Food
Dulce de Leche – What’s it All About?
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Dulce de Leche – What’s it All About?
It reminds you of your childhood, that sweet, sticky delicious caramel that goes with everything.
Read on for information about how to make dulce de leche and where to buy it. Also included is a list of favourite recipes that showcase this amazing ingredient in your baking.
What is it?
Dulce de Leche is a delicious, sweet, caramel sauce with a kind of toffee flavour. It is made by boiling milk and sugar for hours whilst stirring constantly. This gently reduces the liquid volume as the milk and sugar gently caramelise together.
The finished product takes on a deep golden brown colour and is dense, smooth and creamy in texture. The flavour is a rich, sweet caramel.
Dulce de leche is pretty much the best dessert sauce I have ever tasted!
Never heard of Dulce de Leche?
Sometimes dulce de leche goes by other names, depending on where in the world it is being enjoyed. Here are a few:
- Manjar (commonly used in Latin America)
- Cajeta (made with goats milk)
- Confiture de lait (France)
- Doce de Leite (Brazil)
Dulce de leche is popular all over Latin America, Spain and France. Many local desserts are made incorporating dulce de leche as an ingredient.
What is Dulce de Leche Used For?
Primarily it’s a dessert and baking ingredient, but it can also be eaten on its own just with a spoon!
Dulce de leche is often paired with ice cream, spread on bread, and used to fill cookies and cakes.
Imagine strawberry jam here in the UK, every use for jam would work just as well with dulce de leche.
It is the perfect cake filler. The most simple of desserts is sometimes the best. Delicious, sweet, caramel sandwiched between two cake halves, is easy to whip up and a big crowd pleaser.
What are Some Typical Dulce de Leche Applications?
Ever heard of Alfajores? They are biscuit or cookie sandwiches, usually made with a flaky shortbread type of biscuit. This is the most typical treat and snack in South America and they are on sale everywhere. Often alfajores are coated in chocolate, or are rolled desiccated coconut.
Are you a fan of mousse? Just whisk dulce de leche with cream and hey presto, a quick dessert!
Ever tried banoffee pie? Well dulce de leche is the ‘offee’ in banoffee, owing to its delicious toffee like taste.
Catering Dulce de Leche
Some blends go through a cooking process whereby the water content is even further reduced. The final consistency is very thick, the taste is a stronger caramel/toffee flavour and the colour a darker brown.
These types of dulce de leche are known as catering dulce de leche (repostero/pastelero). They are best used for baking professional desserts, cookies and filled chocolate recipes.
Catering dulce de leche is very firm so makes an ideal filling for cakes or cookies. It will hold its shape and not ooze out of your bake.
How to make Homemade Dulce de Leche
How to make Homemade Dulce de LecheDo you want to make dulce de leche yourself? There are two recipes to make homemade dulce de leche.
Dulce de Leche Recipe/Method 1: How to make dulce de leche from scratch
Ingredients:
- 3 Litres Milk
- Teaspoon vanilla (optional)
- 800g Sugar
- ½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 2 hours
Instructions
In a large pot, bring the milk, vanilla and sugar to a boil over a medium heat. Take care not to let it boil over. This would cause the milk to burn and make a terrible mess!
It is essential to stir or whisk the mixture even at this phase before allowing it to simmer. This helps the sugar dissolve.
The idea is to boil then reduce the mixture. Once the sugar has dissolved, allow to simmer while stirring constantly over the next 2 hours. It may take longer based on how much the milk is simmering, so do allow 3 hours just in case!
Gradually the mixture condenses down to a thick and creamy consistency. It will take on a deep golden colour too. It’s a little tricky to tell when the mixture will be dense enough. A boiling hot mixture seems more watery than when it is cool and eaten at room temperature.
We have a little trick to work this out. Put a couple of drops of the mixture on the back of the spoon. Cool it down quickly by blowing on it. If the drop doesn’t run off the spoon, it is the perfect consistency and you can stop cooking now.
Do continue to stir the mixture while it cools down a little bit as it will continue to cook for a short while until the heat reduces a little. If the test runs off the spoon still, just allow to simmer for a while longer and try again.
Do remember this is all down to personal preference. If you prefer a firmer consistency, then you need to reduce the water content and cook a little longer. Trial and error will help you establish your preferred consistency.
Making dulce de leche is a laborious process. We recommend making extra, some to enjoy straightaway and some to keep. Put some into a jar and it will keep for 6 months, if the jar is sealed and sterilised well.
To sterilise the jar, it can be washed in the dishwasher, heated in the oven or in boiling water. This can be done either in a pot or in the microwave.
To ensure the jar seals well, ensure to fill with dulce de leche when piping hot. As the liquid reaches room temperature, a vacuum will form. The jar lid will be sucked in, causing a perfect seal.
Dulce de Leche Recipe/Method 2: How to make dulce de leche from sweetened condensed milk
This recipe is a great hack. All you need are cans of sweetened condensed milk and you can make homemade dulce de leche!
Sweetened condensed milk is a sweetened milk, already condensed down to a syrup-like consistency. To turn it into dulce de leche we just need to continue the process.
What’s the big advantage of making homemade dulce de leche in this way? Sweetened condensed milk is readily available in most supermarkets and sometimes even corner shops.
Condensed milk can be kept in the pantry and called upon when needed. You can then dulce de leche at short notice when there isn’t time to buy any online.
