Dulce de leche is a delicious caramel confection that can be spread or dipped. You can make it from home fairly easily and it even stores unopened for quite a while. However what happens when it is opened? Is it possible to store it for the long term?
Can You Freeze Dulce De Leche?
Yes, you can freeze dulce de leche for up to 6 months. When you add in that you can also store it unopened at room temperature or in the fridge for a couple of months, you can have dulce de leche available in your kitchen for ages!
Does Dulce De Leche Freeze Well? Yes
Can You Refreeze Dulce De Leche? No
How to Freeze Dulce De Leche
To successfully freeze it, you need to ensure it is kept completely sealed and airtight in the freezer. This is why we recommend that you use freezer-safe containers with lids that seal well.
To freeze your leftover dulce de leche, follow this method.
- Cool: If you have cooked your dulce de leche at home, you need to allow it to cool completely before freezing. If you have an opened can of dulce de leche, you should be able to prepare it for freezing straight away, as long as it has remained at room temperature.
- Portion Out: Spoon portions of dulce de leche into your containers. We recommend that you freeze these in smaller portions so you can easily defrost just the amount you need at a later date. This does mean that you need the same number of containers as you have portions of dulce de leche.
- Seal: Put the lid on the containers and make sure it is sealed tightly. You can be extra sure by putting the containers into freezer bags and also sealing those. This offers a little extra protection from the air in the freezer.
- Label: Label the bags with the date and contents. You don’t want to forget what you have in the freezer!
- Freeze: Put the containers into the freezer and freeze until you need your tasty treat.
Yes, you can freeze alfajores. Once cooked and cooled, place them into an airtight container using greaseproof paper between layers. Seal the container and freeze them for up to 1 month.
4 Tips for Freezing Dulce De Leche
Now you know how to freeze it, we’ve got our 4 top tips which we strongly recommend following when freezing dulce de leche to have the best results:
Don’t Freeze It
You may not need to freeze your dulce de leche at all. If you are not opening the cans of caramel, they should keep at room temperature for a couple of months. Check the use-by date. You may be surprised at just how long you can keep this at room temperature.
Of course, as soon as you open the can, you need to put the leftovers either in the fridge or freezer.
Freeze In Piping Bags
If you know you want to pipe your dulce de leche using piping bags, then you could try freezing it in piping bags. You still need to keep the dulce de leche airtight and protected, but if you pop a portion into a piping bag and put it into a container with a lid, it will keep well.
When it comes to using the dulce de leche, it will already be in your piping bag and ready to go once it has thawed out.
Freeze in a Dish
Whether it’s a cake, traditional alfajores cookies or another baked good, dulce de leche can also be frozen as part of another dish.
Leave Room for Expansion
When you are spooning your portions of dulce de leche, make sure you leave a gap at the top of each container. The dulce de leche will expand a little, and it needs to have this space, or it can burst the container open.
How Long Can You Freeze Dulce De Leche?
Dulce de leche has a surprisingly long shelflife, even when you keep it at room temperature. Unopened, it can be kept in the cupboard for between one to three months.
Once opened, you should put it into the fridge, and you can keep it there for a further two weeks! Then when it comes to freezing, you can also freeze it for up to six months.
How Do You Defrost Dulce De Leche?
You have two options when it comes to defrosting your dulce de leche. The best option for optimum quality is to take it out of the freezer and put it in the fridge to thaw out slowly.
This is your best chance for allowing any ice crystals that have formed to fully dissipate.
If you need the dulce de leche a little quicker, then you can put it on the kitchen counter instead. It will still be a slow process, but it will be slightly quicker than in the fridge.
Can You Refreeze Dulce De Leche?
Whilst, in theory, your dulce de leche should be fine to freeze, we wouldn’t recommend that you refreeze it.
No matter how well a food freezes, the freezing process does make changes occur, and the food degrades in quality. This is why we would suggest you try and use up the dulce de leche instead.
Does Dulce De Leche Freeze Well?
In general, dulce de leche does freeze well. You shouldn’t notice too many changes. If there is any, it will be in the texture where the dulce de leche can become a little grainy. If this happens, you can give it a stir to combine again.
Related FAQs
If you’ve still got questions about freezing dulce de leche or dulce de leche in general, then these may help:
You can freeze dulce de leche cake in the same way you would freeze other cakes. Portion it out, wrap each portion in multiple layers of cling film, then bag up and freeze.
Leftover dulce de leche will last for quite a while in the fridge. It will last for around 2 weeks when kept in a sealed container. If you need it for longer than this, then you should freeze it.
I would like to make turtles cookies using dulce le leche but I have to freeze them. Regular caramels melted harden from the freezer when defrosted.
Dulce de leche can also be frozen as part of another dish, like cookies ????