Dulce de Leche means milk caramel
Basic recipe : simmering milk and sugar, stirring almost constantly. Much of the water in the milk evaporates and the mix thickens; the resulting dulce de leche is usually about a sixth of the volume of the milk used. The transformation that occurs in preparation is caused by a combination of two common browning reactions called caramelization and the Maillard reaction
In Brazil we make a home-made form of dulce de leche called Doce de Leite which is made by boiling an unopened can of sweetened condensed milk for 2 to 3 hours. It is dangerous to do this on a stove, if the pot is allowed to boil dry, the can will overheat and explode so be extremely careful! Keep the can covered with water and simmering slowly to avoid the risk of the can exploding. Cool the can before opening it. Alternatively, you can use one of my favorites kitchen gadgets – the pressure cooker. Place the unopened tin in a pressure cooker completely covered with water (about 2L) and cook for 25 minutes (for spreadable consistency) to 45 minutes (cut consistency).
Dulce de leche is also eaten as a dessert on its own, with cheese, as a filling for crepes and cake rolls, as fondue or dip for fruit and cake pieces, and in a solid form as a candy. And ultimately to fill Alfajores! (recipe here)
In Chile they do a great version by added desiccated coconut. It is the best. Only the homemade versions in Colombia are better.
will try to add coconut next time, sounds good to me.. Alfajores recipe next
I could (and occasionally do…) spoon a whole jar of dulce de leche in one go, very very addictive. I've spent the last couple summers in Brazil and everywhere I looked there were different doce de leite cakes and sweets, still struggling with the last bit of my doce de leite-induced kilos!!