Dulce De Leche Mousse

This dulce de leche mousse is creamy and rich, light and airy, with a deep milk caramel flavor that melts in your mouth. Piped into glasses and topped with a sprinkle of flaky sea salt, this mousse is a special treat. This recipe uses easy homemade dulce de leche made from canned sweetened condensed milk for a decadent dessert.

This dulce de leche mousse recipe starts with a creamy and thick dulce de leche pastry cream (sometimes referred to as creme patisserie in French, or crema pastelera in Spanish). It's a cooked egg custard flavored and sweetened with dulce de leche that's further thickened with corn starch.

Softly whipped cream is folded through the pastry cream, then beaten egg whites, giving this sweet milk caramel dessert a delightful lightness and airy texture.

Sometimes people describe dulce de leche as empalagoso, which is Spanish for sickly sweet or cloying. That certainly hasn't ever stopped me from eating it (often straight from the can...) I enjoy how much creamier it is than a standard caramel. I I think this mousse is a wonderful way to serve it, as it provides the delicious dulce de leche flavor in a lighter format.

Although it's not a new technique, I recently discovered how easy it is to make dulce de leche at home using my pressure cooker. Previously, dulce de leche was always an expensive specialty ingredient that I had to seek out at international grocery stores or online.

Now you can easily make it too, with just 35-40 minutes of cooking in your Instant Pot. You can also make it on the stovetop or in the slow cooker / crock pot if you don't have a pressure cooker.

Expect more recipes using dulce de leche in the future, like these Argentine alfajores, and this banoffee tart that combines dulce de leche with fresh bananas and whipped cream!

Ingredients

FOR THE PASTRY CREAM

Dulce de leche - Dulce de leche (candied or sweet milk - sometimes called milk caramel) is a thick, creamy confection that is made by slowly heating milk and sugar (or condensed milk, in this case) over heat for several hours until it has the color and consistency of a very thick caramel.

You can buy it in cans, or make homemade dulce de leche, as I do here, in a pressure cooker (stovetop and slow cooker methods also provided). The dulce de leche contains enough sugar to sweeten the mousse with no additional sugar needed.

Egg yolks - Egg yolks provide flavor and help give structure to the pastry cream.

Whole milk - Use whole milk, as it has the right fat content to create a creamy, rich pastry cream. Skim milk won't thicken enough, and fattier dairy products like half and half or cream will give you an unpleasant texture and heavy, greasy mouthfeel.

Cornstarch - Starch is key for thickening the pastry cream. Cornstarch is very neutral and isn't discernible in flavor or texture in the final mousse.

Vanilla extract - Stir the vanilla into the pastry cream after it's cooked for maximum flavor.

ADDITIONS TO THE PASTRY CREAM

Heavy cream - Whip the chilled heavy cream to soft peaks in order to add volume and creamy flavor.

Egg whites - Whipped egg whites provide volume and give the mousse a lighter, airier texture. I tested the recipe both with and without the egg whites, and found that I much preferred it with the addition. Dulce de leche can be rich and heavy on the palate; the additional lightness from the egg whites helps balance it out.

Cream of Tartar (optional) - While you can whip the egg whites without cream of tartar, I like to add it. The tartaric acid provides stability to the bubbles in whipped egg whites. This helps them retain their structure as you fold them into the mousse.

See recipe card for detailed list of ingredients and quantities.

Instructions

The photos and written steps below will walk you through the process of making this dulce de leche mousse.

Step 1: To a heavy 3 quart saucepan, add dulce de leche, egg yolks and salt. Mix well with a whisk until you fully incorporate the yolks.

Step 2: Mix cornstarch into cold milk, stirring until it fully dissolves.

Step 3: Place saucepan with dulce de leche mixture over medium low heat. Add milk and starch mixture, whisking to blend it all together. Continue to stir while gradually heating the mixture, at least 5 minutes. Don't walk away!

Step 4: You should begin to feel the mixture pull on the whisk and create resistance as it begins to thicken. Once the mixture reaches the appropriate heat, it will begin to bubble and thicken very quickly. Continue to stir for 90 seconds while the mixture bubbles.

Recipe Tip: If you have an instant read thermometer, you can track the temperature. You'll be heating the mixture to about 180 degrees Fahrenheit (82 Celcius) and then letting it bubble while you continue to stir the mixture for 90 seconds before quickly removing it from the heat. This step neutralizes a starch-eating enzyme in the eggs and allows the pastry cream to remain set.

Step 5: Immediately remove pastry cream from heat and strain through a mesh sieve into a heat proof bowl or dish. Spread it out to cool. Press plastic wrap onto the surface of the pastry cream to prevent a skin from forming. Place in the fridge to fully chill, for a minimum of 3 hours.

Step 6: Begin this step once pastry cream has fully chilled. To the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, add the heavy cream. Beat the cream on medium speed just until soft peaks form (when lifting the whisk out of the cream, a peak will form, but droop back downwards and begin to disappear back into the mixture).

