How to Make Caramel from sweetened condensed milk

Caramel is usually made by melting granulated sugar or brown sugar until smooth, but you can also use sweetened condensed milk to create this wonderfully sweet dessert.

Table of Contents

Ingredient

1 can of sweetened condensed milk 400g

Make caramel milk (Dulce de Leche) in cans

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Peel off the label on the milk can. Only condensed milk cans with a tight-fitting lid should be used for this method, which means don’t use a can with a pull tab to open the lid. ^{[1] X Research Source} There will be pressure inside the milk can as you heat it, so choosing the can is to prevent the lid from coming off.

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Put cold water in the pot. Make sure the milk can is submerged in water with the water level 5cm higher than the can. This way, the milk can will not be overheated, creating a risk of explosion and the milk will not burn. ^{[2] X Research Source}

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Place milk cans with tight-fitting lids in a medium or large saucepan. Place the can of milk upright so it doesn’t rise when the water boils.

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Bring water to a simmer over high heat. When the water starts to simmer, turn the stove down to medium heat and cook for 2 to 3 hours (2 hours if you want the caramel milk to be light, or 3 hours if you want the caramel milk thick and dark). ^{[3] X Research Sources}

Check milk cans every 30 minutes. Turn the top of the milk can every half hour to avoid the case that one end of the can is overheated. ^{[4] X Research Source} Add more water to the pot to ensure that the water level is always between 2.5cm and 5cm higher than the milk can.

Lift the pot off the stove. After boiling for 2 to 3 hours, you will use a hole spoon or tongs to remove the milk can from the pot and place it on the shelf. Wait for the can of milk to cool and reduce to room temperature.

Don’t open the can until it’s really cooled.

Use a two-tier steamer

Prepare a two-tier steamer. Pour water about 5cm high into the pot of water downstairs and bring to a boil. Open the lid of the can of sweetened condensed milk and pour it into the pot at the top.

Use a glass pot and bowl if you don’t have a double-decker steamer. Fill half a small or medium pot with water, placing a glass bowl over the top of the pot so that the bowl does not touch the water (you can reduce the water to avoid this). Make sure the bowl is large enough to fit snugly over the rim of the pot.

Boil milk. Place the milk on the top of the steamer and close the lid. Simmer over medium heat. Stir well with your hands and cook for 1 and a half to 2 hours until the milk is thick and the caramel color you want.

Use foil as a lid if you are using glass pots and bowls.

Lift the pot off the stove. When the milk cools, stir in the caramel milk until smooth and free of lumps. Let the milk cool for about 20 minutes before serving or preparing it. ^{[5] X Research Sources}

Make caramel milk in the oven

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Heat oven to 200°C. Open the can of sweetened condensed milk and pour the milk into a 23cm cake pan. Cover the mold with foil.

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Place the cake pan on a large baking tray. A large baking tray or a large barbecue tray will do. ^{[6] X Source of Research} Put hot water in the baking tray so that it is halfway up the cake pan.

Bake for 1 hour. After 1 hour, remove the baking tray (with the cake mold in it) from the oven. Remove the foil and stir in the milk.

Check the consistency and color of the milk. If the milk has not reached the consistency and color you want, wrap the foil again and place in the oven with the original baking tray filled with water. Add more water if needed.

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Check every 15 minutes. After the first hour, check the milk regularly until it has the desired consistency and caramel color. Remove the milk from the oven when you are satisfied with the finished product or until the color is like peanut butter. ^{[7] X Research Sources}

Pour milk into a mixing bowl. When the caramel milk cools, stir for 3 minutes until it is smooth and cream-like.

Cook in a pressure cooker

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Prepare a can of milk. Peel off the label of the can of sweetened condensed milk. Place the milk can with the lid still on upright at the bottom of the pot. Fill the pot with water so that it is submerged and the water is 2.5cm higher than the milk can.

Do not pour water higher than the limit line of the pressure cooker.

Close the lid of the pot and cook. Heat over high heat until the pot reaches full pressure. Then reduce the heat but keep the temperature high enough to maintain the pressure of the pot.

You should only maintain the temperature high enough to bring the water to a simmer, but not too high for the pressure cooker to make a noise.

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Continue cooking for 40 minutes. After the 40 minutes are up, remove the pot from the heat. ^{[8] X Research Sources}

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Reduce pressure. Allow the incubator to vent naturally and reduce the pressure or open the valve to allow the pressure to drain more quickly. Do not open the pressure cooker until all the steam has escaped and the pressure has decreased.

Cook in slow cooker

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Prepare a can of milk. Peel off the label of the milk can. Place the unopened can of milk upright in the bottom of the slow cooker. Pour water into the slow cooker so that the water is submerged and 5cm higher than the milk can.

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Simmer on low heat for 8 to 10 hours. To make caramel milk light color, boil for 8 hours; Cook for 10 hours to thicken the caramel milk and darken the color.

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Turn off the slow cooker and remove the milk can. Use tongs or a hole spoon to remove the lipstick and place it on the shelf. Wait for the milk can to cool down before opening it. ^{[9] X Research Source}

Advice

Caramel milk when cooled will become thick. To get the caramel to a medium consistency that you can pour or sprinkle, heat over low heat in a double-decker steamer.
Unused caramel milk should be stored in an airtight container and refrigerated.