Ingredients
Discs
- 300 gplain flour
- 3egg yolks
- 50 gsoft unsalted butter
- 60 mlmilk
- 2 tbspbrandy or cognac
- ½ tspfine salt
- ½ tspbaking powder
Filling
- 800 gdulce de leche repostero (the thick pastry-grade one)
Italian meringue
- 3egg whites (about 110 g)
- 220 gcaster sugar
- 70 mlwater
- 1 tsplemon juice
- 1 pinchsalt
Directions
- Rub the butter into the flour, salt and baking powder, then add the yolks, milk and brandy and knead briefly to a smooth, firm dough. Rest it wrapped for 30 minutes; the alcohol keeps it tender and helps it blister.
- Divide into 8 equal pieces. Roll each one out on a floured bench as thin as you can, ideally 1 to 2 mm, and cut a 22 cm circle using a plate or tin base as a guide.
- Lift each disc onto a lined tray and prick it all over with a fork, which stops the layers ballooning.
- Bake at 180°C (350°F) for 5 to 7 minutes per disc, until pale gold with darker freckles and completely dry. They crisp further as they cool, so pull them before they brown deeply. Cool flat on a rack.
- Warm the dulce de leche slightly and beat it smooth, then build the cake on the serving plate: a disc, an even 5 mm layer of dulce de leche spread right to the edge, then the next disc, pressing lightly, and so on until all 8 are stacked. Keep the neatest disc for the top.
- Rest the stack in a cool place, uncovered, for at least 4 hours and preferably overnight, so the discs soften just enough to cut cleanly without collapsing.
- For the meringue, boil the sugar and water to 118°C (250°F). Meanwhile whisk the whites with the salt and lemon juice to soft peaks, then pour the syrup down the side of the bowl in a thin stream while whisking, and keep whisking 8 to 10 minutes until the bowl is only just warm and the meringue holds a stiff, glossy peak.
- Pile the meringue over the top disc, sweep it into peaks with a palette knife, and scorch the tips with a blowtorch or 2 minutes under a very hot grill. Serve within a few hours, cutting with a serrated knife in a sawing motion.
Technique
- The cake is named after the Rogel family of Buenos Aires confectioners, and it is essentially a torta de hojas: many crisp, thin, unlaminated discs rather than puff pastry. Alfajor de hojaldre and rogel come from the same idea.
- The resting time is not optional. Cut too soon, the discs shatter and the dulce de leche squirts out sideways; after a night they yield under a knife.
- Italian meringue, cooked with hot syrup, is used rather than French meringue because it holds for hours without weeping and is safe to eat without further baking.
Substitutions
- No brandy: use the same volume of white vinegar or lemon juice for the same tenderising effect on the dough.
- Standard dulce de leche is too runny to stack; boil it down gently for 10 minutes, or thicken it with 2 tbsp of cornflour cooked out in it, to reach repostero consistency.
Variations
- A version with a layer of chopped walnuts between two of the discs is common in Buenos Aires bakeries.
- Rogel de merengue seco skips the Italian meringue and tops the cake with crushed dried meringue instead.
History
An Argentine celebration cake, sold in bakeries and made at home for birthdays.
Frequently asked questions
What is Rogel?
Rogel is a dessert from Argentina: stacked thin pastry discs layered with dulce de leche under meringue. An Argentine celebration cake, sold in bakeries and made at home for birthdays.
How long does Rogel take to make?
Rogel takes 1 hr 15 min of preparation and 40 min baking plus 4 hr resting of cooking. The recipe makes one 22 cm cake, 10 to 12 slices. It is rated hard to make.
What can I substitute in Rogel?
Yes, within limits. No brandy: use the same volume of white vinegar or lemon juice for the same tenderising effect on the dough. Standard dulce de leche is too runny to stack; boil it down gently for 10 minutes, or thicken it with 2 tbsp of cornflour cooked out in it, to reach repostero consistency.
What is the most important thing to get right in Rogel?
The cake is named after the Rogel family of Buenos Aires confectioners, and it is essentially a torta de hojas: many crisp, thin, unlaminated discs rather than puff pastry. Alfajor de hojaldre and rogel come from the same idea.