Step 7: Remove the pastry cream from the fridge and gently stir it with a spatula to loosen it up a bit. Place it in a large, wide bowl (best for the folding action needed to incorporate the whipped cream and egg whites). Scoop ⅓ of the whipped cream into the bowl and use a spatula to gently fold it into the pastry cream until only a few streaks remain. Add the remainder of the whipped cream and gently fold in using the minimum amount of strokes necessary. A few streaks are OK.

Step 8: Wash your bowl and whisk well with soap and water to remove all traces of grease from the heavy cream. Place them back on your stand mixer. Next, add your egg whites to the bowl. Beat the egg whites on medium speed until slightly foamy. If using, add cream of tartar. Continue beating on medium speed until egg whites have turned white, cloudy and reached soft peak stage (When lifting the whisk out of the egg whites, a peak will form, but droop back downwards and begin to disappear back into the mixture).

Step 9: Scoop ⅓ of the egg whites into the bowl and use a spatula to gently fold it into the dulce de leche mixture until only a few streaks remain. Add the remainder of the egg whites and gently fold in using the minimum amount of strokes necessary.

Step 10: You can either use a piping bag to pipe the mousse into cups, or scoop it into the cups with a spoon. For the piped mousse: place a jumbo star tip (I use Ateco 869) into a 16" (40cm) piping bag. Scoop the mousse into the piping bag and twist the top closed. Holding the bag vertically, pipe the mousse in one continuous circular motion to fill each glass, finishing with a decorative swirl on top. Divide the mousse evenly between the four glasses.

Step 11: Chill in the refrigerator until ready to serve. (Cover if not serving within an hour or two). If desired, sprinkle with chocolate shavings and/or flaky sea salt before serving.

What is dulce de leche?

Dulce de leche goes by lots of different names. Candied or sweet milk, milk caramel, caramelized milk, and even milk jam. It's a thick, creamy, golden brown confection that is made by slowly heating cow's milk and sugar (or condensed milk, in this case) for several hours until it has the color and consistency of a very thick caramel. You can buy it in cans, or make it easily, as I do here, in a pressure cooker (stovetop and slow cooker methods also provided).

Dulce de leche comes from many countries in Latin America, although there are questions regarding its initial origin, whether Argentine, or dated further back to Indonesia and the Phillipines. It is called manjar or manjar de leche in some countries, and arequipe in others.

Dulce de Leche vs. Caramel

Is dulce de leche caramel? No. While they undergo similar processes -and some people call dulce de leche "condensed milk caramel"- the ingredients are different.

Caramel is made by heating sugar until it melts and turns a golden brown. Some recipes later add heavy cream, butter and flavorings such as salt and vanilla.

Dulce de leche is made by heating cow's milk with sugar, until caramelization and the Maillard reaction occurs, producing a deep golden brown color and flavor.

A cousin to dulce de leche is cajeta, a similar milk caramel made from goat's milk.

Equipment

I use my Instant Pot pressure cooker to make the dulce de leche from a can of condensed milk. You can also use a slow cooker or make it on the stovetop (my recipe includes instructions for all 3 methods).

To pipe the mousse into glasses, I use a 16 inch pastry bag fitted with a jumbo star piping tip. Here I used an Ateco 869 tip.

Make ahead

I always love recipes that have elements that can be made in advance. Breaking up the steps makes things feel more approachable and allows me to fit more complex recipes into a busy day (or week).

With this recipe for dulce de leche mousse, the items that can be made ahead of time are the dulce de leche and the pastry cream. Neither the whipped cream nor beaten egg whites are stable enough to be made in advance.

The dulce de leche can be made up to 3 months in advanced if it remains sealed in the can after cooking. The dulce de leche pastry cream (which calls for a partial can of dulce de leche as one of the ingredients) can be made up to 3 days in advance and stored in the refrigerator, provided you plan to serve the finished mousse within the next day. More than 4-5 days and the pastry cream will begin to break down.

Can you freeze pastry cream if made in advance? Unfortunately, this pastry cream cannot be frozen. The corn starch will break down and create an unpleasant texture. Some flour based pastry creams can technically be frozen, but I don't recommend freezing it at all as the smooth, creamy texture often turns grainy.

Storage

Store the finished mousse, loosely covered, in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Recipe tips

• If you have a thermometer, you'll heat the dulce de leche mixture to about 180 degrees Fahrenheit (82 Celcius) and then let it bubble while you continue to stir the mixture for 90 seconds before quickly removing it from the heat. This step neutralizes a starch-eating enzyme in the eggs, which will allow the pastry cream to remain set.

• When whipping both the heavy cream and egg whites to soft peaks (separately!), keep your mixer at medium speed. High speed mixing creates larger bubble structures, which are less stable. Using a whisk attachment at medium speed will create smaller, more uniform air bubbles, which will remain stable longer. This is helpful since you will work both the whipped cream and beaten egg whites further when you fold them into the pastry cream.

• Make sure your bowl and beaters are completely clean and free of grease before beating the egg whites. Leftover fat residue from the heavy cream might prevent the egg whites from whipping properly.

• If you're going to make this mousse for later, consider filling the glasses slightly below the top of the rim so that you can cover the tops with plastic wrap without squishing the mousse. If kept in the fridge for more than a few hours uncovered, the top will begin to dry out.