Argentina is home toMendoza wine, Argentinian cowboys, and unique wildlife and landscapes.
Yet, it’s also a country with a richculinary history with many authentic dessert recipes.
Argentina takes dessert so serious that it even has its own dairy country, La Paila.
It’s here that the cows undergo a special milking process that helps in making the famous dulce de leche.
Argentinian desserts range from pastries bursting with cream caramel to coffee-soaked chocolate cakes.
So, ready to learn more about these Latin-inspired specialties?
Read on for the 16 best Argentinian-made desserts you have to try.
1. Dulce de Leche
Dulce de leche remains the most popular of all Argentine desserts. As it gets used as the main ingredient in many of the country’s favorite dessert dishes.
This sweet caramel milk cream has the same consistency of jam. It gets made byheating sweetened milk to create acaramelization process.
You can eat dulce de leche right out of the jar. Or use it as a dessert topping or pastry filling.
It’s delicious spread on toast with your morning coffee. Yet, it alsocompliments cake, churros, and crepes for dessert.
You can even use it tomake yourown dulce de leche ice cream.
You’ll find dulce de leche stuffed in Cubanitos. These are delicious cigar-shaped biscuits covered in chocolate.
Other confections filled with dulce de leche are cañoncitos, which resemble a cannoli.
Or filled donuts called Bolas de fraile that get covered in powder sugar.
Fortunately, you can shop for dulce de leche online, no need to catch the next flight to Buenos Aires!
2. Medialunas
This Argentina dessert resembles croissants, yet not as sweet. They are a delicious and flaky half-moon shaped pastry.
Medialunas get made with butter or lard. Yet, those made with butter are often sweeter in flavor.
You’ll find medialunas served at most Argentinean cafes. They are a morning treat that goes great with coffee.
This includes Brazilian or Cuban coffee.
Enjoy this treat plain or filled with fruit. They sometimes even come topped with a sugar glaze.
Or try dipping them in dulcede leche for a decadent treat.
3. Chocotorta
Chocotorta is a standard Argentine dessert item forcelebrating birthdays.
It gets made by soaking chocolate cookies in coffee or milk.Dulce de leche and cream cheese can also get layered inside the cake.
This dessert is easy to make as recipes recommend using store-bought Chocolinas cookies.
You also don’t have to spend any time baking the cake.
For a more adult version, you can even use Kahlua to soak the cookies in.
4. Dulce de Membrillo
This dessert features quince fruit (or Membrillo).
Quinces are one of the main foods found in Argentina and have many health benefits.
They arefull of vitamins, like potassium, pectin, and zinc.
This treat gets made by cooking the quince in water and sugar. This creates a tart yet sweet flavor.
Dulce de Membrillo can get eaten with bread or cheese. This dessert option also gets called Vigilante.
Dulce de Membrillo can also get used as a decadent pastry filling.
5. Dulce de Batata
Dulce de batata is a marmalade made with sweet potatoes.
It gets its jelly-like consistency by slow cooking the sweet potatoes with sugar. This causes it to form into a sweet paste.
This dessert often gets served with cheese for a delicious flavor profile.
Try dulce de batata layered on top of a nice manchego or goat cheese.
6. Alfajores
These Argentinian desserts are small cake-like sandwiches.
It’s a popular South American cookiethat contains two or three biscuits. They also contain a layer of dulce de leche inside.
Some bakers serve them filled with a mousse or fruit jam instead.
They also comecovered in chocolate or dusted in sugar powder. Alfajores may also get coated in coconut flakes.
It’s a sweet snack that often gets served with afternoon coffee or tea and there are many traditional alfajor brands to choose from.
This famouscookie even made its way into the Guinness Book of World Records.
These records show that the biggest Alfajoresweighed 1,000 pounds.
7. Pastafrola or Pasta Frola
Pastafrola is an Argentinian layered shortcrust pie filled with jam.
It features a crust topping in a pretty lattice pattern.
The jelly filling can be guava, dulce de membrillo (quince paste), dulce de batata (sweet potato paste), or strawberry flavored.
Some bakers even make it with dulce de leche inside.
