I was told by an Argentinian that my version of making Dulce de leche was like comparing supermarket bought ice cream to Berthillon ice cream. I just had to make an authentic Dulce de leche after hearing that. Unfortunately I cooked my ‘milk jam’ a bit too long which made the consistency more caramel/toffee. The timing is supposed to be the most difficult to get right. It was still delicious though, the empty jar being the proof.

Homemade dulce de leche – Take II

1 litre whole milk
500g caster sugar
1/4 tsp bicarb soda
1 tsp vanilla essence

Place all ingredients in a pot. Simmer over a medium heat, stirring from time to time. Cook until the mixture starts getting thick and caramel in colour (about 1 1/2hrs).

The past week has been bit of a week of failures. I have been testing vegetarian marshmallow recipes (yet to succeed, anyone who says you can use agar agar instead of gelatin to make veggie marshmallows is a LIAR. I know I tried 4 times ) and then I tried to make a dulce de leche nougat. Did not work.

I was left with lots of agar agar marshmallow gloop (not edible) and with a dulce de leche nougat which didn’t set (very edible). So with the Parisian weather warming up and the beach opening this week. I thought this would make a perfect flavour for an ice cream…dulce de leche with a nutty hazelnut nougat …miam miam and this certainly turned out to be the perfect combo. Went down a storm with the neighbours.

The recipe is really a nougat recipe which has whipped cream folded into at the end. It’s a bit thrown together (you may want to reduce the quantity of nuts). For other ice cream recipes/stories check out Yum sugar. Keep reading…

If you haven’t already fallen for ‘verrine‘ thing, then here’s a recipe you could make in your sleep. The whole ‘verrine’ (transl. glass) fashion has taken hold of the cuisine world the last couple of years. Everyone does them. We have about 5 cookbooks at La Cocotte covering every possible combination of sweet, savoury or both flavours together.

To be honest I think it’s a bit of a gimick. It just involves plonking several different layers of ingredients in a glass. But heh hoh it looks posh and I’m all for fancy things which can be whipped up within minutes.

Keep reading…

I ran out of dulce de leche this week. Being a bit of a lazy bones (I only made it to the gym once this week – I should be there as we speak) I thought I’ld have a go at making my own, instead schlepping a couple of jars across Paris.

After doing a bit of research on the net (what would I do without it) it seems like making the stuff is a doddle. Basically, you just stick a can of condensed milk in a pot of water and simmer gently for a good couple of hours, topping up the water level. A minimum of 2 hours for a light/runnier confiture or 4 hours for deeper caramel flavour like mine. I suggest making a couple of cans at the same time as it’s quite a lengthy procedure. The confiture de lait keeps a long time (not the case with me).

Stay tuned for more dulce de leche recipes…

For some reason the custard set in different ‘caramel’ shades, don’t ask me why.

Don’t you hate those recipes which only need either egg yolks or egg whites? Well I had this problem with the marshmallows. So I had to come up with something which used the egg yolks. A dessert with a crème anglaise/custard base is the first thing which cropped to mind. And of course don’t forget the dulce de leche. Unfortunately (or to my relief) I’ve finished the last jar of dulce de leche. So until I make the special trip to the Argentinian restaurant in the 5th, I won’t be making anything else with dulce de leche for a while.

Keep reading…