Long before we came across the term dulce de leche, Speedy and I had been boiling sweetened condensed milk in its unopened can to transform the milk into a thick caramel. We’d spoon the caramel and just eat it like that. So indulgent. So delicious. This was around the time that Sam was a little over a year old and I was pregnant with Alex. Aside from making caramel and it with cream when making fruit salad, we really didn’t have many uses for mixing sweetened condensed milk. In short, I never really learned about the differences in terms of brands. We’ve never been choosy with brands when making caramel in the past and you can just imagine my surprise when, one day, the mixing sweetened condensed milk did not transform into a thick caramel even after two hours of simmering in water.
When I made the salted caramel cake, I mentioned this issue about not being able to make homemade dulce de leche anymore — the milk (we usually buy Alaska) just refused to caramelize! Reader Nina commented that “Alaska is sweetened condensed ‘filled’ milk – made of vegetable oil from coconuts… This maybe the reason you are not getting good results.”
I took Nina’s recommendation, bought two cans of Milkmaid sweetened condensed milk, put them in pot, poured in enough water to fully submerge them then I let the water boil. The moment the water was boiling, I lowered the heat, covered the pot and let the water simmer for an hour and a half. And, voila! Dulce de leche. Thank you, Nina. Thank you indeed.
Note that these photos were taken some 24 hours later. After simmering the cans of milk, I removed them from the hot water and let them cool to room temperature. Then, I put them inside the fridge. That’s why the caramel is that thick. If allowed to warm to room temperature, the caramel would be thinner and almost pourable.
Why not enjoy the dulce de leche right after simmering? For one, you’ll burn your hand holding the hot can to open it. Second, the very hot caramel will ooze out once you open the can. Even after letting the can sit on the counter for an hour, for as long as the caramel inside is still quite hot, it will ooze out once the can is punctured. We’ve tried that in the past, those times when we just couldn’t wait, and the result was a mess.
Now, the famous legend that has given dulce de leche the nickname “Dangerous Pudding” when cooked this way. I’m referring to the claims that boiling the unopened can of milk can make it burst and cause a bad kitchen accident and human injuries. The truth is, everyone who has relayed the “danger” to me are people who have never even tried making dulce de leche this way. In fact, I’ve never heard nor read a first hand account of a can of condensed milk exploding while simmering in water.
So, if you want to try and make dulce de leche the easy way, here are a few things to ensure that your dulce de leche making is hazard free:
1. Use a deep pot so that the cans are fully submerged in water. Ideally, the water level should be an inch higher than the cans. And, incidentally, you don’t need to stand the cans upright inside the pot. I put them in sideways so that they can roll and move around during cooking.
2. Use a heavy lid for the pot that fits snugly to avoid as much evaporation as possible. And just in case something goes wrong, a heavy lid can absorb a lot of the impact if the can should explode.
3. Check the water level every twenty minutes or so. Add more water if the water level becomes lower than the height of the cans.
And just how long does the can of milk have to simmer in water before the milk turns to caramel? An hour and a half is fine with me. Some cooks swear by two to three hours. See, the longer the simmering, the thicker the caramel. So, it’s really up to you. As a guide, the dulce de leche in the photos above resulted from an hour and a half of simmering.
I have a friend who swears by his pressure cooking method to make dulce de leche, which I have been too afraid to try. I’ll stick to the two hour cooking method
Wow, that’s twice the pressure. I don’t think so either.
I cook mine using the pressure cooker too. Much faster, hence I save gas. Also, I make three at a time(you can probably cook more as long as they fit in your pot/pressure cooker) even though I am not planning to use all at the same time. I just keep the extras in the pantry. Instant dulce de leche when I need it.
This was one of my lola’s homemade desserts. And it was only from her that I have eaten dulce de leche. This photo brought back a lot of memories.
you’re welcome, ms. connie! just made a few cans of dulce de leche the other day. planning to make dulce de leche cake and ensaimada with dulce de leche filling.
i’ve actually witnessed condensed milk exploding while being boiled during a class in a culinary school. it was scary and messy. sticky milk all over the ceiling and walls. but that’s because the assistant forgot about it so at some point, the cans not anymore submerged in water…
A few weeks ago, I tried cooking condensed milk in the pressure cooker. I used it for banana caramel pie. I simmered it for 50 minutes. My dulce de leche didn’t look anything like that of the photo.
