Easy Dulce de Leche

It's a one-ingredient wonder, but our easy dulce de leche recipe does take a little time to make. Condensed milk—the only ingredient needed—is cooked slowly in a double boiler over low heat. It needs an occasional stir to make sure it’s cooking evenly, and you'll need to check the double boiler and replace the water if needed, but that’s all you have to do. 

It takes a while to cook the condensed milk down into dulce de leche—you'll know when it’s ready because it will have thickened, reduced in quantity, and become a gorgeous shade of caramel.

What Is Dulce de Leche?

A thick, creamy, gooey, and sweet spread that's very popular, dulce de leche has fans all over the world. It's best known in Uruguay, Argentina, Chile, Peru (where it's known as manjar or manjar blanco), and Colombia (where it's called arequipe). It's name is Spanish for "sweet from milk." and dulce de leche lives up to it's name; it is made by cooking down dairy milk and sugar over a low temperature for a long time.

It can be store-bought (look for brands that use sugar not corn syrup), or made from scratch at home.

Ways to Use Dulce de Leche

There are so many ways to use dulce de leche. While eating it by the spoon is certainly delicious, we think there are even better ways to put your dulche de leche to good use:

• Spread it on everything from toast to fruit (it goes especially well with bananas)
• Use it as a sweet fondue for fruit slices
• Add it to bread pudding
• Use it as a filling or frosting for cake
• Swirl some into brownies, other bar cookies, or tarts
• Use it as an ice-cream sundae topping
• Try it as a decadent filling for French toast, donuts, or crepes
• Add a spoonful to your coffee
• Mix with spicy ingredients as a glaze for duck or ham

Traditional Uses

Dulce de leche pops up in several popular South American desserts, like the Argentinan alfajores, a sandwich cookie with a dulce de leche filling. There is also a version with chocolate cookies called chocotorta. Piononos are rolled cakes similar to jelly rolls, they are often filled with dulce de leche and are enjoyed all over South America.

The postre chajá is the national cake of Uruguay. It is made from layers of sponge cake, whipped cream, and dulce de leche, then topped with meringue and peach or apricot slices.