Disfruta La Fruta with Juan Wauters
A Uruguayan special featuring Chajá!
I cannot and will not contain my excitement about this week’s newsletter. Juan Wauters is a musician I’ve followed for nearly 10 YEARS. It’s fair to say I am a huge fan, so I cannot believe that for The Interview this month I am speaking to Juan the Man himself! We talk about chivitos, milanese al pan, and his favourite snack to buy from the bodega in Queens, NY. I love Juan and his new album comes out TOMORROW!! Go cop it. I am equally excited about this week’s recipe because it’s basically my ideal dessert, none other than the Uruguayan speciality of Chajá! A peachy perfect cake of dreams. All is explained below… I love it and I hope you will too.
Juan Wauters was born in Montevideo, Uruguay, a city I visited at the beginning of 2018 and one that is profoundly relaxed. My parents went there a couple of times, because they love it so much, and the place now means a lot to them.
While we were there we ate chivitos, a towering sandwich which is the country’s national dish - more on that further down. After I had left Montevideo, my parents discovered the glorious cake that is Chajá which I tried to recreate for them with this week’s recipe. This towering peach masterpiece, more a peach Tiramisu-style pudding than a cake, is so much fun to make and to eat.
Tinned, fresh, or jarred peaches and piled up high with a genoise sponge, doused in peach syrup, whipped cream, Dulce de Leche (if you don’t have it, no biggie), and toasty meringue pieces. You can use meringue from a shop or you can make it as per the recipe below.
Chajá is very versatile and also forgiving, as I learnt in my recipe tests. Don’t worry if you’ve never made a genoise sponge before, neither had I! Just follow the recipe and you’ll be okay! In the words of today’s interviewee, Juan Wauters:
Comer con un amigo es sano
Disfrutarlo sin miedo es sano
Pasarla bien
Eating with a friend is healthy
Enjoying oneself without fear is healthy
Have fun
I could not have said it better myself.