Alfajores are my top favorite cookie in the whole world. I love the combination of Dulce de Leche and coconut inside two melt-in-your-mouth vanilla cookies.
This cheesecake combines coconut, Dulce de Leche and vanilla, and therefore got the name Alfajores Cheesecake. It’s simply delicious and very easy to make.
Photo: Natalie Levin
Alfajores Cheesecake
For the crust:
- 150 grams plain vanilla biscuits or Graham Crackers
- 50 grams (1/2 cup) ground coconut
- 2 tbsp. light brown sugar
- 100 grams melted butter
For cheese and coconut filling:
- 400 grams (1 can) coconut cream (at least 17% fat)
- 250 ml. (1 cup) white cheese or ricotta cheese
- 200 grams (1 pack) cream cheese
- 200 grams (1 cup) sugar
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 5 large eggs
- 35 grams (1/4 cup) cornstarch
For coating:
- 200 grams Dulce de Leche
For the cream:
- 250 ml. (1 cup) whipping cream
- 20 grams (2 tbsp.) sugar powder
- 10 grams (1 tbsp.) instant vanilla pudding powder
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
For decoration:
- Alfajores cookies
- Crust: in a food processor with a steel blade, grind biscuits, coconut and brown sugar into a fine powder.
- Add melted butter and mix until you get a crumb mixture in the texture of wet sand.
- Transfer the crumbs to a lightly oiled cake pan and firmly press down to the bottom to form a crust.
- Cool the crust for 15 minutes in the freezer.
- Preheat the oven to 170c degrees.
- Bake for 10 minutes until golden. Cool at room temperature.
- Cheese and coconut filling: in a large bowl, mix coconut cream, white cheese, cream cheese, sugar and vanilla into a smooth mixture.
- Add the eggs one at a time, while mixing between additions.
- Add the cornstarch and mix until it is assimilated in the mixture. The mixture is sparse and it’s okay.
- Pour the mixture over the crust.
- Lower oven temperature to 140c degrees.
- Bake for 60-90 minutes or until the cake sets at the edges, swells slightly but still vibrates in the center lightly.
- Turn off the oven and let the cake cool inside until cooled to room temperature.
- Refrigerate the cake for 1 night in the refrigerator, well wrapped.
- Coating: heat the Dulce de Leche until it becomes a little liquid and easy to apply.
- Pour the Dulce de Leche over the top of the cake and spread in a thin layer using a spatula.
- Cool for 15 minutes in the refrigerator until set.
- Whipped cream: in a mixer bowl whip cream, sugar powder, instant pudding and vanilla until you get a very firm whipped cream.
- Transfer the whipped cream into a piping bag fitted with 2 cm round piping tip and drizzle dense mounds of cream on top of the cake.
- Garnish with alfajores cookies and serve.
- Instead of light brown sugar in the base, you can use plain white sugar the same amount.
- You can use any kind of cookies or biscuits you like as a base. If you use sweet cookies, it is recommended to omit the sugar from the base.
- It is important to use coconut cream with at least 17% fat. Make sure you use all the contents of the can, including the liquid.
- Keep the cake in a closed container for up to a week.
- The alfajores cookies and whipped cream should be added before serving.
Photo: Natalie Levin
Photo: Natalie Levin
Photo: Natalie Levin