Homemade Cajeta and Baked Churros
Homemade cajeta is so addictive, and so easy to make! Serve with a big basket of baked churros for dipping. If you like dulce de leche, you’ll adore this Mexican caramel sauce, made with goat’s milk!
I have a few important questions for you: Do you like donuts? With cinnamon sugar? How about caramel?
Pretty much a no-brainer, right? Like, duh. You’re reading Baking a Moment, after all, so it kinda goes without saying I guess.
Now tell me, what are your feelings about goat’s cheese? That creamy, soft mouthfeel? That hint of tanginess? That almost chalky, clean quality it has, that you just can’t quite put your finger on?
I absolutely adore it, and I can’t ever get enough. So, naturally cajeta needed to happen in my kitchen, ASAP!
Have you ever had cajeta? Have you ever heard of cajeta? It’s Mexican caramel, like dulce de leche, only it’s made with goat’s milk! Omg, you guys. It’s like heaven in your mouth.
Can we all agree that caramel, in general, is like, the best taste in all the land? Ok now imagine a caramel that’s just got the subtlest little difference. It’s just enough to make you go “Wow, that is really fabulous… and gee what is that I’m tasting…?”
It’s goat’s milk. It’s milk, but from a goat instead of cow. <– I probably didn’t need to explain that just now. But it’s true! It tastes like the milk you are used to, but with the teensiest little difference. Creamy, a little tangy, really clean tasting. If that makes sense. And simmered down for hours in a big pot with lots of brown sugar, it’s positively transcendent.
And that’s really all there is to it. It takes longer to make than my Simply Perfect Salted Caramel, but on the other hand, it’s almost entirely down time. Just let it simmer away and do it’s own thing.
The hardest thing is probably finding the goat’s milk, but I didn’t really even have too much trouble with that. They had it at Whole Foods, but I actually found an even better selection at good ol’ Shop Rite. If you have a store near you that has a decent selection of “ethnic” foods, in particular Hispanic, go there. Or a higher-end grocery store with a lot of products for people with food allergies/sensitivities would be another safe bet. Because goat’s milk is often a lot gentler on the tummy than cow’s milk.
A lot of times you’ll see crepas de cajeta on the dessert menu at a Mexican restaurant (which are crepes with cajeta drizzled on top- ORDER THEM!!!), but I decided to go a different route and pair my cajeta with a big platter of baked churros. It’s as simple as piping a batch of my Simply Perfect Pate a Choux into 4-inch logs, baking them up, brushing them lightly with melted butter, and tossing them in cinnamon sugar. I really like using this kind of tip, it gives them the crunchiest grooves for the cinnamon sugar to get caught in 😉
Just be sure to bake them until they’re nice and brown, so you get a nice texture. If you pull them from the oven too soon, they get wet inside and deflate. Whomp, whomp. Make sure they’re dry, and really light and hollow.
So addictive!!! Just. Can’t. STOP!
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Homemade Cajeta and Baked Churros
Ingredients
- 4 cups (0.95 l) fresh goat's milk, (1 quart)
- 1 1/4 cup (275 g) dark brown sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup (50 g) granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 batch Simply Perfect Pate a Choux
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter,, melted
Instructions
To Make the Cajeta:
- Place the goat's milk, brown sugar, salt, and baking soda in a large, heavy-bottomed pot, and heat until simmering.
- Keep the mixture at a simmer, stirring occasionally, until it's reduced down to about 1½ cups (about 2 hours). It will be very thick and toasty brown.
- Stir in the vanilla extract, and immediately pour the hot caramel into a heat-safe vessel to cool. (Sauce will continue to thicken as it cools.)
To Make the Baked Churros:
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
- Place the sugar and cinnamon in a shallow dish and stir to combine. Set aside.
- Place the pate a choux dough in a pastry bag fitted with an open star tip. Pipe 4-inch long lines onto a parchment-lined baking sheet.
- Bake for 25 minutes or until the churros are evenly browned, dry, hollow, and light.
- Brush lightly with melted butter and coat with cinnamon sugar.
This homemade cajeta and baked churros is the food of champions! Dying to eat this! Thanks for posting it Allie!
My pleasure Kara! Hope you enjoy!