Homemade Dulce de Leche or Cajeta

Shared by Ben · with credit

Original recipe from smittenkitchen.com · shared with credit by Ben

Homemade dulce de leche is a silky caramel sauce born from patience—just milk and sugar simmered low and slow until they meld into something rich and deeply sweet.

Ingredients

• 1 to 2-inch segment of vanilla bean (optional)
• 1 quart whole milk (cow or goat, or a combination thereof)
• 1 cup granulated or raw sugar
• 2-inch segment of cinnamon stick (optional)
• 1/4 teaspoon coarse or flaky sea salt (optional, but ooh, it's good here)
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda dissolved in 2 teaspoons water

Instructions

1. Split vanilla bean lengthwise. Scrape out seeds and place them, along with the empty vanilla pods, milk, sugar, cinnamon and salt (if using) in a medium-sized (err slightly on the large side) pot. Bring mixture to a simmer, stirring occasionally. Remove the pot from the heat and slowly stir in the baking soda-water mixture it's going to foam up if using goats milk, due to the acidity. This is why we use a larger pot; you might want to do this in the sink.
2. Return the mixture to the stove and keep it at a brisk simmer; if too hot, the mixture will boil over, if too low, it will take forever. Cook, checking in on it occasionally (every 15 minutes) to give it a stir to make sure nothing is sticking to the bottom, until the mixture turns a light brown, about 1 hour.
3. Check in on and stir the mixture more frequently (about every 5 minutes) as it begins to take on a caramel-brown color and thickens to the consistency of maple syrup, then plant yourself in front of the stove and stir the mixture until it reaches a deeper copper color.
4. Pour the mixture through a fine-mesh strainer [updated to note: it's rather thick and this step can be more trouble than it's worth; feel free to skip it and just fish the cinnamon and/or bean pods out] and into jars. Use immediately, or cool completely, storing in the fridge for up to one month with an airtight lid. Rewarm as needed to soften the caramel; a microwave is efficient but you can also warm the jar in a 1- to 2-inch puddle (shorter than the jar lid, of course) of simmering water in a saucepan until it re-liquefies. If mixture seems too thick to pour even after fully reheating, you can stir in a little water, 1 teaspoon at a time.

Chef's tips

Nutrition (per serving, estimated)

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