158 replies to this topic

[Sentiamo]

We can buy cans of already caramelised condensed milk here, Nestle produces them.
Hmmmm, Im surprised they obviously dont supply the USA.
They are a real convenience but most likely dont live up to the real thing.

[Lior]

Lucky you two!!! Yes!! Of course I want a recipe! The corn starch ones!! I have been busy with orders and have not had time to doctor up my DDL yet-ooof! I really want to ge tit correct! Thanks so much for all the links!

[lebowits]

The simplest way i make it is to boil a sealed can of sweetened condensed milk by placing it in boiling water (covering the can) and keep it in there for 3 hours.  remove after 3 hours, and let sit (still closed) overnight - it'll continue to cook.  i've experienced the graininess when i open the can prematurely and let excess water evaporate, causing the (saturated) sugars to crystallize.

Perhaps i've been lucky, but have never had a problem with it this way.  Of course, it's a fresh dulce meant to be eaten relatively quickly, as it's high Aw doesn't lend itself to long term shelf stability...

Adding a little bit of something with phosporous during cooking can help you create deeper flavors/colors more quickly if the 3 hour boil step doesn't work for you.

Boiling the cans should always be a low risk operation. If canned correctly, the cans will be both very full and have had the excess air removed. At least I believe this to be so.

[BeeZee]

We can buy cans of already caramelised condensed milk here, Nestle produces them.
Hmmmm, Im surprised they obviously dont supply the USA.
They are a real convenience but most likely dont live up to the real thing. 

Yes, I bought a can of Nestle this week (in an Asian supermarket, actually) and my initial impression was that the flavor seemed a bit "thin". Unfortunately, my husband discovered it in the fridge and it disappeared before I could do any further studies
Although I did enjoy dipping Snyder's Homestyle Dark pretzels in it...

[cakewalk]

I made dulce de leche for the first time last week. (Twice.) I didn't use canned condensed milk, I figured if I'm making the stuff I'll start with milk and sugar. There are many recipes on the web, mostly pretty similar, but the important part seems to be the timing. This varied widely from recipe to recipe. I left the first batch on the stove too long (the recipe said 2 1/2 to 3 hours), and when it cooled it became very hard. I guess this is caramel candy now. I'm not quite sure what to do with it.

So I simmered the second batch for about 45 minutes after it started to turn brown, about 1 1/2 hour total time. Tasted good, but too liquidy. I added it to a batch of brownies.

Have you made your own dulce de leche? What methods do you use? How long do you leave it on the stove? What is the consistency? I'm trying to get it to a spreading, jam-like consistency, so it will be spreadable even when it's cold from the fridge. Is that even a possibility? (There is a recipe on eGullet, but it requires equipment I don't have.)

In any case, I have to say that tasting this while it's still warm is so absolutely wonderful. Going off on a tangent -- if anyone has read Slaughterhouse Five, remember the part when Billy Pilgrim is in the POW camp and they're working in a candy factory? And he has a taste of the candy they're making, and just that taste makes him burst into tears? Well it didn't make me burst into tears, but tasting the warm dulce de leche brought this scene from the book right back to me, and it's at least 25 years since I read it. (Time to read it again, I guess.)

(ETA: Thanks for merging.)

Edited by cakewalk, 15 December 2008 - 09:01 AM.

[andiesenji]

I make it often and I always use half goat milk and half cow milk, regular milk, not low fat.
I use a crock pot -uncovered- and cook until it is a bit darker than regular caramel, light chestnut is the color description I use.
It is stiff when taken from the fridge, I generally remove it from the fridge early in morning when I am going to be using it later in the day. If I forget, I place the jar in a bowl of warm water, not hot, to speed it up but never warm it in the microwave.
My recipe is in RecipeGullet, I got it from my neighbor Celia Obregon, who is originally from Durango, Mexico, so I am pretty sure her recipe is authentic. It is better than any of the commercial ones I have tasted and is worlds better than the cooked condensed milk.

Edited by andiesenji, 15 December 2008 - 12:32 PM.

[John DePaula]

I make it often and I always use half goat milk and half cow milk, regular milk, not low fat.
I use a crock pot -uncovered- and cook until it is a bit darker than regular caramel, light chestnut is the color description I use.
It is stiff when taken from the fridge, I generally remove it from the fridge early in morning when I am going to be using it later in the day.  If I forget, I place the jar in a bowl of warm water, not hot, to speed it up but never warm it in the microwave.
My recipe is in RecipeGullet, I got it from my neighbor Celia Obregon, who is originally from Durango, Mexico, so I am pretty sure her recipe is authentic.  It is better than any of the commercial ones I have tasted and is worlds better than the cooked condensed milk.

