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Making Dulce de Leche: Dulce de Leche Made in the Can

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The Tough Cookie | Dulce de Leche Made in the Can | thetoughcookie.com

So, the first post of a new series: Making Dulce de Leche!

I know, I know… Not much of a creative title (especially compared to ‘Battle of the Buttercreams‘!), but I wanted the title of this series to be descriptive. I like descriptive. It helps me remember things!

Having said that, I realize that the name of the sugary, sweet spread we’re making today probably isn’t very descriptive at all. At least, for anyone who doesn’t speak Spanish. Like me. I do speak a little French, though! Un petit peu, to be exact… In French, this stuff is called confiture de lait, which is not very helpful either if you don’t speak French.  

So I’ll just explain to you what dulce de leche is… (Oh, and for those of you who already know what dulce de leche is – I’m sure everyone who’s been on Foodgawker knows about this stuff: just skip this part and look at the yummy pictures instead.)

Dulce de leche means something like ‘sweetness of milk’ and confiture de lait roughly translates into ‘milk jam’. Yes, this stuff is made with milk. Sweetened milk, to be precise, but more often sweetened condensed milk is used, just because it’s convenient. And no, sweetened condensed milk is not the same as evaporated milk. Evaporated milk is basically milk that has been dehydrated (aka: water has been taken out), while sweetened condensed milk is dehydrated milk with a ton of sugar added to it.

The Tough Cookie | Dulce de Leche Made in the Can | thetoughcookie.com

And magical things can be done with sugar!

Remember how I’ve been going through a caramel phase lately? Well, I thought that the best way to get caramel out of my head is by doing a series about it. A dulce de leche series. And yes, from that you can conclude that dulce de leche is, in fact, caramel! Caramel with a lot of milk in it!

To make Dulce de Leche, sweetened milk is gently heated (for a very, very, very long time) and continuously stirred (also for a very, very, very long time) until it thickens and the sugar and the milk solids in the mixture caramelize. However, there are other ways of making dulce de leche, and one of the easiest ways is simply plunging a can of sweetened, condensed milk in boiling water and allowing it to simmer for a couple of hours…

So yes, this post is literally about dulce de leche made in the can!

The Tough Cookie | Dulce de Leche Made in the Can | thetoughcookie.com

The great thing about this method is that it is easy. If you can make tea, you can make dulce de leche this way. Another plus is that you can simply forget about it once you’ve plopped the can of sweetened, condensed milk in a pan of boiling water. Just make sure to set a kitchen timer or an alarm or something so you know when to take the can out of the pan.

This method isn’t perfect, though. I, for one, don’t like the fact that you cannot see the milk as it cooks. So there’s no way of telling whether the milk has caramelized enough to your liking without opening the can. On top of that, you need to allow the cooked can to cool completely before you open it, otherwise the dulce de leche might squirt out like a fountain! Plus, it takes a really long time.

But that’s about it!

Oh, and the can can explode…

The Tough Cookie | Dulce de Leche Made in the Can | thetoughcookie.com

Explode?????

EXPLODE????

Well… Yes, apparently it can. None of the cans I’ve cooked ever exploded, but the Internet is full of interesting stories about exploding cans of caramel. If you’re interested (and keen to see pictures of the mess!) take a look at this guy’s story. It’s very funny and not at all disturbing.

Because yes, it’s entirely possible to create a spectacular can explosion and a corresponding mess in your kitchen if you overheat the can. However, it’s also entirely possible to just make yourself a beautifully closed can of delicious dulce de leche with minimal effort.

So what’s the difference between an explosion and a can of sweetness?

The water level. As long as you make sure that the can is covered with water at all times while it simmers, you’re little can of dulce de leche should survive the soak. However, if you’re careless and allow the water to boil away, the can will probably overheat, causing the dulce de leche inside to expand, causing the can to burst open, causing your ceiling and kitchen walls to be mucky and sticky, causing you to be unhappy and hungry.

So just make sure to keep the can covered with water. The water, in this case, acts like a double boiler. Because water cannot get hotter than 100°C/212°F, a submerged can will not be able to get hotter than this either. If the can somehow absorbs more heat from the bottom of the pan it’s resting on, this extra heat will in turn be absorbed by the surrounding water, which – as it absorbs enough thermal energy – will evaporate.

In other words, as long as you ensure that there is plenty of water surrounding the can at all times, the can likely won’t explode.

Still not convinced of the cooling properties of water? Check out this video of a guy boiling water in a paper cup. because the water absorbs the thermal energy of the flame, the paper “never reaches its kindling temperature”.

