Chocotorta
{{Short description|No-bake dessert of Argentina}}
{{Infobox food
| name = Chocotorta
| image = Chocotorta recipe.png
| image_size =
| caption =
| country = Argentina
| region =
| creator = Marité Mabragaña
| course = Dessert
| type =
| served = Cold
| main_ingredient = Chocolate biscuits soaked in milk or coffee, dulce de leche, cream cheese
| variations =
}}
Chocotorta (a portmanteau of "chocolate" and "torta", Spanish for "cake") is a typical no-bake dessert of Argentina that is made with chocolate biscuits or cookies—specifically the Chocolinas brand produced by Bagley—that are soaked with milk or coffee and layered with a mixture of dulce de leche and cream cheese.
History
The creation of the recipe is attributed to the advertising creative Marité Mabragaña, who around 1982 devised a joint campaign between two brands: Bagley's Chocolinas cookies and Mendicrim cream cheese, then owned by the Mendizábal company.{{cite web|language=es|accessdate=27 December 2024|date=20 June 2024|work=Clarín|location=Buenos Aires|first=Graciela|last=Baduel|title=La inventora de la chocotorta dice que la receta original lleva vino|url=https://www.clarin.com/gourmet/inventora-chocotorta-dice-receta-original-lleva-vino_0_I96WxB84i.html?srsltid=AfmBOooze1d9JUYhcfKGokSXdzNYYMJ1WmdCHweCXG8U1ZgI09eZraTj}} Due to the ease and practicality of its preparation, the chocotorta became a success and over the years has come to be described as Argentina's most popular dessert and a cultural icon of the country, especially associated with birthday celebrations.{{cite web|url=https://www.clarin.com/gourmet/chocotorta-historia-mejores-recetas-emblema-argentino-destrozo-paulina-cocina_0_cYH8HuhhGp.html?srsltid=AfmBOopUFTuw44Tzs9QzAYmRDIxoIZvHVrLkeNCOrFh2dp2B9BtyEiap|title=Chocotorta: la historia y las mejores recetas del emblema argentino que destrozó Paulina Cocina|language=es|work=Clarín|date=30 October 2024|accessdate=27 December 2024}}{{cite web|url=https://www.infobae.com/tendencias/2024/10/30/tres-versiones-de-la-chocotorta-el-postre-argentino-que-fue-elegido-el-mejor-del-mundo/|publisher=Infobae|location=Buenos Aires|title=Tres versiones de la chocotorta, el postre argentino que fue elegido el mejor del mundo|language=es|accessdate=27 December 2024|last=Chavez|first=Valeria|date=30 October 2024}} In 2020, TasteAtlas listed chocotorta as the best dessert in the world. Despite its ubiquity in Argentine culture, the chocotorta is also known for the rejection it has provoked in several well-known figures of the local gastronomy, who claim that the simple preparation should not be considered a cake nor a representative of national confectionery.{{cite web|url=https://www.clarin.com/sociedad/chocotorta-dulce-polemica_0_Hy84RLmq.html|title=Chocotorta sí o no: una "dulce" polémica|language=es|work=Clarín|accessdate=27 December 2024|date=19 August 2016}} There is also a coconut biscuit version made with another Bagley's brand, Coquitas, thus known as "coquitorta".{{Cite web |title=Bienvenidos al sitio de Bagley. La mayor empresa de galletas de América del Sur |url=https://www.bagley.com.ar/Receta_Coquitorta_39_0_16.aspx |access-date=2025-01-11 |website=www.bagley.com.ar |language=es}}