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Torta rogel
Torta rogel: tower of paper-thin crisp pastry layers glued with dulce de leche and crowned with meringue
ArgentinianBirthdays in Buenos Aires are where the rogel shows off: eight or more wafer-thin, crackling discs of egg-yolk pastry, each spread with thick dulce de leche, stacked high and finished with a cloud of glossy Italian meringue browned with a blowtorch. Confiterías sell it by the slice, and it is a cake of contrasts, crisp and chewy, very sweet against the faintly salty pastry. It is laborious rather than difficult, and it slices best after a few hours' rest, when the dulce de leche has softened the layers just slightly. Use thick dulce de leche repostero (bakers' style); the runny kind for spreading on toast makes the tower slide. Rolling the discs too thick is the classic mistake: they should be so thin you can almost see the worktop through them, or the cake becomes heavy and hard to cut. Chef's tip: prick every disc all over with a fork before baking, or it puffs into a dome and won't stack flat.
- Total time
- 150 min
- Difficulty
- hard
- Serves
- 12
Ingredients
For the pastry
For the filling
For the Italian meringue
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Method
0/8 doneStep 1: Mix 14 oz plain flour and ½ tsp salt, then add 8 egg yolks, 1 ¾ oz unsalted butter and ½ cup cold water and knead for 10 minutes, until the dough is smooth and firm. Rest it, covered, for 20 minutes.
20 minStep 2: Heat the oven to 400°F (350°F fan). Divide the dough into 8 equal pieces.
Step 3: Roll one piece as thin as you can on a floured worktop, then cut it into a 24 cm circle using a plate as a guide. Lift it onto a tray lined with baking paper and prick it all over with a fork.
Step 4: Bake for 5–7 minutes, until crisp and golden in patches, then cool on a rack. Repeat with the rest of the dough, rolling the next disc while one bakes.
50 minStep 5: Set the first disc on a serving plate and spread it with a thin layer of 2 ¼ lb dulce de leche. Keep stacking discs and dulce de leche, pressing gently, and finish with a plain disc on top.
Step 6: For the meringue, boil 9 oz caster sugar and ¼ cup water over a medium heat to 250°F, when a drop in cold water forms a soft ball.
8 minStep 7: Meanwhile, whisk 4 egg whites to soft peaks. With the mixer running, pour in the hot syrup in a thin stream and whisk for 6–8 minutes, until thick, glossy and cool.
8 minStep 8: Swirl the meringue over the top of the cake in peaks and brown it lightly with a blowtorch. Rest for at least 2 hours before cutting with a serrated knife.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 520 kcal
- Protein
- 10 g
- Carbs
- 85 g
- Fat
- 15 g
- Fibre
- 1 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does torta rogel take?
- About 150 minutes in total: 90 minutes to prepare and 60 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 plain flour?
- Self-raising flour, same amount (then leave out the baking powder).
- What can I use instead of unsalted butter?
- The same weight of ghee or coconut oil (for frying and most baking).
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