Traditional Dulce de Leche Recipe

I’d never tried dulce de leche before I came to Spain. In fact, I wasn’t even sure what it was!

And when a friend from Seville told me it was a sweet caramel made from milk, I figured my Spanish was worse than I realised. “Milk? That can’t be right.”

But from the first moment I tried it, I was hooked. Dulce de leche isn’t your average caramel. It has a rich nuttiness and a deep, dark flavour that will keep you coming back for more.

This addictive flavour comes from the Maillard Reaction, the same process that gives you the brown, “caramelised” crust on seared steak. Amino acids in the milk proteins react under heat with sugars, creating many more flavour compounds than you can find in ordinary caramel!

Throughout Spain, locals put it on just about anything you can think of. You’ll see it on toast, cookies, pancakes, ice cream… if it exists, Spaniards can put dulce de leche on it!

And my favourite snack in the world is buttered popcorn drizzled with dulce de leche!

While industrial dulce de leche is made from sweetened condensed milk, my recipe is more traditional. For a really authentic caramel, all you need is milk, sugar, and time. Check out my traditional dulce de leche recipe below!

And if you want to learn more about Spanish sweet treats, get my list of the best desserts in Spain!

Print Recipe

Traditional Dulce de Leche Recipe

Dulce de leche is a caramel made from sweetened milk found all over the Spanish-speaking world. My traditional recipe just uses milk and sugar and results in sweet, caramelised perfection!

Course

Dessert

Cuisine

Spanish

Keyword

dessert, spanish food

Prep Time

5 minutes

Cook Time

1 hour

Servings

cup

Ingredients

• 4 cups milk
• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Course Dessert Cuisine Spanish Keyword dessert, spanish food Prep Time 5 minutes Cook Time 1 hour Servings cup Ingredients 4 cups milk 1 1/4 cups sugar 1/4 teaspoons baking soda 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

1. In a heavy-bottomed saucepan, stir together the milk, sugar, and baking soda. Bring to the boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar.
2. Once boiling, reduce the heat and gently simmer, uncovered, for about 45 minutes.
3. The milk should now have started to thicken! Keep the pan on the heat, stirring more frequently to prevent burning as the sugar starts to caramelise. Once the milk has turned a rich golden brown, add the vanilla extract and remove from heat. Leave it a little less thick than you want it, as it will continue to thicken as it cools.
4. Pour into a glass jar. You can store dulce de leche in the fridge for about two weeks.