Dulce de Leche

Making your own dulce de leche is very easy. All it involves is a can of condensed milk. To make your own dulce de leche, check out Baking Basics for different methods. I used the oven method.

My first batch of homemade dulce de leche was a mishap. Water had leaked into the pan of condensed milk, which made it extremely watery and unusable for the frosting. It looked more like a dulce de leche milk drink. Luckily I had just purchased a new ice cream maker two weeks ago! (Cuisinart 1-1/2 Quart Automatic Ice Cream Maker at Costco for $35.99 including tax, what a great deal!) What better way to break in my new ice cream maker than to make dulce de leche ice cream?

Freshly churned ice cream

Scoop of dulce de leche ice cream!

Dulce de Leche Ice Cream adapted from Smitten Kitchen

2 cups watery dulce de leche
1 cup heavy cream
1/8 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Preparation

Bring cream and dulce de leche to a boil in a 3-quart heavy saucepan over moderate heat, whisking. Whisk in vanilla and transfer to a medium sized bowl. Chill in the fridge until ready to use (remember to freeze the freezer bowl of your ice cream maker at least 6 hours prior to use).

Churn in ice cream maker until almost firm, about 30 minutes. Add nuts into the ice cream maker while the ice cream is still slightly soft, about 5 minutes before the ice cream is done. Transfer ice cream to an airtight container and put in freezer to harden, at least 1 hour.

It's creamy and light. If you want an ice cream with stronger dulce de leche flavor, refer to the original recipe linked above. If you would like dulce de leche swirls, drizzle dulce de leche into the ice cream maker right before the ice cream is finished churning.

Dulce de leche frosting

Dulce de Leche Frosting adapted from Joy the Baker
Ingredients
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup dulce de leche, plus more for drizzling
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 to 3 cups confectioner's sugar
Preparation
Beat the cream cheese in a bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed for about 30 seconds, until very soft and pliable.  Scrape down the sides of the bowl, and add the butter and dulce de leche.  Beat on medium speed until well incorporated.  Add the salt, and powdered sugar slowly.  Beat on medium speed for about 3 minutes, until fluffy and lighter in color.  Generously spoon frosting on top of cupcakes, or use a large frosting tip to pipe on frosting.
* I used 2 cups of confectioner's sugar. Use 3 if you prefer a stiffer frosting. 

Enjoy!