That’s right. I did it. I put bourbon, vanilla, salt and caramel all together. It’s rich, it’s creamy, it’s dark and sweet with just a touch of salt. And it’s dairy free and ever so slightly more gentle on your system since it’s sweetened with coconut palm sugar.
I first made this for my birthday, and served it over dark chocolate fudge cake with vanilla ice cream. Yeah. That worked.
I then made it for a recipe contest and served it with coconut cake and fresh figs. That didn’t suck.
I can picture it over pancakes with sautéed cinnamon spiced apples and pecans. I can see it over a bowl of the creamiest cashew/coconut/vanilla ice cream. I bet it would be great over a dense buttery cake.
But my favorite way to serve might be with tart apple or pear slices. My cousin Debra used to do this with traditional caramel at family holidays back in the day and I thought it was genius. I mean, who doesn’t like dipping and licking fingers? Omg so good!
And I won’t tell anyone if you eat it plain right off the spoon.
- 2Cans coconut milk (full fat)
- 1Cup coconut palm sugar
- 1tsp Sea Salt
- 1tbsp Pure Vanilla Extract
- 2tbsp bourbon
- Combine the coconut milk and coconut sugar in a heavy bottomed saucepan over medium-high heat.
- Bring to a boil then lower the temperature to keep the mixture at a simmer.
- Simmer for 45 minutes to an hour or until reduced by more than half, stirring occasionally. As the sauce thickens and gets closer to it's final reduction, stir more frequently to incorporate the darker/burnt bits from the sides and bottom of the pan.
- When the sauce is thick enough to heavily coat the back of a spoon, stir in bourbon, and allow to simmer 2 more minutes to cook off alcohol.
- Remove from heat and stir in vanilla extract.
- Allow to cool for 15 minutes then stir in salt.
- Serve warm, cold or at room temperature. Will keep in the refrigerator at least a week. Freeze indefinitely, but I don't think it will last that long!