phillyfoodie.com - Dulce de leche, can to pan

February 16, 2010

Dulce de leche, can to pan

If you would like to draw me to a recipe, here is the phrase that pays: “It only has one ingredient!” (In my world, salt is not an ingredient. It is a fact of life.) It takes almost no prompting to get me to whip up a batch of butter. So, the idea of boiling a can and getting out a tasty treat had immediate, obvious appeal to me.

Traditional dulce de leche requires you to spend one to two hours tending a pot of sweetened milk, until it has reduced down to a yummy goo. Quick ‘n easy dulce de leche has you simmer a can of sweetened condensed milk for a few hours until it’s gone from a can of milk to a can of deliciousness. What could be easier?

I paid attention in chemistry class, though, and I have a bad track record with sugar products. (See: the time I set the roof of my oven on fire making baked apples.) With Bryan out of town, the vision of dragging myself to the hospital covered with super-heated sugar globules after the can exploded ran rampant through my head. That is, I chickened out. After 3 hours of simmering, this is my can contents.

A change had happened. Just not much of one.

It’s ok, though. In the 3 hours it had been simmering, I had been looking at recipes. I could add cinnamon! I could add SALT. Suddenly, the idea of finishing it off in a pot seemed very appealing.

I simmered it on a stovetop at medium (to medium-low; my stove was a little too hot, and I did get some browned bits as you can see) for about 10 minutes. I added about a quarter teaspoon of cinnamon and kosher salt. It reduced by about 25%.

I can see why people talk about eating jars in one sitting. Yum!

Dulce de Leche

1 can sweetened condensed milk
cinnamon, nutmeg and/or salt, to taste

Place can in a pot of simmering water. Make sure there is enough water to keep the can covered at all times. Simmer for 3 hours.

If it’s still too thin, take it out of the can, season as desired, and simmer for another 5 to 15 minutes, until it reaches the desired consistency. Place in a container, and eat!