Dulce de Leche Recipe – The David Lebovitz Way

I’ve been obsessing over Dulce de Leche for a while now. I haven’t seen it in stores in Singapore anywhere so tried my luck to find it in the US but didn’t have any luck there either. Finally decided to give in and make my own.

The reason why I was hesitant for so long is because it’s a time-consuming process and the idea of leaving a pressurised can of condensed milk in a pressure cooker, or boiling it in an open pot for 3 hours constantly checking the water level didn’t appeal to me at all.

Then I realised David Lebovitz does it differently. This is his method and I had delicious Dulce de Leche ready to be licked off a spoon in less than 1.5 hours.

Dulce de Leche – David Lebovitz’s Method

You need:
1 can (400gm) sweetened condensed milk
One shallow glass pie dish or baking dish
A roasting pan or another larger pan where the first baking dish can sit in comfortably
Hot water

How I Made It:

1. Preheat oven to 400F / 200C. Pour condensed milk in the baking tray.

2. Place this baking tray in a larger pan. Since I don’t have a roasting pan, I used another Pyrex dish that’s larger than the one I was using to bake. Pour hot water into the outside bowl until it reaches halfway up the sides of the pan containing the condensed milk. You can first pour the water and then place the dish in, to avoid splashing any into the condensed milk.

3. Wrap the entire thing snugly in foil and place in the preheated oven. Let this cook for an hour to an hour and 15 mins. Mine took close to 1 hour and 20 mins. Check the water level to see there’s enough. I didn’t have to add any more during the process. It helps if the outer pan is in glass so you can check the water level without opening the oven door.

4. Here’s what you get at the end of it.

The Dulce de Leche will be thick so whisk well with a spoon, cool completely and then store in a glass bottle. If you are going to be using it up soon, store as-is in the same bowl. My baking tray has a lid so it was super convenient. Pyrex for the win!

Yum! I was on a sugar high after 2 licks. It’s a very concentrated form of condensed milk so super sweet and super delicious.

Dulce de Leche can be used as a sandwich spread, in puddings, ice-creams, and brownies. One easy recipe using Dulce de Leche coming up next!