Chocotorta; an iconic Argentinian dessert made with layers of chocolate biscuit and a dulce de leche flavoured mascarpone cream.
Argentina. Famed for football, dancing, wine, and the highest red meat consumption on the planet.
With so many factors of cultural interest, and so many other delicious foodstuffs on offer, it may not be the first place that comes to mind when you think about desserts. That is, unless you’ve heard of or tasted dulce de leche.
Dulce de leche is a milk-based caramel adored all across South America, and particularly so in Argentina. Meaning a number of their most beloved desserts and sweet treats are generously flavoured or filled with this sweet spread. That includes today’s recipe. Let’s talk about Chocotorta.
Prefer a recipe video? Watch me make the Chocotorta here on my YouTube channel!
Like many other areas of Argentinian life, the Chocotorta is both a name and a recipe with mashed-up Spanish-Italian roots. This “chocolate cake” is visibly inspired by the world-famous Italian tiramisu.
Abundant layers of coffee or milk-soaked chocolate biscuits, sandwiched with a thick and smooth mascarpone cream sweetened with dulce de leche. Imagine a denser, creamier, sweeter, and more chocolatey tiramisu. That’s a Chocotorta.
Ideal for birthdays and celebrations, and requiring only a few minutes of hands-on time, this refrigerated dessert is understandably adored. It’ll need a few hours in the fridge to soften and stiffen itself up, but the wait is absolutely worth it.
Most recipes use simple canned or jarred dulce de leche, which appears to be widely available across Argentina. I know this can be found in stores across the USA and UK too, meaning you guys will be able to easily enjoy this refreshing but rich dessert. However, where I am in Italy, as others across the world may find, dulce de leche is a bit more elusive. So instead of buying a 5 kilo catering-sized container of the stuff, as joyful as the first kilo would likely have been to devour, I made my own.
This can be done in a few separate ways, as the resourceful mums of the internet taught me. You can simmer together a large amount of milk with a small amount of sugar for HOURS. You can cook a can of condensed milk in a pot of boiling water for HOURS. Or, as I did, you can bake condensed milk in a wide tray in the oven until golden and caramelised. While the result may not be as perfectly smooth and even as the stuff straight for the jar, it’s every bit as delicious. You can find the full recipe for this Chocotorta, and my homemade dulce de leche below.
So, let’s get layering. Let’s make Chocotorta.
If you enjoy this instalment of Desserts of the World, feel free to check out the rest of the series on the Maverick Baking YouTube channel.
Want to save this Chocotorta recipe for later? You can pin the image below:
To make this Chocotorta, simply follow the recipe below:
Chocotorta – Desserts of the World
Ingredients
For the dulce de leche (only if necessary):
- 397g (14 oz) tin condensed milk
For the Chocotorta layers:
- 397g (14 oz) tin dulce de leche (or the full included homemade recipe)
- 500g (18 oz) mascarpone cheese
- 500g (18 oz) plain rectangular chocolate biscuits
- 1 mug of cold black coffee or milk
For the chocolate ganache topping (optional):
- 180ml (¾ cup) double or whipping cream
- 125g (4 ½ oz) dark or milk chocolate pieces
Instructions
For the dulce de leche (only if necessary):
- Preheat your oven – 200 C / 180 C fan / 400 F / gas mark 6.
- Pour your full tin of condensed milk into a 20 x 20 cm (8 x 8 in) or 18 x 25 cm (7 x 10 in) rectangular cake tin.
- Place the tin inside a larger tin or roasting tray.
- Pour about 200ml of hot water into the larger tray, so the smaller tray is sitting in a water bath.
- Place both trays into the preheated oven for 30-50 minutes, stirring around every 10 minutes, until the milk has reduced into a thick caramel.
- Allow to cool completely or even overnight.
For the Chocotorta layers:
- Look out a tin to layer your Chocotorta in. You can use 20 x 20 cm (8 x 8 in) or 18 x 25 cm (7 x 10 in) rectangular cake tin. Otherwise you could also use a standard loaf tin as I did.
- Line the tin along the base and sides with greaseproof paper, allowing some overhang at the edges to easily lift the Chocotorta out later.
- In a large bowl, beat together your dulce de leche and mascarpone into a smooth golden mixture. Set aside for the moment.
- Begin lightly dipping your biscuits into the coffee/milk and then placing into a flat even layer at the base of your prepared tin.
- Dollop a small amount of your mascarpone mixture on top, spreading it into a thin but even layer. You want enough to cover all the biscuits, but not to drown them!
- Place another layer of dunked biscuits on top, spread over another layer of mascarpone mixture, and repeat until your tin is full or all your mixture has been used.
- Place the tin into the fridge to chill for 4-12 hours. The longer you allow the Chocotorta in the fridge the better, as the biscuits shall soften and the cream shall become firmer for slicing.
- Carefully remove the set Chocotorta from the tin, and slice into thin bars or square pieces.
- Serve immediately, or keep in the fridge until ready to eat.
For the chocolate ganache topping (optional):
- Pour your cream into a heatproof bowl and, set over a pan of simmering water or in the microwave, warm it until steaming gently and hot to the touch.
- Add your chocolate pieces and allow to stand for 1 minute.
- Gently stir the mixture until thick, even, and smooth.
- Allow to cool completely.
- When the ganache is thick enough to spread or pipe, decorate your Chocotorta as you like!
BE A MAVERICK: why not add your favourite liqueur to the coffee or milk before dunking your biscuits for extra flavour?
This Chocotorta will keep well in the fridge for up to 3 days but is best enjoyed fresh!
You may also like:
My mom made this recipe for my graduation party last month and it was incredible! We’re located in the USA so we used Kedem Chocolate Tea Biscuits, Vermont Creamery Mascarpone, and Stonewall Kitchen Dulce de Leche. I think the only thing she did differently was that she used a spray bottle to spray coffee onto the biscuits instead of dipping them. We liked this recipe so much we’re making it again today. Thank you so much!
Thanks so much for this recipe! I made it for my daughter’s Baptism party, and it was a HUGE hit! Plus, soo quick and easy to make.
You’re so welcome, Joy! Thank you!