Yes, the color changed a LITTLE but it turned too watery (maybe because i did not refrigerate it?). My banana caramel pie turned to banana-sablay pie. I’ll give it a shot again but this time, with your method Ma’am Connie. And I’ll use Milkmaid. I used Carnation the first time. I’ll let you know! 
Happy Valentine!
hi ms. connie — this brings me back to my childhood memories … my mom often “cook” that condensed milk and me, my siblings and my dad will devour on a HOT PANDESAL with this dulce de leche as fillin’ — yum! yum! talaga … but not me now, i have diabetes and i guess my love for dulce de leche and all other sweets made me a diabetic … waahhhhh
Wow, I have really never ever before heard anything about boiling a can of condensed milk! To think that something so decadent can be made so simply!! A must do for me! Thanks for post.
Canned “MILK” is really confusing to buy nowadays. There is evaporated vs evaporada, condensed vs condensada aside from filled milk variants and the ones that say they are “creamers” etc. At first I thought they were just the tagalog terms until I really got curious about the huge price difference so I took a look at the ingredient list of each. I was surprised to find that the cheaper variant would have coconut milk as their primary ingredient with added coconut/vegetable oil in it while the more expensive variant is the “real” milk.
In a way, this is false advertising because when one buys milk, one assumes that they are buying cow’s milk or at the very least animal milk and not coconut milk.
No, I have nothing against coconut milk in fact I do use it for many many recipes but there are simply some recipes that really need cow’s (animal) milk and Dulce de Leche is one of these recipes.
Additional tip:
Even the Nestle Cream in carton and can are different. At first I thought it was merely packaging and the amount (240 ml and 300 ml respectively) of contents that made the difference so I called the Nestle hotline and inquired about the two products.
The one in can contains a higher percentage of milk solids and fats and is ideal for whipping while the one in carton which they call All Purpose Cream is ideal for sauces, fruit salads and lighter desserts.
Re Nestle Cream. Even the one in cartons has changed. The consistency five years ago is thicker and richer than what we get these days.
wow that’s a nice idea! i wanna try making one too. good bye diet!
thank you for making this day sweeter but less complicated, take care.
hi, miss connie, i make dulce de leche, too and i use alaska condensed milk. the only difference is, i use the pressure cooker. forty-five minutes cooking time. yields the same consistency as milkmaid. i’ve used carnation, too, but it tasted weird. alaska’s the best for me–not too sweet.
Hej Ms. Connie! I am wondering if I can use this dulce de leche as a filling for cake (just like of Estrel´s)? thanks!
Try and find out.
I use the three hour cooking process and if I cook two to three cans at a time, I am stocked up for a month. Although I just saw your recipe for dulce de leche cheesecakes and that might just wipe out my stores, a worthwhile endeavor!
After the cheesecakes, we had to boil two more cans for the ice cream and brownie projects. And, yes, we boil two at a time too. More economical in terms of power consumption.
Thanks for this! I made one yesterday, sarap!
We all loved it! Kids and I ate it just like that. Hubby used it as a spread on white bread. It is almost wiped out, so I’ll have to make another one soon. This time, I’ll boil more cans para sulit ang gas, haha!
I made this and I sell it sa work. I repackage it para di obvious. Salamat po Tita Connie at nakakatulong ka sa money-making schemes ko. Hehehe. Pero ang sarap swear.
Magbenta na rin kaya ako ng insurance. Mamamatay yata sa diabetes mga tao samen.
Hi Ms. Connie,
Im planning to make this – just want to ask if the 1 and a half boiling time would yield a thick consistency — just like in your photo? Or was it thick because it came from the fridge? If stored at room temp, would it still be thick? Thanks!
Melissa, if you (re)read the post, you can answer your question.