Milhojas Thousand-Layer or Thousand-Sheet Cake is the most traditional Chilean cake. This recipe is from my Great Aunt, who always bakes this cake for my birthday. So, this is yet another of my recipes that feels like home! My Aunt usually makes this cake at least a day in advance, and it will easily hold its flavor and texture for 3-4 days.
For the traditional Chilean thousand-layer cake, or Torta Milhojas, you must fill it with Dulce de leche and walnuts. But if you like variety, pastry, and whipped cream, "Chantilly" is also used. If you're looking for something less sweet, jams like plum or rhubarb are also excellent. The tart contrast enhances the overall flavor.
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Milhojas or Thousand Layers Cake
- Prep Time: 1 hour
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour, 30 minutes
- Yield: 20
- Category: Cake
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: Chilean
Description
The traditional cake in Chile. Layers of thin, crunchy dough and dulce de leche and jam. Recipe from scratch.
Ingredients
- 3 cups (375 grams) sifted all-purpose flour
- 226 grams/ 8 oz unsalted butter, room temperature
- 3 egg yolks, room temperature
- ¾ cup milk
- 1 tablespoon rum or pisco
- 1 pinch of salt
- 3 cups of dulce de leche or caramel (available in Latin supermarkets, I like La Lechera brand sold in cans, usually right next to the condensed milk)
- 2 ½ cups (300 grams) chopped walnuts
- ¼ cup (30 grams) powdered sugar
Instructions
- Combine the flour and salt in a large bowl. Add butter in chunks, egg yolks, milk, and liquor, and work to form a medium-consistency dough.
- Do not work with your hands. Use a fork, two knives, or a stand mixer with the paddle attachment. Please do not use your hands, as body heat will melt the butter, and bits of butter in the dough give it crispness. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight or for at least 6 hours.
- Preheat oven to 350°F or 180°C.
- Divide the dough into 14 equal portions. Roll each piece on a floured baking sheet, parchment paper, or Silpat until thin. Using a paring knife, cut circles 8 - 9" in diameter. I usually use a plate as a guide. Pierce the dough circle with a fork across almost the entire surface.
- Bake each circle on an ungreased baking sheet for 5-7 minutes, until golden. Let cool.
- Assemble the cake layers with dulce de leche (3-4 tablespoons) between each layer. For every three layers, add ground walnuts, saving 1 cup for decoration.
- Cover the entire cake with a thin layer of dulce de leche, then sprinkle with a mixture of walnuts, powdered sugar, and crumbs.
- Let it rest well, covered in the fridge. Serve at room temperature.
Nutrition
- Serving Size:
- Calories: 420
- Sugar: 25.1 g
- Sodium: 182.3 mg
- Fat: 24.2 g
- Saturated Fat: 9.7 g
- Carbohydrates: 43.6 g
- Fiber: 1.5 g
- Protein: 8.1 g
What is Milhoja cake made of?
The fillings and even the dough can vary a lot. Some are puff pastry (butter, liquid, and flour). Others, like this recipe, also include egg yolks and reduce the butter. This is most likely because butter is more expensive than eggs.
More accessible versions of Milhojas can be made using store-bought puff pastry (see this recipe) or crackers (see this recipe).
Where is Milhoja from?
Milhojas cakes are ubiquitous in Latin America. Like many recipes introduced by Spaniards, almost every country has its version. Still, the Chilean version is one of the most famous ones, and it's called Torta Chilena (Chilean cake) in Central America.
How to store the cake?
It will depend on the fillings: if using a pastry or whipped cream, it must be stored in the fridge for no more than a couple of days. Freezing is not recommended. This recipe with Dulce de leche and walnuts can be stored at room temperature for three days or in the fridge for up to a week. It can be frozen for up to 3 months.
What Dulce de Leche do you recommend?
This is an important question. The most traditional is a canned Dulce de leche La Lechera brand (made in Chile), 
Where and when do Chileans eat Torta Milhojas?
This cake is the most loved and traditional. You can buy it in almost any bakery in Chile. They will also have slices (usually rectangular shapes) to buy. Many families have old recipes and will make this cake for special birthdays or Fiestas Patrias (Independence Day celebrations in September). It's eaten at birthday parties and Sunday Once (tea time).
Other Chilean layer cakes with Dulce de Leche:
- Torta Pompadour Banana thousand layers
- Easy Pompadour with puff pastry
- Panqueque manjar nuez Dulce de leche walnut layer cake
- Torta de Amapolas Poppy seed layer cake
- Easy milhojas cake (no-bake)
- Torta Alfajor
- Chilean Tres leches cake
- Torta Mixta Raspberry Dulce de leche Chocolate cake
- Torta Manjar Nuez Walnut Dulce de leche cake
This looks wonderful! Just to be clear, do we sift the flour first and then measure 3 cups, or is it 3 cups of flour and then sift them?
Thank you!! 🙏🏽
Measure, then sift. 375 grams of all purpose flour.
Your recipe mentions jam in the description but I don’t see it in the assembly instructions. Do you have a flavour you recommend? Is it better to use a thinner preserve or jelly vs a jam with chunks of fruit and seeds? I’m wondering if the pastry layers would absorb the jam’s liquid. It also looks like it’s not placing between each layer— am I seeing that correctly?
I’m excited to try this but am typically not a jam-in-my-cake person so I am not familiar with using it in cakes.
Thank you for sharing this recipe! I’m so glad I found your site. 😃
Hello,
The milhojas with jam is a variation of the traditional. I do recommend it.
I use Bonne Maman (or other European style jam) raspberry or plum, straight from the jar. Do 3 layers dulce de leche, 1 layer jam proportion.
Good luck! and let me know if you have any other questions,
Pilar
Love all your posts and recipes. Reminds me of my grandma
Thank you for reading!