Very nerdy…

I took physics and chemistry in high school, you know…

The Tough Cookie | Dulce de Leche Made in the Can | thetoughcookie.com

Anyway, nothing to worry about.

So start making dulce de leche today! In fact, while your at it, make two cans. One for eating and one to make the delicious dulce de leche cake I will post about tomorrow!

Tomorrow?

Yes, tomorrow! I had been meaning to post about it today, but well… I didn’t. So tomorrow it is!

Enjoy!

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Please be aware that, even though cans are not likely to explode when fully submerged in boiling water, cans may be flawed in some way, causing them to tear or break. Boiling a closed can is always at your own risk, just like making ordinary caramel in a pan, taking a cake out of the oven and eating too much ice cream is.

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Dulce de Leche Made in the Can
 
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Ingredients
  • 1 can of sweetened, condensed milk
Instructions
  1. Bring a large pan of water to a rolling boil. Make sure that you put enough water in the pan to completely cover the can you're about to cook.
  2. Remove the label from the can of sweetened, condensed milk and carefully submerge it into the boiling water using a pair of tongs or a slotted spoon. Make sure you place the can on its side, so it can roll around. If you place the can bottom or top-side down, the boiling water can cause it to bounce up and down, which is really annoying...
  3. Cook the can for 3 hours, making sure the can is covered with water at all times. Add more boiling water if necessary.
  4. Using a pair of tongs, a fork or a slotted spoon, take the can out of the pan and place it onto a heatproof surface to cool. Make sure it has cooled to room temperature before you open the can, otherwise the dulce de leche will squirt out like a fountain... Once cooled, stir until smooth.
  5. Cooled dulce de leche can be stored, tightly covered, in the refrigerator for up to 3 weeks
  6. Spread it on bread, drizzle over cookies, cake or ice cream or eat by the spoonful. Enjoy!

 

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Comments

  2. I put the can on its side in a pressure cooker, cover with water, and cook at 15 lbs for 12 to 15 minutes. Wait for pressure to drop, remove can, and let cool completely. The pressure outside the can is greater than the pressure inside. It can’t explode! Then I eat the whole thing.

    • Hi Karen, that’s such a great tip! Thanks for sharing 😉 Unfortunately, I don’t have a pressure cooker, so I have to make do with just a few flimsy, little pans. But I’ll make sure to mention this in one of my next posts on dulce de leche! It saves a lot of time 😉

    • What a wonderful time saving way to do it…..I don’t use my pressure cooker as much as I should.
      Thank you

  3. Hi Nila,

    thanks for easy quick dulce de leche recipe. When I make dulce de leche i usually do it in waterbath, but id does take a looong time…When I get the chance i will try it this way:) BTW, since, I think you love dulce de leche taste,, have you tried yema? It is a spanish/philippine dessert in a small form? Take a look online, there are a lot of variations on how to do it, but i am sure each one is good..Thanks again..

    • Hi Marie, I’m so glad you liked the post. And the yema sounds delicious! I’ve added it to my to-bake-list 😉

  4. Made this for a World Cup gathering in honour of Argentina. It was perfect! My guests slathered it onto homemade ice-cream for sweetness.

  5. What temperature setting do we cook it at after first putting it into the boiling water? Low?

  6. Love this easy trick! I’ve made so many cans of leftover condensed milk into my beloved Argentine treat. Nothing cures homesickness like food. Just wanted to point out for a moment that “DE” can also indicate origin in English. So that dulce de leche can mean sugar from milk. So as you can see the title is very factual, most Spanish words for food are very specific about the cooking process/ingredients.

  7. I tried to make this some 15 years ago, but forgot about it and went to bed, only to be woken at 1.00am by a loud bang, and discovered a ruined pan, an empty tin, and brown goo splattered all over the kitchen. I was there till gone 3.00am scraping it off the walls and ceiling before it set.

    However, I tried this less risky method and got perfect results. It was tricky not to eat the whole thing there and then but it’s already earmarked for dulce de leche and white miso ice cream…..

    I’ll definitely be visiting tough cookie more often for more fab recipes and advice.

    Ian – Manchester (UK)

    • Hi Ian, nice to meet you 😉 I’m so glad my recipe worked for you! Especially after your dulce de leche disaster 15 years ago… Wow, your kitchen must have been a mess! The dulce de leche and white miso ice cream sounds delicious! Let me know how it turns out??

      • Hi Nila, I’ll certainly let you know how it goes, I’m hoping to make it this weekend coming, providing the dulce de leche lasts that long, or I guess I’ll have to make another batch.