Voila:
Dulce de leche from scratch Submitted by: andiesenji

[prasantrin]

I posted a recipe I got from my neighbor and it is delicious. It is far more complex in flavor than the sweetened condensed milk stuff.

I took some to an eGullet potluck a couple of years ago and everyone who tasted it thought it was great.

Dulce de Leche from scratch.

I'm moving my questions here rather than keep them in the crock pot thread. . . I hope you find me!

So I doubled the recipe and started with 670-ish grams sugar and 6 cups of goat's milk in my 5.5 qt crock pot. It took forever and a day (3 or 4 hours) to get it to 135F, and since I got tired of waiting for it to hit 140F, I added the water/baking soda mixture.

Now, roughly 10 hours after the addition of the water/baking soda, the mixture has reduced by about 1 inch, but I think it has plenty of hours to go until it gets thick as it's still pretty watery, though it has a slightly less white colour to it. My crock pot has high, low, and auto choices for temperature, and it's on high right now.

I'm thinking I can last maybe 2 more hours or so before I need to sleep. It will have to continue thickening overnight, but I'm concerned about it reducing too much while I'm sleeping. At high, the mixture has been pretty stable at 135F, give or take 1 or 2F, and I'm not sure how low it would go if I used low temperature.

Questions:

Would it be better to turn off the crock pot, and then continue cooking it tomorrow? Or is it OK to continue cooking it throughout the night?

If I leave the crock pot on throughout the night, should I leave it on high or reduce the temperature to low? I would not be stirring every two hours, and I'm a little concerned about that.

[andiesenji]

I posted a recipe I got from my neighbor and it is delicious. It is far more complex in flavor than the sweetened condensed milk stuff.

I took some to an eGullet potluck a couple of years ago and everyone who tasted it thought it was great.

Dulce de Leche from scratch.

I'm moving my questions here rather than keep them in the crock pot thread. . . I hope you find me!

So I doubled the recipe and started with 670-ish grams sugar and 6 cups of goat's milk in my 5.5 qt crock pot. It took forever and a day (3 or 4 hours) to get it to 135F, and since I got tired of waiting for it to hit 140F, I added the water/baking soda mixture.

Now, roughly 10 hours after the addition of the water/baking soda, the mixture has reduced by about 1 inch, but I think it has plenty of hours to go until it gets thick as it's still pretty watery, though it has a slightly less white colour to it. My crock pot has high, low, and auto choices for temperature, and it's on high right now.

I'm thinking I can last maybe 2 more hours or so before I need to sleep. It will have to continue thickening overnight, but I'm concerned about it reducing too much while I'm sleeping. At high, the mixture has been pretty stable at 135F, give or take 1 or 2F, and I'm not sure how low it would go if I used low temperature.

Questions:

Would it be better to turn off the crock pot, and then continue cooking it tomorrow? Or is it OK to continue cooking it throughout the night?

If I leave the crock pot on throughout the night, should I leave it on high or reduce the temperature to low? I would not be stirring every two hours, and I'm a little concerned about that.

Don't turn it to low, I don't think it is going to cook at all if 135 is your high temp.
I'm surprised it is taking so long. I think my slow cookers all cook hotter than yours.
135 is just too low. Mine all cook on LOW at 165° F. On high they cook at 195 - except for the Cuisinart that boils on high.

You add the water and baking soda at 140° and the milk should increase in heat after that until it is at least 155 degrees and 165 is better.

No wonder it is taking so long.

[prasantrin]

Thanks!

I think it might have been a mistake for me to double the recipe given the low temperature of my crockpot. The last time I took the temperature of the milk was about 3 or 4 hours ago, and it was still about 135F (I think it was 137F), which was the same temperature as when I added the baking soda/water (so it had been cooking for 12-ish hours total and it had been 8-9 hours since the addition of the baking soda/water), and the same temperature two hours before that, and a couple of hours before that.

But in the last 3 or 4 hours, I've lost another half inch so it's reducing much more quickly now that there's less of it. And I just checked the temperature, and it's now at 150F, so it's getting hotter!

