First of all, what even is a ‘Milhoja’? It’s probably something most people back in the West have never even heard of.
Well, a Milhoja is simply God’s greatest gift to mankind. Constructed by 1,000 little layers of flakey puff pastry dough, smothered with whipped cream, drizzled with sweetened condensed milk, and doused with Arequipe (Colombian version of ‘dulce de leche’, a delicious milky, caramel sauce) this Colombian dessert should not be skipped.
My obsession with these Colombian delicacies began early in my summer in Colombia. One day, I stumbled across a famous Milhoja cafe located in Villa de Leyva when I was planning my day trip from Tunja.
Villa de Leyva is a cobblestone artisan town about an hour from Tunja. If there was anything I had to do in this town, it was visit ‘La Galleta Pasteleria Cafe’.
Ranking the Best Milhoja in Colombia
Colombia is famous for their amazing milhojas. No matter where you go in the country, you’re no more than 100 feet away from a cafe selling the delicious pastries. So, as a traveller who’s absolutely obsessed with sweets and trying foreign cuisines, it only made sense for me to go out and try to find the best milhoja in Colombia.
I tried countless milhojas during my time in Colombia, but these are three that stood out most. My ranking system for finding the best milhoja in Colombia is as follows:
- The flakey meter (how crispy it is)
- Arequipe consistency (smoothness)
- Presentation (is it Instagram worth?)
And, after six weeks of trying, I can confidently tell you I found the best milhoja in Colombia. Or at least one that’s better than any you’ve tried before!
La Galleta Pastelería Café
This cafe is famous online and on TikTok for its Milhoja. I had to see what the hype was about. I arrived as soon as they opened and the café was already packed. The cafe also does wonderful cappuccinos and other caffeinated coffee drinks alongside its delicious pastries.
Overall Rating: 10/10
Flakey meter: 10/10
Arequipe consistency: 10/10
Presentation: 8/10
Arrive early! When I left there was a line out the door and down the street. Still, La Galleta is well worth the wait, as they just might have the best milhoja in Colombia.
La Bizcocheria
Located off the main street in Colombia, this shop serves high-quality cakes and pastries. I had passed by this pastry shop every day on my way to work and I found that this fancy pastry shop fell short a bit with their Milhoja.
The puff pastry wasn’t as flakey as the others that I had tried and was a bit difficult to cut into. The arequipe was a wonderful silky consistency but the presentation was a bit boring with no condensed milk drizzle.
Overall Rating:
Flakey meter: 5/10
Arequipe consistency: 8/10
Presentation: 5/10
I came back multiple times for their cakes and tarts. So while they did fall short in the Milhoja category, their cakes were phenomenal in every way, from their flavor to the presentation–10/10! I bought a vanilla berry cake for a friend’s birthday and we tried the red velvet as my going-home gift. Both were excellent and I would highly recommend.
Fratellos
Coming in 2nd place was this Milhoja located next door to the giant unicentro mall. This Milhoja had lots of flavors, especially with the vanilla cream that they layered in between the puff pastry. The arequipe was a bit thicker and more ‘goopy’ (insert culinary synonym here) than the others. Fratellos also offers other pastries and fresh baked bread however I really enjoyed their mocha latte.
Overall Rating:
Flakey meter: 7/10
Arequipe consistency: 5/10
Presentation: 10/10
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