All For Alfajores, Alfajores For All

Re Argentina Alfajores is selling South American sweets

Carla Ines Valvo didn’t move to Iceland to sell cookies; she moved to sell clothes. After starting the clothing brand Intensa in Buenos Aires in 2011, the fashion designer moved to Reykjavík six years ago in order to expand her project’s reach to Europe. While the studded jackets that characterise the brand can be purchased in Nordic Market stores around Reykjavík, as well as in shops in Spain and Italy, it’s an entirely different business that’s keeping her busy these days.

All for alfajores

“Little by little,” Carla begins, “I started to think, ‘Okay, now I want to do something related to my country.’ So I started to try different recipes and practice them — I practised a lot!”

After some trial and error, she decided to begin with the most typical treat in Argentina: the sandwich cookies called alfajores.

Last summer, Carla began to gauge the general public’s reactions at Reykjavík’s Pride Festival and Menningarnótt. “I walked around Laugavegur and the pond with a basket full of tiny alfajores. And they loved them! I made some reels about it and now they are actually my customers,” she says, explaining that some people who tried them that first day have actually gone on to make custom orders for their private events. That was the beginning of Re Argentina Alfajores — and it’s snowballed since then: “Everything just started going with the flow!”

Really, but not really

The alfajor actually has its roots in the Andalusia during its centuries of Islamic reign — hence the common Arabic prefix “al” — and was spread all over the Americas during the colonial era. While vastly different confections called alfajores exist in Spain and across Latin America, it’s Argentina that takes the cake. They produce and consume the most alfajores, both by total volume and per capita, of any country in the world.

The classic Argentinian alfajor is made of two round, powdery-soft cornflour cookies held together with sticky, caramel-like dulce de leche and rolled in coconut flakes. Common variations can be chocolate-covered or use different fillings. “There are a lot of recipes,” Carla explains, “but I started with the traditional one and the one that I really love.”

“Re” is popular Argentinian slang for “really” and Argentina is not only the name of the country, but also the adjective related to it. So while Re Argentina Alfajores translates more-or-less as “really Argentinian alfajores,” they offer more than the typical version.

“I made 30 alfajores in a kitty shape to try,” Carla says of the cat-shaped confections she crafted for beloved local breakfast spot Grái Kötturinn. “And I sold 27 on the first day!” She says customers were excitedly saying, “‘I don’t know what that is, but I want one!’”

Carla was working at Omnom when her foray into alfajores began and after just three months, she was receiving enough orders to quit and focus on her side-hustle. “But the amazing thing,” she remembers fondly, “is that they gave me 12 kilograms of chocolate to help me out, like a kickstart.” With Omnom’s gift and new silicon molds, she began designing Re’s signature alfajores with their glossy, iridescent white chocolate tops in detailed, elegant shapes of flowers, suns and moons. “That was my idea: because I’m a fashion designer, I tried to combine art and something sweet with the traditions of my country.”

Alfajores for all

Although Carla is sharing the flavours of Argentina, she’s also keen to celebrate the culture of her adopted country. She has used black salt caramel and even mulled wine to flavour alfajores for special holidays, but the local favourite flavour is always on offer. “Of course we have licorice,” she adds, “because Icelanders love licorice!”

After only six months since its beginning, Re’s products are available in Grái Kötturinn and Taste of Iceland, and they will soon hit the shelves of Hagkaup. Although alfajores are typically eaten with coffee or the South American herbal drink called mate, Re has also partnered with Kramber to pair them with sparkling wine for special events. Carla keen expand into café’s across the country and offer each place its own signature design or flavour.

“I love this island because you can grow so fast,” she says. “In Argentina, I’d have a lot of competitors, but here, I’m the only one doing this.”

“I was just trying to take baby steps,” Carla says, “but they turned out to be Viking steps!”