Cajeta Casera (Homemade Goat's Milk "Caramel")

Cajeta Casera (Homemade Goat's Milk \
  • Yield:Makes about 1 cup (12 1/2 ounces)
  • Active time:45 minutes
  • Total time:1 hour
  • Rated: 4.5

[Photograph: Vicky Wasik]

If you've never tasted cajeta, you're in for a luscious surprise—a thick, gooey sauce reminiscent of dulce de leche, but exponentially more complex. Old-school techniques require the better part of an afternoon, but my method will reduce a quart of goat's milk down to a half cup in less than an hour, concentrating its flavor and consistency. Drizzle it over your favorite ice cream, use it as a dip for apple slices, spread it over cake, or just lick it off a spoon...

Why It Works

Just lick it off a spoon... Read the Whole Story
  • Compared to cow's milk, goat's milk is uniquely stable, able to endure high heat without scorching.
  • A pinch of baking soda lowers the temperature at which goat's milk can brown, helping it develop a rich caramel flavor despite a cooking temperature well below the traditional point of caramelization.
  • The robust flavor of a Mexican vanilla bean won't fade away with extended cooking.

Ingredients

  • 1 Mexican vanilla bean
  • 34 ounces (4 cups; 965g) fresh goat's milk, preferably UHT (see note above)
  • 6 ounces (3/4 cup; 170g) sugar
  • 1/2 + 1/8 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/8 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt

Directions

  1. 1.

    Split the vanilla bean with a paring knife and scrape out seeds with the flat of the blade; reserve seeds for another use. Combine split vanilla pod with goat’s milk, sugar, baking soda, and salt in a 5-quart stainless steel pot. Warm over medium heat, stirring occasionally with a heat-resistant spatula, until sugar dissolves and milk turns foamy and light, about 15 minutes.

  2. 2.

    Continue cooking, stirring and scraping the sides of the pot frequently if not constantly, until milk is thick, golden, and reduced to no more than a thin, super-jammy layer, about 45 minutes; stir more frequently as the cajeta thickens to prevent scorching. Continue cooking until cajeta forms a "trail" that remains open for 1 second when a spatula is scraped across the bottom of the pot. Remove from heat. Using tongs, remove and discard vanilla pod. Scrape cajeta into a heat-resistant, wide-mouth glass jar. If the total amount is less than 12 1/2 ounces (1 cup; 355g), thin with a touch of milk or water or else the cajeta will be too thick on cooling. Cajeta can be refrigerated for up to 3 months.