Thanks to my Chilean origins I got to know and love Dulce de Leche very early in my life (in Chile it is known as "Manjar"). It is a wonderful caramel spread and used in a lot of Latino desserts. In Europe it is not that easy to get your hands on this gold-brown deliciousness as it is in Latin America, but it is very easy to create Dulce de Leche at home. The Alfajor is an Argentinian based shortbread. It is famous for its crumbly consistency, the key ingredient here is a good amount of cornflour. The shortbread is filled with Dulce de Leche and traditionally either covered with desiccated coconut or dipped into dark chocolate. It is a delicious treat and a perfect combination for your afternoon tea or a nice gift for friends and family.
Here is the recipe how to make Dulce de Leche at home:
Place the can of condensed milk into a big pot and fill it up with warm water, about 5cm above the can. Over high heat, bring the water to a simmer, reduce heat when simmering and let it simmer for 3 hours to get a dark caramel colour. Every 20-30 minutes check the water and fill in more if needed, so the can always stays covered with water. After 3 hours, take out the can, let it cool down and your Dulce de Leche will be ready to use.
For 16 Alfajores you will need:
300g cornflour
200g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
150g icing sugar
4 egg yolks
200g soft butter
splash of vanilla extract
half a can of dulce de leche
desiccated coconut
First mix the cornflour, plain flour, baking powder and icing sugar together. Next add the egg yolks, softened butter and the vanilla extract. Mix everything together first with a spatula and then swap to mix everything with your hands until you create a firm dough. Cover it with cling film and let it rest in the fridge for at least one hour.
Preheat the oven to 150°C and take out the dough of the fridge. With enough flour on your surface, roll the dough out to a thickness of 1-2cm. Take a cup or a cutter of a diameter of 10cm and cut out small circles of the dough. Place the circles on a tray with baking paper and bake them for 10 minutes in the oven. You will see the shortbread is ready when you can take them off the paper without being sticky. Take them out of the oven and let them cool down.
Take your can of Dulce de Leche, fill the spread into a bowl and let it slightly melt in the microwave for about 40 seconds, stirring every 10 seconds, so it is easier to use.
Take one biscuit, place one teaspoon of Dulce de Leche in the middle, take another biscuit and press it gently on top, so the Dulce de Leche spreads evenly around. Repeat with all biscuits. After having them assembled, spread a very thin amount of Dulce de Leche on the edges of the biscuit and roll it into the desiccated coconut. There you have: your finished Alfajores de Maicena!
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