Dulce de leche

[Mr Flibble]

As I see we have some experienced vegan cooks here, I thought i'd make a thread about something I've tried replicating which is a tad harder than most.

Dulce de leche is a very sweet sticky sauce, a lot like runny toffee. It's great used in banoffee pie (although not as good as my vegan toffee of course! ). It's made from cows milk and sugar, heated in a special way. Dulce de leche translates as Milk Jam. There's more info hereYou can also make a crappy version of it using a can of condensed milk. Yea i just saw the thread, but i'm guessing cows milk has a special property.

I tried making it over a year ago using a cows milk recipe, but with coconut milk instead. It didn't work, and tasted gross. I can't find the recipe I used now, but it was a pretty technical one designed for manufacturing as opposed to some random person's website.

Has anyone tried a vegan version of dulce de leche? Am I off my rocker for even trying?

[DianeVegan]

I have definitely seen a vegan recipe for this and will look through all my cookbooks and websites. This may take a while...............

[DianeVegan]

Alright, here is what I found. The only listing for Dulce de Leche was in an ice cream pie by Bryanna Clark Grogan . Unfortunately, it's not one of her free recipes but is in her electronic newsletter (Aug/Sept). If I come across another recipe I will definitely post it.

[FR]

Silk's Enhanced soymilk should do the trick.

[DianeVegan]

Will it caramelize and reduce to the correct consistency just like dairy milk?

Perhaps you can use it in this recipe (substituting soy for dairy)

Dulce de Leche Recipe

4 cups of milk
2 cups of sugar
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
Pinch of cinnamon

Mix all ingredients and place in a large saucepan (make sure it has tall sides as the mixture will foam high). Cook over medium heat for 15-20 minutes, stirring just occasionally. Remove from heat and stir well. Next cook over low heat for 45-60 minutes, stirring often until it reaches a caramel color and is thick.
You can strain it if needed.


Full disclosure: I have never made this recipe. Good luck!

[ConsciousCuisine]

Silk's Enhanced soymilk should do the trick.

I would never heat that. It has flax oil in it. Silk creamer works beautifully

[Mr Flibble]

Silk's Enhanced soymilk should do the trick.

Is this a guess or something you've tried? Silk isn't a brand available in the UK

Perhaps you can use it in this recipe (substituting soy for dairy)

I have tried a recipe similar to this, but as I said in my first post I think the problem is that cow's milk contain sugars that caramelise, where as soya milk does not.

[DianeVegan]

Perhaps you could try it with the soy milk (or soy creamer) instead of coconut milk? Maybe it has something to do with the protein in the milk (I assume coconut milk has much lower protein than soy).

I'll still keep looking. I am now very intrigued, even though I'll probably never make anything with dulce de leche (famous last words).

[DianeVegan]

Finally, I have found a recipe for Dulce de Leche that uses soy milk (according to one of the recipe readers) and turns out well!!

Please let us know if it works for you, Mr. Flibble. (Now, I can get some sleep)

[pat sommer]

I used to make something similar: 1 L carton of Alpro Soya (hazelnut flavour) and half cup
sugar reduced down gently to pouring, pudding, or toffee consistency. Since they discontinued that flavour, a bit of hazelnutbutter gives that caramel taste without all the nasty chemicals created by real caramelization.

[DianeVegan]

Oooh. That sounds good. I'm not a big one for dessert (okay, so I lie a little) but that sounds too easy to not make. How have you used it in desserts?

[Mr Flibble]

Finally, I have found a recipe for Dulce de Leche that uses soy milk (according to one of the recipe readers) and turns out well!!

Please let us know if it works for you, Mr. Flibble. (Now, I can get some sleep)

Cool, thanks for that. Shall give it a try sometime soon. Although the stats are for cow's milk, it has quite an impressive calorie/fat content per serving!

I have a feeling thou, that that recipe would give similar results if using water instead of soy milk, and what you're essentially doing is creating a caramel sauce. I don't know how much the caramelisation of lactose effects the taste compared to just the caramlisation of sucrose. As soy milk has no natural sugars all you're really getting is traditional caramel. If that is the case, then the amount of water/soy milk you use is less useful than knowing the exact temperatures to heat it to/hold it at, which the recipezarr recipe neglects to mention.

[pat sommer]

Oooh. That sounds good. I'm not a big one for dessert (okay, so I lie a little) but that sounds too easy to not make. How have you used it in desserts?

Banoffee Pie: crumb crust topped with a mound-on-a-spoon thick toffee layer followed by banana, melted chocolate and a mousse or cream

mousse is created by dissolving agar agar into a "cream" of favourite sweetened and enriched(nutbutter or other fat) milk. Vanilla,brandy, cardamon are opt flavours. When partially jelled whip to double volume and final chilling can be atop assembled pie or separatelly to be shaped into quenelles, piped etc

[DianeVegan]

Wow! I never thought to use agar that way. I assume you dissolve the agar flakes (in water or half of the nut milk?) then incorporate it in the milk. Do you then let it set at room temperature before whipping, or does it jell faster in the fridge? Also, can you overwhip it and have it thin out again (I had an instructor tell me once not to stir it too much while dissolving on the stove for this reason).

This sounds so wonderful. I wish I hadn't already purchased apples for a pie this weekend or I would make this pie. Thanks for the recipe!

Hmmm. Maybe I'll make the topping any way. And the caramel sauce would go nicely with an apple pie.................

[xrodolfox]

i can't tell you my secret recipe (yet), but I made some vegan manjar (which is similar to dulce de leche) and it turned out almost perfect!

I'll post pics, if you want. It's only got three vegan ingredients, and the trick is mostly in the timing. I've been able to spread it on toast, like back in Chile, and its great just straight (as when i was a kid). There is just a tiny difficulty making the consistancy smooth instead of taffy, but that's almost perfected.

[Windfall]

pleaseee post it xrodolfox!