Obleas are one of Colombia's favorite small indulgences: two very large, very thin round wafers, crisp as a dry leaf, spread with arequipe, the country's thick milk caramel, and pressed together. Street carts and sweet shops sell them all over the country and invite customers to add extras, fruit jam, grated fresh cheese, a drizzle of condensed milk, whipped cream or coconut, until the wafer gives up structurally and eating it becomes a matter of technique.

The town of Floridablanca, in Santander, has built a reputation on them; one of its best known oblea makers began in 1949 as a family arequipe business before the wafers took over. The wafers themselves are baked between hot iron plates, so we buy them and spend our effort on the arequipe, an hour of patient stirring while milk and sugar turn into something deep, glossy and well worth the wait. The arequipe keeps for weeks, so a jar made on a quiet day is ready whenever a race needs a sweet finish.

The arequipe

Ingredients

• 4 cups (950 ml) whole milk
• 1 1/4 cups (250 g) granulated sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 pinch fine salt

Assembling the obleas

Ingredients

• 16 large round obleas
• 1 cup (300 g) arequipe
• 1/4 cup (80 g) blackberry or other fruit jam
• 1/2 cup (50 g) queso fresco or mild white cheese
• 1/4 cup (60 ml) sweetened condensed milk
• 1/4 cup (20 g) shredded coconut

More from Colombia