Wafers with cajeta: the traditional typical Mexican sweet

What is it?

Wafers with cajeta are one of the most simple and beloved traditional sweets of the Mexican Bajío: two thin, crunchy discs of flour wafer (similar to communion bread) filled with a generous layer of burnt goat's-milk cajeta. The cajeta spread on the wafer provides deep sweetness and intense caramel, while the wafer serves as a neutral, crunchy support. They are typical of Celaya, Guanajuato, the national capital of cajeta, where they are sold in boxes decorated with colonial motifs as a tourist souvenir. They are also made in San Luis Potosí, Querétaro and Aguascalientes. Their simplicity makes them one of the most authentic and recognisable sweets of traditional Mexican confectionery.

Origin and history

Cajeta emerges in Celaya, Guanajuato, during the eighteenth century, the result of making use of the abundant goat's milk of the region and the influence of Spanish convent techniques for milk sweets. Larousse Cocina documents that the name cajeta comes from the small wooden boxes of "tejamanil" in which the sweet was originally sold. Wafers with cajeta were born as a logical derivative: the hosts and wafers produced by the convents in the colonial period found secular use as a support to spread the milk sweet. México Desconocido records that in the nineteenth century wafers with cajeta were already an obligatory souvenir for travellers passing through Celaya on their way to Mexico City or central Mexico. Brands such as Coronado, founded in 1956, and Glorias del Norte (more recent) industrialised production and spread them nationally, maintaining the wafer-cajeta pairing as a flagship product.

Characteristic ingredients

The base wafer is made with wheat flour, water, a pinch of sugar and sometimes a little oil, cooked on hot iron plates that leave very thin, white, crunchy sheets, 8-12 cm in diameter. Cajeta, the leading ingredient, is made with goat's milk, sugar and bicarbonate of soda, cooked slowly in a copper pan until thickened and caramelised. There are three types: natural cajeta (light colour, sweet milky flavour), burnt cajeta (darker and more caramelised) and envinada cajeta (with a touch of sweet wine or brandy). The best wafers with cajeta use artisanal burnt cajeta from Celaya. The filling is generously spread on a wafer and covered with another, forming a circular sandwich. Modern variants include wafers with strawberry, chocolate, walnut or pineapple cajeta. They are kept at room temperature and last for weeks if well sealed, which made them ideal as a travel product from the nineteenth century onwards.

Cultural significance

Wafers with cajeta are an emblem of Celaya, Guanajuato, and of the milk-sweet culture of the Mexican Bajío. Celaya is known as "the cradle of cajeta" and maintains an active guild of artisanal producers, in addition to major industrial brands such as Coronado. The wafer-cajeta pairing forms part of the gastronomic souvenir culture: alongside the ates of Morelia, the borrachitos of Tenancingo and the glorias of Linares, they are the typical sweets that each Mexican region exports to its visitors. Wafers with cajeta are present at any roadside service area, gift shop, traditional market and confectionery in the country, and their modest price makes them accessible to any visitor. The cajeta industry supports thousands of goat farmers in the Bajío and represents one of the most successful value chains in Mexican confectionery, recognised at the International Cajeta Fair held annually in Celaya.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between natural, burnt and envinada cajeta?

Natural cajeta is the lightest and smoothest, boiled for less time; burnt cajeta is cooked longer to caramelise more deeply, with a more intense flavour and dark mahogany colour; envinada cajeta has a final touch of sweet wine or brandy adding an alcoholic-fruity aroma. All three are used in wafers, but burnt is the most traditional.

What do wafers with cajeta taste like?

They taste mainly of cajeta: caramelised goat's milk with deep sweetness, toasted notes, a slight goat acidity and a buttery finish. The wafer provides neutral crunch that contrasts with the dense creaminess of the filling. The overall sensation is intensely sweet, deeply milky and texturally balanced between crunchy and creamy.

How are wafers with cajeta served?

They are eaten as they are, as an individual on-the-go sweet or as a dessert, removing the wrapping. They go perfectly with a black coffee, a café de olla or an atole. They are also used broken up as decoration or as an ingredient in modern cakes, ice creams and pies. At fairs and roadside stops they are sold in decorated boxes as tourist souvenirs.

Where do wafers with cajeta originate?

They originate from Celaya, Guanajuato, the national capital of cajeta since the eighteenth century thanks to goat farming in the Bajío. Wafers as a support to spread milk sweets became popular in the nineteenth century as a tourist product for travellers. Today they are also made in San Luis Potosí, Querétaro and Aguascalientes, but Celaya retains the traditional denomination.