Las Violetas ★ 4.5
Voted best Cafe Notable in Buenos Aires, opened 21 September 1884 at Rivadavia and Medrano. Belle-epoque stained glass, Italian marble, legendary merienda.
Signature drink: Merienda (tea, medialunas, tea sandwiches)
History
Panqueques de dulce de leche descend from French crepes filtered through Italian-Argentine kitchens of the 1900s. Bodegones across the country put them on as the standard postre; Cafes Notables flambée them tableside; Las Violetas builds them into a Sunday merienda tower with three rolled panqueques over a pool of warmed dulce de leche and shaved chocolate.
Common allergens: Gluten, Dairy, Egg
Make it at home
Ingredients
- 200g plain flour
- 2 large eggs
- 500ml whole milk
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- Pinch of salt
- 30g butter, melted, plus more for the pan
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 400g dulce de leche
- 30g dark chocolate, grated (optional)
Method
- Whisk flour, sugar and salt in a bowl. In another bowl whisk eggs, milk, melted butter and vanilla.
- Pour wet ingredients into dry, whisking until smooth and lump-free. Rest 15 minutes (this matters).
- Heat a 22cm crepe pan or non-stick frying pan over medium-high. Brush with butter.
- Pour in 60ml of batter, swirl to coat the base. Cook 60 seconds until set and lacy underneath. Flip with a thin spatula, cook 20 seconds. Slide onto a plate.
- Repeat with the rest of the batter, stacking the panqueques and keeping warm under a clean towel.
- To assemble: spread each panqueque with a heaped tablespoon of dulce de leche, scatter a little grated chocolate if using, and roll up tightly.
- Serve two per person, warm or at room temperature.
Tip from the editors. Rest the batter; the gluten relaxes and the panqueque will be soft instead of rubbery.
This is the TableJourney editorial recipe, modelled on the canonical bistro / counter version. The first place to try the dish in its city of origin is below.
Where to eat panqueque de dulce de leche
Panqueque de Dulce de Leche in Buenos Aires
La Biela ★ 4.2
Cafe Notable opposite Recoleta Cemetery, on Quintana and Junin since 1850. Renamed La Biela in the 1950s for its racing-driver clientele; Borges wrote here.
Signature drink: Cafe and tres medialunas
Cafe de los Angelitos ★ 4.1
Cafe Notable at Rivadavia and Rincon, opened 1890 and rebuilt in 2007 after demolition. Gardel and Pugliese were regulars; upstairs tango show runs nightly.
Signature drink: Cafe con leche and medialunas
Confiteria La Argentina ★ 4.3
Caballito panaderia opened 1907, one of the oldest active bakeries in the city. Pasta frola, palmeritas, alfajores de maicena and a full factura counter.
Worth the queue: Pasta frola and palmeritas
More cities are in research. Want panqueque de dulce de leche covered somewhere specific? Tell us where you want to eat.