This Caramel Apple Butter is a balanced blend of sweet and earthy flavors, made with unpeeled apples, salted caramel and cachaça. Cooked on the stovetop in less than an hour, the cachaça adds herbaceous, almost earthy notes that cut through the sweetness, while the apple peels give it a vibrant peachy-pink hue. Smooth and silky with warm spices, this unique apple butter recipe is perfect on toast or a cheese board.
Because I love this caramel apple butter
Hey guys!!
I love this caramelized apple butter recipe because it is wonderfully balanced.
Apples really take center stage. I leave them unpeeled, not just because it’s easier, although I’m all for saving time, but because the skins add an extra burst of color and flavor, with a subtle acidity and slightly herbaceous undertone that helps balance the flavor . sweetness.
At this point, this caramel apple butter is sweetened with salted caramel and brewed with cachaça for the perfect blend of sweetness and depth.
Cachaça, a Brazilian sugar cane distillate, reveals green and grassy, almost earthy notes when cooked. It cuts through the richness of the caramel perfectly, making each spoonful indulgent but not overly sweet.
And the color? It’s a delicate peachy pink, rather than the usual brown, and THAT signals how vibrant the apple flavors are.
I used the Alcobaça apple, a unique Portuguese variety that combines the flavors of nine different apples: Casa Nova, Golden Delicious, Red Delicious, Royal Gala, Fuji, Granny Smith, Jonagold, Reineta and Pink. You can recreate this blend by mixing any of these varieties or simply choose a few from the list. Don’t worry if you only have one type on hand – this recipe will still be delicious with any variety of apples you love!
The spices are here to support, not overwhelm. There’s just enough to give you a warm, comforting aroma without stealing the spotlight from the apples themselves, either in your mouth or your eyes.
This apple butter recipe is blended until silky smooth, with a luscious, slightly thick texture that coats the spoon – it’s so, so, so good! Try it on toast or add it to a cheese board and watch the flavors really explode!
I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I do!
Kissxx
Ingredients
Making changes to a recipe may cause the recipe to fail. Substitutions can significantly alter the final results.
- Apples — I used Alcobaça apples, a Portuguese variety of apples. Mix a few or choose one from Casa Nova, Golden Delicious, Red Delicious, Royal Gala, Fuji, Granny Smith, Jonagold, Reineta and Pink. Any variety works!
- Spices — I use a combination of cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and allspice to bring out the flavors of the apples and other ingredients. I have notes in the recipe card about using whole or ground spices.
- Apple juice — use 100% unsweetened apple juice or apple cider.
- Granulated White Sugar
- Not salty Butter
- Cream
- Brazilian Cachaça — of course I recommend using cachaça because it is made with freshly squeezed sugar cane juice. This freshly squeezed juice gives cachaça fresh, herbal, herbaceous notes, unlike the molasses base of rum. However, if you need a substitute, rum (especially dark or spiced) provides a deep, caramel-like flavor, while brandy or apple spirit adds heat and enhances the fruit notes. Both would be great alternatives if you can’t find cachaça at your local liquor store.
Here’s where to find cachaça:
Featured equipment
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How to make caramel apple butter
Remove the core and dice the applesthen arrange them on a pan with a cinnamon stick, apple juice and cachaça.
Bring to a quick boil, then reduce heat and let cook covered for 20-30 minutesuntil the apples are soft and you can crush the pieces with a fork.
Remove the cinnamon stick and discard.
Add cooked apples and ground spices to a blender. Blend for about a minute until smooth.
Be careful when doing this because the apples are very hot and the steam may cause them to splatter on you.
PRO TIP: I like to keep a kitchen towel over it and gently open the blender in case it splatters, the towel will help.
Discover the blender and let the apples rest and cool while you prepare the caramel.
Prepare the caramel. Add the sugar and water to a pan over medium heat and cook until light golden…then turn off the heat.
Add the butter, salt and creamand stir vigorously to combine. While this happens, the caramel boils vigorously, so be sure to be careful as it is extremely hot.
Pour the caramel into the blender and blend again for another minute.
Optionally, you can add a splash of cachaça for extra flavor and blend again.
Place in clean glass jars and leave to cool completely before covering and refrigerating.
Leave to cool overnight before serving for the first time so that the flavors can set properly.
How to serve:
I love using this caramel apple butter on cheeses during the fall and winter. It’s a truly special treat, especially served with good goat’s cheese. This is an amazing combination!
I also love spreading it on bread as a quick snack or using it to top homemade pancakes and waffles. I also love it on ice cream.
And I love using it to make cocktails too!! These flavors work excellently with spiced rum, bourbon and, of course, cachaça (check out my cocktail recipe in the first issue of my e-magazine).
How to store:
Caramel apple butter typically keeps well in the refrigerator for about 2 to 3 weeks if stored in an airtight container.
You can also freeze it for longer storage, where it can last up to 3 months.
Other recipes to try:
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Caramelized apple butter
This caramel apple butter is a balanced blend of sweet and earthy flavors and made with unpeeled apples, salted caramel and cachaça. Cooked on the stovetop in less than an hour, the cachaça adds herbaceous, almost earthy notes that cut through the sweetness, while the apple peels give it a vibrant peachy-pink hue. Smooth and silky with warm spices, this unique apple butter recipe is perfect on toast or a cheese board.
- 10 cups of diced apples, with the peel and core removed from approximately 3 lbs/1.3 kg of whole apples
- 1 Total cinnamon stick
- 1 teaspoon of cinnamon powder
- a pinch of nutmeg
- 1 Total pimento or 1/8 tsp
- 2 Total cloves or 1/8 tsp
- 1/2 cup 100% apple juice, unsweetened
- 1/2 cup liquor + 1 tbsp
For the caramel
- 1 cup of water
- 1 cup of sugar
- 2 spoons of butter, unsalted
- 2 spoons of cream
- 1/2 teaspoon of kosher salt
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Remove the core and dice the apples. Put them in a large Dutch oven with cinnamon stick, apple juice and cachaça. Toss to evenly coat the apples.
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Cover the pan and bring the mixture to a boil over high heat.
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Once boiling, reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 20 to 30 minutes, or until apples are soft and tender.
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In the meantime, prepare the caramel. Add the water and sugar to a saucepan and bring to the boil. The water will run out and the sugar will begin to cook and caramelize. After 15-20 minutes, when the mixture has taken on a slightly golden colour, turn off the heat and quickly add the butter, salt and cream.
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When the apples are soft, transfer them, together with the cooking liquid, to a plate mixer and blend until smooth. Add the spices and blend again until completely combined.
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Pour the caramel into the mixer with the apple mixture and blend until everything is combined. Add the last spoonful of cachaça and blend one last time.
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Pour the apple butter into glass jars or storage containers and let it cool completely before closing the containers.
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Serve with cheese, bread or use it to create drinks and cocktails!
Serve: 1serveCalories: 355kcalCarbohydrates: 65GProtein: 1GFat: 6GSaturated fat: 4GPolyunsaturated fats: 0.4GMonounsaturated fats: 1GTrans fats: 0.2GCholesterol: 16mgSodium: 231mgPotassium: 258mgFiber: 5GSugar: 57GVitamin A: 306UIVitamin C: 10mgSoccer: 28mgIron: 0.4mg
