So the initial idea for this recipe came about because I had purchased lucuma pulp for the first time, and I was trying to figure out the best way to utilize it. Lucuma is a fruit that allegedly tastes like caramel, and is the number 1 most popular ice cream flavor in Peru. Personally, after trying the pulp, I would say it is like a sweet, molasses-y ripe persimmon, which checks out because both fruits are a part of the sapote family. I have only ever used lucuma in a powdered form, though I will say that the lucuma powder does taste a lot more caramel-like than the pulp did. That lucuma ramble aside though, I eventually landed on wanting to doing a Peruvian-inspired dessert, based on the fact that lucuma is popular in Peru. When I think about Peruvian food, I immediately go to the Asian influences, but then there’s also the usage of corn. Corn is definitely something I wanted to work into this dessert, but in a more subtle way. I also thought about Peruvian alfajores, which are shortbread cookies that sandwich dulce de leche and are usually caked in confectioner’s sugar. The cookies do use a little cornstarch in them, so that does partially check the box of subtly using corn in this recipe. Alfajores specifically remind me of Rosa, an elderly Peruvian lady who attends my mom’s Buddhist temple. Rosa makes alfajores for several of the local Peruvian restaurants in my neighborhood, so this dessert in a few ways is almost an homage to her! I figured, why not take the idea of an alfajore, being this shortbread cookie, and layer it up as a stack or a napoleon-type of situation? It would look elegant and dainty, while also being a way to perfectly capture the experience of eating an alfajore.

With this recipe, I took the initial inspiration of alfajore, and tried to add some fun or unique spins to it. For the cookies, I made a shortbread that has cornstarch in it, which is traditional to an alfajore, but I also used Japanese corn powder, lucuma powder, and brown butter to add a really intense, butterscotch meets toffee meets caramel corn flavor profile to the dough itself. For the fillings, I obviously went with something lucuma-flavored, since that was why this entire recipe came about, but I also wanted to lean into that dulce de leche filling, and went with cajeta. Cajeta is the Oaxacan cousin to dulce de leche, but made with goat’s milk, and scented with cinnamon. I love cajeta because it has a nice tang to it that adds another level of complexity to the already complex dulce de leche. I paired the cajeta with dulcey, or caramelized white chocolate, to make a spreadable ganache filling that I am using to layer up my cookies with. In lieu of powdered sugar, I used lucuma powder to dust the tops off my stacks with, since it would be less-sweet that way, and you can really taste the different flavors of the brown butter, corn, lucuma, and cajeta without feeling like the dessert is sugar overload, which could easily happen considering the fact that I am using a fruit that is naturally sweet and a goat’s milk caramel, as well as nothing that is acidic to contrast all of that. Since lucuma is also called Incan Gold, I felt like it was appropriate to garnish the top of the stacks with a little gold leaf to be that little bit more celebratory.

Makes 3 cookie stacks of 3:
For the brown butter-lucuma alfajores dough:
1 stick unsalted butter, browned
cold water*
1/3 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cups + 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
1 tbsp Japanese corn powder*(can replace with regular flour if you don’t have it)
1 tbsp cornstarch
2 tbsp lucuma powder
a pinch of salt
1/2 tsp baking powder

In a mixing bowl, measure out the brown butter and water to be about 4oz in weight. Then to that, add in the sugar, and begin mixing. To that mixture, add in the other ingredients to form your dough. Refrigerate the dough for 1 hour. Then allow the dough to soften at room temperature for 15 minutes before rolling out on a floured surface to 1/8 inch-thickness. Cut out 3-inch disks, rerolling the dough as needed. Refrigerate the dough again for 15 minutes, before placing, 2 inches apart, on a lined sheet tray. Bake at 350 degrees F for 15 minutes. Allow the cookies to cool down before attempting to transfer off the tray.

For the cajeta ganache:
4oz cajeta
1oz dulcey
1/2 tsp agar agar
2 tbsp unsalted butter
a pinch of salt
2oz goat milk

In a pot, melt down everything together over low heat, stirring every 2 minutes to prevent the bottom from burning. Keep warm for initial assembly.

For initial assembly:
Spread about1 tbsp of the ganache onto 2/3 of the cookies. You are making stacks of 3 cookies each, but you only want the ganache on the first two layers. Once the ganache is spread onto each cookie, transfer them to the freezer so that the ganache can firm up and the cookies can cool down.

For the lucuma mousse:
4oz lucucma pulp
1 tsp gelatin powder + 1 tbsp cold water
a pinch of salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup heavy cream, whipped stiff

In a pot, melt down the lucuma, gelatin, and salt. Once everything is melted together, take off heat and stir in the vanilla. Allow the lucuma mixture to cool down before folding in the heavy cream and transferring to a piping bag.

To garnish:
Lucuma powder
Gold leaf

One your cookies that have the cajeta, pipe on dollops of the lucuma mousse. Then stack two of those cookies together. Stack an unglazed cookie on top, and dust with lucuma powder. Then garnish with another piping of the lucuma mousse and the gold leaf to finish.