Dulce De Leche – 27 Decadent Recipes Using Dulce De Leche

Dulce de leche is a delicious thick caramel-like sauce made from milk and sugar. It is a inherent part of South American culture and is widely cherished and used all over the continent. The popularity of this sweet confection has spread throughout the world. Dulce de Leche (pronounced DOOL-seydeh LEH-chey) is used in cakes, ice cream, pastries, cookies, caramel candies and numerous other heavenly sweet desserts.

Literally translated from Spanish, dulce de leche means “milk candy” or “milk jam”. Dulce de Leche is the most commonly used term for the treat in Argentina and Uruguay where it is a national treasure. In Columbia and Venezuela it’s referred to as “Arequipe”. Chileans and Ecuadorians call it “Manjar”. It’s “Manjar Blanco” in Colombia, Peru, Bolivia, Costa Rica, and Panama. You will need to look for “Bollo de Leche” when in Nicaragua. In Mexico, where goat milk is a common ingredient, it’s called “Cajeta”. The Portuguese speaking Brazilians call it “Doce de Leite”.

Recipes are varied with every region, but the basic process is to boil milk and sugar until the mixture is a thick, gooey caramel sauce. More traditional methods result in a creamy, smooth sweetened sauce that is complex in flavor. There are several excellent brands on the market but there is nothing better than homemade! You need a lot of patience to make homemade dulce de leche but the result is well worth the effort!