So my temperatures have looked something like this:
7:00am--start--about 55F--about 3" in depth
10:00am--135F
11:00am--still 135F, so I added the baking soda/water
1:00pm--about 135F
4:00pm--about 135F--reduced by maybe 1/4"-1/2"
6:00pm--about 135F
7:00pm--about 135F--reduced by about 1"
10:00pm--about 150F--reduced by about 1 1/2" total

I'm going to start checking on it more frequently, and hopefully in the next two hours it'll be ready for the last two cups of milk. If not, I'll turn it off and finish it off tomorrow. I think it's been reduced by about 50% at this point, so it's coming along, just very slowly!

I don't have enough goat's milk for the last two cups, so I'm adding my remaining goat's milk (maybe 1 cup or so) and using half-and-half for the rest. I hope it works!

[prasantrin]

It's now after midnight and the temp is 160F, and it has reduced by maybe 1/4" or a little less. But I'm too sleepy to wait around, so I'll turn off the crock pot and start again tomorrow. I think, however, that I'll start it on the stove and then transfer it to the crock pot once it gets to 160F-ish. It has been 17 hours since I started, and although it has reduced and is a little browner in colour, it's still pretty watery.

I wonder if the quality of the goat's milk makes a difference. I'm using pasteurised goat's milk, but it's just regular goat's milk (not skim or anything). It's the only goat's milk available in this area, I think.

[ChrisZ]

BTW the creator of the Banoffee Pie, Ian Dowding, has directions for making Dulce de Leche from condensed milk on his website. He recommends submerging the cans and cooking them in the oven for 3 1/2 hours, by doing it in the oven there is no risk of a saucepan boiling dry and the cans exploding.
Apart from the simple fact that it tastes delicious, you can make a caramel cheesecake in 5 minutes by adding a can to 500g cream cheese. Nothing else needed (except the biscuit base).

[prasantrin]

The "boil a can of condensed milk" method is quite common, but I'd rather do it from scratch if I can.

But that cheesecake idea is fabulous! Really? Nothing else needed? The cheesecake doesn't get too hard when refrigerated?

[Tri2Cook]

The "boil a can of condensed milk" method is quite common, but I'd rather do it from scratch if I can.

I tried the "boil a can of condensed milk" method a while back out of curiosity and to me it seemed like it had a metallic taste. Maybe it was just my imagination because I haven't tried it again to compare and it wasn't strong enough to make it inedible but I definitely remember thinking it had that old tin can taste to it.

[prasantrin]

Yet another update.

I was too lazy to stand by the stove at 7:30ish this morning, so I turned the crockpot back on high. It took about 2 hours for it to get up past 160F, and I've been playing with it ever since. I'm not stirring every 15 minutes because it's still too watery. It has definitely caramelised and is a tan colour, though not as dark as I associate with cajeta. It doesn't leave a trail when when I run the spatula through it, so it likely needs several more hours. It has started to get too hot (up to 190F), but the temperature drops below 150F on low, so I alternate an hour on high and an hour on low.

I am definitely hopeful that it will eventually turn out right, but I'm really really hoping that I won't have to take this till tomorrow morning. As it is, the crock pot was on about 17 hours yesterday and so far 8 hours today--that's 25 hours total, and it's not ready.

Another thing, I think maybe because the temperature gets too high, a lot of foam develops, except it's not really foam, and it won't stir back into the mixture. Fortunately, this stuff often sticks to the spatula when I stir, so I get to lick it off after (don't worry, I wash the spatula every time!). Even though my cajeta isn't the right texture yet, it sure does taste good!

My crock pot sucks. This explains why my caramelised onions were such a failure a year or so ago. What a waste of butter that was (and butter is about twice as expensive in Japan than in the US or Canada!).

[andiesenji]

I had a chat with Carmela Obregon a little while ago and she suggested heating the milk in the microwave to begin with.
Add the sugar, continue heating and resting it for several more brief sessions. She suggested two minutes because otherwise it will foam up.

Add the water and baking soda and nuke it for a few more times, until it begins to have the "scalded milk" taste and the milk clings to the back of the spoon just a bit.
It should begin to change color, Carmela calls it "crudo" which I think means a beige color.

Then put it in the crock pot on high and let it cook down from that point.


Carmela's daughter says "crudo" means the color ecru. Boy, that's an old color term. I used to buy crochet thread that color - forty years ago!

Edited by andiesenji, 18 October 2010 - 02:53 PM.

[prasantrin]

Thanks! And please thank Señora Obregon for me, too. Even though this is taking forever and a day (or at least a day), it's kind of fun watching the changes, and I will definitely be making it again!

