Homemade dulce de leche
Dulce de leche is more than just your average sweet treat — it's an Argentinian classic! The irresistible, creamy paste is made by letting milk and sugar thicken for a few hours. And the best part? You can easily make it at home. Read on to find out how!
The story of dulce de leche
There are a few different stories about where dulce de leche came from, but one thing's for sure: it's an Argentine creation.
The Cañuelas Pact
According to a document in the National History Museum in Buenos Aires, dulce de leche dates back to 1829. A civil war was raging in the province of Buenos Aires, and opponents Juan Manuel de Rosas and Juan Lavalle were about to negotiate a peace agreement.
They met at the de Rosas' estate in Cañuelas. The kitchenmaid was getting ready to serve the men Argentine maté and made the "lechada," a mix of milk and sugar, to be served with it. But Juan Lavalle was tired from the long journey and fell asleep in bed. He showed up late for the maté, and the "lechada" had continued to heat up in the meantime. The maid found a thick brown substance but luckily, the taste pleased de Rosas, who served Lavalle the dessert while they discussed the points of the Cañuelas Pact.
A favorite in South America
Dulce de leche spread throughout South America and became a popular dessert. Each country has its own name for it. It's known as "arequipe" in Colombia, Venezuela, and Guatemala; "manjar" in Chile; "queso de Urrao" in Bolivia; "bienmesabe" in Panama; "manjar blanco" in Peru; and "dulce de cajeta" in Mexico. Beyond the different names, the dulce de leche also has slight differences in taste and texture, depending on the country.
An international day
South Americans are crazy about dulce de leche. They even have a special day to celebrate it: World Dulce de Leche Day on October 11. The initiative was created in 1998, and it recognizes the delicacy as "Food and Gastronomic Cultural Heritage of Argentina."
But how do you make dulce de leche?
Dulce de leche is made by simmering sweetened milk until the milk evaporates and the sugar solidifies.
The ingredients
To make a creamy dulce de leche, you'll need a few other ingredients besides milk and sugar.
Milk
Use whole, pasteurized milk to make dulce de leche.
Sugar
The sugar-to-milk ratio should be no more than 30%. You can replace some of the sugar with glucose syrup to make the product more glossy and reduce the chance of lactose crystals forming in the milk. Also, glucose syrup tastes less sweet than regular sugar.
Baking soda
Baking soda regulates the acidity in the milk, keeping it from curdling during cooking. If the milk,does curdle, the resulting dulce de leche might have a grainy texture. Baking soda also helps the sugars caramelize, which gives dulce de leche a nice light brown color.
Vanilla
We add vanilla for that extra flavor. You know that typical aroma of dulce de leche? That's thanks to the vanilla.
Sweetened condensed milk
You can also make dulce de leche without a hitch using just sweetened, canned condensed milk. It's a piece of cake, and the results are great. You can find both methods further down the blog.
How do I know my dulce de leche is ready ?
As with making all sweets, it's important to use a thermometer. Your dulce de leche will be ready when it reaches 93° Celsius.
You can also test it by dropping a bit of dulce de leche into a glass of water. If it sinks to the bottom and doesn't dissolve, then it's good to go.
You can also stretch a bit of dulce de leche between your thumb and forefinger. Just be careful not to burn yourself. It should have the consistency of Nutella.
Storing dulce de leche
You can store homemade dulce de leche in a sealed jar in the refrigerator for about two weeks.
A versatile treat
Dulce de leche goes great with a lot of desserts. You can eat it by the spoonful, of course, but you mostly use it as a filling for cookies, pancakes, waffles, cakes, chocolate truffles, on muffins and brownies, and on vanilla ice cream. You can even make dulce de leche ice cream. Another great idea is to spread dulce de leche on toast in the morning. It also goes well with fruits and nuts—and if you're looking for a sweet treat for a party, try slices of banana with a layer of dulce de leche and a half-walnut topping. Serve with a glass of ice wine or vin santo, and you have the perfect party dessert!
Is dulce de leche the same as caramel ?
Dulce de leche and caramel are two different products. They're both the result of caramelization, but the ingredients are different.
Dulce de leche is made with milk and sugar, while caramel is made with sugar and butter, with cream added in at the end.
Ingredients recipe 1:
- 1 l whole milk
- 200 g sugar plus 75 g glucose syrup, or 250 g sugar
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- A few drops of vanilla extract
Ingredients recipe 2:
- 1 can of sweetened condensed milk
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Recipe 1: Dulce de leche from scratch
As I mentioned, you can use glucose syrup instead of some of the sugar, but you can also just use sugar. To get the best results, use a hot water bath (bain-marie).
Bring a saucepan of water to a boil, then take a bowl that fits into the saucepan and mix all the ingredients in it.
Place the bowl in the hot water bath and keep the temperature of the water at 100° Celsius. Stir constantly until the sugar is fully dissolved, then let the liquid reduce, undisturbed, into dulce de leche for about 2 hours. The temperature of the dulce de leche should not exceed 93° Celsius. If the water evaporates too fast, add more boiling water.
Then, take the bowl off the heat, stir the dulce de leche until smooth, and let it cool.
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Recipe 2: Dulce de leche with condensed milk
Remove the label from the can and put the unopened can in a saucepan of water. Bring the water to a boil and simmer gently for 2.5 hours. Make sure the can stays submerged. Add water to the saucepan as needed. Take the can out of the pan and let it cool. Open the can, pour the dulce de leche into a mixing bowl, and stir until the mixture is nice and smooth.
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