I need a spoon noooooow! This manjar blanco or Peruvian dulce de leche is my absolute downfall. There’s no way I see a pot of it and not dunk a spoon in it. It doesn’t matter what I made it for it’s going on a spoon first hahaha. Many people think that manjar blanco is tough or complicated to make but it’s actually only a matter of patience. Also I’ll be giving you lots of tips so you get a perfect result.
The difference between manjar blanco, manjar, dulce de leche and arequipe is the recipe used to get to that caramel-y texture. The recipe from each country varies and that makes it unique. In this one we only use condensed and evaporated milk.
Many people think that in order to make manjar blanco you need a thick pot. However, you can do it on a thin pot as well (like the one I used when I lived in London, I couldn’t afford a thick one with my student budget! haha). You only have to be extra careful to do it on really low heat so that it doesn’t stick and go slowly. But you definitely can do it!
Manjar blanco is used in severa desserts but my favourite are by far the cornflour alfajores Peruvian style <3. You can also fill meringue kisses, cakes and it’s even the same procedure used to make Peruvian chocolate truffles :).
Other answers to doubts I always get asked:
- In a container in the fridge it lasts up to a week
- If it has lumps it’s because the temperature was too high. But don’t panic, you can strain it while it’s hot to catch them.
- To save yourself some time I recommend that you use a large pot or pan so that more of the milk is in contact with the base of the pan and thus to the heat as well. It doesn’t matter if it looks disproportionate to the amount of milk.
Manjar Blanco
Ingredients
- 400 g evaporated milk
- 400 g condensed milk
Instructions
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Put the milks in a pot on low heat and move with a spatula until it thickens. Don't stop moving or the milk will stick to the bottom and burn.
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It must look thick in the pot: if you run the spatula across the mix it should take a lot of time (5 seconds) before the base of the pot gets covered again. Then out of the pot it will thicken even more as it cools.
