Homemade Dulce de Leche
I’m a big caramel fan. I love it all – caramel lattes, caramel apples, caramel corn, even fake caramel-flavored coffee (though I’m embarrassed to admit that!). But my absolute, hands-down favorite is the thick, creamy, completely addicting caramel sauce known as Dulce de Leche (Spanish for “candy of milk”). This treat is made by slowly cooking sweetened milk until it caramelizes and thickens, resulting in one of the most delicious things ever.
This recipe is the simplest way I’ve seen to make Dulce de Leche. You boil UNOPENED (yes, really) cans of sweetened condensed milk in a water bath for a few hours, and BAM! Just like magic, you have delicious caramelly goodness. Plus, since the cans are unopened, you have shelf-stable caramel that can hang out in your cupboard for months (though why you’d wait that long to dig into it I’m not sure).
Some Great Ways To Use Your Homemade Dulce de Leche:
- ice cream topping (warm it up a bit so it drizzles better)
- add to coffee (homemade caramel lattes anyone?)
- filling for cakes, cupcakes, cookie sandwiches, or macarons.
- make a Banoffee Pie!
- spread on graham crackers when making S’mores – either along with the chocolate or in place of it
- top cheesecake or brownies, or swirl it into the batter before baking
- fruit dip (or warm it up for dessert fondue!)
- and my personal favorite – eat straight from the can by the spoonful.
However you choose to use it, you can trust me when I say that homemade Dulce de Leche will quickly become your new favorite treat. You’ll never buy the store-bought stuff again!
Enjoy!
Homemade Dulce de Leche
Ingredients
- 1-2 cans Sweetened Condensed Milk
Instructions
- Fill a medium saucepan with water about 3/4 full.
- Remove labels from cans of sweetened condensed milk. DO NOT open them!
- Place the unopened cans in the saucepan and make sure cans are at least 3/4 covered with water. Bring water to a boil, then simmer for 3 hours, adding more water as needed to keep the water level at least 3/4 full. Flip the cans every half hour or so to prevent scalding.
- After simmering for 3 hours, remove from heat. Carefully remove the cans (use tongs) and place them on a cooling rack or towel. Allow to cool completely.
- Voila! You have shelf stable Dulce de Leche! Keep unopened cans in a cool spot in your cupboard until needed. Will keep for several months.
Notes
- I like to use either an old saucepan or one with a dark interior (like my dutch oven in the photo). The cans can leave marks on your cookware.
- When you open the cans, stir the caramel well (I use a butter knife). There may be a few scalded bits, but don’t worry about it – those bits still taste delicious (though you can strain them out if you want a smoother caramel).
- If you don’t use a whole can at once, refrigerate the rest in an airtight container. It should stay fresh for at least a week.
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Mint Chocolate Cupcakes
8 Comments
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Mary Husfloen
Jamie! This is what my Mom used to do when my older sisters were in school. They could take this to school for lunch. Might not have been the most healthy lunch, but it sure had a lot of calories for young kids to burn off walking to school! I’ve done this myself..it’s pretty dang good! (And with a spoon, it’s the best!)
admin
Mary, what a cool memory – thanks for sharing! I’m pretty sure I would have loved eating this for lunch as a kid:)
Sarah Meyer
Wow!! What a great easy simple way to have this delicious creamy topping. I never knew that it caramelizes. I’m definitely going to try it!! Thank you
Jamie
You bet! Hope you enjoy it!