Rogel Recipe: The Torta Alfajor - Delicious Dulce de Leche Recipe

What is the Rogel?

If you’ve been to a big party in Argentina, chances are you will have had a serving of Torta Alfajor – the Rogel. It’s often the traditional centerpiece of a big celebration, a delicious and visually stunning dessert..

If you’re something unusual you’ll just love this torta alfajor Rogel cake, it’s completely different to anything you’re likely to have made! Torta Alfajor is also known as a Rogel Cake, a luxury in Argentina.

In a nutshell, this cake is made from many layers of crunchy, crispy biscuit pastry lathered with delicious, creamy, sweet dulce de leche caramel. The cake is then topped with soft meringue.

Interestingly the ratio of dulce de leche to cake is high i.e. there is waaaay more dulce de leche in there than anything else. So the Torta Alfajor – Rogel Cake is a sure-fire crowd pleaser. Interestingly, the recipe for the biscuit pastry dough and meringue used in this dessert is not that sweet at all, otherwise the finished article would be too sweet.

The torta alfajor is a luxury cake dessert, not your everyday run of the mill bake. It is generally an Argentinian special celebration cake, such as for special birthdays, weddings, christenings etc. Whether you call it the Rogel or the Torta Alfajor, the recipe is the same, so really they are the same thing.

Origins of the Torta Alfajor Rogel Cake

It’s not 100% clear what the real origins of the Torta Alfajor Rogel are, but there are a few theories. Most likely it’s a mixture of all.

Petrona Arias in the 19th Century was an Argentinian baker and she made similar style dulce de leche cakes with many layers. It is thought this was the original ancestor of the current day Rogel.

Maybe it came from the Alfajor Santafesino – a special Argentinian alfajor from Santa Fe, Argentina. Regular alfajores are two cookies that sandwich a generous layer of dulce de leche. But the Alfajor Santafesino differs in that it has 3 or 4 layers of thinner, crispy biscuit, each spread with dulce de leche.

And then in the 1960s a confectioner called Charo Balbiani had a dutch-inspired layer cake recipe. At the same time but unrelated to the Balbianis, a lady named Rogelia in the Chacarita district (Buenos Aires, Argentina) made a similar cake which she called the “Rogel”. She registered the Rogel trademark for this cake. When she died, Balbiani bought the trademark and all of her machinery and started selling the famous “Rogel” in the 80s.

The final Rogel was a decadent cake with 8 thin layers of egg yolk crispy biscuit pastry. Each layer was filled with high quality dulce de leche. The topping was a delicious Italian Meringue.

Today these alfajor torta rogel cakes are manufactured in a factory in Villa Urquiza, a neighbourhood in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

What is Dulce de Leche?

Let’s start at the very beginning! Dulce de leche is a delicious, creamy milk jam. The traditional way to make it is by boiling milk and sugar together over a gentle heat for hours. It gradually condenses to leave a sweet, sticky, golden brown sauce with a caramel/toffee taste. It is commonly used as a cake filling.

A great dulce de leche has a high milk content, and some luxury blends even contain cream. It is a long and laborious process to make homemade dulce de leche, so more commonly we buy it already made.

It is usually available as a creamy jam, a thick sauce (for example to use as a cake filling) or as a syrup (if it is to used as a sauce). It is traditionally used as a baking ingredient, especially as a filling for cakes and biscuits.

Torta Rogel Recipe (Torta Alfajor with Dulce de Leche)

So you’ve read all about the Argentinian Torta Rogel.. Let’s get on with it and learn how to bake one! You’ll need to bear with this recipe, it’s quite long and tricky, but if you read through properly its not as complicated as it sounds!

If you don’t have enough prep time to make the Rogel all in one go, the pastry discs can be made ahead of time, and kept covered and dry for 24 hours.

Prep time: 30 minutes
Cook time: 30 minutes
Extra time: 30 minutes
Total time: 1 hours 30 minutes

Ingredients

For the dough discs

400g plain flour
1kg dulce de leche
2 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons caster sugar
2 tablespoons water
8 egg yolks

For the meringue topping

4 egg whites (from fresh eggs at room temperature)
1 cup of sugar (200g)
½ cup water
½ teaspoon cream of tartar OR juice of 1 lemon

Equipment

Oven – preheat to a piping hot temperature of 240C
Electric mixer (optional)
Whisk
Fork
Large Bowl
Baking Sheet – several would be useful
Rolling pin

Method – Rogel Dessert Main Body

To start with we need to make a smooth dough, which will make up the layers of this delicious torta alfajor Rogel.

First in a large bowl, beat together the sugar and butter until the mix takes on a consistency similar to cream.

