Franneckins!

I think I am finally over my bad baking curve! Yesterday, I finally had a major victory! I made yummy, spreadable, caramelly dulce de leche!!

There is a long painful history behind my pursuit of this deliciously lusciously sweet treat. It is a struggle that has been ongoing since December, when I first moved here. I did research on the preparation of Dulce de leche, and the online community debates these three points:

1. Boil a can of condensed milk for 1-2 hours
2. Bake the condensed milk in a water bath
3. Making it from scratch: using fresh milk, sugar, vanilla, and baking soda

Originally I started out with boiling the can of condensed milk on the stove top, but this experiment went totally a rye when I forgot to wash the can. I had poked 2 holes on the top of the can, and kept trying out my dessert as it was cooking from the top of the can… ended up with food poisoning! Also, I hated the idea that I was using a tin can to cook a lusciously luxurious dessert. At any rate, I proceeded to try boiling another can it in a water-bath in the oven… didn’t cook through – when I opened the can, the milk was still runny! I put it back in the oven, and ended up scorching it. That’s when I decided, fine, ditch the aluminum can thing and move to the next method.

In googling the topic, I found that David Lebovitz had a recipe for dulce de leche. He is one of my favorite chefs, and even moreso, because he writes accurate and understandable recipes. I learned how to make terribly delicious ice-cream from his “The Perfect Scoop“. So I thought: “If I can learn to make ice-cream, surely I can make dulce de leche!” And the rest is history!

INGREDIENTS

• 400gr (14 oz.) can sweetened condensed milk
• Salt
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 425° F (220° C).
2. Pour sweetened condensed milk into a glass baking dish. Stir in a few flecks of sea salt.
3. Set the making dish within a larger pan, such as a roasting pan, and add hot water until it reaches halfway up the side of the baking dish.
4. Cover the baking dish snugly with aluminum foil and bake for 1 to 1¼ hours. (Check a few times during baking and add more water to the roasting pan as necessary).
5. Once its is nicely browned and caramelized, remove from the oven and let cool. Once cool, whisk until smooth and store in open mouthed jar.

I want to share with you a little something that I learned to love and grow dependent on, when I visited your home country: “The beautiful country of Colombia.” The coffee shop chain, Juan Valdez, makes an amazing cafe con leche y arequipe (is the local name for dulce de leche), which I had everyday of my stay. Now I can make it at home everyday!!!