I have a serious love of dulce de leche – milky, caramel goodness, and so easy to make! Dulce de leche is effectively boiled up sweetened condensed milk. It takes about 2-3 hours to turn a can of condensed milk into gorgeous dulce de leche. All you have to do is simmer a can of the stuff in a pan of simmering water, making sure it is always covered with water and does not boil dry. This is crucial, because if you do this, there is potential for the can to explode and leave you with caramel all over your kitchen ceiling. It is well worth doing though, as once boiled, you can keep the cans in the cupboard for a while until needed. It is also intensely satisfying to start off with a can of milk, and end up with a can of thick, golden caramel with minimal effort.
I love using it in banoffee pie, but the recent purchase of an ice cream maker meant my thoughts immediately turned to using it in gelato. A quick scour of the internet turned up a recipe. Moreover, this was a recipe that didn’t require a custard base. Whilst slightly suspicious, my laziness prevailed and I gave it a go.
This turned out okay, with one small issue. When I added the cream to the milk and dulce de leche mix, it ended up splitting slightly (even though it was double cream). As a result, the final mixture was slightly grainy. Next time, I would leave the milk mixture to cool further before mixing in the cream.
Anyhow, it was fun using the ice cream maker, and I’m eager to get going on some more flavours – marrons glaces, anyone?
The recipe for dulce de leche ice cream can be found here: http://www.applepiepatispate.com/dessert/dulce-de-leche-ice-cream/
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