Alfajor cake is perfect for those people who, like me, are not particularly a fun of regular cake. The layers of alfajor cookie are not crispy nor super soft and the manjar blanco filling is my downfall.
I have to say that I had done this alfajor cake before last year and I didn’t post it because the layers were completely different shapes and sizes. This year I cracked the code: the dough needs to be rolled out, cold and really well rested before cutting and placing in the oven. This way they will all have the same size.
Many people ask me if you can do this sort of cake with my cornflour alfajor recipe and the answer is sadly no. That dough is suuuuper delicate and it’s very likely that it will break during the assembly process.
I have a small naughtiness with you. When you serve the slice of cake you want to microwave it for 10 seconds. I swear you won’t regret it hahaha.
Alfajor Cake
Ingredients
For the alfajor cookie layers
- 500 g all purpose flour
- 3 tsp baking powder
- 1 1/2 tsp salt
- 3 tbsp sugar
- 250 g unsalted butter at room temperature
- 150 ml milk at room temperature
For the manjar blanco
- 400 g evaporated milk
- 400 g condensed milk
To finish the last layer
- icing sugar
Instructions
For the alfajor cookie layers
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Mix together the butter, salt and sugar with an electric mixer or whisk until incorporated and smooth.
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Add the milk and flour and mix until homogeneous.
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Weigh the dough and divide in 5 equal parts for the layers.
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Put a sheet of baking paper on your table and roll out the dough until it's 2-3mm thick and is wider than 18cm in diameter so you can then cut it to that size.
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Repeat this process with the 5 layers and them put one on top of the other (with the paper still between each sheet).
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We take the layers to the fridge overnight so they can rest and not shrink and change shape in the oven. You can also make the manjar blanco the night before and leave it outside of the fridge with cling film touching its surface.
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On the next day we remove one layer from the fridge, cut it using a bowl, dish or whatever you have in hand and it goes to a preheated oven at 180C on an oven tray for 10-15min or until really golden*. We repeat this process with all the layers.
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Let the layers cool down before assembling.
For the manjar blanco
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Put the milks in a pot on low heat and move with a spatula until it thickens. Don't stop moving or the milk will stick to the bottom and burn.
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It must look thick in the pot: if you run the spatula across the mix it should take a lot of time (5 seconds) before the base of the pot gets covered again. Then out of the pot it will thicken even more as it cools.
Assembly
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Make layers of alfajor and manjar blanco. Always put the manjar blanco off the tower so there's less chance of it breaking and then put it on top of the rest layers. Use a pastry bag to spread it out as well to reduce the risk of breaking.
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On the last layer we sprinkle icing sugar.
Recipe Notes
*With the leftover dough you can make mini alfajores 🙂 Remember to let the dough rest first. In this case it can be just 1 hour.