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44 recipes

Postre MassiniCustard sponge with burnt sugar top

Montevideo's birthday cake of choice since the early twentieth century, the Massini is two thin layers of sponge sandwiching a thick filling of whipped cream folded with egg-yolk custard, crowned with a thin glassy crust of torched yolk and sugar. Bakeries across Uruguay sell it on Sundays. Traditional versions sometimes add a sweet fortified wine to the custard; this one is alcohol-free. The custard is cooked to a safe 71 °C. The common mistake is assembling with warm custard, which melts the cream into a puddle. Chef's tip: if you don't have a blowtorch, put the sugared top under a very hot grill for a minute and watch it closely.

80 minParaguayanBaking
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Tarta de zapallitosCourgette and cheese tart

In Buenos Aires every rotisería sells tartas by the slice, and at home a tarta de zapallitos is baked on Sunday evening so that a wedge can go into the vianda (packed lunch) for school and work all week. Zapallitos are round green courgettes; ordinary courgettes work just as well. The common mistake is adding the courgette raw, which floods the pastry; sauté it until the liquid has cooked away. Argentine queso rallado and many hard cheeses are made with animal rennet, so use a vegetarian hard cheese. Chef's tip: bake the tart on a preheated baking tray so the base crisps before the filling soaks in.

70 minArgentinianBaking
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Ají amarillo pasteYellow chilli paste

In Lima's markets ají amarillo is sold fresh all year, and most Peruvian cooks keep a tub of this paste in the fridge the way others keep tomato purée: it is the golden base of causa limeña, ají de gallina, papa a la huancaína, chupe and the sauce for tiraditos. The chillies are seeded, de-veined and blanched in three changes of water, which tames the heat and the raw grassiness, then peeled and blended with oil into a thick, silky, saffron-orange paste. It tastes fruity and sunny, almost like apricot and passion fruit, with a rounded, medium heat. Abroad, buy whole frozen ají amarillo from Latin grocers; dried ají mirasol, soaked, gives a darker, earthier paste. Common mistake: skipping the peeling; the thin skins leave papery flecks and a bitter edge. It is ready when it is completely smooth and holds a soft peak like thick hummus. This is a low-acid paste: keep it in the fridge for a week or freeze it, never on the shelf. Chef's tip: freeze it in an ice-cube tray; one cube is about a tablespoon, just right for a pot of ají de gallina.

40 minPeruvianBasicsVeganGluten freeSpicy
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Drożdżówka z kruszonkąSweet yeast bun with crumble

Every Polish bakery window has a row of drożdżówki, and the bun with sweet cheese under a sandy butter crumble is the one schoolchildren buy on the way to class. The dough is soft, milky and lightly sweet, the vanilla twaróg filling is thick and tangy, and the crumble bakes into crisp, sugary nuggets that scatter everywhere when you bite in. Fruit versions use plums, blueberries or apple. A common mistake is overfilling, so the cheese bursts out and the buns lose their round shape. Twaróg is usually rennet-free, but check the label. Chef's tip: brush the dough with egg before adding the crumble; it glues it on and gives a shiny edge.

110 minPolishBaking
by KrazyBadal 0 views

FafernuchyHoney and carrot Christmas cookies

Old Masurian and Warmian households baked fafernuchy weeks before Christmas and kept them in tins, where they slowly mellowed; children found them in their stockings and on the Christmas plate. They are small, hard, pebble-like biscuits, sweetened with honey and given a gentle colour and moisture from finely grated carrot, with a little spice in some homes. Expect a proper crunch, made for dunking in tea. A common mistake is expecting them to be soft straight from the oven; they are meant to be firm and soften only a little in the tin. Chef's tip: grate the carrot on the finest side of the grater so the dough stays smooth and holds its shape.

60 minPolishBaking
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Grzybki marynowanePickled forest mushrooms

After an autumn morning of mushroom picking in the forests of Podlasie or the Bieszczady, the smallest, firmest boletes and slippery jacks are set aside for jars of grzybki marynowane. They come out at Christmas and on name days as a zakąska, sharp and sweet with allspice and mustard seed, sliced onion and firm, slightly slippery mushrooms. Only use wild mushrooms you bought from a trusted seller or had checked by an expert; cultivated chestnut or button mushrooms work well too. A common mistake is skipping the first boil in salted water, which leaves the pickle cloudy and the mushrooms soft. Chef's tip: cook the mushrooms until they sink, then pack them while hot under boiling marinade.

