Abuelita's Dulce De Leche

Not my abuelita (grandma), but Rafael Palomino's. (I had Omas, because I come from Dutch stock, not Spanish.) When I saw the theme for this coming week was spice, I knew I wanted to make something with cinnamon. We aren't a very 'hot food' orientated household, and with the cold and the rain, and the fact that I missed both the hearty and the comfort food weeks, I was in the mood for something warm and sweet and sticky. Cinnamon buns perhaps, only I didn't have a recipe in any of my cookbooks to hand. Maybe cinnamon and peanut butter cookies? Perhaps next week for KCT. I started going through all my sticky tabbed and paper marked recipes, my 'to do' list of things I wanted to cook, and I found this. Normally I make my dulce de leche from a can of sweetened condensed milk, in the microwave, but I've always wanted to try doing it the old fashioned way, to see if there was a big taste difference. And low and behold, the recipe called for cinnamon. (yes, I know it's a stretch, leave me alone, or I won't share any of this sticky, caramelly goodness with you.)

Abuelita's Dulce De Leche (Fiesta Latina - Rafael Palomino)
4 cups whole milk
2 cups sugar
1/4 tsp baking soda
pinch of ground cinnamon

In a large saucepan, combine all the ingredients. Cook over medium heat, without stirring for 15 to 20 minutes. Reduce the heat to low and cook for 25 to 30 minutes. Good to use in ice cream (coming soon), brownies (possibly coming soon), or even a sinful flourless chocolate cake from another Rafael Palomino cookbook, which I promise I will definitely bake and share with you soon. Cross my heart.

Make sure you use the largest saucepan you have, or maybe even a large pot. I used a large saucepan, and still it boiled over. Anyone who's ever made or eaten any form of Dulce de Leche knows how sticky the stuff is, and it's not something you want to have to be scrubbing off your stove top. Trust me on that one. Perhaps because I boiled over half my mixture, or because the temperatures weren't right or whatever, All I ended up with was a (delicious) caramel milk, not the thick chewy caramel I was expecting. I will try and fix this up in the microwave I think, because I have big plans for this, as I said above. Although the ice cream could be made from the milk I think. Hmmm, ponderous...

This was an entry for
The Cookbook Challenge: Week 38 - Spice.