Elevate your breakfast scones with rich, caramel-like dulce de leche. These Dulce de Leche Tea Scones are a decadent weekend treat — perfect for breakfast, brunch, dessert, or a cozy snack any time of day.
Please note: Eagle Brand® Sweetened Condensed Milk sponsored this content. All opinions are my own.
How to Make Dulce de Leche Using One Ingredient
There are many ways to make dulce de leche — stovetop, slow cooker, or by cooking an unopened can. My favorite, and the simplest, is to pour a can of sweetened condensed milk into a pie pan and bake it in a water bath. This hands-off method reliably yields a smooth, creamy, deeply caramelized sauce without the risk of heating a sealed can.
- Produces a velvety, consistent dulce de leche
- Requires only one ingredient and avoids risks associated with cooking sealed cans
- Easy and low-maintenance — no stirring or standing over the stove
How to Turn Scones from Dry and Boring to Breakfast Heaven
Many scone recipes end up dry or dense. This version takes cues from cinnamon chip scones and improves texture and flavor by using grated frozen butter and generous amounts of cold heavy cream. The result is tender, flaky scones with a buttery crumb — finished with a generous drizzle of homemade dulce de leche.
Scones are fast to assemble, require no rising time, and bake quickly, making them ideal for holiday mornings or a weekend treat. You can speed things up by using store-bought dulce de leche, but homemade has a richer flavor when made from a quality sweetened condensed milk like Eagle Brand®.
This dulce de leche recipe makes more than you need for the scones, so you’ll have leftovers to swirl into muffins or fill cookies.
Tips for Making This Recipe
- Check the water bath every 45 minutes while making dulce de leche. The water ensures even, gentle cooking and prevents scorching.
- Bake the sweetened condensed milk until it reaches a deep brown color. If you’re short on time, 90 minutes yields a good result, but longer (up to about 3 hours) gives a richer flavor and darker color.
- This recipe calls for both all-purpose and cake flour. Cake flour helps make the scones tender. If you don’t have cake flour, substitute one cup all-purpose flour minus 2 tablespoons, then whisk in 2 tablespoons cornstarch to mimic cake flour’s texture.
- Keep the butter very cold. Freeze two sticks for at least 30 minutes, then grate them with a box grater. Cold, grated butter creates pea-sized pieces that produce flaky layers and prevent over-spreading in the oven.
- Handle the dough as little as possible. Overworking will lead to tough scones — mix just until the dough comes together.
Useful Kitchen Tools for Making This Recipe
9-inch pie pan, roasting pan for the water bath, box grater for frozen butter, pastry cutter or forks to cut in the butter, bench scraper for shaping, a baking sheet, and a small saucepan to warm dulce de leche.
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Do you love dulce de leche? Make a double batch — it’s wonderful swirled into muffins, sandwiched between cookies, or simply spooned over warm scones.
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How to Make Dulce De Leche From Scratch
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Banana Muffins Swirled with Dulce de Leche
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Alfajores
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Dulce de Leche Tea Scones Recipe
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Equipment
- 9-inch round pie pan
- Roasting pan for the water bath
- Box grater
- Pastry cutter
- Bench scraper
- Baking sheet
- Small saucepan
Ingredients
Dulce de Leche
- 14 ounces sweetened condensed milk (one 14-oz can)
Scones
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
- 1 cup cake flour (or substitute: 1 cup all-purpose minus 2 tbsp + 2 tbsp cornstarch)
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ¾ cup unsalted butter, frozen and grated
- 1 cup cold heavy cream, plus extra for brushing
- ½ cup dark brown sugar, packed
- 2 large egg yolks, room temperature
- 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 ¼ cups cinnamon chips
- Sparkling sugar for sprinkling
- ½ cup dulce de leche, warmed for drizzling
Instructions
Make Dulce de Leche:
- Heat the oven to 425°F and place a rack in the middle position.
- Pour the sweetened condensed milk into a 9-inch pie pan and cover tightly with aluminum foil.
- Set the pie pan inside a roasting pan and add hot tap water until it reaches halfway up the pie pan.
- Bake in the oven, checking the water level about every 45 minutes and adding hot water as needed. Continue until the milk becomes a deep brown, up to about 3 hours.
- Remove the pie pan from the water bath and let the dulce de leche cool uncovered.
Make Scones:
- Whisk all-purpose flour, cake flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt in a large bowl.
- Grate the frozen butter with a box grater and add to the flour. Cut it in with a pastry cutter, two forks, or your fingers until pea-sized crumbs form.
- Place the flour-butter mixture in the freezer while you whisk the wet ingredients.
- Whisk together 1 cup heavy cream, brown sugar, egg yolks, and vanilla in a small bowl.
- Pour the wet mixture over the flour mixture, add the cinnamon chips, and mix until moistened.
- Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and gently shape into an 8-inch disc. If too sticky, add a little more flour; if too dry, add 1–2 tablespoons heavy cream.
- Cut the disc into 8 wedges with a sharp knife or bench scraper and place them 2–3 inches apart on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Refrigerate for at least 15 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 400°F. Brush the scone tops with heavy cream and sprinkle with sparkling sugar.
- Bake 22–25 minutes until golden at the edges and lightly browned on top. Cool a few minutes on the baking sheet.
- Warm the dulce de leche gently in a small saucepan over low heat or in the microwave on 50% power for 30–45 seconds until loosened.
- Drizzle the warm dulce de leche over the warm scones using a whisk or fork tines for a pretty finish.
Notes
- If you don’t have cake flour, substitute 1 cup all-purpose flour minus 2 tablespoons plus 2 tablespoons cornstarch, whisked together.
- Store dulce de leche in a sealed jar in the refrigerator for up to 4 weeks.
- Scones drizzled with dulce de leche will keep at room temperature for 2 days or in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
- Plain scones (undrizzled) can be frozen for up to 3 months; freeze on a tray until firm, then transfer to a bag. Reheat on 50% power for 1–1½ minutes and drizzle with dulce de leche.
- Recipe adapted from Sally’s Baking Addiction.
Nutrition
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Thank you to Eagle Brand® Sweetened Condensed Milk for sponsoring this post!