Sunday, 11 2010

kitchy weekends: french milk jam

You must know by now, I am obsessed with France. Confiture de Lait is an easy and versatile recipe that anyone can master and pretend to be a little French chef. In America and Latin America, we know it as dulce de leche (or cajeta). And this is a recipe that keeps giving and giving, lending itself to everything from macarons, croissants, or scones to banana sandwiches, tarts and pancakes. The translation is actually milk jam, so once you realize how many things you can top it with, you’ll be pleasantly fat..I mean surprised!

So have your hand at the traditional Normandy-based recipe below in both English and French (my own painstakingly adapted version for…Americans working without measuring scales), your taste buds will dance with delight.

PS- If anyone knows how to get that perfect caramel consistency, do comment below! I always seem to burn mine toward the end, hence a little lumpiness. Maybe a certain pan works best?

Confiture de Lait

recipe by contributing blogger Becoming Lola

Ingrédients :

• 1 liter (4 cups) of goat’s milk or cow’s whole milk/1 litre de lait de chèvre (ou à défaut de vache)

• 440g sugar (2 cups)/ 440g de sucre

• 1 tsp vanilla extract or vanilla bean (slit across its length)/vanille liquide ou gousse de vanille (fendue dans la longueur)

• 1/2 tsp sea salt

• *optional* a generous shot of rum (or rum extract)/une bonne rasade de rhum

Method:

Turn stove to high-med heat. Pour milk into large saucepan, big enough to hold all the milk with ample room on top. Stir in remaining ingredients. Bring milk mixture to a boil, paying very close attention that it does not over boil and spill out. Once it reaches a boil, turn stove down to its lowest heat setting, just below a simmer. Let sit for 2-3 hours (depending on desired thickness) making sure to stir every so often (not too much) to avoid foaming. Note: If you do not keep an eye on it (like I ignorantly did not do in the beginning) it will foam up, boil over, or create that infamous silky film layer that will never stir in again…so keep an eye on it!

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Faire bouillir tous les ingrédients à feu très doux dans une grande casserole, en mélangeant régulièrement jusqu’à ce que la préparation acquière la consistance voulue. Plus la crème reste longtemps sur le feu et plus la consistance en sera épaisse.