The Hidden Sweetness Inside

Consuela Silva, 94, likes to be called by her late husband's name, Mrs. Eduardo Silva. He passed away sixteen years ago, after a vacation to his native Brazil where they dined on fried bananas, ambrosia, and spicy feijoada, a meat stew made with sausage, black beans, and handfuls of pressed garlic.

"We took a culinary tour of Brazil. We ate in some of the best restaurants in São Paolo," remembers Mrs. Silva. "One of my favorite dishes is the corn cakes. They make them with whole corn and coconut milk. I've tried to recreate them here at home, but they don't taste the same. One thing I can recreate is the dulce de leche. It was Eduardo's favorite."

Mrs. Silva slowly walked through her eat-in kitchen on the west side of Las Vegas. A carved wooden statue of the Virgin of Fatima with a delicate jeweled crown rested at the corner of her counter. She made the sign of the cross, kissed her fingers, and pressed them a scapula draped around the Virgin's neck. She turned down the gas on an almond stove. A pan shivered silent, the bubbling water inside receded, revealing a small metal can.

"I learned to make dulce de leche from Eduardo's mother. I can't drink my coffee without it." Mrs. Silva grinned. "And I don't limit myself to coffee. I like it on just about anything that needs a little sugar. Nothing in this world is so simple and delicious."

Dulce de leche is a popular dessert throughout all of Latin America. The name means "milk candy" in Spanish. The confection is gloriously sweet, gooey, creamy  - a caramelized milk that richly harmonizes coffee and chocolate as well as offers a delicious filling for many pastries and cakes. Its roots are uncertain, though forms of the dish have been described in French history dating back to the time of Napoleon. The most basic recipe for dulce de leche consists of slowly boiling milk and sugar, sometimes with the addition of vanilla and other sweet spices. The most popular store brands of the product, though, are made the way most cooks enjoy the treat today - by gentle boiling little cans of sweet milk.

Dulce de leche isn't hard to make; it just takes a bit of attention. The traditional in-the-can method is simple: Place an unopened can of sweetened condensed milk in a pot, well covered with water, and bring the water to a boil. Keep at a low boil for two to three hours, making sure the water level always stays above the top of the can. If the can isn't submerged, it may explode. The longer it cooks, the thicker the dulce de leche will be; after two hours, you'll be able to drizzle it, and after three hours, it will be thick enough to sandwich cookies. Make sure the can is thoroughly cool before you open it.

You can spoon the dulce de leche over ice cream, into coffee, or just eat it out of the can with a spoon. Mrs. Silva scooped a healthy dollop of dulce de leche into two ceramic mugs, then poured strong pinon coffee. "It's that hidden sweetness inside that lightens the black."