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By Melanie Bayly

Let me start by saying I love a well-made Peruvian dessert. It is sometimes hard to find, but once you find a place and you indulge in their variety of desserts, you feel like you're in heaven. This is the case when you try one of the many desserts at Manjares Dulces Peruanos. The first time I went was with my sister at tea time. We didn’t have an address. We saw the ad in the newspaper weeks before, so we only remembered it was in Av. Aviación. Therefore, after passing the place twice and stopping at another for directions, we found the place.
It’s a small quaint place with a few tables, no more than twenty. The first thing we saw was this little cart with a deep frying instrument where they make the best Picarones I’ve tried (and I’ve tried a lot). We were lucky to find a table since it fills up fast in the afternoon. A waiter came with the menu and our mouths started to water. After a few seconds of not being able to decide, we went to see the desserts for ourselves. This is when we started to drool. We saw a row filled with the desserts Lima is famous for: from Ranfañote to Churros, passing by the Compotas, Mazamorras, huge baked apples, and ending with the ever present Suspiro de Limeña. I am reluctant to say but I’ll share it anyway: we ate as many desserts as we could, the Suspiro, Arroz Zambito, Picarones and Mazamorra Morada.
Let me tell you about each one. First, the Arroz Zambito, made with Chancaca which gives it a brownish look. I didn’t know what to expect since this was the first time I tried it. It was a smooth texture, like a risotto, but sweet with hints of orange and spices. Delicious. Then the Mazamorra Morada, a custard-like texture filled with pieces of pineapple and currants.

Not too fond of fruit in my pudding so I picked them out, but the Mazamorra was exquisite; not too sweet tasting, a bit fruity because of the pineapple, and velvety on the palate. After came the Picarones, fresh out the frying bin with a Chancaca syrup. They were light and airy. The syrup didn’t overpower the soft textured dough. You could taste the sweetness of the sweet potato flour and the fruits in the syrup. Now the one I like the best is the Suspiro de Limeña. It’s a very sweet dessert made from condensed milk and egg yolks, topped with a meringue made with port wine. I’ve tried many but they usually have little lumps and the meringue is too sweet and overpowers the Manjar Blanco. This one, however, was soft-textured and when you put it in your mouth, it melts and leaves a sweet caramel-like taste. The meringue was not too sweet and mixed well with the Manjar Blanco underneath.
After experiencing heaven in a little place in Aviación, we decided to share it with our loved ones. So, we brought my dad the Fig Compota; my sister’s boyfriend a Lúcuma Mousse; and my husband, Churros. They all went to the restaurant after trying their desserts and loved it. The only thing I would improve would be the coffee. I believe that with a good cup of coffee they will have to open several larger places. They don’t only do sweet. They also have Rocoto Relleno, Papa Rellena and several other salad plates. We’ll try them next time.

Manjares - Dulces Peruanos