I'm wanting to do a caramel filling in a chocolate cake, but I don't necessarily want to make it from scratch. I thought about melting caramels in cream or caramel ice cream topping. What consistency should I look for? I'm going to have a layer of ganache, caramel and pecans...basically a turtle filling. Don't want it too chewy, but not sure how creamy to make it. Anyone done one before?

For a rich caramel filling I either make or buy Dulce de Leche in a can or you can make it by taking sweet and condensed milk, puncturing holes in the top of the can and placeit in a inch or two of boiling water for 4 hours and after opening it you have a wonderful rich caramel (google it) Other times I buy the Dulce de Leche and mix it in with my regular buttercream for a toned down caramel taste. HTH

I've used the carmel dip they sell for apples in cupcakes. It may need thicken more for a cake HTH

Thanks! ...Funny but I had to look this up to see if anyone replied! I never got an email notice.

I cook the sweetened condensed milk too to make the dulce de lece, everyone LOVES it!!! It tastes like a kraft caramel square to me, only I make it just a tad less stiff than a caramel candy. But you can control the thickness which is great!

I have used the cans of Nestle Dulce de Leche several times and have gotten rave reviews. Nobody has even asked if I've made it from scratch or not.

I know u said u don't want to make it from scratch... But its really really fast.

This is my fav. Takes 5 minutes literally.The cake doesn't even need frosting. I use it on chocolate and pumpkin cake

Caramel Cider Sauce

1/2 - cup brown sugar
1 - tablespoon cornstarch
2/3 - cup apple cider
2 - tablespoon heavy cream
1 - tablespoon butter (not margarine)
salt to taste
in a saucepan, whisk brown sugar and cornstarch. Add cider and stir in the cream, butter and salt. Cook over med-hi heat, whisking constantly, until large bubbles form around the edge of the saucepan, about 3 minutes. Reduce heat to low and allow to thicken, about 2 minutes.

When you cook the can of condensed milk, the longer you cook it the thinner it is. I use to cook mine about 3 hours and it would still be able to be spread. If it does get too thick you can always stir in a little cream or even heat it for a few seconds.

Someone has posted how to cook it in the oven, in another thread, that would be a way to do make it and control how thick it gets.

You can store left overs, but I don't know for how long. It never lasts in my house.

I make my own dulce de leche but find it faster to cook it in the over rather than in the can. You can control the thickness by the length of time in the oven. When I want it really thick, I leave it in almost 2 hours but usually it's ready to spread as a filling after 1 1/2 hr.

Preheat the oven to 425° F (220° C).

Pour one can (400 gr/14 ounces) of sweetened condensed milk (not evaporated milk) into a glass pie plate or shallow baking dish. Stir in a few flecks of sea salt.

Set the pie plate within a larger pan, such as a roasting pan, and add hot water until it reaches halfway up the side of the pie plate.

Cover the pie plate snugly with aluminum foil and bake for 1 to 1¼ hours. (Check a few times during baking and add more water to the roasting pan as necessary).

Once the Dulce de Leche is nicely browned and caramelized, remove from the oven and let cool. Once cool, whisk until smooth.

Store in the refrigerator until ready to serve. Warm gently in a warm water bath or microwave oven before using.

Warning...this stuff is addictive and perfect if you just scoop out a spoonful during a late night fridge raid.

i put cans of condensed milk on my pressure cooker cover cans with water cook for 40 minutes.