Tuesday 22 May 2012

HOW TO: Dulce de Leche

Dulce de leche is made by boiling a tin of sweetened condensed milk for hours on end. But that's a long time to wait for dulche de leche, regardless of its ridiculously gorgeous golden-brown colour. Moreover, making dulce de leche can be dangerous. Right. Enough meandering. I'll get to the point. 

In a nutshell, I'd much rather spend my free time doing something (anything) other than monitoring my potentially explosive dulce de leche. So here's another method which  soon-to-be engineer Patty came across on cooking for engineers. Appropriate. Its so EASY and QUICK. Whilst you're at it, tick NON-potentially explosive off your list too. I had to share.

Ingredients:
  • Sweetened condensed milk (quantity according to your needs - I used a 400ml tin). 
NOTE: sweetened condensed milk, and not evaporated milk.

Method:
  1. Pour the contents of your tin into a large heatproof bowl. (Use a large bowl so as to avoid the contents bubbling over).
  2. Place the bowl into your microwave and microwave the sweetened condensed milk on a medium-low setting for 1.5 minutes. (The original method advises you to heat for two minutes yet this may cause too much bubbling).  
  3. Carry the bowl out of the microwave, ensuring not to burn yourself as the milk and bowl will heat up quite quickly.
  4. Whisk the sweetened condensed milk using a metal whisk.
  5. Repeat steps 2-4 over and over (see below). 
After heating the sweetened condensed milk a few times (maybe 3), it will not bubble up as much. After each of the 1.5 minutes of heating (or cooking) the milk's consistency will change slightly. Note that the dulche de leche hardens as it cools down, so do stop heating before the desired consistency is achieved. 










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9 comments:

  1. Thank God here in Colombia I just have to go to the market and buy it, but why not trying to do it at home.

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    1. It's a little hard to find here - and the alternative method of boiling a sealed tin for over three hours petrifies me!! Thanks for your comment! xx Maria

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  2. Will do. Thanks! Feel free to like my FB page! x Maria

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  3. This looks very sweet and quite easy to do, I may have a go myself.

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    1. It's beyond 'quite easy' and I guarantee you'll love it! I have a FB page, should you want to 'like' for similar updates :) xx Maria

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  4. Looks good but the potential exploding action means I'd have to be extra careful. Nice blog and very informative.

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    1. Oh no! Dulce de leche can explode when cooked the traditional way, that is, boiling for many hours whilst the tin is still sealed! This method is quick and safe too :) Enjoy!

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  5. If you get a small hammer and a push pin (sticky-out ones, not roundhead ones), you can pierce the lid 3 times by lightly tapping the push pin into the lid with the hammer, which lets the pressure escape when you cook it with removed pin

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    1. Are you sure the holes won't get clogged? If you've managed this way I'd be willing to try! Let me know :) x Maria

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