Argentina and Uruguay Archives

Peach Layer Cake from Uruguay: postre chajá

I am a bit nostalgic today. I turned 44 yesterday and decided to introduce the most famous cake from Uruguay, my birth country. It originates in Paysandú, the city I was born in. Postre chajá is a sponge cake filled with peaches, whipped cream, the caramel named dulce de leche and meringue. Yes, this cake consists of many components and definitely takes time to prepare. Especially if you are going to make everything from scratch. Normally canned peaches are used, however, I decided to use fresh peaches this time. There is nothing better than fresh, juicy peaches in summer. To reduce the amount of work, I went with bought meringue and dulce de leche.

07/08/2026

Milanesa Napolitana from Argentina

You may think that milanesa napolitana or milanesa alla Napoli is from Italy. But the dish actually was invented in Argentina. Legend has is that the chef José Napoli, the owner of the restaurant Napoli in Buenos Aires fried his last cutlet a bit too dark in the 1940s. So when one of his regulars asked for a “milanesa” or cutlet and that was the only one left, he improvised and place ham, cheese, and tomatoe sauce on top camouflaging the burnt parts. His guest got excited, thus making this “milanes napolitana” as José decided to call his invention a regular and popular dish on the menu in his restaurant. It didn’t take long for it to become famous in all of Argentina and is served nowadays worldwide with a lot of Argentine pride.

24/07/2026

Layer Dessert Polvito Uruguayo

Today you are going to get a layer dessert which is originally from Uruguay, but somehow became famous on Gran Canaria. Normally it is the other way around, many dishes that are originally from Spain are super popular in Latin America. For example this custard named flan, the sandwich cookies with caramel filling called alfajores, or the dumplings named empanadas. Sometimes ingredients were switched out, for example instead of quince for the quince paste called dulce de membrillo Colombias used the local fruit guava. So I found it particularly interesting that in this instance it was actually a Uruguayan immigrant who made polvito uruguayo famous on Gran Canaria. It consists of a cookie crumb, whipped cream, meringue, and the caramel cream named dulce de leche. These are layered into a glass and voilá, you got this decadent dessert.

03/07/2026

Postre Borracho – Drunken Dessert from Argentina

This dessert from Argentina can be described as a decadent layer dessert. It is similar to tiramisu, but does not contain mascarpone or raw egg. The ladyfingers are soaked in an alcohol syrup (hence the name) and it does contain a layer of caramel (dulce de leche) and vanilla pudding as well as whipped cream. Usually you will simply boil water with sugar and stir in the alcohol last. If desired, you can add the alcohol right from the start in order to evaporate. If you don’t want a “drunken” dessert, you may also replace with a different liquid such as milk. Be warned, this Argentinian dessert is a decadent one, you will only be able to eat a small piece.

03/06/2026

Savory Pionono from Argentina and Uruguay

Pionono is a savory roll from Argentina or Uruguay and is usually served during the holidays. It is often served as finger food, individual slices are pierced with a toothpick and arranged on a platter to take from. I know that it sounds unusual to fill a sweet roll with something savory. But if you think about it, brioche is also a sweetened bread, which is used for sandwiches and the like. I first was a little hesitant, but once I got used to the idea, I really like this mix of sweet and savory. Since I love sponge, I decided to use my fail-proof recipe, which also works if you are a beginner. I probably could make sponge half asleep by now. Continue Reading…

27/12/2025

Alfajores Cordobeses from Argentinia

These sandwich cookies from Argentina are from the city Cordoba. They are named alfajores cordobeses in Spanish. They are characterized by a type of sugar cookie filled with quince paste or dulce de membrillo, which is then dunked in icing glaze. They are so delicious! Continue Reading…

07/11/2025

Quince Paste with Two Ingredients

Today I am introducing a very old and very German recipe: quince paste. In its basic form it only contains quinces and sugar. This means it requires a lot of time and patience. You may not need to do much and there is a lot of waiting involved, but this is something that is done over the course of several days. First you will need to cook the quinces so that they become soft. Then they will sit with sugar overnight and on the next day you are going to cook them with sugar for at least an hour. Once you managed to make the paste, you need to wait until it is dry and can be cut into squares or cubes. Yes, this is some commitment. All I can tell you is that every time I gifted these, e.g. in a cookie box, I was instantly asked what this is and inquired about the recipe. In my opinion this is a wonderful contrast to all the Christmas cookies and a nice twist to a cookie.

06/11/2025

Argentinian Crescents – Medialunas

Argentinian crescents are called medialunas, which translates as half moons. I would say they are a distant cousin of French croissants or the Italian cornettos. However, instead of creating a layer of butter seperately, which is then folded into the dough, we will add it directly to the dough. The whole laminating process, which means that the dough is rolled out and folded and then chilled, is kept to a minimum. We will only do it one round. I think this is the perfect compromise, it gives us some of those flaky layers, but does not require as many resting times as the traditional croissant. However, despite a reduction in resting times, this still is a yeast dough, which means that you will need time before you can finally bite into one. I have to admit, suddenly I had eaten three even though I only wanted to eat one…

16/05/2025

New Edition: Alfajores Marplatenses

I probably sound like a broken record, but my very favorite cookie from my birth place Uruguay is alfajores marplatenses. This translates to a chocolate sandwich cookie, which is filled with caramel aka dulce de leche. A decadent delicacy. Obviously I already have a recipe on the blog, however, this time I thought I may give another recipe a try. The recipe below follows the recipe by Isabel Vermal, an Argentinian pastry maker. Her dough is slightly different from my first recipe, it is slightly drier and contains more flour. It is a beautiful contrast to the dulce de leche filling. May I interest you in making below recipe?

10/01/2025

Sandwich-Cookies: Alfajores with Almonds

Have you every heard of “alfajores”? These are sandwich cookies that are usually filled with the caramel cream called dulce de leche. They originally stem from Andalucia in Spain, but have become extremely popular in Uruguay and Argentina. Supposedly about 10 million (!) alfajores are sold each day in Argentina in 2023. The “original” is usually made with flour and cornstarch and creates this nice crunchy texture, however, my version below contains flour and almonds instead. The classic alfajor is usually rolled in coconut flakes, however, I will used chopped almonds for this version.

06/11/2024

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