Mostly known as the “marplatense,” even industrial manufacturers dip every alfajor glaseado in bowls of fluffy meringue by hand. Cristina Collaci is the matriarch of Trufles, a family-run alfajor manufacturing facility that has been one among Mar del Plata’s most recognizable manufacturers for the final sixty years. This recipe is an adaptation from Trufles’ unique model and it swaps out the standard agency cookie wafer for a tender and eggy cake, which absorbs the sugary meringue and solely will get lusher as the times go by—if you happen to can resist not consuming all of them instantly.
Featured in: “On Argentina’s North Atlantic Coast, a City Obsessed with Sugar and Nostalgia.”
Alfajor Glaseado
Fluffy meringue, silky dulce de leche, and crunchy pecans are the important thing to the basic marplatense.
Yield: makes 12 alfajores
Time:
6 hours
For the cake:
- 3 cups cake flour
- 1 tbsp. baking powder
- ½ tsp. kosher salt
- 10 massive eggs
- ½ cups sugar
- 1½ tsp. honey
For the filling and meringue glaze:
- 1½ cups dulce de leche
- ¼ cups coarsely chopped pecans
- 1¼ cups sugar
- 1½ tsp. finely grated lemon zest
- 4 massive egg whites
- Confectioner’s sugar, for dusting
Directions
- Make the cake: Preheat the oven (with one among its racks positioned within the middle) to 350°F. Line a really flat, 18- by 13-inch rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper and put aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk collectively the flour, baking powder, and salt. Within the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whip attachment, beat the eggs, sugar, and honey on medium velocity till completely mixed and creamy, about 1 minute. Utilizing a silicone spatula, fold the dry substances into the egg combination till fully mixed. Pour the batter into the lined baking sheet and, utilizing an offset spatula or the again of a spoon, easy the batter into a really even layer. Switch to the oven and bake, rotating the tray as soon as midway by means of cooking, till a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clear, 10–12 minutes. Take away from the oven and put aside to chill fully to room temperature.
- Utilizing a 2¼-inch spherical cookie cutter, punch out 24 circles of cake, dealing with rigorously to keep away from crumbling. Utilizing a piping bag or a big spoon, prime half of the circles with 2 beneficiant tablespoons of dulce de leche and a teaspoon of crushed pecans every. High the dulce- de leche-topped rounds with their mates and gently squeeze collectively to make tall sandwiches. Use a small offset spatula or butter knife to easy any extra filling, making a uniform border in order that the dulce de leche is flush with the perimeters of the cake.
- Make the meringue glaze: Set a small pot fitted with a sweet thermometer over medium-low warmth, then add the sugar, lemon zest, and ⅓ cup water, stirring gently to dissolve the sugar.
- Within the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whip attachment, beat the egg whites at medium-high velocity till medium-stiff peaks start to type. Flip the warmth below the pot of lemon syrup as much as medium and cook dinner till it reaches 245°F. With the mixer working, slowly drizzle the new syrup into the overwhelmed whites in a gradual stream, then enhance the mixer velocity to medium-high and proceed beating till the meringue cools to room temperature, is fluffy and shiny, and holds stiff peaks, 5–7 minutes.
- Lastly, glaze the marplatense: Place a small bowl of confectioners’ sugar by your work house and line a big baking sheet with a wire rack. Utilizing a small offset spatula or butter knife, frost the alfajores throughout with the meringue, lastly dipping the desserts on one of many flat sides within the confectioners’ sugar to forestall sticking. Place the alfajores sugar-side-down on the rack and put aside till the meringue is barely dry to the contact, 4–6 hours. Serve instantly, or switch to an hermetic container and retailer at room temperature for as much as 2 weeks.
