Dulce de Leche
Sep 19th, 2008 by Paul
Dulce de Leche, Confiture de Lait, or Milk Jam is a decadent syrup made by reducing a mix of milk and sugar. Most people have probably tried a cheat’s version of it, which is made simply by boiling a can of sweetened condensed milk, something considered to be quite dangerous by a lot of people, but I haven’t killed or scalded myself yet. However I decided it was high time I put the cans away ( hehe cans ) and make it from scratch.
It takes a certain amount of patience and trust in the recipe, but is reasonably fool proof. It should take about 3 hours to get it to the right consistency, however I had the temperature way too low ( scared of burning or separating the milk ) for much of it, so it took more like 5 hours. Also just before it gets to the right consistency it has a tendency to boil over ( for lack of a better term ) where the milk gets thick enough to trap air in causing it to froth up as it’s simmering and threatens to spill out over the saucepan.
Dulce de Leche
- 1 litre good quality full fat milk
- 1 litre good quality goats milk ( the hardcore may choose to omit the cows milk and just use 2L of this )
- 500g raw sugar ( caster would probably be fine )
- 2 vanilla pods*
- 1/4 tsp baking soda.
- pinch sea salt
Add all ingredients into 4L pot. Scrape the vanilla seeds out and put both the seeds and the pod into the milk. Bring the heat to medium-high and stir constantly until it reaches the boil.
Turn the heat down to a gentle simmer and leave it to do it’s thing.
I stirred it every 30 mins or so, but this probably isn’t necessary if the heat is correct. If the heat is too high you’ll get a milk skin form, which is a bad thing.
When the mix gets to a smooth loose caramel texture/flavour it means it’s ready. You can if you choose thicken it further, or you can take it off the heat. It will thicken more as it cools. Pull the pods out and give a good whisk ( may even want to use a stick-mixer ) to ensure there’s no lumpy bits.
When it’s cooled right down pour it into sterilized glass jars and refrigerate. I’m not 100% how long it will last before spoiling, but I’ll guarantee you’ll never have to worry about that, as you’ll get through it all very quickly.
* Dulce de Leche doesn’t traditionally have vanilla in it, but I believe it makes a big difference to the end product. Don’t skimp and use vanilla essence, you’d be better off omitting it altogether.
