With Valentine’s Day just a few weeks away I’ve been thinking about candy recipes. Caramel is one of my absolute favorite flavors. I knew how to make it out of cane sugar and cream but wasn’t sure if I could adapt it to my new dietary needs. I found a couple of recipes for agave caramel and another one for coconut milk caramel so I combined them together to create this recipe. I highly recommend using a candy thermometer since I used the cold water method and my caramel were just a little too soft. They still tasted great, though. There’s a hint of coconut undertones but the agave caramelized surprisingly well, even though it did take a lot longer than it would with sugar. I’d probably add a little more salt if I make this again but all in all I’m very happy with the results.

Note: As with any caramel recipe, use a saucepot about twice as large as needed for the amount of ingredients since bubbling sugar expands.

1 1/4 cups agave nectar
1/2 cup vegan margarine
2 cups coconut cream
1 Tbs vanilla extract
1/2 tsp sea salt

In a large saucepot combine, agave, butter, salt and half the coconut cream (one cup). Add vanilla to the remaining portion of the coconut cream and set aside. Bring the contents of the saucepot to a rolling boil, stirring frequently. Cook until the mixture darkens and thickens. This takes some time so be patient. Add the rest of the coconut cream and vanilla to the saucepot. Bring the mixture back up to a rolling boil, stirring frequently. Cook until the caramel forms a fairly firm ball when dropped into cold water. The temperature should be between 244* and 250* F on a candy thermometer (I recommend using a candy thermometer – it takes the guesswork out of candy making). Pour mixture into lightly buttered 8 x 8 inch glass pan and cool at room temperature. Once cool cut into squares and wrap individually in waxed paper.