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I am making my own ice cream pops. One flavor I'm developing is Peach Cobbler. I've been trying to include some caramel in the bars, yet I can't seem to make a type caramel using coconut sugar, that will harden enough to stay in "pop form."

My results are delicious so far, but the caramel in the pops doesn't harden enough and the pops fall apart where it is.

How can I make a "freezable caramel" that doesn't involve refined (white) sugars?

Sue Saddest Farewell TGO GL
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Rebecca Rosen
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    Hello and welcome to the site! Please note: I realize you already tried a few variations, but still - could you please post the recipe(s) you have tried and, if possible, the different outcomes? As there is not "the" recipe for anything, we'll need to know what you did in order to come up with ideas for what could work instead. – Stephie Mar 29 '15 at 05:48
  • i tried: http://dinersjournal.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/05/25/a-sweet-primer/?_r=0 – Rebecca Rosen Mar 29 '15 at 17:02
  • i tried: http://nyti.ms/1ypLhgJ - that one was delish but not hard enough to stabilize in pop form. same with http://bit.ly/1fB1Z1R and then i tried the "wet method," replacing the coconut sugar for regular sugar. and spread that out on a parchment paper covered pan to be broken up. that one was disgusting - it just tasted too strong. – Rebecca Rosen Mar 29 '15 at 17:09
  • Hmm - since the issue is falling apart where the caramel is, could you pre-freeze the caramel as "rods" or "strings"and cut one or a few of those to insert into the pop before freezing the whole thing, so that they would not constitute a failure plane? Or is it too gooey when frozen to contemplate that? – Ecnerwal Jun 05 '15 at 22:01

2 Answers2

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you could try the vegan raw version of "caramel". It is date caramel. It is done by processing fresher soft medjool dates into a vitamix blender(works best really),pinch of salt, coconut butter and water to slightly thin out. The outcome will look very similar to caramel. Using a vitamix will result in a smoother creamy texture. This should freeze well too. Best of luck

KillerTofu
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    Hello KillerTofu, I know you are new to the site. Please note that we take questions very literally here. The question wasn't what to use as a substitute for caramel, but how to make a caramel substitute using coconut sugar. We don't know why the OP insists on coconut, but if she were looking for substitutes, she should have written a different question. For now, everybody who finds this question expects to read what it says on the tin - methods for making coconut caramel - and we can assume that methods for other caramels are irrelevant. – rumtscho Apr 06 '15 at 12:00
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    actually, i am just looking for a caramel that will freeze and doesn't involve white or refined sugar. so thanks to KillerTofu. I will try that! (And I guess I should have worded my question better) – Rebecca Rosen Apr 06 '15 at 16:19
  • @rumtscho That's the problem with this SE sites, bad assumptions, and no flexibility. Case proven here. Time to rethink the "rules". Voting alone should suffice for these cases. The OP's are never going to write a life story, so all credible answers should welcome. In other SE site, they just delete answers and comments like this, it's horrible. The officious mods would have ensured that the OP would have never seen this excellent answer – TFD Jul 05 '15 at 21:55
  • @rumtscho Imagine the "new inventions" SE of 1902, Wilbur Wright's answer for the Question "Can hot air balloons ever go faster than the wind?" would have been deleted since is mentioned things other than balloons, even though it probably solved the real issue the OP wanted to solve! – TFD Jul 05 '15 at 21:55
  • @rumtscho Reading between the lines, the OP mentions "doesn't involve refined (white) sugars", this would put them in the alternative to mass produced rubbish foods category, like this answer suggests – TFD Jul 05 '15 at 21:58
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    @TFD No, answers should try answer the question as asked. That's the only way a site like this can work. Otherwise more often than not people are going to make a lot of bad assumptions about what the questioner really meant. Also remember this site doesn't exist to merely to help the people who ask questions. Good answers help more the original poster. If the answer doesn't match the question, then its ability to help other people is greatly diminished, as rumtscho explained. For people wanting to know how to make coconut sugar caramel this is a bad answer, making it a bad answer overall. – Ross Ridge Jul 06 '15 at 04:50
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    @tfd the SE model depends on people being very literal in their meaning. It assumes that the question expresses what they need. Of course, people don't (and sometimes can't) express them so clearly, and the problem is noticed when the first comments and answers come. When this happens, the author can edit the original question or ask a new one which is more in line with their information need. But as long as a question asks X, we should try to come up with solutions to X and not to Y just in case the author wanted Y but did not ask about it. – rumtscho Jul 06 '15 at 08:58
  • @rumtscho the first step in problem solving is; no answer is a stupid answer. This is because, no matter how precise people are crap at asking accurately what they want, they always miss a important item out. And as per "Wilbur Wright", they don't know what question to ask, because it's outside their paradigm. This question is a case in point. In general, the people mucking around with coconut sugar, are not main stream, and are not looking a standard solution – TFD Jul 06 '15 at 09:47
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    @TFD This site doesn't work that way. Stupid answers get down voted. People come here looking for expert answers, not brainstorming, random guesses or stabs in the dark. The ultimate goal isn't to help the person asking the question, but to provide good answers to good questions. That's why this site has a QA format. If the goal was only to help the questioner, a simple web forum would do the job much better. (Also note that the original poster never accepted this answer, so it's not clear that this answer did in fact solve the actual problem.) – Ross Ridge Jul 06 '15 at 14:07
  • @TFD http://meta.stackexchange.com/questions/92107/is-stack-overflow-a-forum – nico Aug 05 '15 at 10:15
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As a norm the amount moisture in the caramel could cause it not to freeze correctly, and also form ice crystals. Try the recipe below which has no dairy in it, and uses coconut sugar. To make it thicker I would omit or reduce the water. The coconut milk and lemon juice should help things liquefy, if not then just add bit of water.

Healthy Caramel Recipe – (dairy-free) 1 cup coconut milk (full fat or light) ½ cup coconut sugar ? teaspoon sea salt 1 teaspoon vanilla 2 tablespoons water ½ tablespoon fresh lemon juice

INSTRUCTIONS

In a small pot over medium heat, mix coconut sugar, water, and lemon juice and bring to a boil. Immediately add the coconut milk (pour slowly), sea salt, and vanilla. Simmer for about 15 minutes until the liquid becomes thick and dark. Be sure to stir occasionally and scrape the edges of the pot with a rubber spatula to avoid burning.

Remove from heat once it’s thick and cool it down to room temperature.

For best results, store it in a sealed jar in the refrigerator overnight before using it. Use it for:

caramel apples, popcorn, drizzling over frozen yogurt/ice cream, or add it to other baked goods.

Don’t forget: The consistency of the caramel looks and tastes BEST when you refrigerate it overnight before using it.

http://wakethewolves.com/healthy-caramel-recipe-dairy-free-and-great-for-apples/

Gina E
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