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 is a festival sweet.
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 · 40 min
- 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.
Watch outBake the sticks until firm and just pale gold — they must stay sturdy to hold the stack; browned means brittle and they'll snap.
- 430 min
Simmer chancaca with fruit, cloves and cinnamon into a thick syrup.
- 510 min
Strain the syrup and reduce until sticky.
Watch outReduce the syrup until a drizzle falls in a sticky thread — too runny and it won't glue the layers; it needs to set like mortar.
- 68 min
Layer the baked sticks in a crisscross stack, brushing syrup between layers.
- 72 min
Pour remaining syrup over to set the structure.
Watch outPour the last syrup over while it's still hot and let it cool undisturbed — that's when the sugar crystallizes and locks the whole tower.
- 830 min
Shower with colored sprinkles and let it set before slicing.
