Mucho Gusto: Vanilla Shines in a Hometown Favorite

By Robert Wemischner

Sponsored by

 There’s a twinkle in Arturo Enciso’s eye when he talks about his Nixtamal Queen, his pun-filled take on kouign amann, the famous pastry hailing from Brittany, France. More than 5,000 miles away, it’s his pride and joy at Gusto, his five-year-old bakery in Long Beach, CA. Here, he ingeniously uses his in-house fresh nixtamal to give his version a pleasing edge of corn flavor in the laminated and sugar-encrusted bun. The corn here is nixtamalized, a process in which the corn is soaked in an alkaline solution. This increases the corn’s nutrient value and eases the drying process before turning it into a flavorful flour. 

As with other products he makes at the bakery, there is a strong undercurrent of pride in incorporating Latin flavors — his mother was born in Chihuahua, Mexico, his wife, Ana, is from Argentina — often in an unexpected and modern way. “I like to call our bakery a “California panaderia,” he clarifies, “expanding beyond the traditional expected offerings one would find at the corner panaderia. We wish to honor the baking traditions, but not remain hidebound to, or limited by, them in any way. 

The baking traditions and indigenous ingredients of his ancestors count heavily in the product line that includes conchas, pan dulce, alfajores, whole grain breads and a cornucopia’s worth of Mexican and South American-inflected sweets. Flecks of fragrant vanilla, an early crop in Mexico, infuse the crème Chantilly that fills fancifully shaped pan de Muerto, with the dough shaped as teardrops or the bones of ancestors typically made at panaderias from late October to early November. “These are sweet reminders made to commemorate those family members who are no longer with us,” he says. “They make the perfect afternoon pick-me-up, but are fancy enough to grace the table at the end of a dinner party.”

Self-taught, Enciso has honed his craft thanks to a community that has supported his small operation even before it became the brick-and-mortar outpost it is today. He expresses his gratitude to the loyal customers or “guests” in his words for allowing him to bake for a diverse local community. “We are able to see beyond just one culture,” he says, “incorporating the flavors of Mexico and South America, both in our baked offerings as well as in the coffees that we serve.” Through his coffee company, Cuate, another arm of the business, he sources coffee beans exclusively from Mexico and South America from growing regions that are often overlooked. Inspired by the flavor profile of those beans, he has created a roster of unique beverages that perfectly complement, rather than overwhelm, the nuanced flavors of his baked output. 

Echoing his words about the loyalty of both his customers and staff, his partner Ana, who handles many of the unseen administrative tasks it takes to run a business, says: “I feel really lucky to be a part of something that‘s artisanal and so representative of the community. Our customers feel the love, emotion and care that every member of our team commits to their artisanal work.”

Part of that level of commitment extends to the use of top-quality ingredients. With origins in Mexico, where the Totonacs first cultivated the vanilla orchid, Enciso is committed to honoring that long history and infusing many of his baked products with high-quality vanilla from the world’s best growing regions including Madagascar, Tahiti, Papua New Guinea and newly Tanzania. In all of its forms, vanilla — whole beans, ground beans, pastes and extracts — sourced from Tahitian Gold, is his go-to powerhouse of flavor. Take, for instance, his atole cake, a reimagining of the famous tres leches dessert. ‘Here I don’t take the traditional route,” he explains. “I don’t use evaporated or condensed milk which is too processed for my taste. Instead, I make a vanilla-scented ganache of white chocolate infused with roasted corn, which moistens and enriches the cake, lending an almost savory note to the dessert.”

Tradition and innovation go hand in hand. From humble beginnings, starting as a bake-from-home operation, truly a cottage industry, Gusto has built a national reputation, including two nods from the James Beard Foundation, with strong ties to the community through its well-focused array of sweet and savory offerings. Minimally-processed and only real ingredients are all imbued here with a love for the art and craft of baking. 

For more information about Tahitian Gold’s premium vanilla products and how they can elevate your pastry creations, please contact Noa at [email protected] or call (310) 465-0856.

Photos by Ricardo Mora

Pan de Muerto

By Arturo Enciso, Gusto Bakery, Long Beach, CA

Yield: 4 filled Pan de Muerto

Note: The tops are traditionally decorated to represent bones as an homage to one’s ancestors. 

Sponge

• 15 g instant yeast
• 280 g whole wheat flour
• 340 g milk, warmed to 105°F (40.5°C)

1. Mix all the ingredients for the sponge and allow the mixture to rise for 30-45 minutes, or until nearly doubled in volume.
2. Once the sponge is ready, proceed with the Final Dough.

Final Dough

• 250 g whole eggs
• 50 g egg yolks
• 750 g bread flour
• 10 g orange zest
• 2 g Tahitian Gold Ground Vanilla Beans, Madagascar
• 7 g dried fennel seeds, freshly ground
• 200 g evaporated cane sugar
• 15 g fine sea salt
• 227 g unsalted butter, at room temperature

1. In a mixer with the dough hook, mix the sponge with the eggs and egg yolks.
2. Add the flour, zest, vanilla and fennel and allow to mix on low speed for 2 minutes.
3. Scrape down the bowl and add the sugar and salt, then mix for another two minutes on medium speed, stopping to scrape the bowl as needed.
4. Add the butter in four parts while mixing on medium speed for about 5 minutes. 
5. Transfer the dough to a greased tub or bowl and allow to rise for about 1 to 1 ½ hours.
6. Once the dough is risen, portion it: weigh out 1400 g and divide it into 4 rounds of 350 g each.
7. Divide the remainder of the dough into four portions of about 186 g each. Form these pieces into logs. 
8. Elongate each of the logs to approximately 12-16 inches long, and cut each log in half.
9. Shape the logs into bone-like shapes as follows: while stretching your fingers out, place your hand onto the dough strips and roll the dough firmly to create knobs of dough between your knuckles. Alternatively, you can cut several strips and try braiding some for a fun twist! 
10. Place the decorative dough crisscrossed on the tops of each dough round. 
11. Allow the shaped dough to proof for 1 hour.
12. Once the dough is fully proofed, brush it with egg wash.
13. Bake the bread in a preheated 350°F (177°C) oven until deeply browned, about 15-20 minutes. 
14. Allow the bread to cool, then slice it in half horizontally.

Espresso Vanilla Chantilly Cream

• 350 g heavy whipping cream
• 50 g confectioner’s sugar, sifted
• 2 g Tahitian Gold Ground Vanilla Beans, Madagascar
• 4 g brewed espresso

1. Whip all ingredients on medium speed to your desired thickness. 

To Finish

• Unsalted butter, melted, as needed
• Granulated or coarse sugar, as needed

1. Using a pastry bag, pipe the cream onto the bottom half of each Pan de Muerto.
2. Brush the top half of the Pan de Muerto with melted butter, then sprinkle or toss with sugar.
3. Carefully place the sugared half on top of the filling.

(This article appeared in the Fall 2025 issue of Pastry Arts Magazine)