Dulce de leche—Spanish for “sweet [made] of milk”—is a caramel-like sauce popular in Latin American desserts. It has a smooth, spreadable consistency and toffee-like flavor. Unlike caramel sauce, which is made by browning sugar and then adding cream and butter, dulce de leche is made by gently simmering milk and sugar together for over an hour until it’s thickened and golden (swap out the cow’s milk for goat’s milk and you have cajeta). The cooking process yields a more rounded, mild dairy flavor than its slightly bitter and toasty caramel cousin. A finishing splash of vanilla extract brings warmth and depth to the dessert sauce, which is great sandwiched into alfajores, layered on brownies or cheesecake, spread on toast or crepes, warmed and drizzled over ice cream, or stirred into coffee or cocoa.
If dulce de leche’s flavor profile appeals, but you don’t have the time or energy to take the traditional route, don’t worry: we’ve also provided instructions for an extremely easy recipe for hands-off dulce de leche made from nothing but the contents of a can of sweetened condensed milk, baked in a bain-marie (French for a water bath in the oven) for 45 minutes, no further work required.
Editor’s note: This recipe was originally published March 2012