        • Hi Ian! Dulce de leche lasts for quite some time, covered in the fridge. Except in my house, where it’s usually gone after two days 😉

      • I got there in the end and made the ice cream this weekend. It is really delicious and can only be described as an “alternative” salted caramel ice cream, with the dulce de leche providing the caramel flavour and the white miso the salty component. Let me know if you’d like the recipe, I’m sure you’ll love it.

        • Hi Ian! The ice cream sounds delicious! I can never get enough of salted caramel anyway and I really like the idea of using miso in ice cream. So yeah, I would looove a recipe 🙂

  8. Hi. I love this method of making dulce de leche. I’m wondering if you might know how long unopened cans of dulce de leche may be kept? And…if unopened, must they be refrigerated? Since you’re boiling for 3 hours, I’d like to boil several cans to have them on deck. In fact, I’ve already done so a few weeks ago, intending to make a dulce de leche apple pie, but got sidetracked and never made the pie. I took them out, let them cool, and there they still are…hanging in my pantry. I originally assumed they’d be fine, since they were canned, and had gone through one hell of a water bath. What are your thoughts? Ok to boil in advance and store? Thank you!

    • Hi Michelle! I’d say, just go ahead and use them! Like you, I usually make a few cans of dulce de leche in one go, then store most of them (usually two or three) in my pantry. The longest I’ve kept them is about 2 months, so I can’t really say how long they will keep. For all we know, they might keep months and months and months! Since you’ve made yours only a couple of weeks ago, I’d say they’re still good to use 😉 Just check the can for tears and flaws and taste the dulce de leche before use. If it looks and tastes okay, it’s fine!

    • Hi.. I want to make 5 cans together.. How long does it take ? Is it the same time considering they are in the water at the same time and same temp ?

  9. My mom used to make this all the time. But she put it in a pressure cooker and cooked it for 1 hour.
    She actually make this whenever she was cooking beans from scratch. Washed the can well and put it in the cooker with the beans and water. That is the Brazilian way. If you cook less time, it will be creamier and more spreadable. It depends on how thick you want it. The longer you cook it, the thicker it gets.

    You can also just pour it on a small pot and bring it to a simmer while stirring constantly. In this case it should take between 20 and 30 minutes. Want a chocolate version? Add 3 tablespoons of cocoa and a tablespoon or butter and keep stirring. When you can see the bottom of the pan and it starts to hold, remove from heat and pour into a bowl or plate. Let it cool before you dig in. It is heaven!

    Also if you can find a can that does not have the ‘pull top’ it is less likely to explode.

    • Thank you so much for sharing, Annie! I love the fact that your mom simply cooked the dulce de leche with the beans! You must have been so excited every time she made beans for dinner 😉

      Oh, and the chocolate version: can’t wait to try it!

    • I agree with you Annie. I have never used a can with a ‘pull top’ and was told not to do so as it would be easier to explode. Never had any problems with explosions yet and sure hope to never have.

      This caramel is the best on everything!

    • Hi! I was searching the net on how to make dulce de leche and I found this page! ????????????

      I love making Banana Cream Pie but I always struggle when simmering the condensed milk. Either I cook the condensed milk too long and it turns hard or I cook it less and I don’t get that burnt taste from the milk. This recipe solved my problem! Very easy instructions and definitely less messy. Thank you! ????????????

  10. To make an easy pie: make or purchase a graham cracker crust. Bake the crust for a few minutes, layer the crust with slice bananas and then pour the dulce de leche over the bananas. Let set in fridge for an hour or so. When ready to serve, you can decorate with globs of whipped cream. Delish@@

    • Your recipe sounds delicious Janifer! If you like caramel, crumbs and bananas, I bet you’ll love my Banoffee Pie Desserts! Have you tried them? They’re basically small banoffee pies served in pretty glasses!

    • Hi jhel, thanks for stopping by 🙂 Yes, you can certainly boil the can for just two hours, but the resulting dulce de leche will be a lot lighter (not quite as caramelized as mine) and less thick. But hey, some people prefer this less intense kind of dulce de leche, so give it a go!

  12. I have been wanting to make this for the past few months since I saw the recipe in a friends Facebook feed but unfortunately I always forget to pick up a can while I am at the store shopping. On a side note you may want to edit your recipe as you say to use a pair of thongs to insert/remove the can from the water not sure how much heat protection a very skimpy bathing suit will give you and I suggest instead you use a pair of tongs 🙂

  14. Hi Nila,

    I was just watching The Kitchen on Food Network and they put the milk in Mason Jars and cooked in a Crock pot. Makes a great homemade gift idea.

    • I just tried boiling a can of unsweetened fat free evaporated milk, it exploded. I probably didn’t have enough water over the top, I thought a half inch of water over the top was enough, I didn’t take the time to read all of this. Now I know.

