Chocolate Marquesa

Klein's Bakery, at the end of our block, is a lovely Venezuelan bakery. Recently, we tried their Chocolate Marquesa which is a well-known Venezuelan dessert. I knew that I had to make this sweet treat. I found several versions of this dessert online. The common element is Maria cookies, which are slightly sweet crisp cookies that soften and become cake-like in this recipe.

This icebox cake is a great for summertime because there is no heat involved. Although it takes a little bit of time to pull the dessert together before it spends the night in the refrigerator, it is worth it. Chocolate marquesa takes the form of the container that it is made in. If you use a springform pan, you can remove the cake to make a nice presentation. Or, make individual servings in small glasses.

Chocolate Marquesa 

• 1 1/2 cup butter
• 14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1 cup cocoa powder
• 1 package Maria cookies
• 1/2 cup chocolate milk

Cream the butter with an electric mixer for 20 minutes. Continue beating while slowly adding the sweetened condensed milk. Then add in the powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla. Add the cocoa powder and mix until well-blended. Place a thin layer of the cream mixture in a 9-inch round pan. Dip Maria cookies in the chocolate milk to just moisten and layer the Maria cookies on top of the cream layer. Repeat alternating cream and cookies layer until done, ending with a cream layer. Refrigerate overnight. Enjoy!