Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Dulce de Leche


Dulce de Leche is everywhere these days; in brownies, on ice cream, in ice cream, as a filling for cookies, on cake - you name it. Unfortunately, though the store I shop at (an enormous locally-owned health food store) does sell pre-made Dulce de Leche, they don't sell organic Dulce de Leche. Though I don't know if this is exactly a downside, as homemade is always better.

I finally bit the bullet a few weeks ago and bought a can of sweetened condensed milk to make my own. When I saw that ever reliable David Lebovitz had a recipe on his site for it, I tried it out. It was simple enough - pour can of sweetened condensed milk into a glass pie plate, place that in a water bath, cover pie plate with aluminum foil and leave it in the oven at 425 for 1 - 1 1/4 hours. Well, the result was tasty, but it wasn't smooth. The final instruction was to whisk until smooth, but I could have whisked until my arm fell off and it wouldn't have made a difference. It had chunks. Small chunks, but chunks nonetheless. It was also a little chalky. I was slightly horrified that I was unable to execute such simple instructions...

A couple of weeks went by, and I was sent this wonderful box of goodies from an acquaintance at Heavenly Organics (as I was doing a tasting for them in a local store). Including sweetened condensed milk. I was determined to try again. With a different technique. The result was pure heaven. Smooth, rich, creamy Dulce de Leche. Lick-the-bowl-clean Dulce de Leche. I don't think there is anything it wouldn't be delicious on. The perfect addition to your holiday table.

You'll be amazed at how easy it is to make.


Dulce de Leche

Pour can of sweetened condensed milk into a heat-proof bowl, and place over simmering water. Leave it for about 1 1/2 hours, stirring every 30 minutes or so with a whisk. Check the water periodically, adding more when necessary. The longer you leave it, the darker and thicker it will become. If you want it to be a sauce, pull it off the heat at around 1 1/2 hours. For thicker, scoop-able Dulce de Leche, it will be more like 3 hours. When your Dulce de Leche has reached your desired consistency, whisk it until smooth (though it should be nearly smooth already). Remember, it will thicken some as it cools, so keep this in mind when deciding how long to cook it for.


12 comments:

  1. YUM! I like the "safe" way better than the "danger pudding boil in the can" way.

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  2. Mmmmm....this looks very delicious. I can imagine the lovely smell & taste. I LOVE condensed milk very much....just bought 4 tins just now. Can make this. Thanks for sharing.

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  3. I'm so glad to hear this method worked for you Sarah! I've never had dulce de leche but I really want to try it. I saw a recipe that called for the exact method you describe here so now I feel confident giving it a shot! Great photos :)

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  4. Thank you so much for posting this recipe! I spent the better part of a day last January babysitting Alton Brown's dulce de leche and it was good, but not thick enough. I need to try this recipe the next time I need some dulce in my life.

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  5. This looks amaaaaazing!! YUM YUM YUM!!!

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  6. Yum! Does it matter if you use a metal bowl vs. a glass one?

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  7. Leslie,
    I imagine not. I used glass, but the original recipe called for a double boiler (which would be stainless steel). So either should be fine.

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  8. Sarah, that looks amazing. I may have to get over my fear and give it a try. :)

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  9. I loooove Dulce de Leche! My Uruguayan grandmother would make it just by boiling the whole can in water. Not sure how long, but an hour or so sounds about right.

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  10. I never thought to cook it on a stove! What a great idea!
    I do it in the oven - so that doesn't require standing around: http://someneedfulthings.blogspot.com/2010/02/coffee-dulce-de-leche-bliss.html

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  11. Grapefruit - I've made it in the oven before, but it didn't work as well for me... I like the stovetop method because you can really control how dark/thick it gets, plus I find it easier to monitor the water level in the pot. I'll have to take a look at your post and see your oven results :)

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  12. I loooove dulce de leche and have been experimenting with using it in different baked goods. I found a simple recipe that has never failed me. Take the paper off of a can of sweetened condensed milk. Place in a large pot and cover with water. Boil for 2 1/2 to 3 hours. Once cooled, open it and it will be smooth, sweet, and delicious.

    Enjoy!!

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