      You can use a can of unsweetened fat free evaporated milk rather than a can of sweetened condensed milk, right?

      Also, I’m definitely going to try pouring the can in a mason jar and putting it in a crock pot.

      I’m eager to try my healthy cookies with unsweetened dulce de leche!

      Thank you,

      Becky

  17. 1- you said a pair of thongs instead of tongs, I was laughing so hard.
    2- I saw a recipe almost the same although they put it in a Mason jar. Therefore, it wouldn’t explode, you could see when it’s done, and it looks cooler as a gift then a can.
    I was researching yours because I didn’t know how long to cook it.

  18. Is it ok if the bottom and top of the can are slightly puffed out after cooking the Duche de Leche?
    looks like a can when the stuff inside goes bad, but I am guessing just from the expansion of the condensed milk?

  20. I was delighted to find your site/recipes via Serious Eats today. I’ve been making dulce de leche in the (closed) can since a friend came back to NY from a year in Brazil in high school school (many years ago, long before it made it to the mainstream), and I learned the delights of eating it plain right out of the can. Wonderful to see it here, and learn a few new methods to try. I also noted a commenter above who suggested adding cocoa and butter in a stovetop version.

    My friend also brought back a recipe for a Brazilian treat of caramelly/truffly rolled chocolate candies called Brigadeiros (little brigadiers, or generals) which sounds almost identical in terms of ingredients: sweetened condensed milk, cocoa [her recipe was based on Nestles Quik, but I’ve added the cocoa for a darker chocolate – about 2/3 Quik to 1/3 cocoa, total of about 1/2-3/4 cup of dry chocolate ingredients per can of SCM], and a bit of butter – about a Tbl for each can of SCM.

    The brigadeiros are made by melting butter into the SCM, slowly adding and carefully stirring in the cocoa/Quik mixture, and then cooking, stirring constantly over a low-medium heat, until it thickens and begins to pull away from the sides of the pan. 10-15 or 20 minutes, depending on how large a batch, how high the heat, etc. A slight undercook makes a gooier candy, a slightly longer cook makes a harder, stiffer one that may crystalize faster. The goal is a texture someplace in between caramel and truffle. Don’t let the candy burn. One tip is to note when you lift and let drop back into the pot a spoonful of the cooking chocolate and it is beginning to hold its shape and not melt back entirely into the mixture.

    Remove from heat. Let the candy cool, stirring occasionally until most of the heat is gone. The cooler it is, the easier it will be to roll the balls.

    When cool, butter your hands – keeping them buttered throughout the process, and take/pick up small amounts of the chocolate with the fingers of one hand and roll it into balls using both palms – 3/4 to 1 inch in size, or to your preference. Then roll them into the coatings of your choice – I use coconut flakes, confectioner’s sugar, Quik, plain cocoa, a mixture of the two, sprinkles of any kind. I’ve heard of using coffee powder, finely ground nuts, etc. My sister used to make them with her kids and they would put small bits of dried fruit inside (dried apricots, cherries).

    Leave out overnight and it will create a slight shell/crystallization. Keeps beautifully in plastic containers in the refrigerator, or just in a plastic or tin on the counter. Also freezes well. Addictive, and looks really hard to make. A great gift or treat to bring to a party.

  21. Hi, I followed this recipe (except I placed the can vertically) but my dulce de leche came out a pale golden colour with a slightly more amber colour at the bottom of the can. Also, it was gritty; it didn’t have a smooth pudding-like consistency. I’d like to try again but I’m wondering if I should increase the cooking time to 4-5 hours, turn up the heat of the stove, or both? What do you suggest?
    Thanks in advance!

  24. There is, as you mentioned, the chance that the cans could explode. Manufacturer’s do not recommend heating the cans in this manner but we all know that lawyers are quick to put forth any and all disclaimers. However, this article from Scientific American might be of interest, http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/earth-talk-can-dont/. It describes some of the possible hazards from BPA liners in the cans. Since dulce de leche could just as simply be made by putting the sweetened condensed milk into canning jars, sealing, and processing in a water bath it would seem to be the preferred choice over methods that might pose a health risk.

  25. I piped ribbons of this over the whipped cream topping tres leches and finely grated some cinnamon stick on top of that. The dulce de leche/cinnamon combo took the cake to a near euphoric level. It wouldn’t have been the same without it. I used your method and found it was easy to pipe, very smooth and it holds its shape really well. I want to try using cake decorating tips with it now to see what I can come up with. I bet simple flowers made out of the caramel would be really nice on cup cakes.