8. Budín de Pan
This dessert is the Argentinian version of bread pudding. It gets favored as an easy andaffordable dessert as you can use leftover bread.
The bread gets soaked in milk, eggs, vanilla, and sugar.
It can also containspices like cinnamon and nutmeg. The dessert can sometimes include lemon or raisins as well.
Argentina also has another authentic pudding recipe called Mazamorra.
It’s much like rice pudding yet it gets made with leftover corn.
9. Flan
This popular dessert features a creamy custard in a cake shape.
Flan is one of the most recognized dessert options in South America and Spain.
It often shows up at birthday celebrations and on many restaurant’s dessert menus.
It gets made using fresh milk, eggs, and sugar.
Flan can getserved plain or topped with dulce de leche caramel.
10. Torta Rogel
Rogel is a soft decadent cake that is aspretty as it is delicious.
It gets made with eggs, butter, flour, and sometimes a bit of cognac for flavor.
The cake is more like a pastry, as it features many thin layers.
Dulce de leche also gets layered between each of these thin pieces of cake.
You’ll also findsweet and creamy meringue on the top layer of the cake.
11. Pastel de Ricota
This dessert is much like the Italian or American version of cheesecake.
Yet, the traditional recipe features ricotta cheese, in pie form.
It’s creamy and smooth, with a hint oflemon flavor.
Some bakers may even add in a few splashes of rum to sweeten the cake.
12. Conitos
Conitos are yet another Argentine vailed attempt to enjoy heavenly dulce de leche.
They are coned shape chocolate covered dulce de leche treats.
Popular Argentinian alfajor manufacturers such as Cachafaz and Havanna sell them.
Cachafaz does in fact call them Conitos Cachafaz.
While Havanna’s version of them are widely known as Havannets.
13. Palmeritas
These ear-shaped Argentinian cookies are a delicious treat.
Flaky and sweet and typically covered in sugar,
Palmeritas are quite simple to make yourself or you will find them at local Argentine bakeries known as panaderias.
14. Almendrado
A popular Argentinian dessert typically found in Buenos Aires is Almendrado.
It is a delicious combination of ice cream garnished with toasted almonds and melted chocolate drizzled on top.
Could there be anything more delicious?
15. Torta Frita
Torta fritas translated means fried cakes.
They are traditionally enjoyed with some yerba mate.
Torta fritas are fried dough sprinkled with sugar and usually served along with some dulce de leche or fruit jam.
16. Pastelitos
Pastelitos are a popular Argentine pastry, also known as facturas.
In fact, pretty much all pastries in Argentina are known as facturas.
Bakers make pastelitos in such a way that when fried in hot oil, the dough separates into numerous layers, giving the pastelito its unique look of resembling a flower.
Sometimes they are filled with dulce de batata but more often dulce de membrillo is the filling of choice.
Satisfying Your Sweet Tooth with the Best Argentina Desserts
These 16 Argentina desserts are sure to please any palette.
You’ll find these desserts in bakeries, restaurants, and stores all over the country.
Yet, once you’ve had a taste of these, you may be craving something more savory.
If so, read our 17 Delicious Food Dishes You Should Be Eatingright now.
Argentina is also home to the authentic empanada recipe.
These delicious fried or baked pastries get filled with ground meat and veggies.
Check out thiscomplete guide to learn more about delicious Argentinian empanadas.
For Argentine recipes or to visit our online store today!
FAQs
What is the most popular dessert in Argentina? ›
Dulce de leche remains the most popular of all Argentine desserts. As it gets used as the main ingredient in many of the country's favorite dessert dishes.
What are Argentinian pastries called? ›| Name | Main ingredients |
|---|---|
| Pionono | Flour, eggs, sugar; dulce de leche, fruits or chantilly cream |
| Postre vigilante/Queso y dulce | Cheese; dulce de membrillo, dulce de batata or dulce de guayaba |
| Rogel | Puff pastry, dulce de leche, meringue |
| Tortas fritas | Flour, animal fat, eggs, water, oil |
Rogel cake, or torta rogel in Spanish, is a traditional Argentine dessert: so many layers of a thin, crispy pastry, dulce de leche, and Swiss meringue. Swiss meringue is made by whisking egg whites with sugar over a water bath, then whipping them until stiff and glossy.
