Dairy Free Caramel Sauce

I wanted a creamy caramel sauce, without the cream or sweetened condensed milk, that could provide that amber sweetness with other desserts. One that could tame bright flavors of winter citrus, cover fall apples, or daintily dress a cake plate.

Coconut milk provides a creamy component to this caramel sauce, deepening the flavor, but still keeping it free of the coconut taste.

The sea salt here is absolutely essential. It makes each one of the complex notes in the caramel more clear, and explains the amber color to the taster's palate. That rich caramel taste is perfect for winter.

Making candy is not as hard and scary as it may seem. Yeah, there's a pot of boiling sugar on the stove, but that can be taken in stride. When I was a wee lass, my mom let me make suckers to go in some sucker molds she had. I had made suckers with the Girls Scouts the week before, and I wanted more. So, I set about boiling the heck out of a pot of sugar. The house smelled, the fire alarm went off, the mixture was harder than rocks, and the smell stuck around the kitchen for several days. Um, don't make candy like that.

There are two better options: the candy thermometer, and the cold water test. I have both of these methods available, and you can easily find descriptions of which types of candy (fudge vs. taffy vs. caramels) require which temperature. Hand in hand with that though is the cold water method, which I am more inclined to use. The appropriate cold water test for this caramel sauce, which reaches "firm ball stage" is explained within the recipe. But while we're at it, one more candy-making tip: cook the mixture gently. No cranking it up to high and leaving the room. It's the best way to prevent my childhood candy debacle, and give you great results.

Last Year: Gluten Free Nutella Brownie Bites
Two Years Ago: 10 Tools for Every Gluten Free Kitchen
Three Years Ago: Banana Bread with Almonds

Dairy Free Caramel Sauce
adapted from this recipe
[Printer Friendly]

2 cups white granulated sugar
1/2 cup water
1/ cup agave nectar or light corn syrup
1/2 cup coconut milk (not light)
2 tablespoons dairy free shortening, like Spectrum Organic
2 teaspoons vanilla
salt to taste

Combine the coconut milk and shortening and set aside. In a small saucepan over medium-high heat, bring the sugar, agave nectar and water to a boil, stirring well at first to dissolve the sugar. Turn down the heat to low and cook until the liquid is deep amber in color, about 12 minutes, swirling the pan occasionally to ensure even cooking. Even while cooking on low, the mixture will still bubble vigorously - this is what you want. The best way to test it is to look for "firm ball" stage, about 240 degrees Fahrenheit on a candy thermometer.

Firm ball: You can drip a little bit of the mixture from the spoon onto a cold plate, and leave it for 30 seconds. Then, with your finger, it should hold it's shape, and feel gooey to the touch (but not runny or solid).

The Candy-o-Matic (well worth the visit) suggests this method for testing:

Drop a little of this syrup in cold water and it will form a firm ball, one that won’t flatten when you take it out of the water, but remains malleable and will flatten when squeezed.

Once you've reached firm ball and a light amber color, remove the pan from heat. Very carefully (the mixture will bubble), stir in the coconut milk, dairy-free soy margarine and salt until smooth. The salting is a delicate process. You will toss in a bit of salt, and then stir thoroughly, then taste. You want just enough salt to magnify the sweetness. You add enough to there's almost a hint of bitterness from the salt. It will really bring out the caramel flavor.

Let cool slightly before adding the vanilla, then using to fill tarts, coat apples, or serve over dairy free ice cream. It can be stored in the fridge for up to a month. Reheat before serving.

Other candy recipes:
Chocolate-Dipped Pretzels
Chocolate Dipped Strawberries
Peanut Brittle (DF)