Recipe for homemade manjar or dulce de leche, a traditional Latin dessert made by caramelizing milk and sugar.
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Dulce de leche is one of the most popular desserts in Latin America. It doesn’t matter if you’re in Mexico, where it’s known as cajeta and made with goat milk; in Colombia, where it’s called arequipe; or all the way south in Argentina, everyone (I hope) loves dulce de leche.
In Ecuador, dulce de leche is also known as manjar de leche or manjar blanco, the word manjar translates as a special treat or delicacy. Manjar is usually made with raw milk and panela or piloncillo; this gives it a strong flavor, which I really didn’t like when I was a kid. During our last visit to France, while spending some time in the mountains – where many dairy products are made, mainly using fresh raw milk – I tried a locally made confiture de lait and found the taste to be very similar to the Ecuadorian manjar.
Manjar or dulce de leche – traditional stovetop preparation
Recipe for homemade manjar or dulce de leche, a traditional Latin dessert made by caramelizing milk and sugar.
4.88 from 139 votes
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Course: Sweets
Cuisine: Argentina, Colombian, Ecuadorian, Latin American, Peruvian, Venezuelan
Keyword: Caramel, Dulce de leche, From scratch, Manjar
2 to 2 ½cupssugar or panela/piloncillo raspaduraadjust based on the level of sweetness you prefer
1teaspoonvanilla
¼teaspoonbaking soda
Instructions
Combine all the ingredients in large pot over medium low heat, stir until the sugar or panela is well dissolved. Reduce the heat to low.
Continue cooking until the mixture is significantly reduced and starts to thicken while the color changes from a creamy beige to a caramel tone – it will take between 2 ½ hours to 3 hours for the dulce de leche to be done.
During the first 1 ½ hours you will need to stir occasionally to prevent it from boiling over and sticking. During the last hour it needs to be stirred more frequently and has to be watched very closely to keep it from burning – you can also decrease the heat to low. Cook it until it has a dark amber or caramel tone and has a creamy consistency. Keep in mind that it will thicken more when it cools down.
Can be served warm or cold and must be kept refrigerated.
Dulce de leche can be a dessert by itself, just take a spoonful of it and let it melt slowly in your mouth. It is also great as a topping for ice cream, pancakes, crepes, etc. My kids love to eat it on toast or cookies. Dulce de leche is also a key ingredient for many Latin desserts such as alfajores, empanadas, flan, cakes, and more. These days you can buy good quality dulce de leche at any grocery store.
Making it at home from scratch can be time consuming, but the process is actually easy; it just requires a little bit of patience and a lot of stirring. There are several shortcuts to making homemade dulce de leche, but most involve using condensed milk, so the end flavor isn’t as good as when you make from scratch with fresh milk. I add a teaspoon of vanilla to my preparation, but you can also use cinnamon if you prefer.
For those who want an easier method for dulce de leche than making it completely from scratch, you can make it with condensed milk in the oven using a water bath or double broiler method. It still takes a good amount of time to be done, but you don’t have to stir it constantly and it only requires minimal supervision. Keep in mind that the condensed milk is already sweetened and at least for me, I find dulce de leche made with condensed milk a little bit too sweet.
When making it from scratch you can adjust how much sugar you include and you can also use panela or piloncillo instead of sugar. I’m including both the traditional from scratch dulce de leche recipe and the oven variation using condensed milk. Dulce de leche can be served warm or cold; it will thicken when it cools down and become more liquid when re-heated.
Manjar or dulce de leche – Oven water bath method
Easy oven recipe for homemade dulce de leche using condensed milk.
4.90 from 96 votes
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Course: Sweets
Cuisine: Argentina, Colombian, Ecuadorian, Latin American, Peruvian, Venezuelan
Keyword: Caramel, Condensed milk, Dulce de leche
Prep Time: 5 minutesminutes
Cook Time: 3 hourshours30 minutesminutes
Total Time: 3 hourshours35 minutesminutes
Servings: 2cups of dulce de leche
Ingredients
214 ounce cans of condensed milk
1teaspoonvanilla
Instructions
Pre-heat the oven to 425F.
Pour the condensed milk into a square baking pan or pie dish; you can add a teaspoon of vanilla or cinnamon if you like. Cover with foil.
Place the square pan in a larger pan and pour hot water into the large pan, the water level should be between ½ – ¾ of the square pan with the condensed milk.