How do you say cake in Argentina? ›I'd say that if it's sweet, you could use "pastel" for most cases, I'd use "tarta" for cakes or pies and depending the size, a pastry could be a "pastel" or "pastelillo". "bizcocho" is definitely for sponge cakes, and a cupcake is a "magdalena".
What is a typical snack in Argentina? ›Panchuker is a popular snack originating from Argentina. It can be found at numerous street food stalls in the country and consists of a sausage that's covered with a waffle-like coating. The snack is served on a stick for easier consumption, just like a corn dog.
What do Argentina people drink? ›In Argentina Malbec, Fernet, and yerba mate are proud national emblems. High quality Argentine wines have rocketed to international prominence.
What time is breakfast in Argentina? ›When to eat in Argentina. Breakfast is usually served up until around 10am, and lunch from around noon until 3pm. Hardly any restaurant opens for dinner before 8pm, and in the hotter months – and all year round in Buenos Aires – few people turn up before 10 or even 11pm.
Is there a desert in Argentina? ›The Patagonian Desert, also known as the Patagonian Steppe, is the largest desert in Argentina and is the 8th largest desert in the world by area, occupying 673,000 square kilometers (260,000 mi2).
What is a Factura dessert? ›There is no denying that facturas, or croissants, are a way of life for many locals here in Buenos Aires. Flakey, buttery, sometimes gooey, and always delicious. People buy facturas by the dozen from their local panaderías (bakeries) to enjoy as part of the typical breakfast and merienda (tea time) ritual.
What is dulce de leche Argentina? ›Dulce de leche Argentina is a light brown caramel colored sticky spread made with milk, sugar, cream, vanilla, and baking soda. It is eaten as an everyday delicacy in Argentina and South America in general.
What is something you can only find in Argentina? ›
Argentina is world famous for a few things: red wine, steak, and leather. If you want to get a high-quality souvenir that will last a lifetime at a fraction of what it would cost back home? Then you need to get yourself a nice leather jacket, my friend!
What cheese is Argentina known for? ›Popular cheeses of Argentine origin include Reggianito, Sardo, Cremoso, Provoleta and Pategrás.
What is biscocho in English? ›Translation of bizcocho – Spanish–English dictionary
sponge cake, sponge pudding [noun] (a) very light cake or pudding made from flour, eggs and sugar etc.
Torta is a culinary term that can, depending on the cuisine, refer to cakes, pies, flatbreads, sandwiches, or omelettes. Usually, it refers to: cake or pie in South America, much of Europe, and southern Philippines.
What is masa de bizcocho? ›In Chile, the Dominican Republic and Bolivia bizcocho refers to a sweet dough (masa) baked with local ingredients, similar to the bizcocho from Spain. In Ecuador the dough of a bizcocho can either be sweet or salty.
What is an appetizer from Argentina? ›Empanadas. Everybody's favorite Argentinean treats are these little pockets of savory goodness. The small turnovers feature a crispy crust stuffed with a choice of beef, chicken, ham and cheese, and cheesy spinach or corn.
What is the most popular drink in Argentina? ›YERBA MATE:
Pronounced (MAH-tay) is probably the most popular beverage in Argentina. Dried and crushed up leaves of the yerba mate are placed into a hollowed out gourd and drunk through a screened straw called a bombilla (bomb-BEE-sha).
General Style Tips
If you don't want to scream 'tourist' then avoid wearing shorts around the city of Buenos Aires, no matter how hot it gets. The key is neat and sleek, and neutral colors are best. It can be cool in the evening so pack a pashmina or light sweater. Ensure you bring a versatile travel jacket.
Many Argentinians will swap coffee at breakfast for yerba mate. Pronounced 'yer-bah mah-tay', indigenous Argentinians drank this hot beverage long before Europeans arrived on the continent. Yerba mate has a smoky, delicate flavor, a bit like green tea but with no bitterness.
What is a mate in Argentina? ›Mate is a popular beverage in several South American countries and ubiquitous in Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay. It is made using leaves and twigs from the yerba mate plant, a holly-like shrub, which are steeped in hot water to make mate or cold water to make tereré.