Add in each of the egg yolks, one at a time. Once all the egg yolks are fully combined, add in the sugar and water.

Then gradually add in the flour. Don’t add the flour in too quickly otherwise it may become impossible to blend in thoroughly.

The pastry will come together as a smooth dough, but don’t be surprised if it’s fairly firm – you’ll need your baking muscles later!

Split the dough into 8 equal pieces, keep covered and rest for around 30 minutes.

Next, roll out the dough into approximately 20cm round discs. They will be thin, and may break or stick to the table, so its best to use a little flour, and maybe roll onto the baking sheet directly.

It might be quite tough to roll out the dough, but keep at it, they will roll out ok eventually.

Each pastry dough disk needs cooking in the oven until golden brown. Prick the flat pastry disc in several locations with a fork and put into the pre-heated oven.

According to the recipe it takes around 6 minutes, but DO watch how it cooks. Depending on your oven, you might find it’s done in as little as 4 minutes and as long as 10 minutes. You’ll be busy rolling out more pastry layers so it will be easy to burn some if you’re not careful!

Allow the pastry dough discs to cool to room temperature. Otherwise the caramel might melt and run off between the layers, creating an almighty mess!

Now place a pastry disc layer on your final serving plate or board and start to spread with dulce de leche.. spread generously! Do be careful, because each thin pastry dough disc is brittle and easy to break.

Alternate layers of the pastry and spread dulce de leche until the rest of the thin pastry discs are used up. For the last layer, don’t spread with dulce de leche.. This layer is to be topped with italian meringue.

At this point, if you’re not ready to make your meringue, you can keep the assembled layers covered at room temperature for up to 24 hours.

Method – Rogel Dessert Topping: Italian Meringue

In a saucepan, boil the sugar and water together to make the sugar syrup. If you have a candy thermometer, heat to 115C, but if you don’t, just heat until it is bubbling furiously.

From the eggs you used in the main cake recipe (8 egg yolks were needed), you should have enough egg whites leftover for this part of the recipe. Tip: if you have no other use for the extra egg whites, we recommend making double the meringue recipe and keeping it for another application, maybe some other cake or bake you intend on making.

In a bowl, place the egg whites and mix together with the lemon juice or cream of tartar. Beat the egg whites well until they form soft peaks. You will appreciate an electrical mixer or whisk for the next stage…

While the mixer or whisk is running, carefully and slowly pour in the hot sugar syrup. Keep beating until the mixture is at a good, stiff texture.

For the best results, pipe the meringue onto the last of the thin layers, the top layer of the cake.

The torta alfajor looks difficult to cut, but actually its no trouble. Sit back and enjoy now!

We recommend Onda-Onda dulce de leche for this recipe, you’ll need 3 jars

Gourmet Dulce de Leche Onda-Onda 350g

£3.99

Add to basket

Sale!

Introductory Offer

Gourmet Dulce de Leche Onda-Onda Repostero Catering Grade 800g

£6.99

Add to basket

Swiss vs Italian Meringue

The traditional torta alfajor Rogel is made with Italian meringue, which is made by whipping a hot sugar syrup with egg whites and lemon juice. Using this method makes a delicious meringue that is stable at room temperature, as well as attractive and glossy. This fluffy, creamy topping is a fundamental technique for the pastry chef. It is the perfect topping for a cake without being too sweet and sickly, while at the same time being eye catching and beautiful.

The drawback to making Italian meringue is that it is quite tricky to make. And if baking with children, it’s worth considering that the hot sugar syrup can be quite dangerous.

Swiss meringue is made with the same ingredients, however the sugar is combined with the egg whites and then whipped over an indirect heat, usually a bain marie. The drawback is that it isn’t as stable and glossy. But it pipes well, and is easier to make.

Tip: How to Separate Your Egg Yolks from Your Eggs?

You have a bunch of eggs and you need the whites in one pot, the yolks in another.. It doesn’t need to be too complicated! The easiest way is to have the egg white pot in front of you when you start. Crack the egg as near to the middle as you can.

When you open the egg, ensure the yolk doesn’t drop – instead it needs to stay in one egg shell half. Tip the egg white from the other half into the bowl. Now try to “pour” just the yolk from one half into the other half of eggshell. More egg white will spill down into the bowl. Keep repeating this step until you are left with just the egg yolk. Hey presto!

What next?

Have you enjoyed baking the Rogel with dulce de leche? If yes, do browse some of our other dulce de leche recipes here

If you’ve tried the Rogel recipe, or one of our other recipes mentioned above, please do share your photos! Send them to info@urushop.co.uk or share via social media, we’d love to see them! Do you have any dulce de leche recipes? Do share them too!