Argentina and Uruguay Archives

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

Tarantella de Manzana, or Argentinian Bread Pudding with Apples

This blog post contains advertisement for Braeburn apples, Südtiroler Apfel g.g.A.

Yay, today I am present a recipe from Argentina, an apple cake slash bread pudding, which is prepared similarly to “flan“. I was fortunate enough to make this cake named “tarantella de manzana” with tart apples, the variety Südtiroler Apfel g.g.A. When the package arrived with Braeburn apples, I knew exactly what I wanted to make. But let’s get back to this dessert from Argentina. Legend has it that this cake is named after an Italian dance (tarantella) as a) Italian immigrants supposedly invented this cake in Buenos Aires and b) this cake is a bit wiggly when you take it out of the oven. You either need to dance as you are so excited for being able to eat this delicious cake, or the wiggly movement actually is similar to the movement of the dance. If you are interested in further theories, check out this article in Spanish. Regardless of its origin, this cake is so popular, you will find it basically on every menue of any restaurant in Buenos Aires.

05/04/2024

Nut Caramel Cake from Argentina: torta Balcarce for my Seventh Blog Birthday

Today I am going to introduce a speciality from Argentina: torta Balcarce or postre Balcarce. This cake consists of sponge cake layers, the caramel cream called dulce de leche, chopped marrons/sweet chestnuts (often replaced with walnuts), meringue, and whipping cream. The cake originated in the town Balcarce (hence the name). It was created by the pastry chef Guillermo Talou in 1950 and quickly became famous throughout the country. To the present day the town Balcarce celebrates a festival. One event is to actually assemble a gigantic cake and eat it. Unfortunately, I did not have the chance to eat this cake when I went on holiday in Argentina in 2018. However, I figured, why not try making it at home in Germany? I decided to make this cake for my seventh blog anniversary, today exactly seven years ago my first blog post went online, so I wanted to celebrate with you with this delicious cake.

15/02/2024

Empanadas from Mendoza, Argentina

Yes, I am introducing empanadas again, these are dumplings or turnovers popular in all of Latin America. Today I am going to introduce you to the ones famous in Mendoza, Argentina. These are traditionally filled with beef, olives, and hard-boiled eggs. They are similar to the empanadas from Uruguay. Uruguayan empanadas are also filled with beef and also contain hard-boiled eggs. However, there are slight differences such as no olives and the meat being prepared with tomatoes. You will also realize that the dough has one different ingredient, instead of water this dough is prepared with warm milk, making it extra easy to work with. If you want to check out further empanada recipes, check out this blog post.

12/11/2023

12 Recipes with Dulce de Leche

I probably sound like a broken record, but dulce de leche is as popular in Latin America as is Nutella in Europe. This caramel is made from milk and sugar. You will find plentiful recipes featuring dulce de leche. It may be used as a filling or it will serve as a thin layer. It can be a simple dollop served with flan. You will be able to spread it on bread (just like Nutella) or you can simply eat it by the spoonful. I am telling you, there is a reason why this caramel is so popular. Today I will introduce twelve recipes from Latin America containing dulce de leche, one is from Russia. So which recipe is your favorite?

Let’s first start with the basic recipe for dulce de leche:

16/08/2023

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