This sauce tastes just like a Caramel Apple, but better.
I think you're going to like this recipe.
It has ONE ingredient.
One very autumn-like, very local, very easy-to-find ingredient.
APPLE CIDER
I started this recipe with one half gallon of organic Gala apple cider.
I am always inspired by the abundance of fresh-pressed cider this time of year. In fact, besides making Caramel Apple Syrup yesterday, I made something else with apple cider too, but it had more than one ingredient, and one of them was Everclear. That's a whole 'nother story.
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To make the Caramel Apple Syrup, I started by simmering an ample quantity of apple cider for a couple hours.
Then, when it had reduced to about one-fourth (yes, one fourth!) of its original volume, I poured it from a large pot into a sauce pan and cranked it up to a rapid boil. That's when the caramelizing kicked in.
The second phase: I boiled the cider in a sauce pan for approx 10 min.
I'm talking a rapid boil....no more simmering!
It reduced by about half, from 16 ounces to ~8 ounces.
I decided to strain the few tiny flecks out of it...
The process of reducing a half gallon of apple cider, to about one cup of syrup is sort of like magic. You use heat & evaporation to reduce the liquid, plus more heat to caramelize the naturally occurring sugars in the cider. A winning combination of flavors are your reward for a couple hours of easy, mostly back burner-type cooking.
The Caramel Apple Syrup is gorgeous...thick and glossy, with a rich brown sugar-like sweetness that only comes from cooking over high heat. The intense fresh-apple flavors have a subtle yet tart kick, which I think is necessary to keep the syrup from being too cloyingly sweet
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It was incredibly delicious on the Pear Tart I made tonight, but it really deserves to be center stage. Tomorrow night? Vanilla ice cream!
