The dessert is based around manjar blanco, a similar confection to dulce de leche, itself coming from blancmange, a dish from the Middle Ages.

It consisted of a thick cream made of milk, sugar, almond flour and some Iberian ingredients.

An even older recipe had it made of chicken breast boiled in milk, almonds and thickened with flour and was meant as a bland food for the sick and weak.

The other element of the Suspiro de Limeña is meringue, also brought to Peru by the Spaniards.

The manjar blanco layer of the dessert is made with whole milk and sugar boiled until thick and caramel colored to which are added egg yolk and sometimes, but not necessarily vanilla essence.