Café Corazón sold KC on her alfajores and empanadas; now meet the Argentine chef behind these legendary, handcrafted treats 

In a space that serves as a crossroads of identities, trays of Silvia Miguel’s now-iconic savory and sweet dishes find a welcome home alongside bold pieces of art, sips of coffee and wares from a vibrant community of Latin and Indigenous entrepreneurs.

Silvia Miguel, Pan Caliente; photo by Joyce Smith

Miel Castagna-Herrera, co-founder of Café Corazón, started carrying Miguel’s Pan Caliente products soon after opening her West Plaza shop in 2019, and continued after expanding to the Crossroads and Brookside.

Crafted with heart and filled with flavors that matched their Instagrammable appeal, Pan Caliente quickly became a staple.

“Our heritage is the same, so there’s just that love of their culture because it is my culture,” Castagna-Herrera said. “And also their products are just really good and amazing. Her fugazetta, all of her sweet treats, are the real deal, real Argentina treats. People love their stuff.”

That authenticity stems from Miguel’s youth in Argentine Patagonia, a melting pot that was swarming with cuisines from around the world, the chef said.

On Sundays after church, family and friends would gather at a huge table at her grandfather’s farm, feasting on the best of those dishes, Miguel said.

Today — after a lengthy career in education, earning several degrees and teaching Spanish and art in the Kansas City School District — her Pan Caliente wholesale reflects those foundational childhood experiences through its menu of alfajores, milhojas, empanadas, arrollado, and bierocks.

“I am so glad that people try and like it and people buy a lot,” she said.

In addition to Café Corazón, Pan Caliente’s wholesale clients include The Fillmore Cafe at Unity Village and Whistle Stop Coffee & Mercantile in Lee’s Summit, the El Café Cubano food truck, and Revocup Coffee in downtown Kansas City.

RELATED: El Café Cubano brews rich simplicity inspired by ancestors’ appetite for the American dream

Apple empanadas from Pan Caliente; photo by Joyce Smith

Flavor journey from Patagonia

After high school, Miguel earned an art degree and a psychoanalyst therapist degree from the National University of Buenos Aires. She spent a decade as a therapist in Patagonia.

Silvia Miguel dips alfajores in chocolate at Pan Caliente’s kitchen at the Ennovation Center in Independence; photo by Joyce Smith

She moved to Lee’s Summit in 2002 to be a bilingual teacher at the Foreign Language Academy and George Washington Carver Dual Language School.

Meanwhile, she earned a master’s degree in elementary education from Webster University in Kansas City, as well as an ontological coach certification.

She often whipped up the dishes of her childhood for friends, neighbors and co-workers. They encouraged her to open a side business.

So in 2012, she started Pan Caliente LLC with her husband, Alejandro Cabro. They kept their full-time jobs, while making their products in a commercial kitchen within the Ennovation Center, a non-profit business development incubator in Independence.

During Super Bowl 2018, they stepped up operations, selling more than 180,000 of their goods for watch parties and dropping them off during the game. Their 18-year-old son, Ignacio “Iggy” Cabro, helped with deliveries.

“We didn’t see the game. That’s when we realized we really had something,” Alejandro said.

Miguel, now 60, left her teaching job two years ago to concentrate on Pan Caliente full time.

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Pan Caliente treats at Café Corazon in Brookside; photo by Joyce Smith

Pan Caliente’s menu

• Alfajores — One of the most popular sweet treats in Argentina, Silvia said, originally linked to the Middle East, the word comes from an Arabic term meaning “filled.” Her flavors include lavender, espresso, chocolate with dulce de leche, guava, coconut (gluten-free) and Dubai.

• Mihojas — A layered dessert with dulce de leche, coconut and Belgian chocolate.

• Arrollado — A rolled and stuffed meat dish.

• Empanadas — She typically makes them with a vegan flour (rather than corn), and offers eight choices: beef, spicy beef, ham and cheese, chicken, vegan veggie, fugazzetta (onion and cheese), apple, and breakfast (eggs, bacon and cheese).

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Veronica Chavez, CEO and founder of Palomino’s Salsas & Tamales, cans salsa verde with Malina McMurray, assistant chef, at the Ennovation Center in Independence; photo by Joyce Smith

Amanda True, co-owner of Wake & Bacon, whips up scrambled eggs for the company’s breakfast burrito; photo by Joyce Smith

Ennovation endorsements

On a recent Wednesday, Miguel and her two employees intently turned out empanadas and alfajores at the Ennovation Center, but she paused to talk up two other wholesale operations across the aisle: Palomino’s Salsas & Tamales was canning their salsa verde, while Wake & Bacon KC scrambled eggs for their breakfast burritos.

Palomino’s products are in 25 local grocery stores such as Cosentino’s Price Chopper and a couple of Hy-Vee stores, as well as some specialty food boutiques. Wake & Bacon KC’s products are in a dozen cafes in the metro including Made in KC.

The business owners promote each other, knowing they can stand behind such recommendations because they see the other kitchen operations firsthand, they said.

Café Corazón also serves Palomino’s salsa with its tamales and with Wake & Bacon KC’s breakfast burritos, as well as in jars to take home. Palomino’s Mexican Restaurante operated for 25 years in the Northland and Independence.

Rocio Ortiz, manager at Pan Caliente, makes empanadas at the Ennovation Center in Independence; photo by Joyce Smith

Pan Caliente Belgian chocolate alfajores with white chocolate swirls; photo by Joyce Smith

Culture and cravings: a package deal

With Pan Caliente increasing its fanbase, Miguel and Cabro want to expand to more coffee shops in the metro, offering an alternative to the typical cinnamon rolls and doughnuts.

“I feel very good when the owners trust and sell my products,” Miguel said. “It is easier for them to sell things that people already know, like cinnamon rolls and donuts. It is nice that they are trying to add more products of different cultures.”

Pan Caliente already has entered the catering game, working on such events as weddings, fundraisers, professional development meetings and more, including KC Tango’s Argentine tango social dance events.

A meal package with two empanadas, two sauces, an alfajor cookie, and a bag of chips is $14 a person with a minimum of 20 boxes, or $12 a person with a minimum of 50 boxes. Some of their business customers send appreciation boxes to clients with Pan Caliente personalizing those boxes with the company’s logo.

Other catering options include a mini chori-pan (sausage), cocktail empanadas, Miga sandwiches (thin, crustless bread with multiple layers of filling), and mini-alfajores.

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Startland News contributor Joyce Smith covered local restaurants and retail for nearly 40 years with The Kansas City Star. Click here to follow her on Bluesky, here for X (formerly Twitter), here for Facebook, here for Instagram, and by following #joyceinkc on Threads.