Dulce de leche is one of the most underrated baking ingredients ever. It’s in the family of caramel but is honestly so much better. It has that caramel taste we all know and love but it’s richer, smoother, not to mention, much easier to make. This Latin American speciality is slowly taking over the dessert world and there is absolutely nothing we should be doing to stop it. Sit back, relax, and indulge in the sweet, sweet taste of dulce de leche. Whether you’re into Latin American desserts like the tres leches cake listed below, or you’re looking to put a Latin American twist on an American classic like pancakes, look no further. This list has got all of your dulce de leche needs covered. Check out 15 decadent ways to bake with dulce de leche.
Dulce de Leche Tres Leches Cake

via: lovefromtheoven.com
Make this famous Latin American cake with a dulce de leche twist! Tres Leches cake was already as moist and mouth watering as it gets, but with the addition of Cool Whip and dulce de leche, it is seriously off the charts. Grab a yellow cake mix and bake as directed (or make your own yellow cake from scratch). Once out of the oven, poke holes in the top of the cake with a fork. Next, you will need to grab evaporated milk, sour cream, and dulce de leche. Combine all three in a blender until smooth and then pour over the cake. Make sure all of the liquid mixture is absorbed into the cake, even poke bigger holes if necessary. Let refrigerate for one hour. Once totally cooled, you’ll grab your Cool Whip and spread some on top of the cake – as thick a layer as you like! Now, you take your dulce de leche and mix it with a little water so it becomes a tad runnier. Drizzle it on top of the Cool Whip and serve to your guests! Get the full recipe here.
Mini Dulce de Leche Tarts

via: thepeppermillinc.com
For all the Canadians out there, think of this like a Latin American spin on butter tarts. Filled with delectable dulce de leche sauce, these mini tarts will be sure to satisfy your sweet tooth. To make the crust, grab butter, flour, sugar, and cold water. Alternatively, you can follow your own recipe for pie crust if you have one that you like. Once the pastry is made, you are going to roll it out flat and cut it out into circle using a pastry cutter. Once cut, place your pastry into a muffin tin and crimp the sides if you like. To make the dulce de leche filling, combine dulce de leche, brown sugar, eggs, butter, vanilla, and flour. Once that mixture is made, pour it on top of the pastry in the muffin tin. Bake for 15 minutes at 350 degrees, or until golden brown. Remove from the oven and cool and top with whipped cream. Get the entire recipe here.
Dulce de Leche Cheesecake

via: food.lizsteinberg.com
This cheesecake recipe is unbelievably delicious yet so, so simple. Don’t believe me? The recipe for the filling contains just three ingredients, and the recipe for the crust contains two ingredients. Seriously, I’m not trying to trick you here. You can successfully whip up this dulce de leche cheesecake in no time! For the filling, you’ll need cream cheese and dulce de leche. There is no added sugar in this recipe as the dulce de leche is already quite sweet. For the crust, you will need plain cookies and butter. Feel free to spice things up with the more traditional graham cracker option or even Oreos. Whichever cookie floats your boat! Once you have al the ingredients laid out, grab your pan and grease it. You may even want to place tin foil inside each mold. Afterwards, blend your cookies and butter in a food processor and push into the mold. To make the filling, beat the cream cheese, eggs, and dulce de leche and once blended, pour into the pan. Bake for 40 minutes, once 40 minutes is up, leave the pan in the oven with the oven door open a crack for about 30 minutes. Find the full recipe here.
Molten Dulce de Leche Cakes

via: bonappetit.com
If you like chocolate lava cakes, than these dulce de leche lava cakes are sure to be your next big obsession. Soft, moist, and filled with oozing dulce de leche sauce, these dulce de leche lava cakes are the definition of indulgence. To make these lava cakes become a reality you will need just six ingredients: butter, flour, egg yolks, egg, dulce de leche, and ice cream (optional). Preheat the oven to 425 degrees and lightly grease the ramekins you’re going to cook your lava cakes in. You may even want to add a bit of flour to the ramekins to ensure they come out easily. From there, take an electric mixer and beat the egg whites and whole eggs in a bowl until they have doubled in volume. Add the dulce de leche and then gradually add the flour to the mixture. Finally, evenly divide the mixture among the ramekins. Bake cakes for approximately 12-14 minutes or until the outsides are golden brown and the insides jiggle when you touch them. Let them cool before sticking a knife around the edges and turning them upside down on a plate. Serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. For the complete recipe, click here.
Dulce de Leche Cups

via: ohnuts.com
Do you like Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, Snickers, Mars Bars, or perhaps Turtles? Then these Dulce de Leche Cups are about to rock your world. The perfect blend of chocolate, pecans, sea salt, and dulce de leche, these are going to be your go-to anytime you have to bring a dessert to a dinner party! Begin by getting the six ingredients required: condensed milk, chocolate candy (something that can be easily melted), pecans, and sea salt. In terms of equipment, you will need a clean paint brush and small paper or foil candy cups. Begin by making you dulce de leche using your can of condensed milk. Oh Nuts gives a great description of how to make it, however, if you’re worried about making it this way just buy a can of pre-made dulce de leche. Next, prepare your pecans by placing them on a baking sheet and roasting for about 10 minutes. Once roasted, put them on a cutting board and slice up really tiny. Next, melt your chocolate and use a spoon to put some in the bottom of each paper or foil cup. Use a paintbrush to make sure the melted chocolate makes its way up the side of the cup so you don’t see anything but chocolate when you end up taking it out of the cup. Afterwards, mix together your diced pecans and dulce de leche and put a spoonful of the mixture on top of the melted chocolate. Add more melted chocolate on top of that and top with more pecans and sea salt. Finally, let refrigerate. Get the full recipe here.
Dulce de Leche Coconut Chocolate Chip Bars

