Gluten free dulce de leche cones

 

The dulce de leche cones  are close relatives of alfajores, they are first cousins.

When you have an absolute need for something infinitely sweet and you are longing for a hug,  these generous treats are ideal. I could not define them: they are not chocolates because they have a base of pastry, but they are not even pastries because the amount of chocolate and dulce de leche makes them almost pralines.

As alfajores you can find these sweets  in Argentines quioscos, and  also in pastry shops, bakeries: in short, everywhere, and they are the culprits of the discovery of chocolate by my daughter.

The first time we landed from the cold Milan to Buenos Aires with the heir, she was 13 months old and she ate a baby food made of vegetables, no sugar, and with a careful  insertion of the ingredients to test allergens. Obviously chocolate was evil and dulce de leche was an abstract concept.

The fact is that we arrived haggard and in poor condition at the airport in Buenos Aires, with this beautiful baby girl plump and happy, and,  we parents, in a state truly calamitous.

It was, in fact, respected the rule that the kids get sick for sure before traveling and we had passed all the previous night in the emergency room, to discard ear infections and various pests, and the morning of departure, we were at 7 all on a taxi with two hours of sleep,  reallu neervous and three bottles of antibiotic.

After a stop in Madrid  where we fed the baby with her hipervitaminic and fibrous baby food, we finally arrived at our plane and relax. We had all the comforts: the cradle, the cinema, the child who was snoring peacefully 10 hours. It was like being in a spa. It seemed, because then came the landing and the noise of the landing gear awoke the child, who was so happy and content and … yuck she vomited all over the healthy baby food on mom and dad, with a beautiful smile though.

We got off the plane  stinking  like two stray dogs, the friends who had come to pick up us,  drove so fast  with the window wide open up, braving a chilly dawn.

When we arrived home, after a comforting shower, we found  a glorious breakfast with alfajores and conitos de dulce de leche and other sweets. The baby, always plump and smiling, all curls as a doll, was the center of attention and I did not have time to say:  but, really, the pediatriacianrecomendmethat … that a conito had been removed from its wrapper and put in the mouth to the child which, after a first suspicious gaze, made the blessed face of the cherubim while staring the immense light of haven.

And from that day she became the “reina of chocolare”, the queen of chocolate.

 

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GLUTEN FREE DULCE DE LECHE CONES

Preparation time: 50 min 

Resting time: 30 minutes

Cooking time: 10-15 min

Difficulty: medium

Ingredients

• 200 g gluten free flour for cakes (I used MIX C Schär)
• 100g cold butter
• 50 g of cane sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon of cocoa powder *
• 1 pinch of salt
• 500 g of dark chocolate to 60% *
• 500 g of dulce de leche (type repostero)

* Without gluten-free and / or gluten contamination

You need:

• Three big bowls
• A rolling pin
• A baking tray
• Round cutter of 3 cm
• Parchment paper or silicone sheet (optional)
• A piping bag
• A thermometer for sweets
• A pot for bain marie
• A fork

Instructions:

Mix the flour with cocoa, salt and sugar.

Form a crown with the mix and put in the center the butter cut into cubes and integrate it into the flour with your fingers until it reached a sandy texture.

United in the center the egg and continue to mix until you get a compact dough.

Let it rest  in refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.

Finished this time, turn the oven to 180 degrees.

Roll out the dough with a rolling pin up to a height of a few mm, not too thin.

With  round cutters of 3-4 cm (preferably small) get the cookies.

Bake in oven at 180 degrees for 10-15 minutes, until they are lightly browned.

Let cool.

 

With a piping bag formed a small cone of dulce de leche on each cookie, pressing well the dulce up to cover the base and then pull up and broken the cone turning the piping bag at 90 degree, so to cut the dulce de leche.
.

 

Place the cones in the refrigerator.

Prepare the chocolate:

Cut 1/3 of the chocolate and set aside,  grated the rest and melt it in a double boiler, bain marie, until it reaches 50 degrees.

Beware that no drop of water or vapor  come into contact with the chocolate. If you have the microwave you can melt the chocolate in the microwave 1 minute at maximum power, then check every 10 seconds.

Remove the bowl of chocolate from steam, and put in the third that you had put aside and mix up to bring the temperature to 27 degrees.

Eliminate the chocolate that is not melted and bring the temperature to 31 degrees.

At this point the chocolate is ready, tempered and can be used.

Dip the cones on the side of the dulce de leche and then turn them quickly with a fork, let them drain well and then place them on parchment paper or a silicone sheet.

Let cool completely.

You can store at ambient temperature for 3-4 days wrapped in aluminum foil or parchment paper and a week in the fridge.

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