Sweeteners & chocolate · Jams & spreads
Dulce de leche
Thick, golden caramel made by slowly cooking milk with sugar; spread, filling and topping across Latin America.
Also called: milk caramel, manjar, arequipe, cajeta (goat's milk version), doce de leite
Around the world: dulce de leche, manjar, arequipe (es) · doce de leite (pt)
Photo: audinou from Paris, France, via Wikimedia Commons (CC-BY-2.0)
What it is
Dulce de leche is milk and sugar simmered for hours until the water evaporates and the milk sugars and proteins brown, giving a thick, spoonable, toffee-coloured spread. It tastes milkier and less sharp than caramel made from melted sugar. Cajeta is the Mexican goat's-milk version. A shortcut is to cook sweetened condensed milk gently.
How it’s used
- Alfajores sandwich cookies
- Filling cakes, crêpes and churros
- Topping ice cream and flan
- Spread on toast
Characteristics
Storage
Refrigerated. Refrigerate after opening and use within a few weeks; discard if mouldy.
Diet, allergens and safety
Contains Milk.
- Vegetarian
- Vegan
- Dairy-free
- Egg-free
- Gluten-free
- Nut-free
- Soy-free
- Caffeine-free
- Contains milk. Never heat an unopened can of condensed milk in boiling water without keeping it fully submerged; cans can burst.
Nutrition per 100 g
- Energy
- 315 kcal
- Protein
- 6.84 g
- Carbohydrate
- 55.35 g
- Fat
- 7.35 g
- Fibre
- 0 g
- Sugars
- 49.74 g
USDA FoodData Central: Dulce de Leche.
Related ingredients
Recipes with dulce de leche
Alfajores de maicena
Argentine · 1 h 50 min · 170 kcal · Contains eggChajá
Uruguayan · 4 h 35 min · 351 kcal · Contains egg