Sweet Pionono

Pionono is a delicious roll very popular in Paraguay and other South American countries. It is a spongy cake filled with sweet stuff, rolled up and then drizzled with confectioners sugar. This one in particular was filled with dulce the leche. Pionono is a delicious treat by itself or can be accompanied with any type of berries or with a scoop of ice cream for dessert.

Ingredients

4 eggs

4 tablespoon of sugar

4 tablespoon of flour

¼ teaspoon of salt

1 tablespoon of honey

1 teaspoon of vanilla

Whisk eggs together for one minute, then, slowly add the sugar and mix until the batter becomes thick

Next combine together the salt and flour and with the help of a strainer, sprinkle it on top of the mixture. Add the vanilla and honey. With a spatula stir the mixture in circular motions from bottom to top until the flour has completely dissolved the batter

On a tray, place wax paper and pour the batter. Use a utensil to spread the batter evenly. Place it in the oven at 400˚F for 8 minutes. If you bake the cake too long it becomes hard and crispy instead of spongy

Next, remove the cake from the oven and let it cool down for about 5 minutes. Roll it up with the wax paper on and put it in the fridge for about one hour or more. When you are ready to fill the cake, take it out of the fridge and flip it over. Carefully, remove the wax paper and spread the dulce the leche, nutella or any other sweet stuff you would like to use

Roll it up carefully. Lastly drizzle the pionono with confectioners sugar

Dulce de Leche

Homemade Dulce de Leche

Dulce de Leche or Sweet Milk is very popular in South American countries, especially in Paraguay, Argentina and Uruguay. The dulce the leche is the main ingredient for many desserts and pastries and it’s also eaten spreaded on bread for breakfast. 

When I’m in Paraguay, I take dulce de leche for granted because I can easily find it at any store. Here in Boston, I usually have a hard time finding dulce de leche in the stores near my house; therefore, I make it at home. 

What you need… 

1 can of condensed milk

Time

Patience

With the help of a nail and a hammer, make two holes on the condensed milk can.

Put the can in a pan with water and let it cook for about 3 or 4 hours depending on how dark you want the dulce de leche to be. You will need to keep refilling the water in the pan every 45min or so.

A faster option is to pour the condensed milk on a pan and let the condensed milk take color at a medium heat. Make sure you constantly stir to prevent the condensed milk stick to the pan.