This post is brought to you by my new friend Lauren from Empowered Sustenance. She reached out to me via email and said she had a recipe I would love to have on my site. Well she was right. But I would love more for her to make it for me, so I could just be a fat kid and enjoy. I hope you enjoy and please come leave a comment with your results as I have not tested this yet. This recipe was adapted from the lovely Lauren over at Oatmeal With a Fork. Her recipe can be found HERE.
Caramel–real caramel, and not a jar of plastic-y corn syrup–is perhaps the most luxurious dessert sauce. The simple term “homemade caramel sauce” seems to stimulate tastebuds into a salivating frenzy. In the same way, the words Salted Caramel Sauce should be handled with extreme care because it has been know to produce uncontrollable activation of salivary glands.
Conventional caramel sauce relies on a base of cooked sugar and heavy cream. This simple recipe uses reduced fruit juice and either coconut oil or butter for a luscious and creamy texture. When made with coconut oil, this sauce is dairy free. Additionally, this recipe fits into the GAPS, SCD and Paleo/Primal diets!
How to Use Fruit Juice Caramel Sauce if any actually survives until dessert time, enjoy this caramel sauce:
- Drizzled over fresh fruit
- Poured over ice cream
- Stirred into a latte or tea
- By the spoonful!
Call this sauce what you will, be it Homemade Caramel, Salted Caramel, Fruit Juice Caramel or even Homemade Salted Fruit Juice Caramel Sauce. Just stand out of the way to avoid the ensuing salivary waterworks.
Fruit Juice Caramel Sauce
Ingredients
- 4 cups freshly pressed apple juice see note
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil or grass-fed butter
- small pinch of salt adjust to taste
Instructions
- Simmer the apple juice in a sauce pan until the consistency of runny honey, about 30 minutes.
- You should have about 1/2 to 2/3 cup reduced juice.
- You can let the juice simmer unattended for about 20-25 minutes.
- When the mixture begins to thicken, keep an eye on the pot to make sure it doesn't burn (it goes from thickened to burned very quickly).
- Let cool slightly, then stir in the coconut oil or butter.
- Stir until emulsified.
- Add a small pinch of salt. Use immediately, or refrigerate.
- The sauce will harden slightly in the fridge, so soften it over a pan of hot water before serving.
Notes
Lauren is the 19-year-old real food blogger at EmpoweredSustenance. After struggling with ulcerative colitis for five years, she decided to dive head first into healing her body with nutrition and a holistic lifestyle. She loves sharing her creative Paleo, SCD and GAPS-friendly recipes and healing tools with others. She also offers a free, retro-inspired Grain Free Holiday Feast e-cookbook on her blog. You can follow her on Facebook HERE or Pinterest HERE.
****Disclosure: If you purchase any of the products linked in this post or products through the links on the right side of my page, I receive a small percentage from the respected affiliate programs****
Pumpkin Butter Cups
This is a great idea and so simple, thanks for sharing the recipe!! It worked great! More caramel-Like if you use butter of course, and I just had 4 cups of Red Delicious apple juice fresh pressed today. I suggest using a very sweet apple with higher sugar content to get closer to a caramel taste. Delicious!
I am probably doing something wrong, it has been 3h my apple juice is simmering and it still does not look like honey…
Wowzers, I have never heard of that EVER!!!
I imagine mango nectar would make a very yummy caramel :P
This sauce is delicious but you will be disappointed if you are expecting a real caramel taste. I juiced apples, cooked as directed – though it took 60+ minutes for the jiuce to thicken down to 2/3 cup. I used coconut oil (cannot have dairy) – emulsified with a stick blender…again, it is beautiful, tastes great, but you will definately taste more apple than caramel. I will definately make again though! Thanks for sharing delicious things for those of us that usually have to do without!
I’m sorry if this is a stupid question, but is this ‘fresh pressed apple juice’ the same as apple cider? I know where I can buy unpasteurized apple cider from a local farmer.
No but I think the cider would work great too
this must have taken awhile to get together, much appreicted.
Hi, this sounds yummy! Do you think it might work with a different kind of juice too? I was thinking about orange juice (pressed myself of course).
