Dulce de Leche

While QUITE popular across Latin America, dulce de leche is not as common in the U.S. You can sometimes find it in the Latin aisle or baking section of the supermarket but after moving away from a major city I realized I would need to make it at home. The process is quite easy, you could make it from scratch with milk and sugar but cooking sweetened condensed milk is much easier and hands off. 

What You’ll Need for This Recipe

Sweetened Condensed Milk: You can use any brand to achieve the same results. Sweetened condensed milk can be found in the baking aisle at your local supermarket. If you’re boiling the can it’s a best practice to use the type of can that does not have a pop top.

How to Make Dulce de Leche

Method 1: Boiling

Remove the label from your can and place in a large pot. Fill with water until the cans are covered with 1-2 inches of water.

Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer. You’ll be cooking this for 2-3 hours, less time for a lighter caramelization and vice versa. Basically the can is acting as a pressure cooker so and the water is keeping the temperature constant. 

Keep an eye on your pot and add water as needed, for best results you want the cans submerged.

Remove from water and allow to cool before opening. It’s ready to use but if you’re piping it or need the texture to be totally uniform then transfer it to a bowl and give it a good whisk. 

Method 2: Baking

Preheat oven to 425F. Pour the sweetened condensed milk into a pie dish and wrap tightly with foil.

Place into a deep roasting pan and fill with hot water until the level is about halfway up the pan. Place on middle rack of oven and bake at 425F for about 1 hour and a half to an hour 45. You can lift the foil up and peak at the color and add more water if needed.  

The dulce de leche is ready to use right out of the oven but in most cases you will want to let it cool to room temperature. Just like in the previous method you may want to give it a good whisk to work out any lumps.

Pro Tips for this recipe

• If you’re boiling the cans then it’s important to monitor the water level as you want them to stay submerged.
• Your dulce de leche will last about two weeks in the fridge if kept in a sealed container or three months if left in the unopened can. 
• If you’re employing the boiling method it’s better to use the cans that do not have tab openers although I have not had an issue with them personally.
• You will need to give it a whisk to smooth things out and get rid of some lumps.

As soon as it’s ready you can spread that creamy dulce de leche over almost anything and of course use it to make a delicious Banoffee Pie as you can see above.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is there a difference between caramel and dulce de leche?

Caramel is made primarily of sugar with some butter and cream added at the end. Dulce de leche is milk with some sugar added. Both are caramelized but the ingredient proportion and flavor are quite different.

What is it made of?

Dulce de leche is made with milk and sugar. You can add vanilla and salt if desired.

What is the flavor?

It has a wonderful caramel flavor but it is not as sweet as caramel and has a creamier taste and mouthfeel.

What can I use it in? 

This stuff is amazing in cupcakes and as a cake filling. You can use it in tres leches cake instead of the sweetened condensed milk and you can use it in cookie sandwiches. It also tastes great in coffee, on ice cream, and by the spoonful.

If you’ve tried this recipe then don’t forget to leave a rating and let me know how you got on in the comments below, I love hearing from you!