Cajeta Recipe

This cajeta recipe is simple and straightforward but takes a while. Still, this delicious goat’s milk caramel sauce is well worth the effort.

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The Story

Two of my goat/farm mentors introduced me to cajeta years ago.

They have a gorgeous farm in the rolling hills of Ottertail county. One of the best features of their farm (of which there are many excellent ones) is their large pole building. One half is a large riding arena. It also includes an indoor bedding pack for their dairy goats in the winter, an insulated goat milking parlor, and a deep winter greenhouse.

The other half of the building is an alleyway of horse stalls, a small studio style apartment, and then a large community room. I guess I don’t know what they call this room, but it is where they always host guests. It has a gorgeous antique wood stove, all their milking equipment, some spotless tack, large fridge, a couch, a farming library, and a large table wood table.

Whenever you visit these two, delicious tea is always served and some kind of treat made from goat’s milk. The traditional tends to be goat’s milk ice cream with this delicious caramel sauce called Cajeta. This recipe comes from them.

What is Cajeta?

Cajeta is a goat’s milk that has had sugar and thickeners added to it and is cooked down until it becomes a gooey caramel sauce.

Best that I can tell it originated in Mexico, allegedly in the city of Celaya, Hidalgo.

Can I make Cajeta from Cow’s Milk?

Not exactly. Cow’s milk has a different protein structure than goat’s milk and so it scorches more easily. If you want to make a combination of cow’s milk and goat’s milk that would be a safer bet.

What do I do with Cajeta?

I’ve most often eaten it over ice cream but you can use this caramel sauce however you want. Make an especially thick batch of it and you can spread it on toast. Mix it into bread doughs, add it to pastry, sweeten your coffee. If you cook it down far enough you can even roll the caramel into candies and wrap them in wax paper. The sky is the limit.

Ingredients for Cajeta

Aside from the goat’s milk this is a very simple recipe.

• 3 Quarts Goat’s Milk
• 3 Cups Sugar
• 2 Tablespoons Cornstarch
• 1/4 tsp baking soda

My friend who shared this recipe with me omits the corn starch from her version. I haven’t tried that yet but you certainly could. I think it would take longer to set up but will still work fine.

Supplies for Making Cajeta

• Large pot – six quart or more
• Wooden Spoon
• Measuring Cups
• Measuring Spoon
• Whisk
• Mason jars for storing
• Canning Funnel

How to Make Cajeta

Begin by whisking 1 cup of milk with the cornstarch and baking soda in the stock pot. Whisk until all the lumps are gone.

Add the rest of the milk and sugar to the pot. Turn on medium high heat.

Stirring very frequently, bring the mixture up to a boil.

Reduce the heat to medium, where it should continue at a low simmer.

Now you simply let the mixture cook down until you get a thick, delicious caramel sauce. This can be time consuming and takes me about an hour and a half.

It is done when you can drag a wood spoon or rubber spatula across the bottom of the pot and the caramel stays parted for a moment before gooping back together.

Make sure you continue to stir frequently, always stirring from the bottom to prevent scorching.

Once removed from heat you can add in a dash of vanilla or sea salt for more flavor. A little rum might be tasty too!

Ladle or pour into heat safe jars (like a mason jar) and allow to cool completely. I find a canning funnel is very helpful. That sugar is darn hot and sticky so please be careful.

Store in the fridge practically indefinitely. To eat, simply warm the jar (I like to warm it in hot water myself) or just scoop out the caramel as is.

Watch and Learn

Here’s the step by step process of making your own cajeta. And yes, I did start out with too small a pot so don’t make my mistake!

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