The Best Condensed Milk Brand For Both Your Coffee And Your Cake

Condensed milk is that glue-like stuff that comes in a small tin can, is too sweet to eat alone, but is oh-so-delicious in desserts. Condensed milk is exactly what it sounds like: After the water in milk evaporates from being heated you are left with the thicker, less-liquidy condensed version of the milk. Condensed milk is almost always sweetened, with 40% to 45% sugar added during the manufacturing process. (If you want the unsweetened stuff, your best bet is to reach for the evaporated milk.)

When you go to the grocery store, you'll often notice a handful of condensed milk brands sitting neatly on the shelf in the bakery aisle. With similar labels and prices, it can be hard to figure out which one to choose. Well, that's why the Tasting Table tasting crew is here to help you out. We taste-tested 6 condensed milk brands and found one clear winner in the bunch: Borden Magnolia's leche condensada azucarada. It's important our pantry staples can do some heavy lifting, so we made sure the condensed milk we chose would taste good in both coffee and a simple pound cake — Borden Magnolia delivered on both. The rich and creamy "milk," poured beautifully and incorporated itself smoothly into our tester dishes whether it was cold coffee or flour for the pound cake.

Ultimately, when picking out condensed milk, you want it to deliver on a few things: Flavor, texture, and ingredients. Of course, flavor and ingredients are intrinsically linked so the label on the can will give you some clues as to whether or not the condensed milk you choose will deliver on three of the two things you should be looking for. Borden Magnolia, for example, only has two ingredients: whole milk and sugar. Be wary of condensed milk brands that add things like palm oil or other vegetable oils.

If you have a hankering for Thai-like iced coffee, all you need to do is mix 1 fluid ounce of CHABAMBOO Premium Thai Tea Extract with 6 ounces of cold water and 2 tablespoons of condensed milk. Note: We didn't add ice in during our taste test so as not to dilute the flavor, but if you're hankering for an authentic and delicious Thai iced coffee you've got to add ice. As for dessert, while our taste test experiment called for a simple pound cake, we know you can do better. Even if you're just trying to zhuzh up a simple boxed cake recipe, adding sweetened condensed milk will revolutionize how you do dessert. But we recommend giving this easy tres leches cake recipe a go, not only is it addictingly good, but it lets your condensed milk shine in all its creamy, delicious glory. We promise the Thai iced coffee-tres leches combo will successfully satiate your sweet tooth and disappoint your dentist at the same time!