Vegan Caramel

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Since discovering my dairy intolerance two years ago, I've been on the search to find dairy-free replacements for many of my former beloved butter and cream-filled desserts. Cakes and cookies were easy to convert, ice cream and confections were a bit more challenging, but I've managed to eat and eat while since. Though I found my intolerance curse in the beginning, I have made due with the cards I've been dealt.

The first major victory for dairy-free replacements was vegan whipped cream. It put up a brief fight, but relented when a can of coconut milk came to the rescue (as it so often does for dairy-free alternatives). Eager for a second victory to add to my list, I chose to tackle caramel next. Certainly, this could not be more difficult, I told myself, as I started working on my first batch. 

Oh, but it was. 

For the next month, each weekend I created a new batch and, shortly thereafter, tossed it directly into the trash. As it turns out, dairy-free milk alternatives do not hold up like heavy cream; the fat structure is too dissimilar. The coconut milk caramel, once cool, developed a look quite similar to bacon fat. The soy milk caramel was lumpy and dropped off the spoon like heavy rain drops. It seemed, for a short time, that my dreams of dairy-free caramel would have to be tossed in the trash as well.

As I let the idea simmer in the back of my mind, it occurred to me that I might have to rethink the caramel in a more drastic sense. With a helpful bit of research, I went back to the ever faithful can of coconut milk. Instead of adding it to molten sugar, as I had done before, I simmered the milk down to a thick sauce with brown sugar to prevent the fat from separating. The brown sugar lends a caramelized flavor and the coconut milk provides the sticky, perfect-for-drizzling texture. I would suggest using light brown sugar instead of dark (or, ideally, a mixture of the two)—the dark brown sugar (pictured) is on the edge of becoming too bitter for the final product.

While the vegan caramel tastes like real caramel to my dairy-free palate, it was described to me by dairy-lovers as "coconut butterscotch." Drizzled over ripe pears or apple slices, I doubt many would notice or care about the differences.  

Vegan caramel is created from a mixture of coconut milk and brown sugar simmered down until it forms a thick syrup. It may be a different take on caramel but, for those with food restrictions, it is a dream. The caramel pairs well with fresh fruit and can (and should) be drizzled over pastries and bowls of ice cream. For a smooth final product, I recommend running it through a fine mesh strainer. 

For those of you who love the classics, this basic caramel recipe may be more your style.

One Year Ago: Classic Apple Pie
Two Years Ago: Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Scones, Brown Butter Pear Muffins, Pumpkin Espresso Bread, and Triple Coconut Cookies
Three Years Ago: 3 Milk Coconut Cake, Blackberry Lemonade, Garden Tomato & Basil Tart, and Peaches & Cream
Four Years Ago: Butternut Squash Custard, Pumpkin Bread Pudding & Caramel Rum Raisin Sauce, and Banana Nut Bread

Vegan Caramel

Yields about 1 cup

14 ounces (397 grams) full fat coconut milk
3/4 cup (150 grams) light brown sugar, packed (or a mixture of half light brown/half dark brown sugar)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a large saucepan, whisk together the coconut milk and brown sugar. Bring to a boil over medium high heat, reduce temperature, and simmer for 25 to 35 minutes, or until it thickens into a syrup. It can be simmered longer for a thicker sauce. Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla extract.

For a smooth sauce,  run the caramel through a fine mesh strainer.

Cookie Dough Cake

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Cookie Dough Cake

Cookie Dough Cake
Cookie Dough Cake

My mother used to warn me to keep my fingers out of the mixing bowl. There are raw eggs, she'd say while playfully slapping my hand away with a spatula. You'll get sick. Even though she had my best interest at heart, I wasn't very good at listening. When her back was turned, I'd swipe a finger through the brownie batter or pinch off a piece of cookie dough, quickly hiding the evidence between my lips. The taste of the raw dough from my favorite cookies and cake outweighed the warnings my mother gave, each and every time.

(Sorry, mom.)

