Recipe: Dulce de leche

Dulce de leche ready for two tasters

I have made nectar of the gods. It’s called dulce de leche. And it has two ingredients: milk and sugar. And they come in can, already made. Seriously, this dessert, filling, topping, caramelly goodness from Latin America couldn’t be easier to “make” nor be more delicious.

Here is a step by step by Wikihow which gives several ways to make dulce de leche and a recipe from Nestle. I took those two versions and the advice of the store clerk when I bought the condensed milk and told him what I was making. He said turn down the oven a little bit from the directions, that way it wouldn’t burn. Smart advice.

Here's a picture breakdown of how this magic gets made:

One can of condensed milk. I used Magnolia for one version. And when I finished testing (as in spooning it for dessert over a few days), I tried the same recipe with Nestle Carnation.  I couldn’t detect a massive difference in the finished product; Magnolia might have been a scooch sweeter. 

A shallow casserole pan. A pie plate would be fine here, any shape really, just shallow enough so it cooks evenly.

A larger pan in which to place the smaller one. You will be creating a Bain Marie.

A preheated 400 degree oven. Place the casserole pan filled with condensed milk into a larger pan filled with cold water, so that the water comes up to about three quarters of the sides. 

Place foil on top of casserole.  

“Bake” for two hours or until color darkens and texture thickens to desired color/texture. 

Stir every thirty minutes to check the color and to ensure no coagulation on the bottom.

After first 30 minutes

60 minutes into baking time

90 minutes into baking time

120 minutes and time for a taste

Enjoy the perfection.