via: averiecooks.com
The picture above? Yeah that’s a four-storey staking of an absolutely scrumptious five layer bar. Filled with chocolate, coconut, and of course, dulce de leche, these bars are going to change your world. To make these bad boys, you’re going to need butter, brown sugar, vanilla, flour, salt, white chocolate chips, semi-sweet chocolate chips, shredded coconut, and dulce de leche. Start by preheating the oven and lining the baking pan with tin foil. Next, melt the butter and mix the butter with the vanilla, flour, and brown sugar. Once mixed, pour this mixture into your pan and spread evenly. Proceed by sprinkling this layer with both types of chocolate chips and shredded coconut. Next, scoop out half the jar of dulce de leche and spread it over top of the chocolate and coconut. Bake for 25 or until the dulce de leche is golden and bubbly. Allow the bars to set for two hours or overnight. For more information, click here.
Salted Dulce de Leche Brownies

via: seriouseats.com
Brownies are simply the best. Fudgy, chewy, cakey, and there to cure all your chocolate cravings, they are one of the best go-to desserts. This recipe from Serious Eats has taken brownies up a notch with the addition of dulce de leche and sea salt. The dulce de leche adds to the fudgy texture of the brownies and the sea salt gives that perfect sweet/salty combination. Move over salted caramel, there’s a new sheriff in town. To make these brownies, you will need to gather butter, sugar, brown sugar, corn syrup, vanilla, eggs, flour, cocoa powder, salt, and dulce de leche. Beat the butter, both kinds of sugar, corn syrup, vanilla, and eggs in a bowl. In another bowl, stir together the flour, sea salt, and cocoa powder. Then fold in the dry ingredients to the bowl of wet ingredients. Mix and pour batter into your greased brownie pan. Place a few spoonfuls of dulce de leche on top of the batter and mix with a knife, creating a spiral effect on top. Bake for 15 minutes, sprinkle the top with sea salt, and then bake for another 20 minutes. Find the full recipe here.
Mexican Chocolate Icebox Cookies with Dulce de Leche

via: recipe.com
Make these delectable sandwich cookies by combining the ultimate soft and crumble chocolate cookie with dulce de leche. Start by grabbing butter, sugar, cocoa powder, cinnamon, salt, cayenne pepper, egg, vanilla, flour, and dulce de lcche. Beat all of your ingredients except the dulce de leche together until they are fully mixed then let the dough refrigerate over night. Once refrigerated, roll the dough into cylinders and cut into 1/4 inch thick slices. Place on the baking tray and bake for 12-14 minutes. Once completely cooled, take your dulce de leche and spread in between two cookies. Use a generous amount. Once you have created these miniature dulce de leche cookie sandwiches from heaven, you can put them back in the fridge so they stay good longer. You can also add some icing sugar on top if you’re serving them at a party and want to wow your guests (as if the taste of the cookies themselves won’t already do that). To get the full recipe, click here.
Dulce de Leche Sandwich Cookies

via: inpraiseofleftovers.com
These dulce de leche sandwich cookies, otherwise known as alfajores in some parts of Latin America, are the bees knees. Made with a flaky, shortbread-like cookie, topped with icing sugar, and filled with dulce de leche, they are like sweet, little pillows that will melt in your mouth. To make the cookies, you will need butter, cornstarch, flour, baking powder, salt, sugar, egg yolks, brandy, and vanilla. Mix together cornstarch, flour, baking powder, an salt. In a different bowl, beat together the butter and sugar, slowly adding in the egg yolks, vanilla, and brandy. Stir in the flour mixture until blended and then roll out your dough flat on the counter. Take a circular cookie cutter (preferably a small one) and cut out your cookies. Bake for 12-15 minutes. Once cooled, put a spoonful of dulce de leche between two cookies, assemble, and sprinkle some icing sugar on top. Find the complete recipe here.
Dulce de Leche Vanilla Cake

