Sweetened condensed milk is having a moment on socials. We are seeing three-ingredient, no-churn ice creams made with condensed milk, tinned peaches and whipped cream everywhere. Then there are simple flans, and golden trays of scrunched filo sweet, soggy and soaked at the bottom with a condensed milk custard. And once summer comes expect the Northern Hemisphere trends of whipped lemonade (condensed milk, cream, lemon juice and ice) and condensed milk pancake cakes to be front and centre.

I know that in some sections of Australian society, sweetened condensed milk has been omnipresent in Nanna’s jelly slices, no-bake cheesecakes and soft caramel fudge. Just writing these names makes my mouth water, but then, I am one of those ‘nannas’.

Across my eight cookbooks, some very super-simple recipes like a mango ‘cheatscake’ and a no-churn ice cream have succeeded thanks to condensed milk. These recipes are both available online. As is my lemonade pie recipe, which is a twist on that cheatscake, but with beaten condensed milk and lemon juice folded into cream whipped with milk powder and cream of tartar for stability. I think you’ll like it – and like how simple it is to make.

Related recipe: Matt Preston’s cardamom brownies with sweetened condensed milk ice cream

Just cast your eyes to delicious.com.au and you’ll see that I am not alone in my love of cans of condensed milk. There’s Khang Ong’s chocolate peanut caramel tart that has a crushed Oreo and peanut biscuit base and a layer of condensed milk caramel that gets a point of difference with peanut butter and a teaspoon of salt. While a 395g can of condensed milk alongside golden syrup is the secret ingredient in Phoebe Wood’s banana, condensed milk and golden syrup cake. And – once whipped with softened butter – it provides the simple frosting and filling to Lucy Nunes’ very grown-up Vietnamese coffee cake.

I also reckon there are new condensed milk recipes out there to discover. I’m working on a condensed milk custard that will set firm enough to cut, dust and fry into an Italian crema fritta, the classic fried custard (I kid you not) dessert served at the venerable Ristorante Diana in Bologna, Italy. And I am keen to try bocaditos de Corn Flakes y leche condensada, which are like Brazilian honey joys that you don’t need to cook. You do, however, have to shape them with wet hands so the condensed milk caramel doesn’t burn you badly. Sounds wonderfully risky! But the risk- versus-reward sounds like it’s worth it.

Then there’s also the smooth and creamy Filipino leche flan, a Vietnamese smoothie made from condensed milk and avocado of all things (it’s delicious, BTW), a cheat’s version of Indian cashew milk sweets, the Northern Irish ‘fifteens’ fridge cake or, from the US, Hello Dolly bars. Gee, hasn’t sweetened condensed milk come a long way since it was first invented, all the way back in 1835?

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