Caramel recipe using sweetened condensed milk

This is a 1 ingredient, 15 second recipe that will knock your socks off! 1. Place sealed cans of condensed milk in slow cooker; 2. Fill slow cooker with water; 3. Turn slow cooker on for 8 hours on low. Total prep time: 15 seconds. Output: Perfectly smooth, no stir, thick, deep flavoured caramel sauce. (I have also provided directions to make this on the stove top)

“This keeps for a month in the fridge. But it won’t last that long.”

Dulce De Leche. Smooth, rich and thick with a deep caramel flavor, this South American export is the king of all caramels. The literal translation of “dulce de leche” is “candy of milk”. And that’s exactly what this is – milk and sugar that’s been slow cooked.

Made from scratch using milk and sugar, it requires a lot of attention for the first hour to make sure the caramel at the bottom doesn’t burn, then a further 2 hours of cooking (and checking….and cooking….and checking…). So if you’re more like me, this effortless version made with condensed milk in a slow cooker will appeal to you. This is how this goes down:

1. Place sealed cans of condensed milk in slow cooker. You don’t even need to take the labels off. (3 seconds)
2. Fill slow cooker with hot tap water (10 seconds)
3. Turn slow cooker on for 8 hours on low (2 seconds)

“Use no-brand condensed milk if you want to save on cost. I promise you no one will know the difference.”

When you open those cans up, you are going to be amazed at the deep golden colour and the smell of the rich caramel is going to make your mouth water. Dig deep and be strong – do not get stuck in with a spoon because you won’t be able to stop!!

This caramel is quite thick, a spreadable consistency (shown in the top picture) and perfectly smooth. If you want to make it a pourable consistency, you can whisk in a touch of milk or even water, or heat it up in the microwave.

I don’t get fancy serving it up, I usually just warm it up slightly and pour it (generously) over vanilla ice cream, or spread it onto a biscuit. Because it’s so rich, I don’t think it needs much else to make it shine. But here are other suggestions for things you can use it for:

• As a sweetener + milk in coffee
• Use as spread on muffins or toast
• Spread on sweet plain biscuits like graham crackers or shortbread
• Drizzled over cakes and cupcakes. Fancy!
• Caramel layer in slices
• Over crepes and pancakes
• Cheesecake
• As a dip for churros (it is, after all, South American!)
• As a gift (if you like anyone enough to give this away to)

It’s pictured here with shortbread because tomorrow, I’m going to post Shortbread Dulce De Leche Sandwiches that I made using this. I don’t bake much so this is a big deal!! It is insanely easy – just 3 ingredients (plus the Dulce De Leche) – and sinfully addictive!

I hope you give this a try! It really is handy to have in the fridge. I’m especially glad that I made this batch today because I’ve just organised to have a bunch of friends over this weekend!

Dulce De Leche is the king of all caramels. And it's effortless if you make it in a slow cooker with sweetened condensed milk! I have also provided directions for making this on the stove top as well.

Author: Nagi | RecipeTin Eats

Recipe type: Dessert, Sauce

Cuisine: South American

Serves: 3 cups

Ingredients