I am pretty sure it would, you would just have to be patient :)
Thanks for the answer :)
Just wanted to report that I tried it the results are as follows: I was pleased with the consistency, quite caramely, but the taste was extremeley srong- sour and sweet at the same time and incredibly, well… orangy (but that’s what you should expect when you concentrate 2 oranges). It might sound good but alone in itself that taste is too overpowering.
I aded it as an icing for my brownie and that combination worked nicely, but beware, too much of it might be hard to enjoy ;)
Hi,
Do you think this can be used as a sauce on flan? Or custard? Can’t wait to try it out!
Thanks!
I don’t see why it couldn’t. I have never personally made a flan or custard so I wouldnt know
Hi! This would be GREAT drizzled over a Paleo Cheesecake!!!!
HI! I’ll try this … and also this gave me an idea … if I go with some cocoa butter and some raw cocoa .. I’ll get a nice chocolate bar … I’ll bet! And a great, nutritious too! :)
Thanks!
Yes you will Rute, I have a recipe coming with those ingredients soon
Tried this tonight. Pulled it too soon. Was a little afraid of letting it go too far. Tasted good but was way too runny. I am going to try again this week and see if I can get it closer to the right consistency. Thanks for the recipe. It helps to think outside the box. Keep up the good work.
Thank you Kris. I have not personally made this recipe as it was a guest post, let me know how the second time goes?
Mine turned out more the consistency of maple syrup even after almost an hour simmering and the oil and juice separated when refrigerated. Reheated though it made a great sweetener for dark chocolate! Dipped fruit in it and it was an entirely fruit sweetened chocolate treat!
Yum! I just pinned this.
Thanks for this post! How long do you think it would keep for if I didn’t use it all at once?
Mine didn`t get this thick. I added both coconut oil and a little butter because the butter added that “special” taste. And I simmered it for closer to an hour as opposed to the 30 minutes trying to get it reduced.
Party I haven’t made it yet, I will wait to see what Lauren says
Apples and this sauce sounds like a perfect combo! I’m going to have to try that now! I hope your daughter enjoys this!
Awesome Jenny, I hope she loves this
OH.MY.GAH. This is such a brilliant idea!!! I can’t tell you how many times I’ve come across recipes for dessert sauces that I’m thrilled to check out, just to see that it has corn syrup added to it. I *LOVE* that this is just apple juice and coconut oil/butter! I have a feeling that I’m probably going to be making this about 15x a week from now on.
Haha awesome. Make sure you share lol
I’m so glad you like this recipe! If you do make it 15 times a week you will have me beat, since I’ve only made it 2 times this week :)
I was just hoping for a paleo caramel recipe! how fortuitous :)
Woohoo
Yay! It sounds like perfect timing!
Question: If you are going to simmer the fruit juice, then what does it matter whether the juice is pasteurized?
Something I have been wondering about – what is the fuss about pasteurized foods that you are going to cook, and not eat raw?
That is a good question Tamara, but this was a guest post and not my recipe. I will have Lauren come respond when she can.
Hey Tamara! That is a good question. Yes, here–since the juice is simmered like you noted–the juice will no longer be raw. I recommend unpasteurized juice (or home-pressed juice) to avoid any additives in the juice. Often, processed apple juice contains undisclosed sugars or starches. But if this isn’t a big deal for you, then by all means save yourself the trouble and use regular juice.
I think the main issue about getting unpasteurized things when they will be cooked is to avoid any unnecessary processing. I can think of one example: I buy raw milk to make homemade yogurt, even though making yogurt requires heating the milk to 180 degrees. So technically my yogurt is not “raw” but the most important thing to me is that I my milk has not been ultra-pasteurized or homogenized and I am supporting local, organic farms.
I make yogurt from raw milk and only heat it to 110 degrees F. It comes out great and is still raw, not pasteurized, which is also great. I let it process at 100 to 110 degrees for 24 hours according to instructions in the GAPS book.
Great point Kaymer
Kaymer, thank you for sharing that! I’m going to give that a try and just heat it to 110. I also let it process at about 105 for the 24 hours.