Heads up if you’re ever in El Salvador – a quesadilla in El Salvador has exactly one thing in common with other Latin quesadillas… there’s cheese in it. That’s it.

A Salvadoran quesadilla is a sweet pound cake, often eaten for breakfast, with queso fresco and Salvadoran crema in it. It’s usually made with rice flour but wheat can also do – there’s as many variations as families that make it.

I made it from this recipe provided by Tropical, though I made a few tweaks. I cut the sugar in half (personal preference), and used rice flour instead of wheat for more authenticity. I also only had black sesame seeds handy instead of white ones, but that seems like it’ll be mainly an aesthetic choice.

The results are really, really good. It’s light and fluffy, slightly sweet with a perfectly browned crust – using a heavy hand with the sesame seeds added to the roastiness. There’s a bit of an eggy-cheesiness there that’s noticeable in a good way. This was a super easy recipe and I’m definitely going to make this again! Yum!