Turrón de Doña Pepa is the layered anise-honey sweet created by an Afro-Peruvian cook, Josefa 'Pepa' Marmanillo, in thanks for a healing she attributed to the Señor de los Milagros. It is made each October for the great Lima procession in His honour.
Crisp anise-perfumed sticks soften slightly under sticky, molasses-deep chancaca syrup, sweet, spiced and faintly fruity. The candy sprinkles add crunch and festivity. Rich and old-fashioned, it tastes of celebration.
Baking yields sturdy sticks that hold a stacked structure, while the reduced chancaca syrup acts as edible mortar, its sugar crystallizing as it cools to lock the layers together.
Variations
With quince or fig in the syrup, with pineapple, or smaller individual turron bars.
On the Palate
Where Turron de Dona Pepa sits in the Peruvian flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 12
How it's made
8 steps · 50 min active · 30 min waiting
- 115 min
Make a dough with flour, butter, egg yolks and anise infusion.
- 210 min
Roll and cut the dough into long sticks.
- 320 min
Bake the sticks until firm and pale golden.
- 430 min
Simmer chancaca with fruit, cloves and cinnamon into a thick syrup.
- 510 min
Strain the syrup and reduce until sticky.
- 68 min
Layer the baked sticks in a crisscross stack, brushing syrup between layers.
- 72 min
Pour remaining syrup over to set the structure.
- 830 min
Shower with colored sprinkles and let it set before slicing.