via: iadorefood.com
A moist vanilla cake with layers and layers of dulce de leche covered in a vanilla buttercream icing and more dulce de leche? Now that is what I call a dream come true. Make this heavenly cake for yourself by gathering dulce de leche, flour, baking powder, salt, butter, white sugar, egg whites, vanilla, milk, icing sugar, and cream. You’ll need two round cake pans to start. Grease them both and preheat the oven. Mix together the flour, baking powder, and salt. In another bowl, beat the sugar, butter, and vanilla. Beat the flour mixture in the butter mixture, slowly adding the milk. In another bowl, beat the egg whites until they form stiff peaks. Use a rubber spatula and fold the stiff egg whites into the main mixture. Bake in the oven for approximately 30 minutes. Meanwhile, you can start preparing the icing. Melt the butter and then mix the butter, sugar, vanilla, and salt. Then slowly add the cream. Beat until smooth, adding more cream if necessary. Once mixed and the cake is out of the oven, slice each of the cakes in half leaving you with four layers. Spread a healthy serving of dulce de leche on each layer (including on the very top) and cover the entire cake in your buttercream icing. Finally, pour another 1/3 of a cup of dulce de leche on top, letting it drip down the sides. Find the full recipe here.
Dulce de Leche Rice Pudding

via: bakingobsession.com
People tend to either love or hate rice pudding. That being said, this might be just the recipe to change the minds of all those haters out there. Believe me, if there’s anything that can change someone’s mind, it’s the sweet taste of dulce de leche. To make this rice pudding, you will need dulce de leche, milk, cinnamon, salt, rice, rum, whipped cream, Mexican chocolate, and vanilla. Take a saucepan and combine the dulce de leche, milk, cinnamon, and salt. Whisk until the dulce de leche is dissolved. If it’s still too sweet, you can add more milk. The next step is adding 1/2 cup of rice. Stir constantly and then let simmer. Once thickened, take the saucepan off the heat and add the vanilla and rum. Transfer the pudding to a stainless steel bowl on top of ice cold water so it thickens up. Finally, place in cups and refrigerate. Top with shaved chocolate and whipped cream before serving. Get the full recipe here.
Chocolate Pancakes with Dulce de Leche

via: bettycrocker.com
This mouthwatering chocolate dulce de leche pancake recipe is really not much more complicated than your average pancake recipe, so there’s simply no excuse not to try this next Saturday morning. Grab Bisquick, or another type of pre-made pancake mix (or make it yourself), milk, eggs, cocoa powder, sugar, and cinnamon. Stir together all the ingredients and get your griddle ready. Make the pancakes as you normally would, on medium heat and flipping every few minutes. Once you have a stack of warm pancakes piled high, it’s time to make the sauce. In a bowl, microwave the dulce de leche for 30 seconds and then stir in the whipping cream. Blend together and pour over your pancakes. It’s best served warm. This is not a breakfast meal for the faint hearted. In fact, you may even need to make this your dinner. For the full recipe click here.
Salted Chocolate and Dulce de Leche Tart

via: deliciousmagazine.co.uk
Are you a fan of rich and dense desserts? This salted chocolate and dulce de leche tart might be your new favourite dessert! Start by making the pastry. It’s simple so choose a recipe you like already or bake as directed. Blind bake the tart for 20 minutes in the oven before adding your filling. Once the pastry is ready, make your filling using dulce de leche, milk chocolate, double cream, butter, and sea salt. Spoon the dulce de leche right into the pastry sell. Next, melt the chocolate, cream, butter, and sea salt slowly. Stir gently, and once melted, remove from heat and let settle. Pour the chocolate filling over the tart and dulce de leche, sprinkle some sea salt on top, and let set completely in the fridge. In just a couple hours, you will have this delicious salted chocolate dulce de leche tart that is perfect for a dinner party or just a night in. Treat yourself! Find the full recipe here.
Dulce de Leche Bundt Cake

via: sixsistersstuff.com
Take your bundt cake game up a notch with this dulce de leche recipe. It really is a simple upgrade but it will make a huge different, and will elevate your traditional bundt cake to be that much sweeter, richer, and more moist. Start by getting a caramel cake mix, butterscotch instant pudding, sour cream, vegetable oil, dulce de leche, eggs, toffee bits, and water. Mix together all of your ingredients and pour into a greased bundt pan. Bake for 45-50 minutes or until top springs back when you touch it. Cool cake for a minimum of 90 minutes before inverting it onto a plate – you don’t want to risk the whole thing falling apart! While your cake is cooling, make the caramel glaze. You will need butter, milk, and brown sugar. Heat them all in a saucepan until melted and blended and then drizzle over the bundt cake. Top with extra toffee bits if desired. For the full recipe click here.
Dulce de Leche Cheesecake Bars

via: therecipecritic.com
Cheesecake + a rich and creamy dulce de leche glaze are what make these dulce de leche cheesecake bars so heavenly. To make these bars, grab graham crackers, sugar, cinnamon, and butter. Combine the graham crackers, sugar, and cinnamon in a food processor until blended and slowly add in the melted butter. Next, stick this mixture onto the bottom of a greased pan. For the filling, you will need cream cheese, sugar, eggs, dulce de leche, and vanilla. Beat the cream cheese and sugar together, adding the eggs one at a time. Then slowly add the dulce de leche and vanilla and beat until smooth. Pour the batter over your prepared crust and bake for 35-38 minutes. To create the glaze, grab heavy cream and more dulce de leche. Heat the dulce de leche and cream together in the microwave. Stir every 10 seconds and add more cream if the mixture isn’t thick enough. Pour the glaze over the cheesecake bars and let refrigerate for one hour, adding sea salt once cooled. Find the complete recipe here.
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