INGREDIENTS
- One 14-ouncee can sweetened condensed milk
- 1 1/2 cups mascarpone OR 4 ounces cream cheese plus 1 cup heavy cream or half-and-half
- 1 tablespoon lime zest
- 3/4 cup fresh lime juice, preferably squeezed from Key/Mexican limes
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract, preferably Mexican
- 2 tablsepoons blanco tequila (optional)
- A 5-ounce sleeve of Maria wafers
- 2 cups sliced strawberries, bananas or other fruit, plus a little more for garnish (optional but recommended)
- 1 cup heavy cream
INSTRUCTIONS
In a medium bowl, whisk together the sweetened condensed milk, mascarpone, lime zest and juice, vanilla and optional tequila. If using cream cheese and cream, combine everything in a blender or food processor and process until smooth. In an 8x8-inch baking dish or 6 8-ounce souffle dishes, lay out a single layer of Maria cookies: You’ll need 9 whole cookies plus 4 broken ones for the baking dish, 1 ½ broken ones for each souffle dish. Top with 1/3 of the creamy mixture and 1/2 of the fruit (if using). Build another layer exactly the same, then top with a layer of cookies and the cream. (You’ll be one cookie short for the baking dish, several cookies long for the souffle dishes.)
Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours (preferably overnight). Crumble a few leftover cookies, if you have them, to use for garnish. For serving, whip the heavy cream with an electric mixer or by hand with a whisk until it holds nearly stiff peaks. Cut the Carlota into 6 or 8 pieces. Serve each piece (or each souffle dish) with a dollop of whipped cream, a little extra fruit and, perhaps, some crumbled cookies.