  26. Hi! I wanted to try this but I’m just confused… Do I have to cover the pan with the can in it? And is it ok to refrigerate the boiled can if I’m not gonna use it right away? And for how many days/weeks/months? Thank you!!!

  28. Thank you for posting this recipe. It’s specific, addresses the explosion issue, nicely illustrated and formatted for printing. I tried it a few days ago and everything went according plan without incident resulting in a very tasty and beautifully coloured product.

  29. i make mine Saturday nights, overnight in a crockpot. Set the pan in the pot, cover it with an inch of water, set it on low and go to bed. Pull it out and let it cool while everyone’s at church and its a Creamy Goodness to come home to.

  30. Thanks for the easy recipe for making dulce de leche. I originally learned how to do it mixing sugar and milk in a pot. from an Argentinian friend. What they do, in Argentina, is put the milk and sugar in a pot with a handful of glas marbles (NOT plastic, they will melt). The marbles, when heated, jump around the pot and don’t let the mixture stick – less stirring needed.
    However, this, too, is time consuming and I will try the can method.
    Thanks for the recipe.

  31. When I was a kid my mom used to make molded chocolates with her FFA kids as a fund raiser. They used this caramel for the nougat in candy bars
    It was wonderful, especially Mounds and Almond Joy type candy bars. I think I still have the molds somewhere!

  32. Hi Nila! I’ve tried this twice…both times my sweetened condensed milk turned brown but didn’t solidify :/ any idea why? The first time I boiled it 2 and 1/2 hrs and the second time I boiled it 3 hrs…both times the milk turned brown and smelled of caramel but did not turn into caramel…very disappointing 🙁

  33. Hello!
    It may be a dumb question, but can I use homemade dulce de leche as filling/cream in braided twist/pretzel? Will it thicken in the oven even more or will run out of the twist?

    Thank you for your help!

  35. Hi Ive made a few dulce de leches using a pressure cooker a few times now but usually one can at a time, but I would like to make more and save time, so I noticed that in my pressure cooker I can fit 4 cans standing up, is this ok? is it safe?

  36. I have used this method for over 30 years. I stand the cans upright, not on their side; I only use the cans you open with a can opener (the others pose more of a risk of exploding), and I let them simmer after the water comes to a boil for 2 and 1/2 hours; three hours makes the dulce de leche too dark for me. Also, I have used the finished product up to two years after I have made it. If the can is sealed, it should keep like a can you would buy in the super market. I always taste it first to make sure it’s good, but I’ve never had a problem. I usually make 6 to 8 cans at a time, depending on the pan I have available to accommodate the cans standing on the bottom. And, most important: I ALWAYS KEEP THE CANS COVERED BY AT LEAST 3 TO 4 INCHES OF WATER, MORE IS BETTER. Today I am going to use the dulce de leche for a glaze on the top of a Hummingbird Cake. I will spread the glaze and decorate the top of the cake with whole pecans and the sides of the cake with chopped pecans.

  37. Hi, and thanks for the recipe! I’m actually a 6th grader, and this worked out well and was very easy to make, proving that it’s so easy that a kid could do it! Also, I didn’t have an actual stove available to me at the time, so I used a PocketRocket mini camping stove and it worked out fine, showing that you could even make this while camping. Great recipe!

    Thanks, Sam

  38. Hi!

    How long is the shelf life if we put it in the bottle? Im Planning sell it

  39. Hello!
    I used this recipe to make dulce de leche and I opened the tin whilst it was still warm (not hot) to check if it did turn into dulce de leche. In the end it turned golden brown but still possessed the consistency of regular sweetened condensed milk and I wonder if this is because it still hasn’t cooled down. Will it turn into a more pudding texture once it has cooled?

  40. Great recipe! I am doing it in a crockpot with a pull tab can of sweetened condensed milk. I’m not worried about it exploding for three reasons: 1) As long as it remains covered in water, the temperature in the can can not exceed the temperature of the water, 2) there is so much sugar in sweetened condensed milk that its boiling temperature is significantly higher than 100 degrees C (212 degrees F), and 3) the scored lid on a pull tab can of sweetened condensed milk provides a natural failure point for the can so that it is more likely to just pop open than explode.

  41. Can the dulce de leche be left at room temperature out of the can? I plan to use it as filling for a cake and was wondering how long it would stay fresh at room temperature. Or should I refrigerate the cake?

  42. How do I know if it’s in the right color? Other recipes says 5 hours. Others even 15 hours.

  43. Is there any reason that making the Dulce De Leche from a can of sweetened condensed milk cannot be applied to selling it commercially? That is to say boiling the can and reselling under a dolce de leche label? Anyone know of any legal problem there? Tq. Mr. Jeffrey