Dulce De Leche

I’m usually not a “sweets-kind-of-person”.... I like salty things better, but the other night I was hungry for something sweet. I had a couple of apples in the refrigerator so I thought I would make Caramel-Apple Streusel, but discovered I didn’t have any caramel sauce; that got me thinking about how Mrs. Perry, former Hysham music teacher, told me she made caramel sauce by using a can of sweetened condensed milk. I did have a couple of cans but could see that was going to take some time to make. By this time, I wasn’t hungry for something sweet anymore - but I thought I would feature the recipe for the Caramel-Apple Streusel in this week’s column along with a few ways to make your own caramel sauce or Dulce De Leche. Just a side note: I decided to use the last method in this article as it seemed the safest and easiest, but I did not add any other ingredients to the milk.

Caramel-Apple Streusel

2 med. apples, peeled - cored, and sliced (2 1/2-cups)
1/4 c. caramel topping
2 T. water
1 T. lemon juice
1/3 c. all-purpose flour
2 T. sugar
1/4 t. ground cinnamon
2 T. margarine or butter
Arrange apple slices in microwave-safe container. Stir together caramel topping, water, and lemon juice. Carefully pour over apples; wipe away any sauce that drips on the side of the dish with a damp paper towel to prevent it from burning. In a small mixing bowl combine flour, sugar, and cinnamon. Cut in margarine/butter until mixtures resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle evenly over apple mixture. Place in microwave and cook, uncovered, on HIGH for 5 to 7 minutes or until apples are tender.

Homemade Caramel Sauce

1/2 c. heavy whipping cream
1/2 c. sugar
1 T. light corn syrup
1 t. water
1 t. vanilla
pinch salt
Microwave cream on high 30-40 seconds or until hot; set aside. Combine sugar, corn syrup and water in saucepan. Cook over medium-high heat 4-5 minutes or until sugar is melted, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to low. Stir syrup until honey colored; remove pan from heat. Slowly add cream (mixture will bubble dramatically), stirring constantly until smooth. Add vanilla and salt. Cool 5-10 minutes before serving.

Dulce De Leche

Dulce de leche (pronounced “DOOL-se de LE-che,” meaning candy of milk or milk jelly in Spanish) is a rich and decadent sauce or syrup, similar in flavor to caramel. Unlike caramel, however, which is made by heating sugar, dulce de leche is prepared by heating sweetened condensed milk. Dulce de leche is especially common in the desserts of various South American countries, including Argentina and Uruguay.
To make this sauce on your own, the process is simple but some methods can take a long time.
In a Double Boiler: Pour a can of condensed milk into the top of the double boiler.
Place the top over boiling water.
Over low heat, simmer for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, adding more hot water as the water evaporates. You don’t have to start stirring until the milk begins to thicken, but once it does, after about 30 minutes, stir every 15 minutes or so until thick and toffee brown. (If you want it even darker and funkier, keep cooking for another hour!) Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a month. Beat until smooth.
In the Microwave: Empty the sweetened condensed milk into a large microwave safe bowl. Microwave on medium power for two minutes.
Remove from microwave and stir with a wire whisk. Be careful; the mixture and bowl will get very hot and remain that way throughout the process.
Microwave on medium power for another two minutes. Remove and stir again.
Microwave on medium-low power for 16 to 24 minutes or until milk turns thick and caramel color, stirring every few minutes.
In the Oven: Preheat the oven to 425° F (220° C).
Pour the condensed milk or mixture into a glass pie plate or shallow baking dish. Set the pie plate within a larger pan, such as a roasting pan, and add hot water until it reaches halfway up the side of the pie plate.
Cover the pie plate tightly with aluminum foil and bake for 1 - 1 1/4 hours. Check during baking and add more water to the roasting pan if needed.
Remove dulce de leche from the oven and let cool. Whisk until smooth.
In a Pressure Cooker: Brazil doce de leite (Portuguese for dulce de leche) is often made using a pressure cooker because it’s safe and fast.
Put a liter of water in the pressure cooker with a can of sweetened condensed milk. Don’t punch any holes in the can, but remove the label.
Bring the cooker to boil and wait for between 40 and 50 minutes after it begins to steam. Shorter time = lighter/softer dulce. Longer time = darker/firmer dulce.
Turn off the heat and wait until it cools down completely. While the cooker is pressurized by the steam, its pressure will counterbalance the pressure build up inside the can, and prevent it from exploding. Let everything cool down before opening the pressure cooker. If you attempt to open a hot, or even warm can, an extremely hot jet of dulce may explode out and result in severe burns. Wait until it is cool; then it will be perfectly safe to open the can and enjoy this great dessert.

Slow-Cooker No-Stir Dulce de Leche in Jars {no cans}

www.foodiewithfamily.com

Per Batch of Slow-Cooker No-Stir Dulce de Leche in Jars:
1 can sweetened condensed milk (14-16 ounces)
1 half of a vanilla bean, split and scraped, seeds and pod reserved
1 pinch salt
1/2 pint sized canning jar with a clean, two-piece lid
Additional equipment needed:
1 slow cooker deep enough to hold lidded half-pint sized canning jar(s) topped with at least an inch of water.
Add the split and scraped vanilla pod and seeds to a clean pint canning jar. Open the can of sweetened condensed milk and pour it into the jar, scraping the can to be sure to get all of the sweetened condensed milk. Add the pinch of salt. Screw the lid in place to fingertip tightness, then slowly invert and turn the jar right-side-up several times. Put the jar(s) in the slow-cooker and add hot tap water to the slow-cooker to cover the jars by an inch. Place the lid on the slow-cooker, set to LOW and let it cook for 8 to 12 hours. When the cooking time is up, turn off the slow-cooker, remove the lid, and let it stand undisturbed until the water reaches room temperature. Rinse the jar(s), refrigerate, and use within 2 weeks! Print this post