The first time ever heard about dulce de leche I was in high school. A Mexican classmate was trying to explain it to me, and he described it as something his mother made by boiling an entire, unopened can of sweetened condensed milk in a pot. The whole thing sounded completely crazy to me. It […]
READ ONI was waiting for someone to ask that question. Thanks, reader Emily! Dulce de leche recipes call for baking soda for one simple reason: to help the mixture brown. Those of you who’ve stuck with me through past posts about caramel know that it takes a fair amount of heat for sugars to start caramelizing […]
READ ONOnce you’ve tasted a proper homemade dulce de leche, you may never go back to regular caramel sauces again. It has just too much to bring to the flavor party. And as you’ll see, it’s not difficult at all to make. Start with your baking soda: Add about half a cup of milk and stir […]
READ ONReal dulce de leche isn’t nearly as time-consuming as it’s made out to be. In fact it takes far less time than the boiled can method, and demands only intermittent attention. This recipe calls for 50% cow’s milk and 50% goat’s milk, which produces the most interesting and balanced flavor. All cow’s milk is a […]
READ ONDulce de leche means “milk candy” or “sweet milk” in Spanish, and is it ever. However I should say that not every Spanish-speaker knows it by that name. In some parts of Central and South America it’s called manjar. Since my first experiences of it came by way of Mexicans in Chicago, I know it […]
READ ONHere’s one that various readers have been after me about for quite some time. What is a “tres leches” cake? It literally means “three milks” in Spanish. Frequently a combination of evaporated milk, sweetened condensed milk and cream, those milks are combined into a sort of syrup that’s brushed onto the cake before it’s frosted. […]
READ ONYou know, I could almost be convinced that they look like petticoat tails (even though I have no idea what a petticoat tail looks like). Whaddya think? Shortbread is one of those things that every baker should know how to make, since it’s the basis of a wide variety of cookies and some crusts. Those […]
READ ONGood question, reader Megan! The shortbread recipe calls for corn or rice flour because neither one of those contain any gluten. Not only that, their presence works to undermine the development of gluten by interrupting continuous chains of proteins. Hang on, Joe, you always say that developed gluten needs water, there’s no water in this […]
READ ONSpeaking of pat answers, have you ever read an article on baking history that didn’t at some point say something like: (dessert X) was only for special occasions, since for most people butter, sugar and spices were rare and expensive and only eaten by the wealthy. It’s one of a handful of go-to phrases that […]
READ ONThat’s the term for wedge-shaped slices of shortbread. As to where it comes from there’s only speculation. Some say it’s because the shape resembles actual garments worn by Scottish noblewomen, which strikes me, frankly, as bull. Other say it’s an English corruption of the French words petites gatelles or possibly petits cotés. I’m not qualified […]
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