Salted caramel, but not as you know it! Sesame coconut caramel – your favourite sauce takes on some Asian inspiration…
Once upon a time in a far away land, there lived a beautiful princess. Her name was salted caramel, and she was loved by all. But the people were fickle, and one day they cried “No! No more!” and alas, she was no longer the belle of the ball…
Ok, so maybe that was a touch dramatic, but the aim of my ineptly-crafted fable is to point out that food sometimes enjoys a fantasy existence as a result of its popularity or infamy. Remember the cronut? I recall there being such a buzz about it at the time, yet like our poor princess it goes on to join the ranks of food royalty that have faded away into a footnote, never to enjoy a happily ever after.
However, while some foods may no longer be the star of the show, sometimes they move on to play a valuable supporting role, and I think salted caramel is one of those. After all the hype, salted caramel is still a great thing. One the draws of salted caramel is the balance between savoury and sweet, a combination that always been used to good effect in Asian sweets. And while they may not be as widely known around the world as say the doughnut, they make good use of the complexities of nuts and seeds – common ones are peanuts and sesame seeds.
The idea was to try and blend some of those elements together with a salted caramel base, and so we get sesame coconut caramel!
I toasted and ground up whole sesame seeds, which provide a nice earthy element alongside the caramel-ly palm sugar, while the coconut milk lends a distinct flavour and fat to the sauce. I didn’t want the caramel overly sweet, so the ratio here is 75% sugar to coconut milk. If you want to indulge your sweet tooth, you could up the sugar, as palm sugar is typically a little less sweet than cane sugar.
The method is pretty simple really. Toast the sesame seeds till golden and nutty, then whizz them up in a food processor till finely ground.
Then you literally just throw everything into a pot and bring to a boil, and let it cook away until it thickens. How long you cook it will dictate the consistency of the caramel – shorter cooking gives you a more pourable sauce, while cooking it for an extended period will give you something almost toffee-like.
Normally I wouldn’t be happy boiling coconut milk as it has a tendency to split, but it seems the sugar here helps to keep it emulsified enough to withstand the higher temperatures.
As a side note, the ground sesame seeds add a tiny bit of texture to the the sauce – you wouldn’t notice it when it’s served with other stuff, but if you eat it on its own (which I will confess to doing!), you might notice the mouthfeel can be a tiny bit grainy. Fair warning!
Once the sesame coconut caramel is done, you can use it as you would any other caramel – I had it served for breakfast with french toast and fruit.
- 2 teaspoons sesame seeds
- 250 mililitres coconut milk (about 1 cup)
- 190 grams palm sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
- Heat a small frying pan over medium heat, then add the sesame seeds. Once they start to brown, turn the heat down to low and continue to toast for a few minutes till golden brown. Remove from heat and leave to cool for a few minutes, then place them into a small food processor and process to as fine a powder as you can.
- In a medium saucepan, place the coconut milk, salt, palm sugar and ground sesame seeds. Bring to a simmer and stir till the sugar and salt have dissolved. Turn the heat up to medium and let it cook at a vigorous simmer for 20 minutes.
- After 20 minutes take it off the heat, and spoon a little on a saucer or plate to check the consistency. At this point it should be thick, but still liquid for pouring or drizzling. If you want more of a spoonable consistency, put the pot back on the heat and cook for another 5 minutes, then check again.
Cooking the caramel for too long runs the risk of it setting to a toffee-like state. However, if it gets too thick you can rescue it by bringing it back to the boil with some more water.