A classical Peruvian recipe, quite simple yet delicious with its blend of creamy caramel and soft mallow meringue.
| Category | Quick & Easy |
| Preparation Time | 15 minutes |
| Cooking Time | 15 minutes |
| Serves | 4 |
This dessert featuring in my book ‘Love & the Goddess’, was named by a poet, meaning “the sigh of a woman from Lima”. Certainly sounds romantic! Since Dulce de leche takes up to 3 hours to make, I advise making it first. Alternatively it can now be bought ready made and is better known as Caramel by ‘Carnation’.
11/2 cups of Dulce de leche homemade or purchased.
4 eggs separated
1 teaspoon vanilla
Pinch of salt
1 cup of port wine
200g sugar
Cinnamon.
Prepare the Dulce de leche ( see below) or heat purchased Caramel in a saucepan just to boiling, stirring constantly.
Remove from heat and whisk in the 4 egg yolks, one at a time, until well mixed. Stir in a teaspoon of vanilla and pinch of salt to taste.
Let mixture cool slightly, then pour into serving pieces while still warm. Divide dulce de leche into 6 to 8 individual glasses or cups, or one larger dish.
Bring port, sugar, and a pinch of salt to boil in a saucepan.
Add the egg whites to the (very clean) bowl of a standing mixer.
After about 3 minutes of cooking the port/sugar syrup mixture, start beating the egg whites separately. When the syrup temperature reaches 120 degrees Celsius, remove from the heat. The total cooking time is about 4 minutes, and the sugar syrup should make thin threads if you drizzle it off of a fork, and will have thickened slightly.
The egg whites should be forming stiff peaks. Slowly and carefully pour the syrup down the side of the mixer bowl, into the beaten egg whites while beating. Continue to beat the meringue until it cools, about 5 minutes.
Using a pastry bag, pipe the meringue decoratively on top of the dulce de leche.
Chill the dessert until ready to serve. Sprinkle top with cinnamon
I tin sweetened condensed milk.
Remove label from tin. Don’t open the can. Make a few holes in the top of the can with a skewer or can opener. Place the can in a saucepan; – Fill with hot water so 2/3 of the can is covered with water. Boil for 3 to 4 hours. Keep an eye on the water to keep at an adequate level. After the 3 to 4 hours remove from boiling water and carefully remove lid. Pour into a bowl and stir any lumpy pieces until the mixture is smooth.
There are two interesting variations on this recipe: Suspiro de Limeňa Cup cakes and Suspiro Cheesecake (click the images to see those recipes).
Suspiro de Limena Cupcakes
Suspiro Cheesecake
