Dulcet Caramel, You Will Be Mine

Recently, a jar of Argentine dulce de leche caught my eye at Russo’s.  I didn’t even hesitate as I placed it lovingly in my basket.  After all, this is the time of year when I eat whatever the hell I want, from wherever I want, environment be damned.  It’s been a long winter and the summer is still achingly out of reach.  So, I figured, I could either fly the whole family down to Argentina for dessert or fly the dulce de leche up to me.  (It was a bitch of a flight, but I got the goods.)

This dulce de leche by La Salamandra, essentially caramelized whole milk, is by far the best I’ve ever had, with deep caramel tones and a full, rich mouthfeel.  Now the canned stuff will forever suck by comparison.  I spread it on crêpes for a mid-afternoon snack, then melted and poured it over ice cream for a mid-evening snack.  A banoffee pie even crossed my mind for a midnight snack, except by then I had already eaten the rest of it right out of the jar.  God, this stuff is amazing.

So, here’s a question.  Has anyone ever boiled cans of condensed milk for hours to make dulce de leche?  And did they explode?  Back in my twenties, I did this quite a few times without considering the dangers of cans under pressure.  Then I heard all of these second-hand horror stories about explosions and caramel-coated kitchens and I haven’t done it since.  Just curious what your experience has been.  David Lebovitz says you can make it in the oven without the can, which seems less controversial/exciting.  But I may never go back to cans again now that it seems like you can make better stuff with regular milk (do I hear local?), sugar, and baking soda in a pot.  Or at least the Argentines can.  As always, I will report back.  In the meantime, here’s a snack.

Crêpes with Dulce de Leche

My crappy 7-inch non-stick T-Fal from college makes awesome crêpes.  Don’t tell anyone.

2 eggs
1/3 cup flour
Pinch of salt
1 cup milk
1 Tbsp. butter
Dulce de leche

Whisk together eggs, flour, and salt in a medium bowl.  Slowly add the milk, whisking constantly, until smooth.  Strain batter into another bowl, cover, and refrigerate for 30 minutes.  The batter will seem like it's way too thin, but it's not.

Heat a 7-inch non-stick pan over medium heat until hot.  Grease pan with a little butter, then pour in ¼ cup of batter, swirling to coat the bottom of the pan evenly.  Cook 1-2 minutes, until the edges start to brown and the underside is cooked and developing toasty spots.  Flip crêpe and cook 1 minute more.  The first one always comes out like crap.  Persevere.

Transfer crêpe to plate and spread dulce de leche on half of it.  This is easier to do if the dulce de leche is room temperature.  If it’s coming from the fridge, you can nuke it slightly to loosen it up, but be careful or you’ll end up with a puddle that refuses to be wrangled.  Fold crêpe in half, then in half again, and devour.  Repeat.  Makes about 6.  (Also good with Nutella or whatever other fillings you might concoct.)

Source: Adapted from Saveur, from an article by Melissa Hamilton (I think).

Comments

[Jeena]

I have! I have! Made the boiled-in-can type, that is. I just did this a few weeks ago for the first time and it was awesome. (To make D. Lebovitz's dulce de leches brownies, in fact.)

I actually have two more cans in my cupboard because now I'm dying to do it again. My understanding is that as long as you keep the cans submerged and covered by several inches of water, they won't explode.

I wouldn't mind a jar of that Argentine goodness, though, I have to say.

[jo]

We do it a lot in the can at work. Sometimes I punch just a nick in the top and then do it.

[Sarah]

I fear the can method, but apparently don't fear burnt caramel, so I empty the can, dump its contents in a heavy-bottomed pot, and cook it that way. You have to attend to it reasonably closely, both because it needs stirring and because it turns from hot condensed milk into caramel in a pretty short period, but it totally works and is *way* faster. (Not that you would ever decide to make dulce de leche at 11 pm to put on a cake you put in the oven at 10:45 pm, but I sometimes do.)

I hear that it is harder to burn if you do it in a double boiler; I have also done it successfully in the microwave.

[Katie]

I've done it with cans of condensed milk as well and never had a problem as long as, like Jeena said, you keep it submerged. This also may sound a little weird, but growing up in a Cuban household, my father and I would go to the bakery on Sunday morning and bring back a loaf of freshly baked Cuban bread, still warm from the oven. Before anyone else got out of bed, he and I would tear the two ends off the warm bread, scoop out the soft inside (which essentially leaves you with a little cup) and we'd fill it with condensed milk....yummmm, the memories!

