To accompany our Veracruz-style dessert of Dulce de Mango, we had Toritos de Cacahuates, which translates as ‘little bulls made of peanuts’. It was an unusual creamy drink, and in our class we made it out of chunky peanut butter and white rum. I love tasting entirely new things, especially if they’re good, and this rum drink was certainly a great way to finish off a great meal!

peanut butter & rum drink: the creamy ‘Torito de Cacahuates’ showing off the chunky peanut butter texture.

To make Toritos de Cacahuates, put in a blender:

• 1 cup peanut butter (in our class we used chunky but I think I might have preferred the regular)
• 1 can condensed milk
• 1 can evaporated milk (can substitute regular milk)
• 2 cups of white rum (or aguardiente de caña, a sugar cane liquor found in Veracruz).

Add ice if you are serving immediately and want the drink to be frappé; if not, omit and add later when serving.

Blend everything until smooth.

Peanuts are believed to have originated in South America, but by the time the conquistadors had arrived they had worked their way up to Mesoamerica, where they were known as tlalcacahuatl. The current Mexican-Spanish word cacahuates is derived from this indigenous word, but they are known as mani in most of the Americas.

If you are in Veracruz you may find a local tropical fruit such as sapote, guanabana or guava added into the drink instead of peanuts. If you would like to try this, use about one and a half cups of fruit puree plus substitute 2 cups simple syrup for the milks.

¡Qué rico!