Regardless of what you call it, making dulce de leche / cajeta / arequipe / confiture de lait takes time and a good dose of patience. I’m not talking about the common shortcut of boiling a can of condensed milk until it turns to a warm shade of brown. Let’s get back to the basics and slowly simmer milk with sugar until it reduces to liquid caramel gold. It takes hours of gentle heat to reduce a big pot of milk down to 30% of its original volume. It’s a good thing the reward promises such deliciousness because standing over a hot stove stirring (and stirring some more) for hours on end tests the patience of any cook.
I don’t know what inspired me to make cajeta from scratch. It was a spur of the moment decision to pick up two litres of organic goat milk on my way home on Sunday. I don’t even yet have plans to use the cajeta. I came across Rick Bayless’ recipe a few months ago and immediately a question came to mind. Can it be made in a slow cooker?
Judging by my previous successful experience of making pear butter in slow cooker, this convenient small appliance ought to excel in the task of serious reduction. The question remained if it can handle caramelization too. After all, the Maillard reaction does not happen unless cooking reaches beyond certain temperature. I was not sure if a slow cooker can heat the milk hot enough.
I began by simmering milk, sugar, salt, and cinnamon on high with the lid on for two hours. This step was simply to heat the liquid before reduction began. I stirred in baking soda dissolved in water and continued cooking on high without the lid for another seven hours. During this long slow simmer, I only needed to stir the liquid occasionally so it was mostly hands-off time. By the end, the milk was still creamy white but only about 40% of its original volume.
At this point, I emptied the milk from slow cooker to my trusty enamelled cast iron Dutch oven. I gently cooked it at medium high heat, stirring constantly. After about 45 minutes of cooking, the milk thickened and turned into a light shade of creamy caramel. The colour was paler than store-bought counterpart but the consistency was spot on. Digital thermometer read 221F and it was just right.
I filled the cajeta into two clean glass jars and the final yield was 600mL, merely 30% volume of what I started out with. Too bad that it is not safe to can the cajeta using water bath method. Once it cooled down, the jars went into the fridge where it ought to stay fresh for up to a month. I’m pretty sure the cajeta will be long gone before the month is up.
So is it worth all the trouble? A resounding yes. I tasted dulce de leche made from condensed milk and it was nowhere near the nuance that my goat milk version offers. Underneath the sweetness, there are all kinds of flavours vying for my attention. A bit of spiciness from cinnamon, a nice balance from sea salt, a little smokiness from the caramelization, and a whole lot of complexity from goat milk. I cannot be happier with my first foray into making cajeta from scratch.
Next up, what shall I do with my precious jars of cajeta?
