Name: King Kong
Prep time: 40 min
Cook time: 74 min
Total time: 309 min
Cuisine: Peruvian cuisine
Ingredients: 340 g plain wheat flour — sifted; 120 g unsalted butter — cool, diced; 60 g egg yolks — about three large yolks; 70 ml whole milk; 40 g white sugar; 2 g fine salt; 420 g manjar blanco — ready-made thick milk caramel; 300 g pineapple flesh — peeled, finely chopped; 110 g white sugar — for pineapple; 150 g roasted unsalted peanuts — finely ground; 110 g chancaca — grated panela-style cane sugar; 120 ml water — for peanut sweet; 15 ml lime juice — for pineapple filling

King Kong layered alfajor with manjar and fruit fillings

Yield 12 servings

Prep time 40 minutes

Cook time 74 minutes

Passive time 195 minutes

Total time 309 minutes

Ingredients ↓

Overview

King Kong layered alfajor with manjar and fruit fillings

The King Kong of Lambayeque is a large layered alfajor rather than a soft sandwich cookie. Crisp flour-and-butter sheets separate generous bands of manjar blanco, fruit conserve and peanut sweet. Versions with different fillings and layer counts exist in the region.

For a practical home-sized slab, this recipe bakes four thin rectangular biscuit sheets, then fills them with ready-made food-safe manjar blanco and two cooked fruit-and-peanut spreads. Preparing these thick fillings separately keeps the layers visible and prevents a liquid filling from soaking through the biscuit.

Fully cool everything before assembly. Warm filling makes the crisp sheets break down too quickly; stiff chilled fillings are harder to spread evenly. After stacking, a covered refrigerator rest settles the layers so the large alfajor can be cut into tidy bars.

Ingredients

Biscuit layers

340 g plain wheat flour — sifted
120 g unsalted butter — cool, diced
60 g egg yolks — about three large yolks
70 ml whole milk
40 g white sugar
2 g fine salt

Three fillings

420 g manjar blanco — ready-made thick milk caramel
300 g pineapple flesh — peeled, finely chopped
110 g white sugar — for pineapple
150 g roasted unsalted peanuts — finely ground
110 g chancaca — grated panela-style cane sugar
120 ml water — for peanut sweet
15 ml lime juice — for pineapple filling

Method

Make the biscuit dough.Rub flour, 40 g sugar, salt and diced butter together; mix in egg yolks and milk to form a smooth, firm dough, working for 10 minutes. The dough holds together without wet streaks or crumbling edges. Keep eggs and milk refrigerated until needed.
Rest the biscuit dough.Cover the dough and refrigerate it for 30 minutes so it rolls without tearing. The dough is firm but bends when pressed. Refrigerate at or below 4 °C.
Roll four crisp layers.Roll the dough into four equal rectangles approximately 20 × 25 cm and 3 mm thick, dock with a fork and place on lined trays. Each sheet is even and flat, with regular fork holes.
Bake the four sheets.Bake the sheets in a preheated 180 °C oven in two rounds, 14 minutes per round, until firm and pale golden; use at least 28 minutes total baking. The surface is dry and the underside is crisp rather than doughy. Handle hot trays with oven gloves.
Concentrate pineapple filling.Cook pineapple, 110 g sugar and lime juice in a small saucepan for 28 minutes, stirring as the liquid evaporates. The fruit forms a thick spread that does not release a puddle onto a cold plate.
Cook the peanut sweet.Simmer chancaca in 120 ml water for 8 minutes, then add the ground peanuts and cook for 10 more minutes. The thick peanut filling leaves a broad trail on the pan bottom. Avoid tasting boiling sugar syrup; it causes burns.
Cool sheets and fillings.Place the four biscuit sheets and both cooked fillings on separate racks or shallow dishes and cool for 45 minutes. The biscuit sheets and spreads are at room temperature and no steam remains. Cool promptly and move dairy filling into the refrigerator if necessary.
Stack three distinct fillings.Spread peanut sweet on sheet one, manjar blanco on sheet two and pineapple filling on sheet three; stack and top with the fourth sheet. Three visible filling bands extend evenly to the edges without overflowing. Keep the dairy-based manjar cool during assembly.
Chill before slicing.Cover the slab and refrigerate for 120 minutes before cutting into twelve bars with a serrated knife. The fillings hold their layers when a bar is lifted. Store at or below 4 °C after assembly because it contains a dairy filling.

Practical

Success points

Let both pastry and fillings cool completely before assembly, then chill the slab before slicing.

Practical guidance

King Kong is also sold with quince and other fruit combinations. This slab uses pineapple and peanut beside manjar blanco; the three filling bands should be clearly distinguishable. Commercial manjar blanco is a cooked milk caramel, not an invitation to improvise untested shelf-stable canning. The whole dessert is treated as perishable because of the dairy filling. Keep filled bars covered in the refrigerator and use within three to four days. Slice cold with a serrated knife, applying only light pressure so the layers do not shatter.

Control points

Biscuit sheets puff into domesThey were not docked thoroughly or were too thick. Prick with a fork and roll to even thickness.
Fillings squeeze outThey were assembled while warm or cooked too thin. Reduce fillings until spreadable, then cool fully before stacking.

Nutrition per 1 of 12 servings

Serving size1 of 12 servings
Calories525 kcal
Carbohydrate65 g
Protein10 g
Fat25 g
Fibre3 g
Sodium115 mg

Allergens and food safety

Contains wheat/gluten, milk, egg and peanuts. Boiling sugar syrups can burn; do not sample until cooled. Filled dairy-based alfajor must be refrigerated; no shelf-stable preservation is claimed.

Closing

What to expect: Four crisp biscuit layers hold three clearly separated sweet fillings.
Key control: Let both pastry and fillings cool completely before assembly, then chill the slab before slicing.