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.
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
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