What time do Argentinians go to sleep? ›
in Argentina is between 9 pm-12 am.
Do U tip in Argentina? ›We have outlined almost everything you need to know about tipping in Argentina, including who, when, why, and how much. In restaurants, 10% gratuity is considered the norm. Going over 10% is rare and pretty generous. Leaving less (or leaving nothing)if the service was particularly bad, is also quite common.
What time is dinner in Argentina? ›4) Get used to eating dinner late like 9:30 pm or later, which is the normal dinner time for Argentines. If you aren't able to adjust to it, that will significantly limit your restaurant options since most of them aren't open until at least 8:30 pm.
Why is dulce de leche popular in Argentina? ›Both Argentina and Uruguay claim dulce de leche as a Gastronomical Heritage. According to legend, the creation of Argentinian dulce de leche happened by accident. The story goes that in 1829, a housekeeper to General Juan Manuel de Rosas forgot a “grout” on the stove. Grout is a mixture of milk and sugar.
What is a typical snack in Argentina? ›Panchuker is a popular snack originating from Argentina. It can be found at numerous street food stalls in the country and consists of a sausage that's covered with a waffle-like coating. The snack is served on a stick for easier consumption, just like a corn dog.
What is dulce de leche Argentina? ›Dulce de leche is a type of condensed milk sweet from Argentina. Traditionally, it is made by heating sweetened cow's milk until it caramelizes and achieves a thick consistency, enough to act as a spread, a filling for cakes and pies, or an ice cream topping.
Do they eat flan in Argentina? ›Flan is typically made with eggs, milk, sugar, and vanilla extract. It can be served with fruit, whipped cream, or caramel sauce. Argentina is known for its delicious food, and flan is no exception. Flan originates from Argentina, and is a popular dessert there.
What is the difference between caramel and dulce de leche? ›The Difference Between Caramel and Dulce de Leche
As we know, caramel is simply water and sugar. On the other hand, dulce de leche is, as the name implies (if you've brushed up on your Spanish), milk and sugar.
In Argentina Malbec, Fernet, and yerba mate are proud national emblems. High quality Argentine wines have rocketed to international prominence.
What is dulce de leche in English? ›Dulce de leche (Spanish: [ˈdulse ðe ˈletʃe]; Portuguese: doce de leite European Portuguese: [ˈdosɨ dɨ ˈlɐjtɨ] Brazilian Portuguese: [ˈdosi dʒi ˈleitʃi]), also known as caramelized milk or milk jam in English, is a confection from Latin America prepared by slowly heating sugar and milk over a period of several hours.
What is Argentina's signature dish? ›
1. Asado. The way to Argentina's heart is through its asado, or barbecue, also known as parrillada. Don't leave the country without spending a leisurely afternoon beside the warmth of a grill or open fire, feasting on copious grilled meats.
What do Argentines eat for breakfast? ›In Argentina, breakfast is a thoroughly simple affair. The options rarely, if ever, move beyond the two key staples: tostadas (toast) or medialunas. They'll be served with coffee and orange juice. Anywhere serving anything extravagant – including yogurt or fruit – or any form of cooked eggs is catering to tourists.
What is something you can only find in Argentina? ›Argentina is world famous for a few things: red wine, steak, and leather. If you want to get a high-quality souvenir that will last a lifetime at a fraction of what it would cost back home? Then you need to get yourself a nice leather jacket, my friend!
What is Arequipe in English? ›arequipe - cooked milk and sugar - cooked condensed milk.
Is dulce de leche the same as caramel condensed milk? ›The key difference between these two is that dulce de leche is made from condensed milk, or milk and sugar, and caramel is made from sugar and water.
What do you eat with dulce de leche? ›- Spread on buttered toast.
- Stir into coffee or hot chocolate.
- Balance acidity in vinaigrette or pan sauces.
- Sweeten baby food.
- Drizzle over pancakes, waffles, or French toast.
- Mix into oatmeal.
- Pour over ice cream or yogurt.
- Fill cookies, cakes, crepes, doughnuts, or churros.