40 minPolishBasicsVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Ogórki kiszoneFermented dill cucumbers

Every Polish cellar and balcony in late summer holds jars of these, and they are nothing like vinegar pickles: the cucumbers sour naturally in salty water over several days, turning olive green, crunchy and garlicky with a clean lactic tang. Eat them with potatoes and dill, chop them into salads, or drink the brine, which Poles swear by the morning after. Use small, firm pickling cucumbers picked within a day or two. The usual slip is using iodised table salt, which can stop the ferment and soften the pickles; use plain rock or pickling salt. Fermentation takes 3 to 7 days at room temperature, so plan ahead. If anything other than a thin white film forms, or the jar smells rotten, throw it out. Chef's tip: horseradish or oak leaves, rich in tannin, are what keep the cucumbers crisp.

20 minPolishBasicsVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Kołocz śląskiSilesian cheese yeast cake

Silesian weddings once had kołocz delivered to every neighbour as a thank-you, and the wide trays still appear at christenings, harvest festivals and church fairs in Opole and around Katowice. The base is a soft, lightly sweet yeast dough, spread with a thick layer of vanilla twaróg and covered with a buttery crumble that bakes into craggy golden lumps. It keeps well for two days and cuts into neat squares for coffee. A common mistake is baking it before the dough has had its second rise under the topping, which gives a dense, bready base. Twaróg is usually rennet-free, but check the label. Chef's tip: keep the crumble in the fridge until the last moment so it stays in distinct lumps in the oven.

150 minPolishBaking
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Rogal świętomarcińskiPoppy seed crescent pastry

Every 11 November, St Martin's Day, Poznań eats well over a million of these heavy crescents, and only certified local bakeries may sell them under the protected name. Our home version follows the same idea: a flaky laminated yeast dough wrapped around a rich filling of white poppy seed, nuts, dried fruit and cream, glazed with icing and scattered with chopped nuts. Each rogal is large, sweet and almond-scented, best shared with coffee. A common mistake is letting the butter get warm during folding; it then melts into the dough and the layers disappear. Chef's tip: white poppy seed is milder than blue; ask for it at Polish shops or online, and grind it fine.

175 minPolishBaking
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Babka wielkanocnaEaster yeast cake

A golden babka standing tall in the Easter basket used to be a matter of family pride, and old cooks whispered while it baked, convinced a slammed door would make it sink. The dough is soft and rich with egg yolks and butter, beaten until it is elastic, then baked in a fluted ring tin into a cake with a fine, feathery, saffron-yellow crumb. Raisins are often soaked in rum; this version uses orange juice, but a couple of spoons of rum work if you prefer. The usual slip is adding too much flour to a sticky dough, which makes the babka dry; it should stay soft and almost batter-like. Chef's tip: cool the babka on its side, turning it now and then, so the delicate crumb doesn't collapse.

185 minPolishBaking
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Pan dulceChristmas fruit bread

No Argentine Christmas Eve table is complete without a pan dulce, set out at midnight with turrón, nuts and a cold cider for the adults. The bread is the River Plate take on Genoese pandolce and Milanese panettone: a tall, buttery yeast dough scented with orange blossom and lemon, packed with candied fruit, raisins and walnuts. The crumb is closer and moister than panettone, and it keeps for a week wrapped in a cloth. Allow a long day, as the dough has a sponge and two rises. Some bakers soak the fruit in rum or sweet wine; here it is soaked in orange juice, so the bread is alcohol-free. People often add the fruit at the start of kneading, which shreds the gluten and gives a heavy, sunken loaf; work it in only once the dough is silky. Chef's tip: bake it in a tall paper mould or a 16 cm tin lined with a collar of baking paper, and turn it upside down onto a rack for the first 20 minutes of cooling so the top does not sink.

295 minArgentinianBaking
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Pasta frolaQuince tart

Pasta frola came to the River Plate with Italian immigrants (it is a cousin of the crostata), and it is now the tart every Argentine kitchen keeps on the counter for afternoon mate. The crust is short and cakey rather than crisp, scented with lemon zest and vanilla, and the filling is dulce de membrillo melted down into a spreadable jam; dulce de batata is the other classic. Bakeries in Buenos Aires sell it by the square and it keeps for days in a tin, getting better on the second day. The lattice strips should be thin and slightly wider apart than you think, so the dark filling shows through. A common slip is to spread the quince paste straight from the block: it will not spread, it tears the base and it turns leathery in the oven, so loosen it first with a little hot water. Chef's tip: chill the lined tin and the cut strips for 15 minutes before baking, so the lattice keeps its shape instead of slumping into the filling.

