• Preheat oven to 220ºC.
• Mix together the cornflour, plain flour and baking powder.
• In a separate bowl, beat the butter and sugar together and add the yolks one by one, making sure to mix well before adding the next one. Add the vanilla essence.
• Incorporate the flour mix little by little until you get an even mix. If it is a bit dry, add milk (one or two tablespoons) until you achieve a soft (but not sticky!) dough.
• Roll the dough on a floured surface until it becomes 7 mm thick. Cut small discs with a pastry cutter and place on a baking sheet. Bake in the centre of the oven for 5 minutes. Do not let them turn golden or they will become too crunchy. They should come out of the oven when they are still a light lemon colour. Let them cool for 5 minutes and carefully remove from baking sheet with a spatula. Place on a rack or on paper kitchen towel and allow to cool down for another 5 minutes.
• Take a disc and carefully spread with Dulce de Leche (be gentle! they are very crumbly!) and cover with another disc. Gently press together and spread a bit more dulce on the side and roll over the coconut.

• Butter the tin.
• In a plastic bag, crush the biscuits with a rolling pin until they resemble fine breadcrumbs.
• Add the melted butter and mix well. Cover the tin base with the biscuit mix, pressing down well to achieve a compact, even layer. Chill in the fridge for 15 minutes.
• Now pour the gelatine into the cup of water and whisk briskly until completely dissolved. If the water cools down before the gelatine has dissolved, place the cup in a small pan filled with water and on the hob, stirring constantly until ready, but be careful not to let it boil.
• Beat together the soft cheese and sugar and add the lemon rind.
• Pour the gelatine gradually into the preparation and mix well.
• Transfer 2/3 of the filling onto the biscuit base, forming and even layer and chill in the fridge for 1 hour.
• In the meantime, combine the rest of the soft cheese mix with the Dulce de Leche and keep in the fridge until needed.
• After the hour has passed, carefully pour the Dulce de Leche mix over the chilled cake. Return to the fridge for at least 3 more hours before serving. Remove cheesecake from the tin and place on serving dish, sprinkle with icing sugar and keep in the fridge until ready to serve.

Tip: before removing the cake, wet a dishcloth with hot water and wrap around the tin for a 4 or 5 seconds, to loosen its sides from the mould.

This cake can be frozen. Thaw thoroughly in the fridge for 12 hours before serving or for 2 hours at room temperature.

• Preheat oven to 220ºC.
• Put 235 g of sugar and the water in a pan. Cook on medium to high heat for 10-15 minutes, taking care not to burn the caramel, until it turns golden. Pour into the moulds, spreading over base and sides.
• Put the Dulce de Leche in a bowl and slowly add ¼ of the milk while mixing constantly, to achieve a diluted preparation.
• Separately, mix the eggs without beating and add to it the diluted Dulce de Leche. Gradually incorporate the rest of the milk, mix well and pour into the moulds.
• Line the base of a roasting tin with 6 layers of newspaper and pour hot water to come halfway up the sides. Place the crème caramel in the tin and bake in the centre of the preheated oven. For individual flanes, cooking time is 35 minutes. For a 22 cm mould, cooking time is 45 minutes. Remove them from the oven and let them cool down out of the Bain Marie for about an hour. Chill in the fridge for a minimum of 2 hours before attempting to remove from the mould.
• To place on the serving dish, loosen the sides carefully with a knife, place a plate on top of the mould and in one, assertive yet gentle (and skilful!) move, turn the dessert upside down. Tap the base of the mould and carefully remove upwards, as not to damage the flan. Keep in the fridge until ready to eat. It will be particularly delicious served with a dollop of whipped cream.

Tip: To prevent the surface of the flan from burning, after 20 minutes in the oven, cover with baking paper or aluminium foil for the rest of the cooking time.

• Preheat the oven to 180 C / 350 F / Gas 4.
• Peel and slice the pears. Place them in an ovenproof dish with the lemon juice. Toss gently to coat in the juice.
• Top the pears with the almonds, then spoon over the Dulce de Leche San Ignacio, trying to cover all the pears and almonds.
• For the crumble topping, combine the polenta, flour and sugar in a bowl, then rub in 75g of the butter and salt. Tip this over the pear mixture and press down lightly.
• Dot with the remaining butter and bake in the preheated oven for 35-40 minutes or until golden brown.
• Allow the crumble to stand for about 10 minutes, then serve with Greek yoghurt or ice cream. Or both.

© 2002 Sue Lawrence.

• Preheat to 200 C / 400 F / Gas 6 and butter a baking sheet.
• To make the profiteroles, sift together the flour, salt and nutmeg. In a medium saucepan, bring the water and water to the boil. Remove from the heat and add the dry ingredients all at once. Beat with a wooden spoon for about 1 minute until well blended and the mixture starts to pull away from the sides of the pan, then set the pan over a low heat and cook the mixture for about 2 minutes, beating constantly. Remove from the heat.
• Beat 1 egg in a small bowl and set aside. Add the remaining eggs, one at a time, to the flour mixture, beating well after each. Add the beating egg by teaspoonfuls until the dough is smooth and shiny; it should pull away and fall slowly when drop from a spoon.
• Using a tablespoon, drop the dough on to the baking sheet in twelve moulds. Bake for 25-30 minutes until the pastry is well risen and browned. Turn off the oven and leave the puffs to cool with the oven door open.
• To make the sauce, place the chocolate and water in a double-boiler or in a bowl placed over a pan of hot water and leave to melt, stirring ocasionally. Keep warm until ready to serve, or reheat over simmering water.
• Split the profiteroles in half and put a small scoop of Dulce de Leche San Ignacio in each. Arrange on serving plater or divide among individual plates. Pour the chocolate sauce over the top and leave them a few minutes to cool.

• For a very quick dessert, serve peaches in syrup with a generous scoop of Dulce de Leche.
• Banana with Dulce de Leche is the classic dessert when instant satisfaction is required.
• Spread dulce on your morning toast.
• In Argentina, pancakes filled with Dulce de Leche are eaten any time of the day - as breakfast, dessert of a snack.
• A heavenly smoothie: one banana, two heaped tablespoons of dulce de leche, half a pint of milk and a couple of ice cubes.
• Bake a chocolate cake. Divide into two layers and fill with Dulce de Leche. Spread dulce on the top surface and sides and sprinkle with coconut.
• A generous tablespoon of Dulce de Leche is a great accompaniment for fruit salad.
• Finally, if you are familiar with the ice cream churner, replace the main flavour of your favourite ice cream recipe with a generous amount of Dulce de Leche for Argentineans favourite flavour!