Alfajor of Penco 

The alfajor penco or alfajor de yolks, as it was known in Moquegua until the beginning of the 20th century, is a traditional sweet from the Moquegua pastry shop that has nothing, absolutely nothing to do with the city of Penco in Chile with which only share the assumed name. On repeated occasions, they have tried to sell us the idea that this Moqueguan delicacy was a Chilean sweet, such an error that I will take advantage of to clarify by asking my readers to accompany me to disentangle this myth that harms the artistic creation of Moqueguan women. The romantic story of the Chilean soldier, of whom no information is given except that he came from San Antonio, Valparaíso, who, being wounded, had deserted his war battalion and who, grateful to his Moqueguano benefactor, Don Luis Tamayo, taught him to prepare the traditional sweet from their land: the penco.

Recipe:

By Yihen Callahuille, Gabriel Cauna, Areliz Callusani and Aldhair Marquez.

Servings: 4 Plates.

Prep Time: One hour and thirty minutes

Ingredients:                                                                             

- 1 cup of flour.

- 2 tablespoons melted margarine.

- 4 yolks.

- 1 egg white.

- ¼ teaspoon baking powder.

- 1 teaspoon of pisco.

- 200 gr. manjar blanco to fill.

- 100 gr. grated coconut.

- 50 gr. of chopped walnuts.

- Powdered sugar to decorate (optional).

Procedure:

- First, in a bowl, place the flour previously sifted with the baking powder, making a hole in the center.

- Then, add in the hole made in the flour the yolks and the white previously mixed with the pisco and the melted and cold margarine.

- Then knead lightly until the dough is even.

-Then let the dough rest and cover it with a cloth for half an hour.

- Once the dough has rested, roll out the dough with a lightly floured rolling pin so that it is ½ centimeter thick and cut three equal circles, let it rest for 15 minutes and place the discs on baking sheets.

- After it has rested, we take the lid to the hot oven and when one side is golden, we turn it over so that the other side browns. In the same way we prepare the three tapas.

- Finally, in a bowl, mix the manjar blanco with the grated coconut and the chopped nuts, assemble the alfajor by placing a lid of dough, filled with manjar blanco and another lid of dough and manjar blanco, ending with a lid of dough.

Presentation:

-If you wish, you can sprinkle the penco alfajor with powdered sugar before serving.