By KRISTY CHONG

Five Ingredient Vegan Caramel Sauce

Made with only five ingredients, this caramel sauce is smooth, buttery and melt-in-your-mouth delicious, without the excess sugar, butter or heavy cream.

This caramel sauce has a coconut cream base, sweetened with coconut sugar, and thickened with cornstarch and a spoonful of nut butter.

Surprisingly, the spoonful of nut butter added at the end of this recipe is the key ingredient that brings the texture and caramel consistency together.

There are a multitude of substitutions for the sweeteners and nut butter options for this recipe if you do not like the taste of coconut or are looking to have a fuller caramel flavor.

You can also add flavorings, such as almond, caramel or amaretto extract, to enhance the caramel-like flavors for this recipe.

How to Enjoy this Five-Ingredient Vegan Caramel Sauce:

• Topped on ice cream
• Swirled into yogurt
• Baked into thumbprint cookies
• Served over pies, tarts, cakes or scones
• Dipped with apples and fresh fruit
• Make caramel apple bourbon smashes! (Stay tuned for the recipe)

Ingredients

• 1 can coconut cream
• 1 cup coconut sugar or brown sugar
• 1½ tbsp cornstarch
• ½ tsp sea salt
• 3 tbsp almond butter

Instructions

1. Combine coconut cream, sugar and cornstarch in a small saucepan and heat over medium heat.
2. Stir until sugar dissolves and mixture begins to bubble.
3. Add in the almond butter and sea salt and stir for 5 minutes. until smooth and caramel thickens.
4. Allow the caramel to slightly cool and enjoy. Store in an airtight container or mason jar for up to 2 weeks. Mixture may harden. but can easily be microwaved for 10 seconds before enjoying again.

Notes:

Alternative Sweeteners:

• Brown sugar — sub for 3/4 of coconut sugar. I’ve found this alternative works best in place of coconut sugar.
• Maple syrup — sub for 3/4 cup
• Honey — sub for 3/4 cup

You can also experiment with a mixture of sweeteners to suit your particular taste.

KRISTY CHONG is a self-taught home baker and cook with a background in documentary photography. She currently lives in Baltimore, Maryland, where she works out of her home studio creating food, developing recipes and styling photo shoots. Her recipes are inspired by her travels as well as culinary traditions brought on by friends and family. Her culinary mantra is to make recipes that inspire confidence in the kitchen and to make foods that are mostly nutritious, but always delicious. You can check out more of her recipes on her blog or on her Instagram page.

…Nov. 9, 2020