Turrón de Doña Pepa

Turrón de Doña Pepa is a traditional dessert that is prepared and consumed in October, or, as it’s called in Peru, el mes morada, meaning the purple month. This layered nougat is drizzled with chancaca, then topped with a variety of colorful sprinkles and candies, resulting in a psychedelic concoction with a striking visual appearance, made with a combination of anise seeds, flour, sugar, butter, eggs, and flavorings such as vanilla, lime juice, orange zest, cinnamon, cloves, and allspice. It is believed that this dessert was invented by Josefa Maraminillo, a woman from the Cañete Valley who was paralyzed before she went to Lima to pray to El Señor de los Milagros during the religious procession held in the center of the city. Shortly after that, she felt no pain in her limbs, and as a sign of respect, she created this dessert and could be seen each October in Lima with her turrón. Years later, she was nicknamed Doña Pepa and nowadays, during the El Senor de Milagros procession, free samples of this festive turrón are regularly dealt out near the main church.