Latin American Recipes Archives

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

Arepa de Huevo from Colombia (gluten-free)

Guys, you won’t believe how proud I am for introducing arepa de huevo to you. Finally. Think a fried corn flatbread that is filled with egg. Essentially it has only three ingredients: corn flour, egg, and oil (you can count water and salt as additional ingredients if you wish). It may sound simple, but boy, did I have difficulties making this snack. The first time I was fortunate enough of eating them was directly at the coast in Cartagena, Colombia. Arepa de huevo is famous in Cartagena and enjoyed throughout the country. I will never forget when I ate arepa de huevo at a street stall in Cartagena. This women seemed to touch the oil with her bare hands. She didn’t seem to get burned. It all looked so effortless, she was at ease and was frying arepas by the second. They are super crunchy at the outside and this egg in the middle, yum. Below you will see a picture of me in Cartagena enjoying the food.

26/06/2026

Chicha Morada – Peruvian Beverage with Purple Corn

Do you shop impulsively? Sometimes this happens to me when I buy groceries. I was in a Latino store and suddely this purple corn (in Spanisch maíz morado) caught my eye. I was like, I had never seen anything like this before, so I needed to buy it. When I got home, I sat down and googled what to make out of it. I soon found out that chicha morada seemed to be the most common recipe. It is a refreshing beverage from Peru that does NOT contain any alcohol and has a crazy cool color. Sounded super interesting. So I had to try it. The hardest part was the waiting part because it had to chill. But then finally my husband and me gave it a try. Wow, it was completely different. We drank it on a hot day and it was truly refreshing. Yes, it does contain some sugar, but seriously, I hate sodas that contain so much sugar, you have to drink a lot of water afterwards to quench your thirst. My husband (Colombian) had tried it several times before. For me it was the second time. We were both delighted, this was so much better than what we had tried before. I had only tried it once at a festival, but was not too excited. You can skip the chopped fruit and drink it pure. It is really amazing.

19/06/2026

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

Colombian BBQ – What to Serve?

I am introducing BBQ season today, Colombian style. Below you will find all recipes for the typical Colombian sides served at a BBQ plus links to the meats. I was not paid to do this, I wanted to give you a nice overview of where to get what for a Colombian BBQ when living in Germany. As I am married to a Colombian, he is always eager to eat Colombian food. So when we were on holiday in Spain and his family suggested an “asado colombiano”, he got super excited. I was excited as well and took the opportunity to snap pictures of it all. Some pictures are from another time as we didn’t have corn on the cob this time and I wanted to be sure to include it in the list of sides below.

29/05/2026

Sopa Paraguaya – the national dish from Paraguay

Sopa paraguaya is the national dish from Paraguay and is not a soup, but a cornbread with cheese and onions. It is naturally gluten-free and has some similarities with American cornbread. It is normally served alongside hearty dishes, such as meat (asado) or stews and soups. I highly recommend making it alongside the Paraguayan soup vori vori. It can also be eaten as breakfast. There are many mysteries entwined around the fact that it is called “soup” (sopa in Spanish), but not really being a soup. Below I will give the most common explanation for this rather unusual name.

10/04/2026

Empanadas de Pino from Chile

Today I am introducing something from Chile: empanadas de pino or Chilean empanadas. Empanadas are filled turnovers or dumplings, usually formed into a half moon. They are popular throughout Latin America. I already have one blog article with eight different empanada recipes. Every country claims one to be “theirs”, sometimes even a city claims to have one special empanada. For example, the city Mendoza in Argentina. Of course I have a recipe for empanadas from Mendoza on my blog. Today we are turning to Chile. Chilean empanadas are slightly sweet. This has to do with the fact that caramelized onions (pino) are used and sultanas. This contrasts nicely with the spiciness. I love this bold kind of flavor, but we warned, empanadas in general are a ton of work. You will need to make the filling, make the dough, then shape and form the empanadas and finally bake them. In addition, the caramelized onions need at least half an hour for them to be ready. But what I like about empanadas is the fact that you can spread the work over several days. Also, you can very easily freeze unbaked, empanadas.

27/02/2026

Simple Chocolate Cake from Brazil: bolo nega maluca

Yes, “bolo nega maluca” literally translates as “cake from the crazy black women”. Presumably because a female slave accidently added cocoa powder to another cake she was making, mumbling something along the way and nobody understood, thus the cake was named that way. Be this as it may, truthful or not, but the cake itself is a one-bowl recipe. It is perfect for feeding a smaller group, for a birthday or similar. If you are short on time, you can do without the soak or topping. Below you will find a smaller version of this cake, I made it in an 18 springform. Normally it is served as a full sheet cake.

23/01/2026

Vori Vori, the Best Soup from Paraguay

Today I am going to introduce you to vori vori or bori bori, this is a soup from Paraguay, which contains small balls made mainly out of cornmeal as its main feature. The name of the soup “vori vori” means “a lot of balls” in the language Guarani. Guarani does something a few languages do, in order to say a word in plural, it is simply repeated. Vori vori has been declared the best soup of the world in 2026 by the Taste Atlas. The soup comes together rather quickly, you will brown chicken first, chop or blitz some veggies you will simmer and then you can boil the soup. It is only for the last ten minutes that you will need to add the cornflour balls to the mix, they get ready quickly. I love this warming soup in winter and can highly recommend making it.

09/01/2026

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

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