I was thinking I shouldn't have started the process using milk straight from the fridge, especially since our fridge runs a little cold. So I'll definitely do as Señora Obregon advises and start things out in the microwave.

I was also reading what you wrote in the crockpot thread

It should turn a dark caramel color and be thick enough to leave a "trail" as the spoon is scraped over the bottom of the pot and should be very thick when it has cooled to room temp. It should, in fact, mound up on the spoon at room temp and slowly collapse

And I think my cajeta might be closer to being ready than I think. When I put a little in a less than room temperature dish (our house is pretty cool--around 16 or 17C), drops will keep their shape (although two drops close together will usually run together) and will slowly drip down if I tip the dish. So it's still thinner than honey, but not so much thinner. I don't think it will mound up on a spoon at room temp at this point, but it's getting there! I'll give it a couple of more hours and then add the additional milk.

[andiesenji]

Gee, Carmela's daughter just brought me a container of cajeta that was made on Saturday and has not been refrigerated. They use it up so quickly it isn't necessary.

It's pretty thick, as you can easily see. The spoon is standing up by itself.
It is darker than "normal" caramel but looks lighter in the photos with flash so I took one without.

It's also yummy - I licked the spoon. It's 100% goat milk because they now have their own goats. This is from a 2-quart batch. (Big family!)

Attached Images

• 

Edited by andiesenji, 18 October 2010 - 03:18 PM.

[prasantrin]

Thanks for the pictures! I definitely have a lot more time to go, then. Right now mine is the colour of perfect toast, and even when at less-than-room-temperature, a spoon definitely wouldn't be standing in it.

Hopefully by midnight tonight!

[ChrisZ]

The "boil a can of condensed milk" method is quite common, but I'd rather do it from scratch if I can.
But that cheesecake idea is fabulous! Really? Nothing else needed? The cheesecake doesn't get too hard when refrigerated?

It probably depends on the type of cheese you use. But you have reminded me that as the internet has a global reach I should elaborate on my train of thought a bit. Apologies for digressing from the original topic of Dulce de Leche...

In Australia the most common cheesecakes are the refrigerated variety - generally the filling is a mix of cream cheese, whipped cream, a flavouring and probably gelatine, poured onto a crushed biscuit base and chilled until set. Baked cheesecakes are certainly available from patisseries but they're simply not as common as the refrigerated variety.

When I was a teenager I saw a recipe on the packet of Kraft Philadelphia Cream Cheese for a very simple cheesecake that was just 2 packets of cheese (500g) and a can of condensed milk. It may have had gelatine in it. I tried the recipe and found it OK but bland, although I noted that it tasted more like white-chocolate than some of the white-chocolate cheesecakes I've had! I tried it again using a can of boiled condensed milk and I liked the result much more - I made it fairly often when I was younger. I haven't made it for many years but as far as I can remember I just beat it all together until it's light and fluffy and that's it. It's probably safer to add gelatine but I don't recall doing it, and I don't like cheesecakes that have a jelly texture.

Kraft Philadelphia Cream Cheese is a global, supermarket product that I actually prefer to more 'gourmet' equivalents! I've tried making cheesecakes with neufchatel and other - less processed - cream cheeses but I simply prefer the taste of Kraft! Oh well. If you beat it long enough it gets lighter and airier although you could add whipped cream to make it lighter still - then you'd probably need gelatine too. But if you're using a different type of cream cheese to Kraft, or prefer a very light texture, then you may need to adjust quantities and ingredients to suit.

Returning to the original topic, scientists define Dulce de Leche as a different product from caramel but the taste is essentially the same, and 'caramel' is obviously easier to say, write and explain than 'Dulche de Leche'. Just wondering how strict people are with definitions of flavours like 'caramel', 'butterscotch', 'toffee' and so on?

[prasantrin]

OK. I added the remaining milk, and now it's all watery again!

The instructions say

Reduce the temperature to medium and continued cooking. Stir occasionally,
about every 15-20 minutes until the mixture has thickened, it should pour
like honey.
This should take about 2 hours.
Near the end of this time, warm the remaining cup of milk in a small
saucepan then stir into the mixture in the slow cooker. Mix well and
transfer to a sterilized quart jar and place the cap lightly on the jar, do
not seal.

My mixture was pretty thick, or at least the top half was. It was a little watery underneath the thick foamy stuff, but I was OK with that.

I warmed the remaining 2 cups of milk (I made a double recipe) for a few minutes in the microwave. It was sort of scalded (it had that milk film on top), so maybe it was too hot?

