What is the difference between a marquesita and a common wafer?

The common wafer is a hollow cone for ice cream, made with similar batter but served empty and usually thicker. The marquesita is a large, flat wafer rolled into a tube shape, filled at the moment with ball cheese and sweet. Its size, presentation and sweet-savoury combination set it radically apart.

What does a marquesita taste like?

It tastes mainly of the crispy batter, slightly sweet and buttery, with notes of vanilla. Edam ball cheese provides a salty intensity, umami and a slightly sharp note; sweet fillings such as Nutella or cajeta add creaminess and deep sweetness. The savoury-sweet contrast with the crispy texture is the signature of the snack.

How are marquesitas served?

They are served freshly made, hot, rolled into a tube and handed over in a paper napkin. They are eaten on the spot, while the cheese is half-melted and the wafer still crunches. Their consumption is in the street, usually as an afternoon snack or night-time treat after a walk through the Yucatecan parks.

Where do marquesitas originate?

They originate from Mérida, Yucatán, where they were born in the 1930s, attributed to Leopoldo Mena Brito, a pioneering marquesitero. Their recipe combines European influences (the wafer) with the Dutch cheese tradition (Edam ball cheese that arrived via Havana). They are the most representative street snack of the Yucatán Peninsula.

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Yucatecan marquesitas: the crispy wafer roll with Edam cheese

What is it?

The marquesita is a crispy rolled wafer of Yucatecan origin, made with a thin batter of flour, egg, butter and vanilla cooked on hot iron plates. Freshly made, while it is still hot and malleable, it is filled with grated Edam ball cheese and, in its most popular modern version, with Nutella, cajeta, dulce de leche or jam, before being rolled into a tube shape. The marquesita is the street snack par excellence of Mérida and the entire Yucatán Peninsula, sold in parks, squares and fairs by the marquesiteras from wheeled carts. It combines the crunch of the wafer with the surprising contrast between salty cheese and sweet chocolate.

Origin and history

The marquesita was born in Mérida, Yucatán, in the 1930s, attributed to Mr Leopoldo Mena Brito, a pioneering marquesitero who began selling hot wafers in central Mérida and experimented with filling them with Edam ball cheese, an iconic ingredient in Yucatecan cooking due to Dutch and Lebanese influences in the region. Larousse Cocina documents that Edam ball cheese arrived in Yucatán via the trade route with Havana and Holland during the nineteenth century. México Desconocido details that the marquesita became massively popular in the 1960s and 1970s, when domestic tourism began to reach Mérida and marquesita carts multiplied in the parks of Santa Lucía and Santa Ana. The incorporation of Nutella, cajeta and other sweets is more recent, from the 1990s, and responded to demand from a young public. Today the marquesita is a marker of Yucatecan identity just as much as cochinita pibil or pan de cazón.

Characteristic ingredients

The marquesita batter is prepared with wheat flour, eggs, sugar, milk, melted butter, vanilla and a little baking powder, whisked until obtaining a liquid texture like a crêpe batter. A spoonful is poured onto the plate of the marquesitera, a cast-iron machine with two hot plates that press and cook the batter into a thin, crispy disc. After 20-30 seconds the wafer is removed while still flexible and filled immediately: finely grated Edam ball cheese (classic), Nutella, cajeta, dulce de leche, cream cheese, condensed milk or jam. It is rolled quickly before it hardens. Edam ball cheese is essential in the traditional version: its salty, slightly aged flavour contrasts perfectly with the sweet batter. The sweet-savoury balance in the marquesita is one of the most original features of Mexican street cooking.

Cultural significance

The marquesita is a cultural emblem of Mérida and the Yucatán Peninsula, present in every park, square and fair in the region. In Plaza Grande, Santa Lucía and Paseo de Montejo, the marquesiteras form a century-old guild that has passed the craft from one generation to the next. The presence of Edam ball cheese reveals Yucatecan migratory diversity: Dutch, Spanish, Lebanese, Cuban and French settlers left their mark on local cuisine, and the cheese is one of the tastiest reminders. Yucatecan cooking is recognised as part of Mexico's Intangible Cultural Heritage and the marquesita is part of it. The snack has crossed the peninsular borders and is sold in Cancún, Mérida, Playa del Carmen and even at fairs in Mexico City, where it is promoted as a Yucatecan exotic. The marquesita is one of the few Mexican snacks whose exact origin and authorship are documented.

Related recipes

Now that you know what it is, try cooking it at home with our step-by-step recipes:

Marquesitas

Ingredients to cook it

Find where to buy authentic ingredients in Mexican shops in the US:

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between a marquesita and a common wafer?: The common wafer is a hollow cone for ice cream, made with similar batter but served empty and usually thicker. The marquesita is a large, flat wafer rolled into a tube shape, filled at the moment with ball cheese and sweet. Its size, presentation and sweet-savoury combination set it radically apart.
What does a marquesita taste like?: It tastes mainly of the crispy batter, slightly sweet and buttery, with notes of vanilla. Edam ball cheese provides a salty intensity, umami and a slightly sharp note; sweet fillings such as Nutella or cajeta add creaminess and deep sweetness. The savoury-sweet contrast with the crispy texture is the signature of the snack.
How are marquesitas served?: They are served freshly made, hot, rolled into a tube and handed over in a paper napkin. They are eaten on the spot, while the cheese is half-melted and the wafer still crunches. Their consumption is in the street, usually as an afternoon snack or night-time treat after a walk through the Yucatecan parks.
Where do marquesitas originate?: They originate from Mérida, Yucatán, where they were born in the 1930s, attributed to Leopoldo Mena Brito, a pioneering marquesitero. Their recipe combines European influences (the wafer) with the Dutch cheese tradition (Edam ball cheese that arrived via Havana). They are the most representative street snack of the Yucatán Peninsula.