{Cajeta Recipe} How to Make Goat Milk Caramel Sauce! (2024)

FAQs

What's the difference between cajeta and caramel? ›

The difference between cajeta and other caramel sauces such as caramel and dulce de leche is that cajeta is made out of goat's milk whereas most others are usually made out of cow's milk.

If it's too thin, continue simmering; if it's too thick, stir in a little water. (The slower this final simmering goes, the darker the cajeta.) Strain into a storage container. Once cool, store tightly covered in the refrigerator for a month or more.

What Is Cajeta? Just like dulce de leche, cajeta is a thick, sweet confection made from boiled milk—goat's milk in the case of cajeta, and cow's milk in the case of dulce.

For best results, simmer; if it starts to boil, simply lower the temperature, stirring every few minutes, and it should be fine. The baking soda neutralizes the milk's pH levels and makes cajeta smooth. It also assists with the Maillard reaction, the browning of amino acids with sugars to create caramel.

Caramel can be produced in so many forms such as, sauce, a chewy candy, or a hard candy because of how much of an ingredient is added and the temperature it is being prepared at.

Though they are both pretty delicious, and pair well with plenty of desserts, there are some important distinctions between the two. Cajeta requires the use of two ingredients not found in caramel sauces — goat's milk and baking soda — as well as a different, cooler cooking temperature.

To thicken a caramel sauce, use one tablespoon of cornstarch or tapioca starch (sometimes known as tapioca flour) and one tablespoon of water per cup of caramel. Then simmer the caramel, stirring it constantly with a wooden spoon until it becomes thick.

Alternatively, you can mix in water with cornstarch or flour to thicken the sauce. If you're using cornstarch, add 1 tablespoon each of water and cornstarch for every cup of caramel sauce. For flour, mix ¼ cup of water and 2 tablespoons of flour per cup of sauce.

Traditionally, it consists of sugar and milk, but it can also be made with sweetened condensed milk as a shortcut. If you use goat's milk, then dulce de leche becomes cajeta. The ingredients are just a little different, but when it comes to dulce de leche vs. caramel, the differences have to do with geography.

Once the sauce is properly canned, it will keep in a cool, dry place for about months. Once it's opened it should be refrigerated and will keep for up to a month.

Does cajeta go bad? ›

It is shelf stable and has a one year shelf life. Refrigerate after opening.

Cajeta is a beloved traditional Mexican sweet that deserves to be on more supermarket shelves across the entire United States. Essentially, it's a caramel sauce made from sweetened goat's milk that has been cooked down until thick, gooey, darkened, and delicious.

As you might expect, cajeta has a deep caramelized sweetness and a clear dairy flavor. From the goat's milk, it has a very slight tang and a hint of grassy/earthiness. While this might sound like a strange way to describe a caramel, please don't be put off by it!

Cajeta, on the other hand, has its roots in Mexico and is based on goat's milk. While standard caramel sauces are sugar-based (often times high fructose corn syrup) with very little dairy, cajeta is primarily a dairy based product.

Cajeta is a thick, sweet caramel spread made from caramelized sugar and goat's milk. Cajeta is available at well-stocked grocery stores and at Mexican markets. If unable to locate cajeta, substitute 3/4 cup dulce de leche spread from a 13.4-oz can.