It’s not just the people of Argentina that are sweet, their deserts are as well. The nation definitely has a sweet tooth. This passion for all things calorie-packed and sugar-enrich delights has resulted in a range of delicious Argentinian desserts and sweet treats to eat on the go.
The star of Argentine sweets is dulce de leche, or caramel made with sugar and milk or cream. You’ll find it in many desserts, pastries, cookies and just about anywhere where you can use this sticky brown substance to fill, cover, flavour or stick together the rest of the dessert.
But there are other Argentine treats that deserve your attention too. Here are our favourites:
1. Facturas
You’ll find these pastries in the local bakery; they are basically sticky croissants with a fluffy and soft pastry which has been stuffed with delicious crème pastelera (vanilla custard), dulce de membrillo (a type of quince jam), raisins, coconut, walnuts or dulce de leche. The facturas come in all shapes and sizes and are sometimes dusted with sugar.
2. Churros
Perhaps best compared to a long doughnut, these deep-fired fingers of dough are usually sprinkled with sugar or even filled with … dulce de leche. Alternatively some restaurants serve the dulce de leche on the side so you can dip your churros into the dreamy, creamy, brown sweet, milky delight. Churros can be bought in bakeries or on the street. Churrero vendors walk the streets, especially in the tourist areas, selling churros.
3. Alfajores
These delicious melt-in-your-mouth cookies consist of two soft, round biscuits sandwiched together with Argentina’s favourite sweet, dulce de leche or caramel. The edges of the sweet treat are then rolled in flaky shredded coconut. Sometimes the mouth watering cookies are coated with chocolate, meringue or powdered sugar. These heavenly delights have become popular across the globe, but in Argentina they are made (and eaten) with a passion. Alfajores can be found in the most luxurious restaurants and also at the local corner bakery. My favourite ones are the ‘Cachafaz’ alfajores.
4. Helado
Helado is ice-cream, and in Argentina it comes in so many variations you’ll spend a long time deciding which flavour to choose. The stiff competition between helado joints (heladerias) means that they strive for excellent quality and mind-blowing, intense flavours. Argentine ice-cream is similar to Italian gelato which means it is thicker and creamier than American ice-cream. The Italian influence may have come to the country with the many Italian immigrants who made Argentina their home in the 1800s. The delicious creamy texture can probably be attributed to the plentiful quality milk supplied by Argentine dairy cows. Of course, dulce de leche features prominently in the Argentine ice-cream but there are also fruit flavours, chocolate varieties and just about any other flavour you can think up! There are so many different ice cream shops (Heladerias) to choose from. I would recommend these two amazing heladerias:’ Persico’ and ‘Bufala’.
Morin and Salo | Indietravel.net
We are a couple from Israel who decided to make the most out of life, learn new things everyday and travel the world. After 4 years together and a lot of amazing experiences we finally decided to take a step forward and change our life to a nomadic style. Our blog is about traveling as way of life, a document of our journeys and understandings for everyone interested in changing his lifestyle and getting free of the constraints of today capitalistic desires and aspirations.
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