Bake for about 3 hours to 3 ½ hours. If the water level gets low add more water as needed. During the last hour you can check it every 30 minutes to see if the dulce de leche is ready – it should be a rich amber color. You can also do a taste check to test it.
Once the dulce de leche is ready remove it from the oven and let it cool down. Once it’s safe to handle, use a fork or whisk to mix it well. It can be eaten warm or cold. Keep refrigerated.
Step by step preparation photos for dulce de leche on the stovetop
Step by step preparation photos for dulce de leche in the oven
Caramel and dulce de leche might look and taste somewhat similar, but they are actually pretty different. While caramel is made from slowly simmering water and sugar until it caramelizes, dulce de leche is made from simmering milk and sugar super slowly until it turns into a creamy, caramelized substance.
“The difference between condensed milk and dulce de leche is the caramelization of the sugars that are both added and part of milk,” Sibley says. “Typically, condensed milk remains white and has a lighter consistency and taste than dulce de leche.
You can make dulce de leche by cooking down milk and sugar in the stove top, with the addition of baking soda to help the reactions that occur in order to form a thick and rich dulce de leche. The results: A dark sauce, slightly gritty, thick but not pipeable. The taste: a mix between caramel and dulce de leche.
Can I Use Dulce De Leche and Caramel Interchangeably? Technically, if you see dulce de leche in a recipe, you can instead use caramel, and vice-versa. However, there will be a slight variance in taste and texture, and the recipe will no longer be authentic to the specified region.
1 Caramel sauce is made with sugar and cream. Dulce de leche is made with sweetened condensed milk. Either of these sauces can be used in any number of ways in desserts. ...
2 Caramel sauce is pourable. Dulce de leche is spreadable.
Caramel is a good substitute for dulce de leche. If you want to give it a more dulce de leche-like taste and texture, mix the caramel with cream, half and half, milk, or butter.
La Lechera Dulce de Leche Manjar (sweet milk delicacy) adds a caramelized version of classic La Lechera condensed milk. It's a beautiful thing, creamy liquid sweetness that mixes with milk or coffee and tops pancakes, ice cream, fresh fruit and pastries. Dulce contains only milk and sugar and a preservative.
Your dulce de leche will last about two weeks in the fridge if kept in a sealed container or three months if left in the unopened can. If you're employing the boiling method it's better to use the cans that do not have tab openers although I have not had an issue with them personally.
LA LECHERA Fat-Free Sweetened Condensed Milk has the same creamy, sweet taste as the original product without the fat. Also, containing half the sugar and half the calories of sweetened condensed milks, LA LECHERA 50% Less Sugar is the condensed milk category's only reduced sugar item.
Time: it takes even up to 4 hours baking the sweetened condensed milk in the oven to obtain dulce de leche. Thickness: in order to obtain a really thick dulce de leche, you have to bake it for a really long time. However, the longer you bake it, the more scorched it gets.
Once cooked and cooled, dulce de leche is delicious straight out of the can (spoon optional), but you can also serve it over ice cream (or even in ice cream, if you're making it yourself) or use it as a filling for cakes, brownies, or cookies.
Butterscotch is made from cooking down brown sugar with butter, and its flavor is sweeter and softer than that of caramel. Dulce de leche is made from slowly cooking cow milk and sugar together. Dulce de leche made with goat milk is known as cajeta.
Bring it to a simmer over medium heat.Stirring occasionally, simmer for one-and-a-half to two hours, until the milk becomes thick and reaches the desired caramel color. Use aluminum foil to create a lid if you are using a saucepan and glass bowl.
In Venezuela, the distinction between “dulce de leche” and “arequipe” is due to its preparation: the first based on milk and sugar, the second, based on condensed milk brought to the boil.
No. Caramel is made with sugar and water. Dulce de Leche is made heating up milk with sugar. Its color comes from the Maillard reaction on the proteins in the milk.
Ok, ok I know… its not technically “CARAMEL”.. maybe more along the lines of a dulce de leche.. but it is dang delicious with that sweet caramely goodness! In this recipe, sweetened condensed milk is cooked until it creates a deliciously rich caramel sauce!
Most of the time, people cook caramel by heating up regular or brown sugar until it turns into a smooth and creamy substance. However, you can also make caramel out of sweetened condensed milk, creating the same great sauce with a unique, extra-sweet kick.
Introduction: My name is Chrissy Homenick, I am a tender, funny, determined, tender, glorious, fancy, enthusiastic person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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