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A sweet tamal on a Mexican plate, next to a cup of coffee.
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Sweet Tamales (Tamales Dulces)

These tamales are perfect for any occasion and can be enjoyed as a dessert or snack. They are a bit time-consuming to make, but the result is absolutely worth it. In this recipe, we'll explore the history behind sweet tamales' common fillings and share a delicious recipe to try at home
Course Desserts
Cuisine Mexican
Keyword how to make sweet tamales, sweet corn tamale recipe, tamales de dulce tradicionales, tamales dulces recipe
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
0 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 30 minutes
Servings 10 Tamales
Calories 153kcal

Ingredients

  • ½ cup of unsalted butter at room temperature*
  • 6 Tbs. sugar
  • 1 ½ cup of Masa Harina
  • ¼ teaspoon baking powder
  • 2 Tbs. raisins**
  • 1 ½ cup warm water
  • 6 drops of red food coloring***
  • 10 large Corn Husks soaked in warm water.
  • Optional Extra corn husks to make thin strips to tie the tamales.

Instructions

Prep corn husks

  • Add enough warm- hot water in a large bowl or clean sick to cover your corn husk. This step takes a few minutes to make the corn husk pliable. 

Make masa dough

  • Place unsalted butter and sugar in a medium-sized bowl and, with the help of a mixer, beat for a couple of minutes until it has a creamy texture. (About 2 minutes)
  • In a different bowl, mix masa harina, baking powder, and add raisins. Stir well, and then add the warm water little by little.
  • While mixing the dry ingredients with the water, add drops of red food coloring. Mix well to have a uniform color.
  • Note: Once you’ve incorporated the food coloring into the dough, it will look slightly pink.
  • Now, add the butter and sugar mixture.
  • Beat the dough with your hands or a wooden spoon, as the dough is sometimes too heavy to work within your mixer unless you have a Heavy Duty Stand Mixer like Kitchen Aid.
  • Tip: The dough will be ready when it looks fluffy and creamy, like very soft ice cream. If your dough seems too dry, add a little more water. The consistency has to be very soft.

Assemble the tamales

  • Drain the corn husks from the soaking water; use a kitchen towel to dry the excess water. 
  • Now place about ⅓ cup of corn masa over the extended corn husk.
  • Then, fold the edge of husk around the filling, then fold the bottom up like the pictures below.
  • For a decorative presentation, you can wrap a string in the tamal.
  • Keep assembling the rest of the tamales.

Steam sweet tamales

  • First, fill the bottom of the steamer with about 1 to 2 inches of water. Then, insert the steamer rack of your tamalera.
  • Now, place the tamales standing up in your steam pot (Tamalera).
  • After you are done placing all your tamales, cover them with remaining corn husks, aluminium foil, a plastic bag, or a damp towel, and then cover them with the pot lid.
  • Steam boil for 1 to 1 hour 15 minutes at medium heat. Add more hot water if needed to avoid burning the tamales.

Not everyone has a special Steamer for tamales (Tamalera), but you can improvise by using a large pot and crumbling some aluminum foil and placing it at the bottom of the pot, and also forming an aluminum ball to place in the center of the pot where the tamales can stand/lean on during the cooking process.

    Notes

    • *Tamales are traditionally made with Lard, so you can use that if it’s available.
    • **As mentioned above, other common fillings are pineapple chunks, shredded coconut, cajeta/dulce de leche, strawberry jam, etc.
    • ***I’ve tried other ways to color the tamales instead of using the vegetable coloring, like using beets juices and Hibiscus tea, but the end result looks more like a purple color than red or pink. Of course, you can always skip the coloring. You can buy Natural Food Coloring at Specialty or Organic Stores.
    • Taste the sweetness, maybe you have a sweeter tooth and would like to add some extra sugar.
    • If you have fresh masa-dough, use 15.5 oz. (610 grs.), equal to 2 ⅓ cups.
     

    Nutrition

    Serving: 1Tamal | Calories: 153kcal | Carbohydrates: 15g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 10g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 24mg | Sodium: 5mg | Potassium: 83mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 320IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 32mg | Iron: 1mg