Cardamom Dulce De Leche in 15 minutes ( Microwave version)

I'm sorry to be doing this to you. Yes I know it is pure torture. First I say I am going to foist sweets on you this entire week as part of my week long sweet celebration mini-event, then I do this! I know you do not need the thousand calories and more ( I don't even want to know) that are contained in a can of condensed milk. No, caramelizing condensed milk  does in no way mitigate that, though it does make it even more delicious-(and hence maybe worth it?). And no, there is no way to prevent you from adding said calories to your hips in one sitting if you are a greedy girl or boy and finish the entire can without sharing. See I shared. I'm nice like that.

Some one else who is nice? Sarah of Spoonful of delight. She's joining me in my sweet celebration today as well with some awesome caramel candy apples! thanks Sarah! You can join in the fun too. Just leave a link to a sweet dish you posted this week and I'll include it in my sweet post tomorrow :)

I have been trying really hard to ignore Dulce De Leche (a South American candy similar to caramel and Indian sweets like Khoya,  made with milk) ever since I first heard about it. Really hard. I even steered clear of the tinned food aisle so I would not see a tin of condensed milk and be tempted to try making it at home. Because its really easy, dangerously easy to make at home.  

But then one day while I was sorting through my cabinets, I found not one, but TWO tins of condensed milk that I don't even remember buying. I didn't even pause to wonder how they got there, but immediately set about making DDL as it is now known :) 

You can make it on the stovetop ( kinda scary- exploding cans have been heard about) or you can make it in the oven ( simpler, safer, but still time consuming) and then I saw here that you can make it in the microwave in about 15 mins! 

Cardamom Dulce de Leche 
Recipe source: From cooking for engineers, click here for step by step pictures 


Ingredients:
1 can condensed milk (12 oz)
4 cardamom pods ( Optional)
1/8 tsp sea salt (Optional)
1/4 tsp vanilla extract (Optional)

Equipment:
Microwave
A really big bowl ( about 4 qt)
A whisk or a fork (If you think its difficult to put a whisk in your mouth to lick off the goodness later on :)

I cannot stress on "really big" bowl enough. It has be microwave safe of course, and really big, because the condensed milk froths up when microwaved and if you use a small bowl, it will froth up and leak all over, leaving a napalm like hot, sticky mess for you to clean up.
I used a large 4 quart glass pyrex mixing bowl and it was perfect for this.

What you do:

1. Pour the condensed milk into the bowl
2. Remove the small black cardamom seeds from the pods and lightly pound them to release the oils, and then add to the condensed milk
3. Mix it with the whisk
4. Now put the bowl in the microwave and set on medium ( 50% power) for 2 minutes
5. Remove the bowl carefully and whisk again.
6. Repeat step 4 and 5 until the condensed milk turns frothy and looks curdled
7. Now do it one more time or if you want a thick toffee like consistency you can do it a few more times
8. Your cardamom Dulce de leche is ready! Wait about 1 hour for it to cool completely. It will thicken as it cools. Do NOT put the hot liquid in your mouth- it will burn you! Patience really is a virtue here
9. Pour it into a microwave safe jar and keep it covered tight in the fridge
10. Else use it to fill cakes, pour over ice cream, put int tarts and bars and what ever else.
11. If it gets too thick, gently warm it in the microwave or in a hot water bath and it will melt slightly.

This.was.INCREDIBLE! sticky sweet messy gooey milky cardamomy fingerlicking   awesomness! It tasted a lot like our Indian milk sweets like Pal khoya to me, even more so with the addition of cardamom.I did want to use it to make some Ducle de leche brownies like Divya or this cake by Nisha, or even as a cake filling or as cupcake frosting, or in a tart or filled in phyllo pastry... but we couldn't help finishing off most of it just as it was. 

Well there is that other can of condensed milk :)  Oh and just in case you were wondering, yes I do love doodling and had some good fun on the nifty app artpad and you're going to see some more  results of my  joblessness ahem  creativity here soon! 

To see how to make Dulce de Leche from whole milk and give your arms a real work out, check out my guru Alice Medrich's blog here 

To see the Indian milk sweet also made from whole milk, which tastes quite similar, click here