easy dulce de leche
Oh boy, I may have done a bad thing when I made this… I may have opened Pandora’s box. Now I want this delicious dulce de leche on everything. I’ve been sneaking spoonfuls out of the fridge just to get a “fix” all week.
Dulce de leche, which translates to “milk candy”, is a delicious caramel like dip. It is usually made by slowly cooking milk and sugar until the moisture boils off and the sugars caramelize leaving you with a thick, rich, creamy sauce.
Although it is printed clearly on every can of sweetened condensed milk NOT to heat the cans unopened, one of the most common ways to make dulce de leche is to boil the unopened cans in a pot full of water on the stove for 3-4 hours. Now, that method is very dangerous because the temperature is difficult to control and if too much water boils away the internal temp of the can will keep rising until it explodes. I’ve seen this happen. It’s not pretty and caramel is nearly impossible to clean off of the ceiling and walls.
Using a slow cooker is much, much safer (although, the danger still exists). A slow cooker will maintain a fairly constant temperature (and a much lower temperature), the lid will prevent the water from boiling off and most lids secure into place with a clamp which would help stifle an explosion. BUT, the can still warns against heating unopened cans… so… follow this recipe at your own risk.
Okay, so if you haven’t been scared off, this recipe is so super easy that it’s almost unfair. Not to mention, you can make a batch of it for about $1.50 which is far less than the bottles of caramel ice cream topping or dip that you’d buy at the store. What can you use it for? Dipping fruit, topping desserts or stir it into your coffee drinks. It tastes exactly like those little square caramel candies that you can buy around Halloween time.
Easy Dulce de Leche
Easy Dulce de Leche
Dulce de leche is easy to make using nothing but a slow cooker and a can of sweetened condensed milk.
Ingredients
- 1 13 oz can sweetened condensed milk $1.38
Instructions
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Remove the label from the can(s). Place the can(s) in the slow cooker and fill with water. The water needs to come at least one inch above the top of the can to maintain proper, even heat. Secure the lid on the slow cooker, set the temperature to LOW and let cook for 8 hours.
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After 8 hours, turn the heat off, remove the lid of the slow cooker and allow the water and cans to cool undisturbed. Once cool, open the can and remove the dulce de leche. It is ready to serve! Store leftovers in the refrigerator.
Step By Step Photos
Start with a can (or cans) of sweetened condensed milk, NOT evaporated milk. It needs the extra sugar that is in sweetened condensed milk for caramelization.
Remove the labels from the cans and place them in the slow cooker. Fill the slow cooker with water until it covers the cans by one inch (there is water in that picture but you can’t see it because it’s CLEAR! HA!). Secure the lid on the slow cooker, turn the heat on to LOW and let cook for 8 hours.
After 8 hours, turn off the heat, carefully remove the lid of the slow cooker and allow the water and cans to cool undisturbed. Once cool, the dulce de leche is ready to serve!
Completely decadent!
I labeled and dated my extra cans and am keeping them in the refrigerator (in case the seal was compromised on a microscopic level as the can oxidized in the water and heat).
The sweet and creamy dulce de leche was PERFECT with tart granny smith apples!
Hellooooooo delicious!
The longer you cook the dulce de leche, the darker and thicker it will get. So, if you prefer a lighter, more fluid dulce de leche, let it cook for about two hour less or carefully remove the cans from the hot water and let them cool in the air which will stop the cooking process sooner.
Back when you first posted this, I made this stuff all the time! Today I made it again from memory… but screwed up and had it on high for 8 hours. Whoops! Still tastes fine, but looks ridiculously bad haha.
Would this work using a can of sweetened condensed coconut milk?
I’m not sure, I’ve never tried to caramelize coconut milk before.
FINALLY gave this a try. Put it in the slow cooker last night and this morning it was FABULOUS!
This stuff is unreal – and so easy! It’s really hard to stop yourself from eating it by the spoonful, but you should because it works well with so many things.
This turned out amazing! The reviews really helped. I put my SCM in a mason jelly jar and put it in the slow cooker while I was making Beth’s black bean recipe. Double prizes! I was great with breakfast the next day.
I use pressure cooker. 30min cooking for creamy, 40min for a little harder and 50min to hard one. Wait for about 4 hours before open de can.
sorry, open the can. If you cook the condensend milk in a pan and add 2 tablespoon of butter or margerine and chocolate powder and cooking stirring all the time until reaching a caramel like, you will have Brazilian Brigadeiro candy.
I bought a giant 4 cup measuring cup specifically for this recipe :)
I just pour 2 cans in, put the measuring cup in the crockpot, put water up to the line the condensed milk is, lid on, 8 hours on low, pour into a pre-made graham cracker crust. Voilà!
To avoid cooking in the can, couldn’t you pour it into a mason jar, or even a pyrex dish, maybe with a lid loosely sitting on top to prevent condensation from dripping into it, and place that into the slow cooker? That way it isn’t against the lining of the can, and you can put a lid on the mason jar to store whatever you don’t eat :) Have you tried this? Anyone? :)
That’s what I do, actually :) I use mason jars, laying them on their sides in the crock pots (screwing the lids on tightly), and while they’re cooking, the lids seal nicely by themselves! As an added benefit, since they’re clear, you can see when the dulce de leche is done to the consistency you like–you can make it lighter and more sauce-like, or darker and more solid.
Hi Allison, if you do this in a mason jar how long will it last on the shelf?
I lived in Brazil in the 70’s and the Brazilians cooked beans every day in a pressure cooker and they just tossed a can of sweetened condensed milk in with the beans. When the beans were done so was the DOCE DE LEITE.
Angela – That I don’t know… I’m completely inexperienced when it comes to canning :P
If you did this using the mason jar method, could you then process and seal the jars like you would fruit preserves?
it has no acid so it would need to be pressured canned not water bathed at whatever time for dairy products. for long term storage. Frankly I have had jars of it in the back of my fridge in mason jars for months with no problem. I would be worried pressure canning would keep cooking it until it was too hard and/or burnt. Any one else tried canning it?