Cookie Dough Cake
Cookie Dough Cake

After eating raw batter for the better part of 25 years (and having yet to get sick), I cannot say my habit of licking the spatula clean has gotten much better. However, I am a bit more careful about the batter I choose to eat. When I'm craving a bit of cookie dough, I'll make a batch without eggs so I can sneak as much as I'd like.

A few years ago, I slipped a little cookie dough into a batch of cupcakes that was headed to the oven. The result was unique, but no less delicious than the sum of its parts. The memory of those long ago cupcakes were the inspiration for this cake. Real cookie dough is cut into small pieces and spread throughout the batter. As the cake itself tastes like cookie batter, the finished product becomes a texture playground, alternating between light cake and dense cookie dough. It's a fun, sweet cake that begs for a glass of milk.

Cookie Dough Cake
Cookie Dough Cake

As a side note, I'll be taking a break from blogging for the next month to deal with medical issues, move across state lines, and begin a new job. With so much going on all at once, I need to step away from the kitchen and concentrate on other things for awhile. Even though I'll be gone, I won't let this space go quiet. I have asked a handful of my favorite bloggers to share their own recipes with you. Each week you'll meet a new face and have the opportunity to try out a sweet treat or savory dish.

I have a feeling you'll fall in love with their words and photography as I did.

Cookie Dough Cake

This Cookie Dough Cake with Brown Sugar Buttercream is where chocolate chip cookies meet cake. The cake is made with brown sugar to give it the taste of cookie batter. Small pieces of cookie dough are mixed into the batter, giving the cake a unique texture that's somewhere between a cake and cookie dough. While the cake is more dense than usual from the cookie dough, it has the undeniable taste and texture of sneaking a finger full of batter from the bowl. While the brown sugar frosting is optional, it can work as a nice complement to the cake when spread in a thin layer.

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Bruléed Grapefruit

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Bruléed Grapefruit

Bruléed Grapefruit

Simple pleasures bring small bursts of happiness into my life. So often I see people wait for happiness to come to them, to rush in and bring them bursts of joy. While happiness may sometimes sweep in like a wave crashing on the beach, more often than not I watch people sitting on the shore, dipping their toes into the water and wishing for more. I have found myself on that very same beach before, waiting for life to bring me something I could not find on my own. Instead of bringing what you desire, the waiting takes it from you, drawing it out to sea and leaving you in its wake, washed up on the shore.

Eventually, I could not wait anymore. Happiness, it seems, was something I'd have to make for myself.

Bruléed Grapefruit Bruléed Grapefruit

It is not hard to find happiness in your own life, but some moments you may have to dig a little deeper to find it. I try to find my joy in the small pleasures of everyday life, to build happiness between the beams in the structure of my life. I wear fuzzy socks and lounge on the couch because it makes me feel content. I light candles at night and enjoy the flames dancing around a dark room because I deserve to see beauty. I buy rusted spoons and thrift store plates because these simple items bring me a silly amount of joy. I buy the expensive dairy-free butter because I finally decided I am worth the cost.

I eat chocolate every single day (and I will never apologize for it).

Bruléed Grapefruit

These small moments bring me happiness. I had to find happiness on my own terms, to remind myself that happiness surrounds me, to open my eyes to the world around me. I had to stop wishing and take action. When I feel myself crossing the sands back to the beach, I go to the gym and take my emotions out on the elliptical machine. I knead my frustration into bread dough and bake it into something delicious. Happiness in a conscious decision.

Where do you find the happiness in your life?

Bruléed Grapefruit

Bruléed Grapefruit is one of my simple, joyful pleasures. I like to enjoy one for a sweet breakfast or a bright afternoon snack. A grapefruit is sliced in half, sprinkled with spices and brown sugar, and broiled until the sugar melts into a sweet syrup. A dash of cinnamon and cloves brings a unique warmth to the tart grapefruit, which I find quite welcoming. Whether you serve one or two, Bruléed Grapefruit is a warm treat that adds a spark of energy to the quiet citrus fruit.

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