The typical and tasty cakes and pastries of Argentina can now be found in Malaga, and this is precisely where

Antonio Contreras

Wednesday, 19 June 2024, 17:22

Camila Bertello, originally from Cordoba, Argentina, has always loved baking. When she was just a child, her parents gave her a small toy kitchen in which she made simple recipes. A couple of years later she started helping her grandmother Teresita and her grandfather Carlos in the kitchen. Teresita, better known as 'Tichi', has always been a pastry lover and one of the main reasons why Bertello also got hooked on sugar, but only in the kitchen, never on the plate: "I like the savoury stuff much more than sweet things when it comes to eating." Adult life and professional careers meant that Bertello focused her studies away from cooking, although she later returned to baking, selling her cakes via social media in Argentina.

Years later, her husband Maximiliano emigrated to Spain to open Sushi Flower in Malaga, a Japanese restaurant located at Calle Jovellanos 5. Camila left her home country with her husband, bringing her younger sister, Candela Bertello, and her mother, Carina Bruschini. With the three of them now in Malaga, the adventure of Bruschini's Obrador (named after Candela and Camila's grandparents) began. Today, seven months after its opening, the small shop located in Avenida de los Guindos number six, has become an obligatory stop-off for all sweet lovers in the city. The pastry shop offers desserts that are difficult to find in the rest of the city, such as pavlovas (a must-try if you visit the shop), alfajores (a type of caramel cookie) or tarta marquise (a chilled, chocolate torte), with others that are even more popular.

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The flavour of the pastries, together with the charisma and warmth that the three women emit have won them a place in the hearts of the locals. "Malaga, and Andalucía in general, is the closest thing you can find outside of Argentina to our home town," says Candela Bertello.

At SUR we visited the premises to try some of their cakes and confirm that, if you have a sweet tooth, you should definitely stop by Bruschini's Obrador.

Pavlovas, with their crunchy meringue and red fruit heart, are fast becoming one of those desserts that I will think of whenever I am asked for something sweet to put in my mouth. It is said that, no matter how hearty the meal, there is always room for dessert. But when it comes to pavlova, even more so. It is a light snack, one of those dishes that don't really take up any room in the stomach and yet they are the icing on the cake to any meal. With its crunchy texture and sweet, fruity flavour, it is, in my eyes, the biggest must-try on the list.

Alfajores aside, the chocotorta, with its hefty dose of dulce de leche (a thick, caramel sauce), really flies the flag for Argentine pastries. Far from what you might think from its name, the chocotorta is a cake with a smooth, creamy texture, not crunchy at all. It is a perfect mix of chocolate and the famous dulce de leche. Just one is enough because, unlike Pavlovas, I recommend you leave a little room in your tummy if this is to be your dessert of choice.

Marquise tart is best enjoyed with a cup of coffee or a glass of milk. The base eschews the typical, crushed biscuit present in so many sweets nowadays in favour of a dense, nut-free chocolate brownie. A good amount of dulce de leche is spread on top of the brownie, oozing out of every corner of the cake. The third tier is a thick layer of whipped cream decorated with nuts. The result is a cake only suitable for those with a really sweet tooth. However, if you are one of those, you're in for a treat. Just like the chocotorta, remember to leave a little room in your belly to include a slice of marquise on the menu.

At the moment Bruschini's Obrador serves its customers in the premises located in Avenida de los Guindos, although the intention of the sisters and their mother is to open another premises in the city centre in the future to serve customers and to retain the current one exclusively for supplying restaurants. In fact, Bruschini's Obrador already supplies a multitude of restaurants with their dessert menu.