Because now my cajeta is really watery. And pale. Nothing like the pictures above.

I think I'm just going to give up and use it as a base for cajeta chocolate milk. Or just cajeta milk. It will be delicious, I'm sure!

[prasantrin]

Final update--after I dumped in the last 2 cups of goat's milk/half-and-half, it was so watery that I decided to take drastic action. I ended up spending an hour or so taking a few ladles of the mixture at a time, and cooking it down on the stove. I didn't stir constantly, but checked on it every 5 minutes or so and stirred down the foam/bubbles. I'm sure the temperature was too high because it bubbled and foamed up a lot, but I didn't really care because I didn't want to spend all night working with it.

After maybe an hour or so of reducing the mixture (I would do a batch, and then when I thought it was thick enough, I poured it out into a container and started another batch), I was done! Since I was sure I had taken it to too high a temperature, I was a little worried that it would be too hard, but it's not. The final product is not as thick as it should be, but it's thick enough to thinly spread on bread. It's also quite grainy, but I'm OK with that because it tastes really good!

@ChrisZ--thanks for the info on the cheesecake! I'll experiment with small tart-sized quantities before going all out to make a big cheesecake, just in case.

Edited by prasantrin, 19 October 2010 - 05:38 PM.

[Shel_B]

My lady friend, an Argentinian, has introduced me to Dulce de Leche. I would like to make it and would appreciate some good recipes. I don't want to just heat up some evaporated, or is it condensed, milk, nor am I looking for some fancy "Martha Stewart" type creation. Rather, something closer to the original recipes found in Spain and some Latin American countries would be ideal. Ultimately, I'd like to make some Alfajores, but first I'd like some good Dulce de Leche recipes to play around with.

Thanks!

[andiesenji]

I have been checking the various links on my blog to see if they are still active.

Clicking on this one brought up this recipe for Banana Pudding Dulce de Leche. It sounds delicious.

It doesn't use much Dulce de Leche, only 3 tablespoons, so I don't really understand why it is so prominent in the title. However, now I have to go out and buy some ripe bananas ( I have a bunch but they are totally green) so I can prepare this interesting dessert.

[Panaderia Canadiense]

One of my favourite banana-dulce de leche recipes is a cream pie combining the two, which was submitted to (and subsequently published in) my magazine. It's absolutely decadent.

[Darienne]

If I show this recipe and photo to my DH, Ed, he will begin hyperventilating. Two of his very favorite things. Together. And lots of them. This sounds like a good birthday dessert for him.

I am not a great banana fan, but your magazine sounds fascinating. My fruit of choice has got to be raspberries.

ps. So ordered for his birthday next Saturday. Thanks.

Edited by Darienne, 19 June 2011 - 12:26 PM.

[Darienne]

You can also use the microwave. Pour a can or two in a pyrex pie dish and microwave on low power (30-40%) for fifteen minutes. Stir. Microwave again on low power for another 10-15 minutes. Stir. Microwave again for 10 minutes and stir occasionally as it cools. It might be a bit lumpy at first, but as your stir it will smooth out and get perfectly luscious. This method is fast and pretty foolproof. And not at all scary.

Can it really work? Can it really be reduced to something so simple?

Answer: YES! I just did it. So simple. So neat. So tidy. So quick. So little work. Now Dulce de Leche to put on tonight's ice cream.

Thank you JEB9.

[Darienne]

One of my favourite banana-dulce de leche recipes is a cream pie combining the two, which was submitted to (and subsequently published in) my magazine. It's absolutely decadent.

Question: would this recipe freeze well if made into small tartlets?

Firstly I'll cut the recipe in at least half and then make it in little tart pans. It's a pie which I won't eat and DH doesn't want to be left with the 'responsibility' of eating it all, so I suggested the tart idea. I would think the tarts would freeze well. Any advice, please?

[Panaderia Canadiense]

It should work just fine with freezing - but be sure then in the construction to sprinkle the bananas with a bit of lime juice (or equivalent citrus), otherwise they'll turn black in the freezer. Dulce de Leche takes freezing very well.

[Darienne]

It should work just fine with freezing - but be sure then in the construction to sprinkle the bananas with a bit of lime juice (or equivalent citrus), otherwise they'll turn black in the freezer. Dulce de Leche takes freezing very well.

Thanks, PanCan, for the lemon advice: that should cut the sweetness by a tad. And of course, I was not going to freeze the whipped cream part...but you knew that.