Chocolate and Vanilla Alfajores (Picture by: Geoff George)
This alfajor recipe exhibits you two decadent methods to benefit from the standard Latin American sandwich cookie.
A layer of dulce de leche (which you can also make in an electrical strain cooker) nestled between two buttery biscuits makes for a heavenly melt-in-your-mouth cookie. Fulfill the chocolate lovers in your life by including cocoa and orange zest to the batter and dipping the cookie in a shower of semi-sweet chocolate.
Chocolate and Vanilla Alfajores have been the Technical Bake for Biscuits and Bars Week in Season 6 of The Nice Canadian Baking Present.
Chocolate and Vanilla Alfajores
Substances
Dulce de Leche:
2 cans (600 ml) sweetened condensed milk
Chocolate Alfajores:
¾ cup (145 g) granulated sugar
Zest of 1 orange
¾ cup (170 g) unsalted butter, room temperature
1⅓ cup (150 g) cornstarch
⅓ cup (30 g) Dutch-processed cocoa powder
1 cup (142 g) all-purpose flour
¼ tsp kosher salt
1 tsp baking powder
3 egg yolks
2 tsp vanilla extract
Vanilla Alfajores:
¾ cup (145 g) granulated sugar
¾ cup (170 g) unsalted butter, room temperature
Zest of 1 lemon
1½ cup (170 g) cornstarch
1 cup (142 g) all-purpose flour
¼ tsp wonderful sea salt
1 tsp baking powder
3 egg yolks
2 tsp vanilla
1½ cups (135 g) unsweetened coconut, finely shredded
Chocolate Coating:
3 cups (500 g) semi-sweet chocolate callets (54.5%), divided
1 tbsp vegetable shortening
Preparation
Dulce de Leche:
NOTE: All strain cookers are completely different. Please seek the advice of your instruction handbook.
Line a quarter-sheet pan with two layers of plastic wrap.
Pour 4 cups of water into the bowl of a 6-quart electrical strain cooker (the amount of water will fluctuate based mostly on the mannequin). Empty 2 cans of sweetened condensed milk right into a 1.5-litre metallic bowl that may match within the strain cooker. Cowl the bowl with parchment paper, then aluminum foil, and seal tightly. Place the bowl within the strain cooker; water must be about midway up the edges of the bowl. Lock the lid in place and prepare dinner on excessive strain for 65 minutes.
Manually launch the strain, then take away the lid, being cautious to not burn your self with the steam.
Utilizing tongs and a tea towel, take away the bowl. Elevate off the foil and parchment paper, taking care to not get any water within the bowl. Use an immersion blender to easy out any lumps within the dulce de leche and ensure to scrape the underside of the bowl because the caramelized sugars might be caught to the underside. If wanted, pressure by means of a fine-mesh sieve. Switch the dulce de leche to the ready sheet pan and chill it briefly within the fridge till thickened. Switch it to a piping bag. It must be gentle sufficient to pipe however not runny, and it ought to maintain its form.
Chocolate Alfajores:
Regulate the oven rack to the center place and warmth the oven to 350 F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
Mix the sugar and orange zest within the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Rub the sugar and zest collectively together with your fingertips till the combination seems like moist sand. Add the butter and beat on medium velocity till mild and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
In the meantime, sift collectively the cornstarch, cocoa powder, flour, salt and baking powder onto a sheet of parchment paper and put aside. With the mixer on medium velocity, add the egg yolks one after the other, ready till each is absolutely included earlier than including the subsequent. Add the vanilla extract and scrape down the edges of the bowl.
Set the mixer to the bottom velocity and slowly add the dry elements to the bowl, beating till simply mixed. Scrape down the edges of the bowl and blend on low velocity a number of seconds extra. Cut up the dough into two even parts and form every right into a flat disc. Wrap every disc in plastic wrap and chill within the freezer till they’re agency sufficient to roll however not frozen, about 10 minutes.
Unwrap one of many dough discs and place it on a floured floor, kneading it a number of occasions to loosen it up. Roll it out so it’s ¼ inch thick. Utilizing a 2-inch spherical cookie cutter, lower out the cookies and place them straight on the ready baking sheets, spacing them 1 inch aside, 18 cookies per sheet pan. Chill for five to 7 minutes.
Place one sheet within the oven and bake the cookies for 8 to 9 minutes, rotating the tray midway by means of. Don’t enable them to brown. Permit them to chill absolutely on the tray whilst you bake the remaining cookies.
When the cookies are absolutely cooled, pipe about 1 tablespoon of dulce de leche on the underside of 1 cookie. High with one other cookie, with the underside going through in. Gently press the cookies collectively till the dulce de leche barely involves the sting. Chill till you’re able to coat them in chocolate.
Chocolate Coating:
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a double boiler, warmth two-thirds of the chocolate together with the shortening to 122 F, stirring usually. Take away from the warmth and add the reserved chocolate. Proceed stirring till the temperature reaches 80 F (the chocolate must be thickand shiny). Return the combination to the double boiler and warmth gently to 88 F, then take away from warmth. Dip every cookie within the chocolate, flipping it with a fork so it’s absolutely coated. Then elevate it out, permitting the surplus chocolate to drip off, and place it on the ready sheet pan to set. Repeat with the remaining cookies. Chill them within the fridge till absolutely set, about 10 minutes.
Vanilla Alfajores:
Regulate the oven rack to the center place and warmth the oven to 350 F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
Mix the sugar and lemon zest within the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Rub the sugar and zest collectively together with your fingertips till the sugar seems like moist sand. Add the butter and beat on medium velocity till mild and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
In the meantime, sift the cornstarch, flour, salt and baking powder onto a sheet of parchment paper and put aside. With the mixer on medium velocity, add the egg yolks one after the other, ready till each is absolutely included earlier than including the subsequent. Add the vanilla extract and scrape down the edges of the bowl.
Set the mixer to the bottom velocity and slowly add the dry elements to the bowl, beating till simply mixed. Scrape down the edges of the bowl and blend on low velocity a number of seconds extra. Cut up the dough into two even parts and form every right into a flat disc. Wrap every disc in plastic wrap and chill within the freezer till they’re agency sufficient to roll however not frozen, about 10 minutes.
Unwrap one of many dough discs and place it on a floured floor, kneading it a number of occasions to loosen it up. Roll it out so it’s ¼ inch thick. Utilizing a 2-inch spherical cookie cutter, lower out the cookies and place them straight on the ready baking sheets, spacing them 1 inch aside, 18 cookies per sheet pan. Chill for five to 7 minutes.
Bake the cookies for 8 to 9 minutes, rotating the tray midway by means of. Don’t enable them to brown. Permit them to chill absolutely on the tray whilst you bake the remaining cookies.
When the cookies are absolutely cooled, pipe about 1 tablespoon of dulce de leche on the underside of 1 cookie. High with one other cookie, with the underside going through in. Gently press the cookies collectively till the dulce de leche barely involves the sting. Coat the perimeters in shredded coconut.
Makes 18 chocolate alfajores and 18 vanilla alfajores
