Argentinian Sweets Guide: Franui, Alfajores, Dulce de Leche and More

Argentinians are, quietly and completely, one of the sweetest-toothed cultures in the world. The country consumes more dulce de leche per capita than anywhere else on Earth, alfajores outsell every other biscuit in the supermarket, and a national dessert (chocotorta) is basically a stack of biscuits and cream cheese held together by more dulce. If you are getting into Argentinian food in Sydney, the sweets are half the story.

The base ingredient: dulce de leche

You cannot understand Argentinian sweets without understanding dulce de leche. It is milk and sugar cooked slowly for hours until the sugars caramelise into a thick, glossy, deeply sweet spread. Argentinians eat it by the spoonful, on toast, in cakes, in ice cream, folded through mousse, sandwiched between biscuits, drizzled over crepes.

Argentinian brands to look for: La Serenisima (the everyday national brand), Havanna (premium, thicker, often sold with alfajores), Chimbote and Vacalin (smaller artisan producers). In Sydney, you can find La Serenisima in most Latin American delis and occasionally in Coles or Woolworths international aisles. Woolworths has stocked it sporadically in urban stores.

Alfajores

The most-eaten biscuit in Argentina. Two soft biscuits with dulce de leche in the middle, usually rolled in coconut or dipped in chocolate. Every brand is a debate.

The big three brands

• Havanna. The Mar del Plata premium brand. Their alfajores triple (three biscuits, two layers of filling) is the ceremonial version.
• Cachafaz. The Buenos Aires classic. Chocolate-coated variety is many Argentinians' first memory of the biscuit.
• Guaymallen. The everyday supermarket brand. Cheap, individually wrapped, in every gas station and kiosco across Argentina.

Where to find alfajores in Sydney: Latin American delis in Kingsford, Bondi Junction, Marrickville, and pockets of the Inner West. Some specialty grocers rotate small stocks. Argentum does not currently stock alfajores but points customers to the Latin American deli map. See where to buy Latin American groceries in Sydney for the current shops.

Franui

The newer entrant to the Argentinian sweets pantheon, launched by Rapanui in Bariloche in the mid-2000s. Frozen raspberries dipped first in white chocolate, then in dark or milk chocolate. Eaten straight from the freezer, in small handfuls, at the end of a meal.

Franui is the Argentinian sweet that has traveled fastest globally. In 2026 it is stocked in Spain, France, the UK, the US, and Australia. For the deeper story see what is Franui.

Where to find in Sydney: Argentum stocks the Dark version and the Milk version, both at $12 per 150g tub, delivered frozen across Sydney metro.

Chocotorta

A no-bake cake invented in Argentina in the 1980s. Layers of chocolate biscuits (specifically Chocolinas, though anything similar works) briefly dipped in coffee or milk, alternating with a filling of cream cheese and dulce de leche. Chilled for a few hours, sliced cold.

It is a home dessert, almost always made rather than bought. If you have a birthday party for a kid with an Argentinian parent in Sydney, chocotorta will appear. To make it here: use Marie biscuits or Chocolinas if you can find them at a Latin deli, mix equal parts cream cheese and dulce de leche, layer, chill overnight.

Helado (Argentinian gelato)

Argentina's ice cream is closer to Italian gelato than American ice cream, thanks to the huge Italian immigrant population in Buenos Aires. It is dense, intensely flavoured, and served in small ceremonial portions.

The signature flavours: dulce de leche granizado (dulce with dark chocolate flakes), sambayon (marsala custard), and any of a dozen fruit sorbets. Buenos Aires heladerias (like Freddo, Persicco, and Un Altra Volta) have cult followings.

In Sydney, no direct equivalent, but a handful of Italian gelaterias run flavours that are close (particularly a good dulce de leche gelato). Argentum does not stock helado.

Facturas

The Argentinian breakfast pastry category. Croissant-cousin dough baked into different shapes: medialunas (small crescents, usually sweet), vigilantes (rectangular with dulce de leche), churros (crispy fried, dipped in dulce or chocolate).

Best found in Sydney at bakeries with a Latin American baker on staff, or at Latin American delis on weekend mornings. Argentum does not currently stock facturas.

Mate and mate-adjacent sweets

Mate itself is not sweet, but the biscuits and pastries served with it in the afternoon merienda ritual almost always are. Alfajores, medialunas, or torta negra. Merienda is the Argentinian 5pm coffee-and-biscuit ritual and holds together the whole day's eating rhythm.

Comparison table: where to find each in Sydney

Sweet	Sydney availability	Where to buy
Franui	Reliable	Argentum online, some Latin delis
Dulce de leche (La Serenisima)	Common	Latin American delis, some Coles/Woolworths
Alfajores	Common	Latin American delis
Chocotorta ingredients	Home assembly	Latin American delis for Chocolinas, supermarket for cream cheese
Argentinian helado	None direct	Italian gelaterias with dulce de leche flavours are the closest
Facturas (medialunas etc)	Rare	Occasional at Latin bakeries and delis on weekends

An Argentinian sweets plate at home

If you want to build a small Argentinian dessert spread for guests in Sydney, this is the shortest route:

• 2 tubs of Franui (one Dark, one Milk) from Argentum, straight from the freezer
• 4 to 6 alfajores from your nearest Latin American deli (mix chocolate-coated and coconut-rolled)
• A jar of dulce de leche on the side with small spoons and either sliced banana, sliced apple, or plain crackers
• Espresso and Malbec

The whole plate reads as Argentinian without any cooking on your part. For a full Argentinian dinner to lead into it, order a Chef's Box or Treat Box (which bundles empanadas with Franui) and skip half the shopping.

The cultural context: why Argentina is so sweet

Argentina's sweet-tooth is a mix of European heritage (Italian and Spanish immigrant traditions), abundant dairy (the pampas grazing lands supplied cheap milk for two centuries, and dulce de leche was born from turning surplus milk into something shelf-stable), and social ritual (merienda, cafe culture, birthday chocotorta). Sweets are not treats, they are structural to how the day is eaten.

Understanding this changes how you order Argentinian food. An empanada dinner without something sweet at the end is technically fine but incomplete. Argentinians would not do it. See the wider Argentinian table for how sweet and savoury pieces slot together.

FAQ

What is the most popular Argentinian sweet?

Alfajores by volume (billions consumed per year in Argentina). Dulce de leche by ingredient (it is inside most of the other sweets). Franui is the fastest-growing internationally.

Where can I buy dulce de leche in Sydney?

Latin American delis reliably. Some Coles and Woolworths urban stores carry La Serenisima in the international aisle. Havanna dulce (premium) is harder to find and usually online through specialty importers.

Are Argentinian sweets gluten-free?

Franui is gluten-free. Dulce de leche is naturally gluten-free. Alfajores are almost never gluten-free (biscuits contain wheat). Chocotorta relies on wheat biscuits so also contains gluten.

Can I get Franui and alfajores in the same order in Sydney?

Argentum stocks Franui only (not alfajores). For a same-day combined order, order Franui from Argentum and pick up alfajores from a Latin American deli in the same trip. See our Latin groceries map for the current shops.

What is the difference between dulce de leche and caramel?

Dulce de leche is milk and sugar cooked slowly together. Caramel is sugar cooked alone (then sometimes finished with cream or butter). Dulce is milkier, less bitter, and thicker. The two are not interchangeable in Argentinian recipes.