After a refreshing break in Madrid, where I consumed enough cured ham and sausage to feed a small country, I’m now back for a new post. And this time I’m going to give you a recipe that will change your life, and best of all, it only uses one ingredient! How great is that?

The origins of dulce de leche are a bit murky; although the Argentinians claim it was one of their own who accidently concocted the caramel-like substance, Wikipedia claims it is probably European in origin. Who cares, as long as we all get to enjoy it, right? It can be made from milk and sugar, but the easiest way only requires a can of condensed milk and a few hours on the stove.

The first time I made dulce de leche the can (which I carefully perforated first) started to make a lot of noise in the pan of water in which I placed it. I hovered in the doorway of my kitchen, not wanting to get to close in case the whole thing exploded, because being blinded by hot milk and shards of can is definitely not my thing. But it turned out great, and I’ve learned that explosions are not likely as long as you perforate the can (two holes will do the trick) and that the noise is perfectly harmless.

So, after you’ve perforated the can of condensed milk, place it in a small pan with enough water to cover about two-thirds of the can. Heat the water until it just starts to boil, then turn down the heat to a simmer.  It takes about three hours before the whole can is turned into dulce de leche, but there’s no need to stay in the kitchen that long. Just make sure to pour some more water in the pan every once in a while, otherwise the can may explode when it is all evaporated (and that would really make a mess in the kitchen).

Then, after three hours, you turn the heat off and wait a bit for the cans to cool. Now you can whip out your can opener and see the brown gooey goodness for yourself (and why just look? tasting is even better)… It resembles caramel. You will probably need to stir a bit to see the deep brown colour.

I usually make two cans at a time and then store it in a glass jar in the fridge. I guess it’ll last you a couple of weeks, although I have never made it that far. I use it on ice cream (or just dip my finger in it), but it’s really good on brioche (a type of sweet French bread), cake, bread, cookies…everything, really. I’ll post a recipe for chinois, which is basically brioche filled with bakers’ cream or creme patissiere. Together with dulce the leche it’s heaven. But ice cream is a good place to start: