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Alfajor cordobés
Alfajor cordobés: soft, cake-like rounds sandwiched with fruit jam and coated in a crackly sugar glaze
ArgentinianCórdoba's version of the alfajor is the soft one: two tender, slightly spongy honey-scented rounds sandwiched with fruit jam, usually quince or mixed fruit, and coated in a thin sugar glaze that dries to a crackly white shell. They are sold by the dozen in the sierras towns of Villa General Belgrano, La Falda and Capilla del Monte, where tourists buy boxes on the way home from holidays. Expect a gentle crunch, a cakey bite and a tart-sweet centre, best with a cup of coffee or mate. Overworking the dough is where they usually go wrong: knead it like bread and the rounds bake tough and flat, so mix only until it comes together. Quince paste (dulce de membrillo) loosened with water works well if you can't find a soft quince jam. Chef's tip: dry the glazed alfajores for 5 minutes in a barely warm oven; the glaze sets glassy and crackles when you bite.
- Total time
- 70 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 12
Ingredients
For the rounds
For the filling
For the glaze
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Method
0/9 doneStep 1: Beat 3 ½ oz butter, 3 ½ oz sugar and 2 tbsp honey until creamy. Beat in 2 eggs one at a time with 1 tsp vanilla extract and 1 tsp finely grated lemon zest.
Step 2: Sift in 12 ½ oz plain flour and 2 tsp baking powder and mix with a spatula just until a soft dough forms. Don't knead.
Step 3: Wrap and chill until firm enough to roll.
20 minStep 4: Heat the oven to 350°F (325°F fan) and line two trays. Roll the dough on a floured worktop to 6 mm thick and cut 6 cm rounds, rerolling the scraps once, to get 24.
Step 5: Bake until puffed and dry on top but still pale, with only the bases lightly golden.
12 minStep 6: Cool on a rack. Spread half the rounds with 10 ½ oz quince jam or soft fruit jam and top with the rest, pressing gently.
Step 7: Stir 12 ½ oz icing sugar with 2 tbsp lemon juice and enough 3 tbsp hot water to make a smooth glaze that coats the back of a spoon thickly.
Step 8: Dip each alfajor in the glaze, turning with a fork to coat all over, and set on a rack over a tray.
Step 9: Heat the oven to 200°F (176°F fan), turn it off and put the alfajores in until the glaze sets hard and glassy. Cool before packing.
5 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 330 kcal
- Protein
- 4 g
- Carbs
- 63 g
- Fat
- 8 g
- Fibre
- 1 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does alfajor cordobés take?
- About 70 minutes in total: 40 minutes to prepare and 30 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 12 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegetarian?
- Yes. It has no meat or fish.
- What can I use instead of butter?
- The same weight of ghee or coconut oil (for frying and most baking).
- What can I use instead of sugar?
- Caster sugar, same amount.
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