70 minArgentinianBaking
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Pastelitos criollosFried quince pastries

Every 25 May, when Argentina marks the 1810 revolution, bakeries and school kitchens from Buenos Aires to Tucumán turn out trays of pastelitos: two squares of flaky dough stacked into a star, filled with dulce de membrillo or dulce de batata, fried until the layers fan open and then dipped in syrup. They are eaten warm with mate or hot chocolate, shattering crisp outside and sticky in the middle. Lard is the traditional fat in both the dough and the frying pan; this version uses butter or vegetable shortening for laminating and sunflower oil for frying, so it stays vegetarian. Expect a hard but rewarding job: the dough is folded like a quick puff pastry. Oil that is too hot is the classic error, browning the outside before the inner layers have opened, so keep it around 160 °C. Chef's tip: pinch the four corners of the top square down onto the gaps of the bottom one and press with a wet fingertip, or the star unfolds in the oil and the filling leaks.

90 minArgentinianBaking
by KrazyBadal 0 views

PatayAlgarroba pod cake

Long before sugar reached the dry northwest, the pods of the algarrobo tree were the region's sweetness, and patay is the oldest way of keeping them: the pods are ground, the flour is moistened and pressed into a cake that dries into something dense, fudgy and naturally sweet, with notes of cocoa, coffee and caramel. In Santiago del Estero you still buy it in round slabs at markets and roadside stalls, to eat with mate or to crumble into milk. Harina de algarroba comes from the South American Prosopis tree; look for it in health-food shops or online, and mesquite flour is the same family and works well. Mediterranean carob flour is different and tastes more bitter. Too much water is the way most first attempts go wrong: the cake should be pressed from a damp, crumbly mix, not a batter, or it bakes up gummy. Chef's tip: sieve the flour twice; algarroba flour clumps, and lumps stay as hard grains.

40 minArgentinianBakingVegan
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Pepas de membrilloQuince jam cookies

Pepas are the little round cookies with a jewel of quince jam in the middle that Argentine kiosks sell by the bag and grandmothers keep in a tin for the mate round. They are tender and crumbly, not crisp, with just enough sugar that the tart, dark membrillo stands out. Children love pressing the thumbprint and filling it, which makes them a good first baking job, and they keep for a week in an airtight jar. Kiosk versions are often made with margarine; butter tastes far better. Overbaking is the usual problem: take them out while the tops are still pale and only the bottoms are golden, because they firm up as they cool. Chef's tip: use quince paste softened with a spoonful of hot water and pipe it from a small bag; a spoon leaves smears on the dough that burn.

35 minArgentinianBaking
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Rosca de PascuaEaster ring bread

Argentine Easter Sunday breakfast centres on the rosca de Pascua, a ring of soft, orange-scented brioche-like dough laid with stripes of pastry cream, candied cherries and pearl sugar, with whole boiled eggs pressed into the dough as a symbol of new life. Bakeries in every barrio stack them in the window from Holy Thursday, and families share it with coffee or mate after the Easter egg hunt. The crumb is fluffy and pale yellow, and the custard bakes into soft, golden ridges. Because the eggs bake for 30 minutes on top of their boiling, they are fully cooked; many people keep them for decoration and peel them later. The mistake to avoid is piping the pastry cream too thick, which slides off as the ring rises; thin lines give neat ridges. Chef's tip: cook the custard until it is very thick and chill it before piping, and brush the ring with egg before (not after) the cream goes on.

210 minArgentinianBaking
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Torta galesaDark fruit and walnut cake

Welsh settlers arrived in the Chubut valley in 1865 and their descendants still serve afternoon tea in Gaiman and Trelew, where the casas de té bring out pots of tea, scones, cream cakes and, always, a slice of torta galesa. It is a dense, almost black fruit cake made with brown sugar and black treacle, studded with raisins, candied peel and walnuts, and it was built to last through long Patagonian winters and journeys across the steppe. The crumb is moist and sticky, rich with spice and caramel. An oven that is too hot is the classic error: the outside chars before the middle is set, so it bakes low and slow under a sheet of paper. There's no alcohol in this version; many cooks brush it with rum after baking, so leave that out or use strong tea. Chef's tip: wrap the cooled cake tightly and wait two or three days before cutting; it turns moister and the flavours deepen.

140 minArgentinianBaking
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Torta rogelLayered pastry dulce de leche cake

Birthdays 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.

150 minArgentinianBaking
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Tortitas mendocinasFlaky round breakfast breads

Every panadería in Mendoza fills a tray with tortitas in the early morning, and they go out in paper bags to be eaten warm with mate, split and spread with butter, quince paste or a slice of cheese. They are flat, round, slightly salty breads, soft and layered in the middle and crisp at the edges, with the fork marks that give them away. The traditional fat is beef lard (grasa), which makes them very short; here butter or vegetable shortening takes its place to keep them vegetarian, and both give a good flaky result. The mistake to avoid is rolling them thin like crackers: they should be a generous centimetre thick, or they bake hard and dry. Chef's tip: fold the dough in three twice before the final roll, like a quick puff pastry; those folds give tortitas their layers.

