It was a match made in Argentine heaven: alfajores and the World Cup.
A chocolate raspberry alfajor took the grand prize at the 2024 World Alfajor Championships that were held last weekend at La Rural in Palermo, Buenos Aires. The winner was an audacious mix of freeze-dried raspberries, ganache, meringue, and raspberry “volcano” with a dark chocolate coating.
Alfajores are sugary treats popular in many parts of Latin America but especially in Argentina. They’re usually made by sandwiching dulce de leche between two cookies bathed in a thin layer of chocolate.
Different regions in Argentina produce their own distinct alfajores, such as fruit-flavored pastries (most popular in Cordoba) and glazed, doughier numbers filled with dulce de leche (Santa Fe).
This year’s champion was made by Sr. Alfajor, a company based in Monte Grande, Buenos Aires province. A panel of 20 tasters judged the treat in a blind taste test before declaring it the winner, according to a press release from the event organizers.
Judges called the winning alfajor “very well balanced and thought-out,” “very innovative,” and praised its “impressive detail.”
In addition to selecting the best alfajor in the world, judges awarded gold, silver, and bronze prizes across 19 different categories, which ranged from “healthy” to “fruit” to “exotic.” Criteria included packaging, texture, and aroma, among others, and were evaluated by a panel of food engineers, chefs, journalists, sensory analysis experts, and alfajor influencers lucky enough to spend the weekend trying more than 400 samples.
This was the third annual World Alfajor Championships. The event was held from August 16 to 18 and featured more than 180 brands of alfajores from Argentina, Uruguay, Chile, Peru, Paraguay, and Mexico. Participants, who offered a wide range of alfajores, included artisanal enterprises and major manufacturers.
The event drew a crowd of more than 50,000 visitors throughout the weekend. In addition to dozens of pastry stands, the showcase also featured alfajor-related conferences, an artist who produced alfajor-themed works, and live music, among other events.