National Dishes of the World

EN PL

Dulce de leche
Photo: audinou from Paris, France, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons

dessert vegetarian

Dulce de leche

A thick caramel spread of milk slowly simmered with sugar, used on bread, in biscuits, cakes and ice cream.

Eaten in: Argentina, Chile, Mexico, Uruguay

Prep
5 min
Cooking
3 h
Total
3 h 5 min
Servings
12

Jump to recipe

About the dish

Dulce de leche is milk simmered for hours with sugar until it reduces, thickens and takes on the colour and flavour of caramel. In Argentina and Uruguay it is the number one sweet: spread on toast at breakfast, sandwiched in alfajores, pancakes and layer cakes, folded into ice cream and pastries, and eaten by the spoonful straight from the jar. Shops offer a classic version and a thicker pastry-chef style (repostero) that does not run off cakes. Similar preserves are known across Latin America under other names: manjar in Chile, arequipe in Colombia and Venezuela, doce de leite in Brazil. Homemade dulce de leche takes patience but only three ingredients.

Main ingredients

  • whole milk
  • sugar
  • vanilla
  • a pinch of bicarbonate of soda

Chile: In Chile it is called manjar and fills biscuits, cakes and pastries.

Mexico: Mexico's version is cajeta, made from goat's milk, for which Celaya in Guanajuato is especially famous.

More: Wikipedia (pl) Wikipedia (en)

Recipe

Dulce de leche

https://foodmap.ominuvo.com/dish/dulce-de-leche

Ingredients

12 servings

12 servings

Method

  1. Pour the milk into a wide, heavy-based pan, add the sugar and split vanilla pod and bring to the boil, stirring until the sugar dissolves.

  2. Dissolve the bicarbonate of soda in a spoonful of water and add it to the milk – it will foam, so the pan must not be full.

  3. Simmer uncovered over low heat for 2.5–3 hours, stirring every few minutes with a wooden spoon so it does not catch.

  4. As the mixture starts to thicken and darken, stir constantly. It is ready when it is caramel-coloured and a drop on a cold plate does not spread.

  5. Remove the vanilla, spoon the dulce de leche into sterilised jars and leave to cool; it will thicken further once chilled.

From the same kitchen