Homemade Dulce De Leche Recipe “Sweet Milk”

Make this Dulce De Leche recipe and top on cakes, ice cream, cookies and any dessert! This rich homemade Mexican caramel sauce is simply divine!

Delce De Leche Recipe

In California we can buy dulce de leche pre-made. It’s usually near the baking section by the sweetened condensed milk.

It’s not something I usually stock in my pantry, but of course at 10:00 pm one evening I wanted to experiment with it, and I wished I had a can stashed away.  

Instead of scrapping my idea and waiting to buy a pre-made can of Dulce De Leche, I searched on the internet for a recipe.

I was surprised to learn that it’s fairly simple to make, and I had the two main ingredients; sweetened condensed milk, and evaporated milk.

I experimented with two different techniques, the stovetop and the microwave.

There’s a great guide on About.com, which also includes a third method of caramelizing the condensed milk right in the can.

That process takes about four hours, so I crossed that off my must try list pretty quickly.

Both the microwave and stovetop approach still takes patience, so don’t be in a rush. You’ll be beyond pleased with your homemade Dulce De Leche!

Dulce De Leche "Sweet Milk" Recipe

A popular Mexican caramel topping that can be added to cakes, cookies or eaten right from a spoon!

5 from 8 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: Mexican

Keyword: candy, caramel, dessert, milk, sweets

Prep Time: 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour hour

Total Time: 1 hour hour 5 minutes minutes

Servings: 1 1/2 cups

Calories: 28kcal

Author: Sandra Shaffer

Ingredients

• 1 can 12 ounce evaporated milk
• 1 can 14 ounce sweetened condensed milk
• 1 Tablespoon corn syrup
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• pinch of salt optional
• 3 cinnamon sticks optional

Instructions

STOVETOP INSTRUCTIONS:

• Put all ingredients (except for the vanilla) in a heavy-bottomed pot.
• Cook and stir over medium low heat. Stir constantly. You don't want the mixture to stick to the bottom or burn.
• The mixture will slowly begin to thicken and darken in color. Keep stirring.
• Cook and stir until the mixture is making big slow bubbles and is very thick. The mixture will have been simmering for 45-60 minutes.
• Remove from heat and let cool for 5 minutes. Remove cinnamon sticks, and stir in the vanilla.

MICROWAVE INSTRUCTIONS:

• Put all ingredients (except for the vanilla) in a a large deep heat proof bowl. Heat and stir ingredients in 40 second intervals. Watch closely, as the mixture gets hotter, begin string every 30 seconds. You don't want your ingredients to spill out of the bowl. Repeat for about 25 times or until the caramel sauce is golden and thick.

Notes

Store in the refrigerator for up to one month.

Nutrition

Serving: 1g | Calories: 28kcal | Carbohydrates: 4g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 3mg | Sodium: 27mg | Sugar: 3g

Disclaimer

Please note that the nutritional information provided are guidelines and may vary based on the brand of products used. For your specific nutritional goals use My Fitness Pal or Verywell Fit recipe calculators. All content within this site is not intended as medical diagnosis or treatment and should not be considered a substitute for professional medical expertise.

This is where you really have to exercise your patience. Grab a stool, chat on your phone, turn up the music….

pour yourself a glass of wine, and keep stirring!!

You should have tasted this a couple of times by now, and I know you want to lick that spatula…no one is watching 🙂

For the stovetop method I doubled the recipe and used the lower sugar condensed milk.  

Now my homemade Dulce De Leche is ready to be used in this dulce de leche frappe!

Dulce De Leche “Sweet Milk” Recipe

A popular Mexican caramel topping that can be added to cakes, cookies or eaten right from a spoon!

5 from 8 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: Mexican

Keyword: candy, caramel, dessert, milk, sweets

Prep Time: 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour hour

Total Time: 1 hour hour 5 minutes minutes

Servings: 1 1/2 cups

Calories: 28kcal

Author: Sandra Shaffer

Ingredients

• 1 can 12 ounce evaporated milk
• 1 can 14 ounce sweetened condensed milk
• 1 Tablespoon corn syrup
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• pinch of salt optional
• 3 cinnamon sticks optional

Instructions

STOVETOP INSTRUCTIONS:

• Put all ingredients (except for the vanilla) in a heavy-bottomed pot.
• Cook and stir over medium low heat. Stir constantly. You don’t want the mixture to stick to the bottom or burn.
• The mixture will slowly begin to thicken and darken in color. Keep stirring.
• Cook and stir until the mixture is making big slow bubbles and is very thick. The mixture will have been simmering for 45-60 minutes.
• Remove from heat and let cool for 5 minutes. Remove cinnamon sticks, and stir in the vanilla.

MICROWAVE INSTRUCTIONS:

• Put all ingredients (except for the vanilla) in a a large deep heat proof bowl. Heat and stir ingredients in 40 second intervals. Watch closely, as the mixture gets hotter, begin string every 30 seconds. You don’t want your ingredients to spill out of the bowl. Repeat for about 25 times or until the caramel sauce is golden and thick.

Notes

Store in the refrigerator for up to one month.

Nutrition

Serving: 1g | Calories: 28kcal | Carbohydrates: 4g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 3mg | Sodium: 27mg | Sugar: 3g

Disclaimer

Please note that the nutritional information provided are guidelines and may vary based on the brand of products used. For your specific nutritional goals use My Fitness Pal or Verywell Fit recipe calculators. All content within this site is not intended as medical diagnosis or treatment and should not be considered a substitute for professional medical expertise.

I also added it to my coffee….oh, sweet heaven.