If you’re a manjar blanco lover, you will love this version in truffle form. Manjar Blanco Truffles are pretty easy to make, they’re sweet, sticky and a true addiction. That touch of cinnamon on the outside complements the truffles and adds a unique twist.
Manjar Blanco Truffles with Cinnamon
Manjar Blanco Truffles with Cinnamon are perfect for any occasion you need to assemble a dessert table. That includes a celebration or even tea time. They’re the lighter version of Peruvian Chocolate Truffles. This version of chocolate truffles uses a chocolate manjar blanco base. I’m hooked on these, and I think that a big part of it is the cinnamon on the outside. The combination with the manjar blanco is really special. Just think about other Peruvian sweets such as Encanelado or Suspiro de Limeña. Both have a manjar blanco-type base topped with cinnamon! It’s guaranteed to be a success.
How to make Manjar Blanco Truffles
Manjar blanco is the Peruvian version of dulce de leche and you will notice it’s used in fillings and desserts all around Peru. We make it by cooking evaporated milk and condensed milk. In Perú, we often label this type of manjar “manjar blanco de olla” or “saucepan manjar blanco.” To have Manjar Blanco Truffles with a good texture, we have to thicken the mix of evaporated and condensed milk a lot.
Usually, when I make manjar blanco, I cook it until I can see the base of the pan. At that point is ok because it thickens more when it cools down. With that, I can fill alfajores and other desserts. In the case of the truffles, the recipe is the same but we cook it for longer. When you’re cooking the mix, while it’s hot, it should look like cooled-down manjar blanco or dulce de leche. In that way, once it cools down, it thickens enough for us to form the truffles.
How long do they keep for
To form the Manjar Blanco Truffles with cinnamon, we first let the manjar blanco mix cool down and then we freeze it for at least 4 hours. Even though we freeze it, it has so much sugar that it doesn’t completely become solid. It just has such a thick texture that we can easily form the truffles with our hands. You can keep the cooked mix frozen, in an air-tight container, for up to 3 months. In that way, you don’t have to make all the truffles at once but rather have them frozen and ready to go when you need them. Once formed, you can keep the truffles refrigerated for up to 5 days.
The cinnamon exterior
Once you have formed the Manjar Blanco Truffles with your lightly greased hands, you will pass them to a bowl with a mix of icing sugar and cinnamon. This is what gives the truffles an exterior that you can hold with your finger without getting manjar blanco all over them. Other options for coating the outside include toasted coconut, grated chocolate or cacao powder.
Other recipes with manjar blanco
If you’re a fan of manjar blanco, here you have other options for desserts that use them:
Manjar Blanco Truffles
Ingredients
For the truffles
- 400 g evaporated milk
- 400 g condensed milk
For the outside
- 3 tbsp icing sugar
- 1½ tsp ground cinnamon
Instructions
For the truffles
- Pour the two kinds of milk into a large saucepan on low heat and stir with a spatula until it thickens. Stir constantly or the milk will stick to the bottom and burn.
- You want the mix to be really thick in the saucepan, like cooled-down manjar blanco or dulce de leche. Then, out of the saucepan it will thicken even more as it cools.
- Remove it from the saucepan and let it cool down completely. Then, freeze the mix for at least 4 hours or up to 3 months.
- With the help of a teaspoon, remove a portion of the manjar blanco and form a ball with lightly greased hands.
For the outside
- After forming it, the truffle goes straight into the mix of icing sugar and cinnamon to cover. Repeat with all the truffles.
- Keep them refrigerated before serving for up to 5 days.