Ingredients:
- Cans of Sweetened condensed milk (we recommend making a few cans at a time, as they will last. This does take a lot of time and energy such as gas or electricity. Spread that cost, use the largest pot you have and put plenty of cans in! This way the total time you spend making is reduced)
Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 2-3 hours
Instructions
Place the cans of condensed milk in a large pan and cover with water. The water level needs to remain a couple of inches over the condensed milk cans at all times.
Bring the water to a boil on a high heat, and then reduce the heat slightly to a simmer.
Ensure the water is not boiling over too furiously. Check the water level regularly and top up if required.
The first time you make homemade dulce de leche using this method, we recommend testing out cooking times a little. For the sweetened condensed milk to caramelise it needs around 2 hours simmering time.
After 2 hours the mixture will be a deep golden colour, with creamy texture. It will be perfect to use as a sauce, pancake/sandwich filler, cake topper, or ingredient.
After 3 hours it will have taken on a darker brown colour, and the caramel taste will be stronger. The mixture will also be more dense. It will be perfect for cake and alfajor filler, or any recipe that requires a firm dulce de leche.
Do remember to keep the cans below the water level for the entire process. This prevents damage/denting to the cans which occurs when they come in contact with the air. Once cooled to room temperature, it is safe to open and enjoy.
Do keep some cans in your cupboard, they will last for up to 3 months if unopened.
Where can I buy Dulce de Leche?
Of course the above method for making dulce de leche is great, but it does take ages! The total time to prepare a few cans or jars of dulce de leche can be up to 3 hours! So you might like to take the shortcut and buy some. Here is our recommendation:
I have my Dulce de Leche, what next?
So what now? You either have homemade dulce de leche or you have bought some.
No doubt you’ll be eating a couple of spoonfuls (it is after all irresistible)! But the best thing about dulce de leche is how versatile it is.
Below are some of my favourite recipes. These recipes have been tried and tested, and showcase many different ways of enjoying dulce de leche.
Dulce de Leche Recipe 1: Alfajores
As mentioned before, alfajores are cookie sandwiches filled usually with dulce de leche. This recipe is great for baking with kids.
Ingredients
- 150g cornflour
- 100g plain flour
- 80g sugar
- 2 egg yolks
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp vanilla essence
- Dulce de leche to fill
Instructions
- In a large pot or bowl, cream together the butter, sugar and egg yolks.
- Add the other dry ingredients until a dough forms. Chill for 30 minutes.
- Roll the dough to approximately 1cm thick and cut cookie shapes of your choice.
- Bake for 10 minutes at 180C
- Spread dulce de leche on one cookie and place a second cookie of the same shape on top
Dulce de Leche Recipe 2: Caramel Pumpkin Pie
This pie recipe is perfect for autumn when pumpkins are in season. You’ll need a large roasting pan ro pie dish and mixing bowl.
Ingredients
For the pastry
- 250g plain flour
- 10g butter
- 1 egg
- 2 Tbs sugar
- Pinch of salt
For the Filling
- 450g fresh pumpkin
- 350g dulce de leche
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp nutmeg
- ½ tsp ginger
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- ½ tsp salt
Method
- Preheat the oven to 180C
- In a bowl, combine the pastry ingredients until the consistency is like breadcrumbs.
- Add a tablespoon of water and continue mixing. We are waiting for the mixture to come together suddenly. It is easy to add too much water and it becomes unworkable.
After the first tablespoon, if the mixture is still in breadcrumbs, add another tablespoon of water and gauge the results. Keep adding just a tiny bit of water at a time until the mixture comes together.
Just a few drops of water at the end can be what it takes. Chill the pastry in the fridge for at least 15 minutes.
- Roll out the pastry to fit your roasting pan or pie dish. Grease the dish well and place the pastry in. Push the pastry to the sides, and prick all over with a fork. Cover with foil and weigh down with dried beans or other similar aid for blind baking pastry
- Place the pastry in the oven and bake for around 15 minutes
- In a microwaveable pot, place the pumpkin (diced), add in the dry ingredients and microwave for 20 minutes. Alternatively place in a saucepan, cover with water and simmer on a medium heat for 20 minutes until soft. Mash the mixture and drain off any excess water.
- Mix in the dulce de leche and use the mixture to fill your pie case. Be careful not to over fill.
- Return to the oven and bake for around 1 hour until the filling is set
- Serve with ice cream!
Dulce de Leche Recipe 3: Banana Smoothie
Ok, admittedly this isn’t exactly a baking recipe, but it’s such a classic it had to be included!
Ingredients
- 1 banana
- Large tbs dulce de leche
- Approx 200ml milk (or switch for water if this is too rich for you)
Method
- Blend all ingredients in a blender until smooth.
- Drink and enjoy!
It’s worth mentioning about the switching of milk for water. I discovered this one time when I made a smoothie but had no milk. I was surprised how little difference it made by using water instead of milk. It’s also a way to keep costs (and calories) down.
A way to enhance this smoothie is to used frozen bananas
Getting Started
So which recipe are you going to try first? If you get through the above list, check our one or two more that are also favourite here:
- 3 Ingredient easy no cook dulce de leche fudge recipe
- Recipe for baked peach halves with dulce de leche and coconut sauce
- Fluffy pancake recipe
Share what you’ve made
Have you made one of our recipes? Or tried something new? If you’ve made something we’d love you to share it with us! Just email them in to info@urushop.co.uk
