THE BEST RECIPES HAVE A STORY
Join us as we re-create the favourite recipes of history’s most fascinating people. Today we’re stepping into the childhood kitchen of Pope Francis to re-create his family recipe for Caramel Alfajores.
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Recipe Vault Rating: 10/10
Makes: 36
Prep time: 25 mins
Chill time: 20 mins
Cook time: 10 mins
Assembly: 15 mins
Difficulty: Medium
Pans required: 1 Grande Legacy or 1 Lil’ Legacy & 1 Legacy Pan
The only thing sweeter than Alfajores are Alfajores with a story.
Heirloom Recipes is our series exploring the kitchens of history’s most fascinating figures. We've tasted Ernest Hemingway's burger and Rosa Parks' pancakes. Now we’re stepping into the holy territory of Pope Francis.
Long before he became the leader of the Catholic Church, Pope Francis was a child. A child named Jorge Mario Bergoglio, from Buenos Aires.
Like most children, this child loved sweet things. In particular, his family recipe for Alfajores.
The Pope’s fondness for this delicious treat didn’t fade when he donned his white cassock. These delicate little sandwiches of biscuit and gooey caramel, with their edges rolled in coconut, remained his favourite recipe right to the end of his life.
We’ve made many personal recipes over the years, but making this one felt like a truely reverent ceremony.
Until we tasted them.
Then all we could see was the child.
Pope Francis' as a young child who enjoyed Alfajores.
Pope Francis as a young man who enjoyed Alfajores.
Biscuits:
100 g butter
100 g icing sugar
2 eggs
1 egg yolk
2 teaspoons vanilla essence
Zest of 1 lime
200 g white flour
100 g cornstarch
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
Filling:
Desiccated coconut
1 tin caramel condensed milk
Note:
Caramel condensed milk is available in most supermarkets. If you can’t find any, complain to the manager that this is the Pope’s recipe. They’ll have it on the shelf within a week. Until then, you can make your own by boiling an unopened tin of regular condensed milk, fully submerged in water, for 3 hours. The heat slowly caramelises the sugars. The Maillard reaction does the heavy lifting, and patience does the rest.
Cream the butter and icing sugar until smooth and fluffy. Add the eggs, egg yolk, vanilla essence and lime zest, mixing well.
Gently fold in the flour, cornstarch, baking powder and salt until just combined.
Form the dough into a ball, flatten into a disc and chill in the fridge for up to 2 hours.
Preheat the oven to 155°C.
Divide the dough in half. Dust your work surface generously with cornstarch. Roll the dough thinly (¼ to ⅛ inch) and cut into 4 cm circles.
Lightly grease your Ironclad pan and arrange the biscuits about ½ cm apart.
Bake for 11–12 minutes until just set. The biscuits should remain pale, not browned.
Cool completely on a wire rack.
Warm the caramel for 15 seconds in the microwave and stir until smooth and shiny.
Spread half a teaspoon of caramel onto the base of half the biscuits. Top with the remaining biscuits, pressing gently until the caramel just oozes out.
Roll the edges in desiccated coconut.
Enjoy.
Here's a playlist of Pope Francis' personal favourites to set the mood for making his Caramel Alfajores. Listen on Spotify.
