Traditional sweetened condensed milk can take hours to make with endless stirring, which can be very tiring. This quick and easy recipe to make it homemade with milk powder in just 5 minutes. With this method, you can make this sweetened or unsweetened which keeps you are in control of the sugar.
How often have you been in a situation when you start making a recipe and realized that you don't have one of the ingredients? Well, that happened to me this past week. I needed condensed milk to make my creamy semolina pudding. But when I went to get some at the store they were out. So I had to go old school and make some myself.
Often, some of you comment that you don't get condensed milk where you live, or that its' really expensive. So, I thought I'd show you how simple and easy it is to make it at home.
About this recipe
As the name suggests condensed milk is milk that has been condensed to about ⅓ of its original volume by evaporating the liquid over low slow cooking. Today we are making it in just 5 minute. What does that mean?
The Traditional method - The traditional way to make this takes hours. That's because it requires taking (4 cups) milk and heating it on low heat, stirring often until it is reduced about ¼ of its original volume (1 cup).
That usually would take about an hour or more. Also, you do have to stir it frequently so it does not touch the bottom of the pan and get burnt. See here how I make traditional condensed milk
This quick method - Thanks to modern technology and the availability of powdered milk you can make this recipe in 5 minutes. So basically what we are doing is instead of heating the milk and evaporating all the liquid we are instead adding the powdered milk. Which of course has also been made by evaporating liquid from the milk.
Ingredients and substitutes
- Milk - it's best to use whole milk that's at least 3% fat. Skimmed milk has too much liquid so it will take longer to evaporate and you won't get thick milk. You can also use coconut milk, almond milk, or oats milk.
- Milk powder - again, you don't' want to use skimmed milk powder as it will not give you a thick consistency.
- Sugar - I've used white sugar but you can use brown sugar, honey, maple syrup, agave syrup, or even sugar-free alternatives. Do take note though that what you use as sweeter will also flavor it as well. For example, brown sugar adds a nice caramel flavor while maple makes a delicious maple condensed milk.
- Butter - I like to use unsalted white butter - the color of the butter you use will affect the color of your milk.
Step by step instructions (pin)
- Place milk in a heavy-based saucepan and let come to an almost boil.
- Add sugar - stir until dissolved.
- When the sugar dissolves add in the milk powder stirring with a whisk to avoid any lumps. (see video)
- After the milk powder is incorporated add the butter and the vanilla.
- Stir on low for about a minute or two until the mixture comes to almost boil again.
- Remove from heat, strain to remove any undissolved milk powder.
- Let cool completely.
- The mixture will thicken further as it cools (see video)
Frequently asked questions
The cans have a shelf life of one year until opened, once opened it can be left in the fridge for about 2 weeks. Similarly, the homemade traditional method will last for about 2 weeks in the fridge.
Well, then you will need to make this the traditional method. See here how I make traditional sweetened condensed milk
Since this homemade version is made with fresh milk it's shelf life is rather short compared to the canned milk of course. Ideally, you can keep it in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.
It's best to make it fresh and use it sooner rather than later.
This recipe here is similar to the one you buy in a can. I kept it the same sweetness so it won't alter the recipe you are following.
And yet, you can omit the sugar and make this an unsweetened milk which is known as evaporated milk.
Alternatively, you can reduce the quantity of sugar to make a less sweet dessert.
The only difference between the two is that condensed is always sweetened while evaporated is unsweetened.
Well, you can use this in any recipe that calls for condensed milk. I have used it very frequently and so far have not had any issues.
Condensed milk and evaporated milk are the same. One is sweetened and one is unsweetened. If you want to make condensed from evaporated - add ½ cup sugar, 1 tbsp butter, and 1 tsp vanilla to one can of evaporated milk. Bring it to a boil until all sugar has dissolved and let cool again. You can also make evaporated milk in 5 minutes from scratch using the method we used to make this recipe
What can I make with the leftover of this recipe?
There is so much you can do with leftover milk. Try my condensed milk cookies, Coconut Macaroons, Cakes with Mirror Glaze, Lychee Kulfi, Chocolate Fudge, Semolina Pudding. Have you tried my cinnamon rolls with a CM glaze?
Of course, all my no-churn ice cream recipes use condensed milk - try my strawberry, blueberry, raspberry, blackberry, mixed berry, dulce de leche, tiramisu, Belgium chocolate, dark chocolate, Oreo, caramel banana, matcha
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Description
Ingredients
- 1 cup (250 ml) Whole milk
- 2 cups (250 g) Milk powder
- ¼ cup (50 g) Sugar
- 4 tbsp (60 g) Butter (unsalted)
- 1 tsp Vanilla extract
Instructions
- Place milk in a heavy based saucepan and let come to an almost boil.
- Add sugar - stir until dissolved.
- When sugar is dissolved add in the milk powder stirring with a whisk to avoid any lumps.
- After the milk powder has been well incorporated add the butter and the vanilla.
- Stir on low for about a minute or two until the mixture comes to almost boil again.
- Remove from heat, strain to remove any undissolved milk powder.
- Let cool completely.
- The mixture will thicken further as it cools.
Nutrition Information
The nutrition information and metric conversion are calculated automatically. I cannot guarantee its accuracy. If this data is important to you please verify with your trusted nutrition calculator. Thank you
