Alfajores from Mar de Plata

                                                                               Receta en Español

Alfajores are very typical in South America, this version is from Argentina, from Mar de Plata a place where inhabitants of Buenos Aires go for tourism. These alfajores became very famous thanks to these tourists that came back to Buenos Aires bringing this sweet as souvenir. You cannot miss this treat if you go to Argentina.
If you cannot travel there, here you have the recipe.



Ingredients (For 31 alfajores):

• 200 gr butter.
• 150 gr sugar.
• 1 egg.
• Salt.
• 400 gr flour.
• 20 gr cacao.
• 100 gr corn starch (maizena).
• Tangerine rind.
• 1 tablespoon honey.
• 1 teaspoon bicarbonate.
• 1 teaspoon yeast.
• 500 gr Caramelized condensed milk.

Chocolate coating:

• 350 gr dark chocolate.
• 150 gr butter.
• Tangerine rind.

Method:

1. Soft butter using microwave during 10 seconds.
2. Mix well butter and sugar.
   
3. Take another bowl , mix flour, corn starch and cacao. Once well mixed add to the mixture of the point 2. Add yeast, bicarbonate, honey and tangerine rind.
4. Mix well until you have an homogeneous dough, you don't need to knead it. It has reached the right consistency when you press it with your finger and then the print remains. The dough crumbles a little, it is normal. 
5. wrap dough with cling film, let stand for half an hour in the fridge. This way the dough hardens.
   
6. Now it is time to work the dough , sprinkle cacao over the surface where we are going to stretch the dough.
7. Divide the dough into several pieces , to meke it easier to work. Take a piece and roll it out , it shoul be 1/2 cm thich.
8. Take a fluted round cookie cutter , cut the dough into circles.  
   
9. Place the dough over an oven track protected with parchment paper.
10. Preheat oven at 180 ºC for 5 minutes.
11. Cook in oven for 7- 10 minutes.
12. let get cool.
13. Take two pieces of baked dough, place some caramelized  condensed milk in between.  
    
14. Now we prepare the coating: Fill a pot with water, put over low heat, put another pot inside it.
15. Break chocolate into pieces, put it into the litle pot that we have prepared on point 14, mix with butter and grated tangerine rind.
16. Let chocolate melt , stir with a wooden spoon.
17. Dip alfajores into the chocolate.
    
18. Place alfajores coated with chocolate over a tray protected with parchment paper. Let cool in the fridge, once they are cold, it will be very easy to detach.

My comments to the Recipe:

The dough crumbles easily, because of that it is difficult to work with it, the consistency should be like that , this way the cookie will be easy to eat.
The taste is wonderful!, you shoul not miss it!.

Here you have a link to my favourite cooking tools where you can find my spices grinder:  

Favourite cooking tools

Argentina

Flag: De Government of Argentina - Here, based on: http://manuelbelgrano.gov.ar/bandera/creacion-de-la-bandera-nacional/, Dominio público, Enlace

Caramelized condensed milk

                                                                               Receta en Español

This is a typical sweet in South America, specially in Argentina.
You can eat it by its own, or as a filling for several desserts like sponge cakes or 'Alfajores'
In Argentina it is called 'Dulce de leche', in Chile 'manjar', in Mexico 'cajeta' and in Venezuela 'arequipe'.

Here you can find the traditional way to prepare this sweet: Argentinian recipes. 

You must heat milk with sugar, and stirr well during 2 hours.

I did it in 2 faster ways,one is using Thermomix and the other one cooking a can of condensed milk:

Thermomix:

Ingredients for 500 gr:

• 1 liter whole milk.
• 350 gr sugar.
• 1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate.
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla powder.

Method

1. Put all the ingredients into the thermomix, cover and place the basket over it.
2. Program 45 minutes, varoma, speed 5.
3. Programam 30 seconds, speed 5 to mix well.
4. Pour in a jar and let cool.

Here the faster way, you need a pressure cooker.
The taste of the dessert is similar to the other method.

Ingredients:

• 1 can condensed milk.
• Water.

Method

1. Put the can laying on the botton of the pressure cooking, if the can has some paper get rid of it.
2. Pour water into the cooker until the can is covered.
3. Close the pressure cooker and put on a high heat.
4. Once the steam starts to come out , put on a low heat and cook for 30 minutes.
5. When the pressure cooker is cold, open it and let the can get cool.
6. Once the can is cold, you can open it and taste the great 'dulce de leche'.

Here you have a link to my favourite cooking tools where you can find my spices grinder:  

Favourite cooking tools

Argentina

Flag: De Government of Argentina - Here, based on: http://manuelbelgrano.gov.ar/bandera/creacion-de-la-bandera-nacional/, Dominio público, Enlace