I had a party last weekend. Or, to state it another way, I made a lot of food last weekend.
Let me tell you about the best thing.
Dulce de leche cupcakes. (Imagine me saying it out loud. You need to make the cupcakes part nice and long, dulce de leche cuuuuuuupcaaaaakes.)
I have a huge fondness for dulce de leche, partly because the way I make it is slightly dangerous. (Sealed can over heat = slightly dangerous.) Nothing to spice up your food like a little danger. (I should say I’ve done this many times and never had trouble.)
Here’s how to make it. Take two cans of sweetened condensed milk. Strip off the label. Set the cans in a large pot, preferably one you don’t care about much, in case the cans leave rings on your pot. It’s never happened to me, but it did to a friend. Anyways, put the cans in the pot. Cover them with water, at least a couple inches. Bring the water to a low simmer. Add water as necessary so the cans are always fully covered. After at least 90 minutes, but up to three hours, turn off the heat. The longer you let the cans go, the thicker your dulce de leche will be. Let the cans sit until the water is cool. Open the cans with a can opener, and you’ll have thick, golden delicious dulce de leche. Eat with a spoon. No, wait, don’t eat it all. You’re going to need some for these cupcakes.
Now that you have the dulce de leche, you’re ready to cook. I found this recipe on Joy the Baker, a really amazing blog with fabulous recipes, especially for anyone with a sweet tooth.
These cupcakes are substantial without being heavy. The frosting is fabulous, with cream cheese and dulce de leche, with extra dulce de leche drizzled on top. I had a hard time not eating the frosting by the spoonful.
A few notes on the recipe:
• Go easy on the powdered sugar. I used the low-end of the range, 2 cups, but it would have been fine with even less. The frosting would have been stickier, however, so keep that in mind. If you’re going to pipe the frosting on, you probably want to use the full amount of sugar.
• Because of the cream cheese, you should refrigerate these. It also helps the frosting hold together better.
• Definitely try sprinkling some sea salt on top. You’ll be glad you did.
• These are fun as mini cupcakes, also. Bet you can’t eat just one.
• I suggest making these for a party. Because if you don’t, you’ll have a hard time not eating them all yourself. Or maybe that’s just me.
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