Easy and delicious Milhojas with Dulce de leche. This is not the classic version that involves making the puff pastry from scratch. Instead, I give you this easy way of getting a delicious milhojas with dulce de leche with only three ingredients and in less than 30 minutes. I would never be ashamed of taking some shortcuts that don’t compromise the flavor!
In Venezuela, we call “arequipe” to the traditional “dulce de leche”. I decided to use the last name because it’s the most used name worldwide.
Dulce de leche is like a drug to me. Even when I’m not a sweet-tooth person I love a big spoon of dulce de leche anytime. It’s one of the most delicious creations of the South American cuisine. You can add it to almost any dessert and it will shine by itself.
In Venezuela we usually make milhojas — the translation would be “thousand layers” — with pastry cream, which is delicious. But as an arequipe groupie, I have to say that I prefer the Argentinian milhojas that use dulce de leche as filling. It’s scrumptious and you will be licking your plate for sure.
An important step of this recipe is to pierce the entire surface of the puff pastry with a fork before baking. This way the puff pastry will remain flat and we can get the multiple layers appearance that is so characteristic of the “milhojas”.
To bake the puff pastry the oven must be super hot, I mean 220ºC (430ºF). This temperature will give you a crispier finish. But of course, you have to be careful with the time. 10 – 12 minutes is more than enough with this temperature. I like to set a timer because … well, once I burned the puff pastry while I checked my Instagram and my kitchen was completely full of smoke. So beware and no Instagramming while cooking!
Now my favorite part: Dulce de leche!!!
You can use your favorite brand of dulce de leche or you can make it from condensed milk like I do. The important thing is that the texture has to be firm instead of runny. Because you don’t want a soggy milhojas where the dulce de leche is dripping from the sides. The texture must be thick enough so that you can use a pastry bag and a medium piping tip to apply the dulce de leche.
You can decorate the milhojas as you prefer. I like to sprinkle powdered sugar and cover the edges with more dulce de leche — it’s never enough — and topping with some sliced almonds. This combo is both beautiful and yummy!
I hope you enjoy this delicious recipe and I see you in the next one!
- 3 square puff pastry sheets
- 2 cans of dulce de leche (it can be homemade)
- powdered sugar
- sliced almonds (optional)
-
Preheat the oven to 220ºC (430ºF)
-
Pierce each puff pastry sheet with a fork and cover all the surface with small dots. This will keep the puff pastry flat when baked.
-
Place each puff pastry sheet on a non-stick oven sheet and bake each puff pastry sheet for 10 minutes until slightly brown. If you have a small oven ---like me--- bake the puff pastry one sheet at the time. Be careful because the oven must be insanely hot so more than 10 minutes can give you a burned sheet.
-
Let the puff pastry cool down. Place one sheet and cover with dulce de leche. Repeat the process two times. Place the last sheet and cover with powdered sugar and decorate with dulce de leche and sliced almonds.
I’m Maria and I love cooking—and mostly EATING—food from all around the world. I’ve been sharing my abuela’s secret Latin-American recipes for the last 7 years with the world on this blog. I’ve been a full-time food blogger for many years and I’m always trying new delicious meals that don’t require a culinary degree or a Michelin-star chef. I also love traveling, cats, and knitting.