[Lisa]

I've made David Lebovitz's non-can method and it comes out well. But you have to try his salted carmel sauce. I can just eat spoonfuls of that. It is so good.

I am getting ready to try cajeta which is made with goat milk. The farmer I get my cow milk from (out near Palmer) is starting to milk the goats for the season and that's the first thing I want to make.

[April in CT]

I want to dive into that jar and just sink in. Now I'll be on the hunt for some of that stuff!

[Janet]

I've made it in a bowl in the microwave. I have a terrible track record with caramelizing, but this is my speed.

[jennywenny]

I've boiled the cans 3 at a time. I've never had trouble and I dont think you need to worry as there wont be enough pressure in the can to actually explode. I've also done it in a saucepan but its pretty time consuming and when I do something like this I often get distracted and turn back to a pile of black burnt stuff.

[Lily VS]

I've boiled it without fail and once I baked a can of it in the oven (I poked a hole in the top tho). Holy crap I love the stuff and now I want some. Like right this minute.

[Lydia (The Perfect Pantry)]

I posted a very easy microwave dulce de leche a few months ago. It is quick and easy, and no danger of exploding cans!

[WhatACard]

This isn't exactly the same, but there's no risk of explosion (yes, I'm a big wimp about trying to make food that could explode :).

I make the caramel sauce from this recipe for all sorts of things, not just waffles. In fact, it's 9am...I think it's caramel time!

I've found this recipe pretty easy, and I'm the type of cook who if it can be messed up, will mess it up. It does take some attention, but I usually make it with two three-year-olds also demanding my attention.

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Crispy-Waffles-with-Salted-Caramel-Coulis-242122

[Tammy]

WhatACard: That looks fabulous. Whoever thought to put salt in caramel deserves a Nobel prize.

Lydia: I'll check it out. I'm trying to find uses for my microwave as I seem to be slowly phasing it out (though I do like to melt chocolate in there).

Lily VS: So that's 1 for no exploding cans.

jennywenny: 2 for no explosions. I have to try it on the stove once, but I'll bet you a dollar I burn it.

Janet: I'll also try the microwave. However, I always explode my butter in there, so my track record isn't good.

April in CT: Diving and sinking sounds good to me!

Lisa: Oh god, I LOVE cajeta. And you have local goat's milk with which to make it? Lucky. I hope someday to graduate to that.

Katie: 3 for no explosions. And have I mentioned how much I want your childhood?

Sarah: So the pot method and the microwave method both give good results. Excellent. And there's no shame in your late night baking.

Jo: 4 for no explosions. This is making me feel better and better. Maybe it's an urban legend.

Jeena: That's what I heard, as well: keep the cans under water. Most of the stories I overheard (again, it was always a friend of a friend of a friend) involved falling asleep or forgetting about it on the stove so the water level probably dropped below where it should have been. So, that's 5 people whose cans have never exploded, plus me is 6. Is that a large enough scientific sampling?

[Renee Scott]

I did many years ago without any exploding, though, as a major worrier, I stayed out of the kitchen the entire time. I, too, was told to keep the can submerged. Someone suggested putting a very small hole in the top to let off the pressure, but then you can't submerge it, so I'm not so sure that this would work.

[Jenni]

I used to boil #10 cans for about 5 hours at the restaurants I worked in. Never an explosion, although we made sure that it was completely cool before trying to open it.

We used it as a center for our truffle cakes and sometimes swirled it into ice cream. Delightful:)

[sherry]

do it, do it! =] i boiled 'em submerged too! mine made 2 delicious banofee pie =] just time consuming. if you decide to try it, be sure to get a big o' pot + do like half a dozen to make it worthwhile. i wonder if anybody's ever tried it in a slow cooker....

[Laura]

My mom ALWAYS made it by boiling the cans--and because we were midwesterners who had never heard of any South American dishes, let alone dulce de leche, we called it Brown Wiggle. In other words, my family just always made it. I bought that same brand you did and nearly died when I realized it was the Brown Wiggle of my youth! Oh, and, we never cooked with it, we just ate it out of the can.

My mom did advise a friend to do it and the can did explode. I forget what she did wrong though.