Homemade Dulce de Leche

by Cindi Sutter, Founder & Editor Spirited Table®-#12

Dulce de leche—Spanish for “sweet [made] of milk”—is a caramel-like sauce popular in Latin American desserts. It has a smooth, spreadable consistency and toffee-like flavor. Unlike caramel sauce, which is made by browning sugar and then adding cream and butter, dulce de leche is made by gently simmering milk and sugar together for over an hour until it’s thickened and golden (swap out the cow’s milk for goat’s milk and you have cajeta). The cooking process yields a more rounded, mild dairy flavor than its slightly bitter and toasty caramel cousin. A finishing splash of vanilla extract brings warmth and depth to the dessert sauce, which is great sandwiched into alfajores, layered on brownies or cheesecake, spread on toast or crepes, warmed and drizzled over ice cream, or stirred into coffee or cocoa.

If dulce de leche’s flavor profile appeals, but you don’t have the time or energy to take the traditional route, don’t worry: we’ve also provided instructions for an extremely easy recipe for hands-off dulce de leche made from nothing but the contents of a can of sweetened condensed milk, baked in a bain-marie (French for a water bath in the oven) for 45 minutes, no further work required.

Editor’s note: This recipe was originally published  March 2012

Ingredients

Makes 1¼ to 1½ cups

Classic method:

4 cups milk

1¼ cups sugar

¼ teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon vanilla

Sweetened condensed milk method:

1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk

Classic method:

Step 1

Stir together 4 cups milk, 1¼ cups sugar, and ¼ teaspoon baking soda in a 3- to 4-quart heavy saucepan. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer uncovered, stirring occasionally, until caramelized and thickened, about 1½ to 1¾ hours. (After about an hour, stir more often as milk caramelizes, to avoid burning.) Stir in 1 teaspoon vanilla. Transfer to a bowl to cool. Makes about 1 ½ cups.

Sweetened condensed milk method:

Step 2

Heat oven to 425°F with rack in middle. Pour the contents of 1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk into a 9-inch deep-dish pie plate and cover tightly with foil. Set plate in a roasting pan and add enough hot water to pan to reach halfway up pie plate. Bake milk in middle of oven 45 minutes. Check water level and add additional, if necessary, then continue to bake 45 minutes more, or until milk is thick and brown. Remove pie plate from water bath and cool, uncovered. Makes about 1¼ cups.

Cooks' Note

Leftover dulce de leche will keep for a couple of weeks, refrigerated. Try it with peanut butter on a sandwich (surely the top trade at the school lunch table).