I first tried dulce de leche flavor in a pint of Haagen Dazs ice-cream. I thought that it tasted like caramel, but with so much more depth and character to it. I enjoyed the flavor so much that I finished an entire pint of Haagen-Dazs in one sitting… yea, my connection to that flavor was that strong! There was nothing like coming home to pint of this deliciousness after a long hard-day at work. When I moved to Iowa, I was no longer able to find this kind of ice-cream at our local grocery stores. I would like to call it a blessing of disguise, since daily consumption of Haagen-Dazs ice-cream would provide a significant challenge to my waist line.
Finally, after a couple years of denying myself this wonderful flavorful caramelized milk, I decided to try making my own… after all, the girl has to have something we call “shameless indulgence” right? I landed on David Lebovitz’ website and saw that he had a recipe for homemade dulce de leche. It sounded simple enough, using condensed milk and a pinch of salt, and throw it in the oven for a little bit over an hour. There was also another recipe from Chez Pim that uses whole milk, which I know that I will try in the future when I have a little bit more time (and patience). But for now… I am enjoying the fruit of my labor: my very own sweet intoxicating… dulce de leche… and *I still wonder why I waited so long to try this!*
Adapted from The Perfect Scoop (Ten Speed Press)
Ingredients
1 can (14-oz) sweetened condensed milk
a pinch of salt
Directions
Preheat the oven to 425° F (220° C).
Pour one can (400 gr/14 ounces) of sweetened condensed milk (not evaporated milk) into a glass pie plate or shallow baking dish. Stir in a few flecks of sea salt.
Set the pie plate within a larger pan, such as a roasting pan, and add hot water until it reaches halfway up the side of the pie plate.
Cover the pie plate snugly with aluminum foil and bake for 1 to 1¼ hours. (Check a few times during baking and add more water to the roasting pan as necessary).
Once the Dulce de Lecheis nicely browned and caramelized, remove from the oven and let cool. Once cool, whisk until smooth.
Store in the refrigerator until ready to serve. Warm gently in a warm water bath or microwave oven before using.
