Dulce de Leche

Makes: About 1 cup

Time: About 2 hours

The creamy, salty caramel flavor of dulce de leche is unforgettable and versatile. Pour on ice cream, sandwich between cookies, and spread between cake layers. You can eat it straight out of the jar too. For the best flavor, I use sea salt and a real vanilla bean. You can replace the vanilla bean with 1 tablespoon vanilla extract stirred in after cooking if need be.

• 4 cups whole milk
• 1¼ cups sugar
• ¼ teaspoon sea salt
• ¼ teaspoon baking soda
• 1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise

1. Combine the milk, sugar, salt, and baking soda in a saucepan. Scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean into the pan and add the pod as well. Cook over medium heat until the sugar dissolves and the mixture comes to a boil; remove the vanilla pod. Reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered, until thick and caramelized, 1 to 1½ hours. Whisk occasionally to prevent the sauce from sticking to the bottom of the pan and burning.

2. Remove the dulce de leche from the heat and transfer to a bowl or a jar to cool completely. (If the sauce does stick and burn on the bottom of the pan, pass it through a sieve before storing.) Store in the refrigerator for up to 4 weeks.

Oven Dulce de Leche A totally hands-off—and very cool—variation; sweetened condensed milk simply caramelizes in the oven but keeps its thick, creamy texture: Heat the oven to 425°F. Omit the milk, sugar, and baking soda. Pour one 14-ounce can of sweetened condensed milk into a pie plate or shallow baking dish. Stir in the sea salt and 1 tablespoon vanilla extract in lieu of the pod. Cover the pie plate in aluminum foil and place it in a water bath (see page 59). Bake for about 1 hour, or until it is thick and caramelized. Make sure the water never evaporates; add more if it runs low. Whisk until smooth.

Caramel vs. Butterscotch vs. Dulce de Leche

What do these three sauces have in common—besides being delicious? All three are made by cooking sugars until they caramelize and achieve similar shades of rich coppery brown, and have warm, nutty flavors. You could comfortably interchange them in most cases and everyone would likely be very happy.

Their differences lie in the ingredients and technique. Caramel is made by slowly melting granulated sugar, on its own or loosened up with a bit of water, until it’s a deep amber (see the recipe). Butterscotch uses brown sugar cooked down with butter for a flavor that’s sweeter, softer, and really perks up with a splash of vanilla. And for dulce de leche—which literally translates as “milk-sweet”—milk and sugar are cooked so low and slow that the milk sugars caramelize into a jammy, puddinglike sauce that’s dangerously easy to eat by the heaping spoonful.