The Melly's journal

The Melly's blog

Guides, history and a few opinions from our family bakery in the heart of Amsterdam. Everything you need to eat well in the city, starting with a warm stroopwafel.

A stack of Melly's cookies with caramel-filled thumbprint cookies around it

Recipe5 min read

Dulce de Leche Cookies With a Soft Caramel Centre

Stir dulce de leche into a dough and it disappears. Freeze it first and wrap the dough around it, and you get a proper soft centre.

A glass jar of traditional dulce de leche with a black lid

Guide6 min read

Dulce de Leche vs Caramel: What Is the Difference?

Same colour, same pancakes, not the same thing. How caramel and dulce de leche are made, why they taste so different and when you can swap them.

Two bowls of dulce de leche, alfajores and a mate gourd laid out on a cloth in the colours of the Argentine flag

Recipe7 min read

Dulce de Leche Cheesecake: Baked, with a Thick Dulce de Leche Top

Dulce de leche in the filling and a thick layer on top, on a biscuit base. The baked recipe, a no-bake version and what to do when it cracks.

A red one-kilo pack of Taragüi yerba mate, cut with stems

Guide6 min read

Yerba Mate Caffeine: How Much Is in a Cup, a Gourd and a Tea Bag

Around 80 mg in a cup, far more in a gourd you refill all afternoon. How much caffeine yerba mate really has, and what moves the number.

A slice of Melly's chocolate cake, layered and covered with dulce de leche custard

Recipe6 min read

Dulce de Leche Cake: The Argentine Birthday Cake, Step by Step

A plain sponge, three layers and far too much dulce de leche. The cake many Argentines grew up with, and how to make it at home.

A jar of Mardel Clásico dulce de leche, the everyday Argentine milk caramel

Recipe6 min read

Dulce de Leche Recipe: How to Make It from Milk and Sugar

One litre of milk, one pot, two hours at the stove. The from-scratch method, and how to know when to stop stirring.

A 500 g pack of Playadito yerba mate, the mild Argentine classic with stems

Guide6 min read

What Is Yerba Mate? The Plant, the Taste and the Ritual

Less a drink than a habit. The plant, the gear, the two rules that catch foreigners out, and where to start.

A Playadito yerba mate starter box with gourd, bombilla and a kilo of yerba

Guide5 min read

Yerba Mate Benefits: What the Science Actually Says

Around 80 mg of caffeine a cup, plus a group of plant compounds coffee does not have. Here is what that means, without the miracle claims.

Assorted handmade alfajores filled with dulce de leche, some rolled in coconut

Guide3 min read

Peruvian vs Argentine Alfajores: What Is the Difference?

Same name, two very different cookies. One is crisp and snowy white, the other soft all the way through.

Close-up of handmade alfajores de maicena filled with dulce de leche and rolled in coconut

Guide3 min read

Havanna Alfajores: Argentina's Most Famous Alfajor

The orange box from Mar del Plata: how Havanna became the name every Argentine says first.

Thick homemade dulce de leche spooned onto marble beside a filled cookie

Recipe4 min read

Dulce de Leche from Condensed Milk: Three Easy Methods

One can of condensed milk, a few hours of gentle heat, and you have golden dulce de leche. Here is how to do it safely.

Handmade Argentine alfajores filled with dulce de leche at Melly's in Amsterdam

Guide4 min read

Alfajores Cookies: Argentina's Favourite Sweet, Explained

Soft, tender and filled with dulce de leche: meet the cookie Argentina cannot live without.

Argentine alfajores filled with dulce de leche

Recipe5 min read

Alfajores Recipe: How to Make Argentine Alfajores

Argentina's favourite cookie: two soft rounds and a heart of dulce de leche. The styles, a classic recipe, and where to find ours.

Chocolinas chocolate biscuits, the base of an Argentine chocotorta

Recipe4 min read

Chocotorta: The Easy No-Bake Argentine Dessert

Three ingredients, no oven, fifteen minutes. The Argentine birthday-table classic, and where to find Chocolinas and dulce de leche in Amsterdam.

A 1kg pack of Playadito yerba mate ready to brew

Guide7 min read

How to Prepare Yerba Mate: A Beginner's Guide

Mate is easy once you know the steps. How to cure the gourd, fill it, pour at the right temperature and brew a proper mate at home.

Handmade chocolate alfajores in a Melly's tin

Guide4 min read

What Are Alfajores? Argentina's Favourite Cookie

Two soft cookies, a layer of dulce de leche, and a whole continent that loves them. A short guide to alfajores.

A jar of Havanna dulce de leche from Argentina

Guide4 min read

What Is Dulce de Leche? The Argentine Milk Caramel

Milk and sugar, cooked slow until golden. Meet dulce de leche, the caramel at the heart of Argentine baking.

A spread of freshly baked cookies at Melly's Cookiebar in Amsterdam

Amsterdam5 min read

Where to Find the Best Cookies in Amsterdam

Soft in the middle, baked all day. A local's guide to the best cookies in Amsterdam, and the flavours worth queueing for.

The Melly's Cookiebar sign in the window, with an Amsterdam street behind it

Amsterdam5 min read

Where to Buy Argentine Products in Amsterdam

Missing the flavours of home, or curious to try them? Where to find Argentine pantry staples in the centre of Amsterdam.

A block of dulce de membrillo, Argentine quince paste, at Melly's Cookiebar Amsterdam

Guide4 min read

What Is Dulce de Membrillo? Argentine Quince Paste

Sweet, firm and ruby-red. Meet dulce de membrillo, the quince paste Argentines eat with cheese, and where to find it in Amsterdam.

Dulce de batata, one of the classic fillings for an Argentine pasta frola tart

Recipe5 min read

Pasta Frola: The Argentine Quince Tart Recipe

A buttery lattice crust and a sweet quince centre. The Argentine tart that lives on every cafe counter, made at home.

A tin of handmade alfajores, maicena and chocolate, from Melly's in Amsterdam

Recipe5 min read

Alfajores de Maicena: The Cornstarch Alfajor Recipe

Delicate, crumbly and filled with dulce de leche. The cornstarch alfajor recipe, or buy ours ready made and shipped worldwide.

A hand holding a candy-topped stroopwafel in front of a historic Amsterdam building

Guide5 min read

Stroopwafel vs Cookie: Which Amsterdam Treat Should You Try?

One is warm, chewy and Dutch to the core. The other is a buttery bakery classic. Here is how to pick, or have both.

An overhead spread of decorated stroopwafels with chocolate, candy and marshmallow toppings

Amsterdam7 min read

The Best Desserts in Amsterdam (From a Local Bakery)

Tourist traps are easy to find. Here are the desserts in Amsterdam that locals actually queue for, and where to taste the real thing.