“I try to stay very traditional. I don’t vary too much from the family recipe. When we bite into it, we taste the essence of the filling: the fig, the raisin, the spices and the nuts. The dough can be done in different ways. Most of the bakeries have a very soft dough. My family made a very hard dough, and now I’m trying to find somewhere in between it. My family all used Crisco. I’m trying to use butter. I think everyone is more satisfied when I use the lard.”