Rogel

Rogel (pronounced Rohel) is the PERFECT Christmas showstopper and I am so happy to have made it for my family this Christmas! Rogel is made of thin layers of pastry, filled with dulce de leche and covered in velvety and glossy Italian meringue!

The cake is named Rogel as the cake was created by a lady called Rogelia. She started to sell Rogel in the 1960s (although it was different then as the dulce de leche was runnier) and when she passed away, her equipment and recipe was bought by another family in Buenos Aires who has continued making Rogel until now!

For me this cake is even more special as my own grandma is called Rogelia! 🙂

Rogel can be made into a large cake (I used a 20cm disc to cut the layers) or can be made into Rogelitos – individually sized desserts!!

What will I need for this AMAZING Rogel?

Large eggs: LOTS and LOTS of eggs! For the pastry, you will need 7 egg yolks. Do not throw away the egg whites as you will need them for the Italian meringue! Ensure the eggs are at room temperature when making both the pastry and the meringue.
Plain flour: You certainly don’t want the layers to rise to ensure you are using plain flour!
Milk: This is used when making the pastry!
Cold unsalted butter: Usually I ask you to use soft butter however for this recipe, you need COLD butter!
Caster sugar: There is no Italian Meringue without sugar!!
Water: This is added to the sugar to make the sugary syrup for the Italian meringue.
Lemon juice: This is used to stabilise the Italian meringue.
Dulce de leche: I used Argentine dulce de leche as I bought some recently from casa Argentina however you can buy Waitrose dulce de leche which will work perfectly! You will need approximately 800g of dulce de leche!
Food processor: If you have one, the dough will be super easy to make – if you do not have one, it is ok – you can still make by hand!
Food thermometer: Digital or not (mine is not!). Using a thermometer means you can measure the temperature of the sugar syrup when making the Italian meringue. If you do not have a thermometer, do not worry! Below I explain how Italian meringue can be done without a thermometer!

RECIPE

This recipe makes 9 20cm in diameter layers. I had left over pastry to make three adorable Rogelitos!

Ingredients

For the pastry layers:

360g plain flour
70ml milk
120g unsalted butter
7 egg yolks

For the filling:

700g dulce de leche (you can use more or less!)

For the Italian meringue:

140g caster sugar
1tsp lemon juice
50ml water
The egg whites of 2 eggs.

Instructions

Pastry layers:

Using a food processor, blitz the plain flour and cold butter until a sand like mixture is produced. If you do not have a food processor, rub the cold butter and flour together with your hands.
To the sand like mixture, add the 7 egg yolks and milk. Continue to blitz until a dough is made. Remove the dough from the food processor and if needed, join the dough together with your hands (but do not overmix!). Divide the dough into 7-8 equally sized balls.
Start preheating the oven to 200 degree Celsius.
In a very lightly floured surface, roll one of the dough balls into a large thin circle. Use a 20cm disc(it can be slightly smaller or bigger)to cut the dough. Place the dough in a tray covered with parchment paper.
Using a fork cover the whole surface of the circle with holes. This is key to prevent air bubbles forming in the dough layer when baking.
Place the tray in the oven and bake for 10 minutes until just golden (check the oven before in case it takes less time!).
Repeat steps 1-6 with all the dough until you have created at least 9 layers! If you have any dough remaining (but not enough to make a whole layer!)) cut smaller circles to make Rogelitos!

Italian Meringue:

Add 100g of the caster sugar in a pan with the water. Using a food thermometer, heat the sugar and water until a sugar syrup is formed and reaches 116-120 degree Celsius (if you do not have a food thermometer, look at the bubbles! As the syrup gets cooked, the bubbles will start forming from the sides of the pan and gradually spread towards the centre. When the whole surface area is bubbling, the syrup is ready for the meringue.)
Whilst the sugar is heating, start whisking the egg whites in a bowl using an electric whisk. Once the egg whites are fluffy, add the 40g of sugar to the egg whites and continue to whisk until you are almost able to hold soft peaks.
Once the sugar syrup has reached 116-120 degree Celsius, remove the syrup from the heat and start slowly drizzling the syrup into the whisked egg whites. At all times continue to whisk to prevent the eggs from scrambling!
When all the sugar syrup has been added, continue to whisk until the meringue reaches room temperature. When this is done, add the teaspoon of lemon juice and whisk further for a few more minutes.

Assembling the Rogel:

Layer each thin pastry dough with dulce de leche. Be generous however the more dulce de leche you add, the sweeter it will be!
Once all the layers have been sandwiched with dulce de leche, you are ready to decorate with the Italian meringue. You can use a piping bag and nozzle to create peaks of Italian meringue, however if not, you can use a knife to cover the Rogel!

I am so so so excited to hear your thoughts and see your amazing takes on this classic Argentine showstopper!! 🙂

I hope you all have a very blessed and safe Christmas! 🙂