Coffee Dulce de Leche Recipe
Try coffee-flavored dulce de leche for a twist on the classic dessert.
Coffee Dulce de Leche is my caffeine-spiked twist on the classic caramelized cream you will find in every coffee-growing country in Central and South America. We added our espresso blend Nizza. It has a slightly caramel taste and nutty aroma, which makes for a nice little explosion of extra flavor. Called confiture de lait in French and doce de leite in Portuguese, but no matter what your language, Coffee Dulce de Leche has a world of admirers.
Yield: 3 9-fluid-ounce jars
Ingredients
2 12-oz. cans condensed milk
1 tsp. fine ground coffee
1/4 tsp. vanilla extract
Instructions
Prepare 3 9-fluid-oz. mason jars: cleaned, dried and fitted with new gaskets.
Place ingredients in an appropriately sized saucepan and bring to a simmer, all while whisking the mixture together. Pour evenly into jars.
Place the jars (evenly spaced, with room in-between) into a large stock pot on top of a folded kitchen towel or crumpled up aluminum foil, something that will prevent the jars from touching the bottom of the pan while still allowing a layer of temperature-regulating water to exist between the jar and the direct heat.
Cover with water by at least an inch and slowly bring to a gentle simmer. Continue to cook until desired color is reached (look for a deep caramel), occasionally adding more water to keep the jars submerged at all times. This will take anywhere from 2 to 3 hours.
Remove the jars from the hot water with a canning jar lifter and place on a countertop at room temperature to cool for several hours (at least 4) without disturbing.
I like to store the jars in the refrigerator so the Dulce is cool and really thick when I spoon it out to use. Because of the long cooking time, the jars will be really, really sealed -- practically child proof -- so I keep a small set of pliers in the knife drawer to pull out the gasket when opening a new jar.
