Here’s a really easy oven method for making Homemade Dulce de Leche. Watch the video showing you how to make this recipe, then scroll to the bottom of this post and print out the recipe so you can try making this at home.
Homemade Dulce de Leche
I have an intense love for anything caramel, and most specifically- Dulce de Leche. If you’re not familiar with this Latin treat, you should plan on making its acquaintance very soon.
Cans of it already made can be found in Latin markets, or if you’re lucky they might actually carry it in your regular neighborhood market’s International aisle. The dulce de leche that you buy in the can is okay, but if you make your own you’ll be much happier with your homemade version.
Some cooks boil the can of condensed milk until it caramelizes, but the trouble with that method is that you’re never quite sure when it’s done (not to mention the threat of possible explosion).
How to Make Dulce de Leche
Pour a can of sweetened condensed milk into a pie plate. Cover the pie plate with foil and place it into a shallow boiling water bath (inside of a larger pan).
Bake at a high heat (425) until the mixture turns into caramel.
Beat the caramel with an electric mixer until it’s smooth and creamy.
That’s it! Now you can pour it over ice cream, fill cookies and cakes, or eat it by the spoonful. You’re gonna love the stuff. I promise!
If you are looking for more DIY dessert sauce projects to try, you might also like my recipe for Hot Butterscotch Sauce or this Salted Caramel Sauce. Easy Raspberry Sauce, Hot Fudge and Whiskey Caramel Sauce are good homemade sauces too.
Homemade Dulce de Leche
Ingredients
- One 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
- boiling water
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
- Open up the can and pour the sweetened-condensed milk into a pie pan. Cover tightly with foil. Place into a larger pan and pour boiling water in a larger pan and around pie plate (level of water should be about halfway up the pie plate). Don't let any water seep up and into the pie plate.
- Place in the oven and bake for 1 hour. At the one hour point, peel off the foil and check for progress. If the mixture has thickened and turned a caramel color, it's done. If it doesn't quite look thick enough or dark enough, cover it up and bake it a little longer (mine took 75 minutes).
- When the mixture appears to have turned into a nice, thick caramel, remove from the oven. Let sit for a few minutes, and then beat with an electric mixer until smooth.
Notes
- The recipe calls for one 14-ounce can of sweetened condensed milk, but you can use any size can for this method.
- Store in a covered container until ready to use (within a few days). Probably storing in the refrigerator is best, but return to room temperature when ready for recipe.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I just made this, and it is wonderful ! Easy, delicious, what more do you need ? This is the bomb ! Smooth, as dark/light as I want it, creamy, and yummy ! Thanks. Took 1 hr.
Has anyone ever tried dulce de leche in a crockpot? I would assume that putting it in a crockpot would alleviate the water level issue. I’ve never tried making this but it sounds sinfully delicious. I’m going to set 3 cans (gasp!) in a crockpot with water and cook it over night on low. I plan to make the alfajores listed on this site and I also plan to use the filling for macarons. Thanks for your information. Your recipes are well written and your photographs are beautiful composed.
Just be careful… I’ve heard nightmares about exploding cans!
I bake two cans of sweetened condensed milk in a heavy non-stick loaf pan covered in heavy duty foil that is sitting in a pan of boiling water. In a preheated 425 degree oven, it takes between 75 and 90 minutes; just ensure that you keep the water from getting too low. Great in recipes and on ice cream.
This turned out AMAZING!!!!
I made sure my water level was good, it came out smooth and no lumps at all!
And so incredibly easy…thank you, thank you!
Yummy…yummy!
Andrea – you are so right about the danger of explosion.
Years ago I shared an apartment with a Peruvian young woman who had a visible scar over her eyebrow…she was boiling the can of condensed milk but forgot to keep an eye on the water level.
It exploded as she leaned over the pot to check it.
When her mother came to visit, she made it the same way, but she didn’t forget.
Still I’ve never tried making it myself for that very reason. Never thought of recipe girl’s way, and I may just try that, now that I know there IS a safe way to make it.
Of course, it’s so popular now you can buy it jarred everywhere, which wasn’t the case during the time I shared the place w/ MariElena.
I have seen the exact recipe for the cookie part with the 2 cups flour but never with the cornstarch. What does 1 cup cornstarch do in this recipe? isn’t a thickening agent? Have you ever made the cookie without it?
Thanks
Not sure- this one is made w/ cornstarch, which makes it light and flaky.
Thanks for this alternative method! I have a can of condensed milk at home that I bought specifically for making into dulce de leche (I plan on trying it in apple pie, so I’m happy to have found your recipe for that as well). I see a lot of people claiming that the best way to cook it is actually in boiling water. I just wanted to throw out there that most recipes online mention that you should put at least two holes in the top of the can (obviously you keep the water level below the top) to release pressure while cooking. Maybe a safer alternative for people determined to cook it in the can.
The best way to do dulce de leche or manjar (that is how we call it in Chile) is to place the sealed condensed milk can in a pot, then cover it with water and boil it for about 2 hours or a little more if you want a thicker dulce de leche. Make sure that the can is always covered with water while is boiling.
I’m so so excited about this recipe.
I’m a horrible cook but a pretty good baker. I’m about to post this on my facebook and send to my super baker girlfriend as well.
My local candy shop (Mom and Pop Candy Shop in McKinney Tx) makes a Dulce de Leche fudge. It seems like a vanilla fudge base with an awesome giant swirl of dulce all over the top. It is so amazing, it’s almost impossible to stop eating. Which seems is the case for everyone, as anytime I go to buy it, they have already sold out. They also use that topping for their Praline version. (but I don’t like the chocolate fudge as much as the vanilla.)
I’m about to put this in the oven and it’s 2am. I’m hoping to get some kind of fudge whipped up in time for xmas parties at school tomorrow, and maybe this will be what makes mine stand out more than the other moms.
woo hoo!
AND ANYONE WHO IS BOLD ENOUGH TO PUT A CLOSED CAN IN BOILING WATER FOR FIVE MINUTES OR FIVE HOURS IS NUTS.
YOU ARE ASKING TO FILE INSURANCE CLAIMS FOR YOUR HEALTH AS WELL AS YOUR HOME, and who knows if they will even pay them for being so ignorant!
Don’t do it, even if your grandma and her grandma have always done it!
When I lived in Argentina, they used whole milk cooked in a large pot on the stove which was stirred almost constantly. As I recall, they put a pinch of baking soda in it, perhaps to keep it from curdling or maybe to help with color? It was basically an entire day event where the ladies would get together and stir the huge pot of milk for what seemed like all day. Then they’d put it in jars and give it out to friends and family. Making it from whole milk takes a long time since you are condensing it yourself, but makes a very pure, dark dulce de leche, which is very thick (not goey like your recipe). You don’t add any sugar – it’s just the milk and oh, so good! Homemade from milk works best for recipes which require the dulce de leche to stay put (like in alfajores). BTW, boiling a closed can is very dangerous as the internal pressure builds in the can will cause it to explode if you aren’t careful.