Dulce de Leche

By carvalhohm2

Ingredients

• Yield 2 Cups
• 4 Cups Whole Milk
• 1 cup Light Brown Sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon Baking Soda
• pinch of Salt
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
• Optional 1 tablespoon Cornstarch for a thicker Dulce de Leche

Details

Servings 2
Adapted from woodlandbakeryblog.com

Preparation

Step 1

In large heavy bottomed sauce pot bring the milk to a boil. You will need at least an 8 Qt Pot to cook 1 Qt of milk, this is how much it was expand in the initial stages of cooking, so be sure your pot has enough space.
Once the milk comes up to a boil, add the sugar, salt, vanilla and baking soda.

Reduce heat to a simmer, and continue cooking. You must stir and monitor it as it cooks. Do not walk away for an hour and come back later!

Every so often you must skim the foam that will be forming on the top of the mixture as it cooks. With a slotted spoon or a spider (yes this is a kitchen utensil) simply skim off the foam and discard.

I find that the first 15 minutes of cooking the mixture it is very active, and it continually expands and more or less will boil up over the edge of the pot we do not stir it down and lower the heat.

So be sure to stay with this mixture for the entire first 15-20 minutes of cooking, after that, you can walk away for a minute or two, but never go far from the stove!

Once it seems to settle down, you can increase the heat again slightly, but be sure to stir it every few minutes.

The mixture will begin to take color, and eventually as the moisture evaporates off during the boiling process, it will start to thicken and get a deep amber color.

It will take about 45 minutes to over an hour to complete the process.
Once you have achieved this thick caramel color stage, strain the entire mixture through a sieve into a clean bowl for storage. It will continue to thicken overnight.

Store in the refrigerator for up to a week, or you can freeze for up to 2 months