Coconut Caramel
A simple, versatile caramel sauce.
Ingredients
- 1 c sugar
- 1 can (13–14 ounces) coconut milk — check the ingredients to ensure there are no unsafe additives; guar gum should be fine, xanthan gum is not.
Instructions
- In a saucepan over medium heat, cook sugar until it has melted and is orange-brown, stirring as needed with a rubber spatula to prevent the edges from burning. It's fine if lumps form.
- Add coconut milk. (The sugar will temporarily harden, this is fine.)
- Simmer mix (over any temperature is probably fine, hotter probably goes faster but requires more frequent stirring), stirring as needed to dissolve the sugar and prevent the pan from bubbling over.
- For a thinner pourable sauce, stop cooking as soon as all the sugar is dissolved, about 10 minutes. For a thicker spreadable sauce, keep cooking until it reaches the desired texture (you can check what the texture will be by dripping a bit of the sauce into a bowl of ice water or onto a frozen spoon/dish).
- Pour into a glass jar and store in the refrigerator.
Although many foods that contain coconut milk will quickly become unsafe when stored, this one has lasted fine at room temperature overnight, or in the refrigerator for weeks.
Notes
This dulce-de-leche style caramel sauce can be used for all kinds of dessert items. Dip apples slices in it for a quick treat. Pour it over rice Chex cereal with toasted pecans to make sticky, crunchy dessert balls. Cook it thicker and use it as filling for sandwich cookies.
There are a variety of coconut brands, and some have different flavors. Just watch the ingredients, only brands that do not have xanthan gum are MCAS safe.