy but so worth it!

    Reply
  24. Ariadne says

    September 8, 2019 at 3:49 PM

    Can I freeze these fellows before the jam step, thaw/rewarm them later, and put the jam on then?

    Reply
    • Maura Wall Hernandez says

      December 16, 2019 at 4:06 PM

      Ariadne, I’ve never frozen them before. However, my guess is that they would not freeze well given the moisture and density; upon thawing, they would likely retain too much moisture and it would change the consistency of the cake. Best of luck!

      Reply
  25. Daniela Martinez says

    December 23, 2019 at 10:39 AM

    Hi Maura! My family is OBSESSED with garibaldis… So I am thrilled to have come across your recipe, and cannot wait to try it for my mom’s birthday! I realize the post is from several years ago, but we’ve managed to sequester garibaldis directly from Mexico a couple times a year… But not recently, so I figured I’d resort to the internet.
    On a side note- El Globo will package your garibaldis for travel if you ask them. They wrap them individually and fit them snugly in a box and tie it with string to make it easy to carry, so you can just bring the boxes on the plane or even fit the box in your carryon. We do this every time… we bring back a few dozen… and they freeze well! I’m telling you… we are obsessed!
    Thank you for this!

    Reply
  26. Michelle says

    October 12, 2020 at 2:54 PM

    Thank you for this recipe!!! This was my absolute favorite pan dulce growing up, and continues to be so. I’ve noticed that El Globo has a rosca Garibaldi and I’m wondering if you have any suggestions on the cooking time if I were to cook this recipe in a Bundt cake pan?

    Reply
    • Maura Wall Hernandez says

      October 19, 2020 at 4:41 PM

      Hi Michelle, I have seen (and eaten) the rosca Garibaldi from El Globo. But I have never done this recipe in a Bundt pan. Let me try that and get back to you soon!

      Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Guide to Mexican Pan Dulce - The Other Side of the Tortilla says:
    June 12, 2019 at 2:58 PM

    […] by the bakery chain El Globo, garibaldi are now a staple of any breakfast in Mexico. It’s a individual-sized pound cake brushed with […]

    Reply
  2. Lost And Found – Inconceivable! says:
    August 26, 2019 at 12:33 PM

    […] mostly relegated garibaldi to memory until I happened to find a recipe by an American married to a Mexico City native who managed to take a family pound cake recipe and made an incredibly good copy of El Globo’s […]

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

¡Bienvenidos!

Hi, I'm Maura Hernández. Welcome to my kitchen! I'm an award-winning food and travel blogger, recipe developer, and former journalist sharing my passion for all things Mexico. Married to a Chilango, I've traveled Mexico extensively over the last 15 years. Here, you'll find a mix of traditional and modern Mexican cooking, along with my advice on where to eat, stay and play on your visit to Mexico! READ MORE

New recipes, fresh travel tips + more

Delivered straight to your inbox!

Copyright © 2023 The Other Side of the Tortilla on the Cravings Pro Theme

305 shares