Dulce de Leche

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: Mexican

Prep Time: 0

Cook Time: 3 30

Total Time: 3 30

Servings: people

Calories: 212kcal

Author: Platings and Pairings

Learn how to make dulce de leche at home using two ingredients: boiling water and cans of condensed milk! It’s an easy and hands-off process that transforms condensed milk into a sweet and rich caramel-like sauce to drizzle over ice cream, cakes, and much more.

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Equipment

Large Pot

Ingredients

3 cans sweetened condensed milk or as many as you would like to make and that fit in your pot
Water

Instructions

Remove the label from your cans and remove as much of the glue as possible.
Place the cans in a large pot and add enough water to the pot to cover the cans by 2-inches.
Bring the water to a low boil over medium-high heat. Then, reduce the heat to its lowest setting and let simmer for 3 1/2 hours. Important, make sure the cans are fully submerged at all times, adding additional water if needed during the cooking process. I like to cover my pot to cut back on the evaporation.
Remove the pot from the heat and leave the cans in the water. Let the water in the pot and the cans come to room temperature. Careful: Opening the cans while still hot can cause sputtering and burns.
Store the cans in the refrigerator. Unopened cans will last up to three months. Once opened, the dulce de leche will last about one week in the fridge.

Notes

Tips and tricks

The cans need to be submerged in water at all times. Check on them every 30 minutes or so and keep adding more water as needed.
It’s very dangerous if the cans aren’t fully covered in water because this makes them more susceptible to tearing or exploding.
I like to keep a lid on the pot as the water is boiling to help cut back on evaporation, thus preventing me from adding more water again and again.
Do not open the cans if they’re still hot. This can cause the dulce de leche to sputter and spray, which can potentially burn your skin.
If you’d like a lighter dulce de leche (like the top spoon below), you can reduce the cook time to 2 1/2 hours.

Nutrition