75 minArgentinianBaking
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Tortitas negrasBrown sugar-topped buns

Black cakes, the name means, though only their tops are dark: tortitas negras are flat, round, flaky buns covered with a thick crust of dark brown sugar that melts in the oven and sets crunchy and toffee-like. They are among the cheapest and most popular facturas in Buenos Aires bakeries, eaten from a paper bag at breakfast or as a merienda with mate, and everyone fights over the sugary edges. The dough is a lightly laminated yeast dough, between bread and puff pastry. Bakeries often use lard or margarine; this version uses butter and stays vegetarian. Being stingy with the sugar is the classic misstep: a thin layer just melts into the dough and disappears, so pile it on thickly and press it down. Chef's tip: brush the rounds with water, not egg, before adding the sugar; the water melts the sugar into a crisp, crackling shell.

88 minArgentinianBaking
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Viennese GugelhupfLemon and raisin ring cake

In Vienna the Gugelhupf is the Sunday cake of home bakers, set out on the table for afternoon Jause with coffee, and every family has its own fluted copper or ceramic mould. Unlike the yeasted ring cakes of Alsace and southern Germany, the everyday Viennese one is a Rührgugelhupf, a buttery sponge lifted with whisked egg whites, scented with lemon and studded with plump raisins. It is tender, light and keeps moist for several days under a cake dome. A common mistake is a badly greased mould; every ridge needs butter and flour or the cake tears as it comes out. Chef's tip: soak the raisins in hot water for 15 minutes, dry them and toss them in a spoon of flour so they don't sink.

90 minAustrianBaking
by KrazyBadal 0 views

King kongLayered biscuit with manjar blanco

Named, the story goes, after the giant ape because of its size when the film reached Peru, the king kong is Lambayeque's proudest sweet: thick, crumbly biscuit layers stacked with manjar blanco, a sticky pineapple jam and a peanut fudge, then cut into heavy slabs. Shops in Lambayeque and Chiclayo sell them by the kilo in boxes, and travellers carry them home as gifts. It is very sweet, buttery and dense, so a slice goes a long way with black coffee. This home version makes the manjar blanco from condensed and evaporated milk to save hours, then turns half of it into the peanut layer. The usual mistake is overbaking the biscuit until it is hard; take it out as soon as the edges are pale gold, as it firms up while it cools. It is a project, so make the fillings first and let them cool. Chef's tip: wrap the finished king kong and leave it overnight before cutting; the layers settle and soften into each other.

150 minPeruvianBaking
by KrazyBadal 0 views

KispiñoSteamed quinoa cakes

Pressed in a fist so each one carries the marks of the cook's fingers, kispiño are small, dense quinoa cakes from the Puno highlands, steamed and then left to dry so they keep for weeks on journeys, herding trips and pilgrimages. Traditional ones are bound with a little lime water (from cal, the mineral) and fat; this home version uses oil and a pinch of aniseed and sugar, so they're vegan and pleasantly savoury-sweet. They're firm and chewy, a little like a grain cake, and good with hot tea, coca tea or a soup on a cold day. The common mistake is making the dough too wet, so the cakes slump in the steamer; it should feel like damp sand that holds its shape when squeezed. Ground quinoa is quinoa flour; grind your own from rinsed, dried and toasted grain, or buy it ready ground. Chef's tip: toast the ground quinoa in a dry pan first until it smells nutty, which takes away any bitterness.

55 minPeruvianBakingVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Turrón de Doña PepaAnise biscuit sticks in spiced syrup

Every October, the month of the Señor de los Milagros processions in Lima, bakeries and street sellers pile their trays with turrón de Doña Pepa: layers of crumbly anise-flavoured sticks drenched in a dark syrup of chancaca cooked with fruit and spices, topped with a storm of coloured sprinkles. Popular lore credits it to Josefa Marmanillo, a woman from the Cañete valley who is said to have made it in thanks after the procession. It is sticky, crunchy and soft at once, with orange and clove in the syrup. Its downfall is usually runny syrup that soaks the sticks into mush; it needs to reach a thick, threading stage before it goes on. Chancaca is sold as cones or blocks in Latin shops; panela or dark muscovado also work. Some coloured sprinkles contain gelatin, so check the label. Chef's tip: make it a day ahead; the syrup sets and the sticks soften just enough to slice neatly.

120 minPeruvianBaking
by KrazyBadal 0 views

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