Desserts

Alfajores, a Traditional Delight in Cuzco

In the city of Cuzco we have many desserts and sweets. These are made to delight our palate at any time. In our restaurants we are accustomed to sere dessert right after our main course for lunch. The waiters bring small portions on small plates or bowls known as dulceras, or carriers of sweets. A wonderful peach pudding (mazamorra de durazno) or a typical rice with milk, a delicious jello, these are some of the delights they give us.

Today we enjoy another delicious dessert that as time has gone on has gained ever more prestige. It has been ever more known for sweetening and enchanting Cuzco’s palates. I am speaking of the alfajor. This is a Peruvian dessert that is very delicate and takes the form of a sandwich of two cookies filled with a caramel called dulce de leche or with a thickened condensed milk we call manjar blanco. They can also have honey or marmalade as a filling and are covered with grated coconut.

You will find this dessert both in children’s parties as well as in more elegant receptions.

These delicious alfajores are present, ready to be sold in stores and pastry shops. It is worth mentioning that only a few bakers are alfajores made up. Others buy them to resell in their own stores. There are businesses dedicated to making alfajores and they deliver them to stores and restaurants throughout Cuzco for resale. They take them in a small car through the streets of Cuzco for delivery.

Cafes show off these pleasing alfajores in glass and to entice a client to buy them to accompany their coffee. The other day I met a friend who was in a store in my neighborhood. I was buying an alfajor at the moment. I asked him what was it that he liked the most about this dessert and he said it was the filling of manjar that it had inside. He said that he even liked to eat two of them while drinking a soda.

Because they have an incredible and unique flavor, alfajores have become one of the desserts that people eat every day in Cusco. If you are in the city you should not doubt about buying one or two to enjoy. You will not repent. You will find them in pastry shops, stores, and restaurants throughout the city.

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