What Exactly Is Cajeta?

If you’re familiar with dulce de leche, the cow’s-milk version, then you have a strong basis for comparison. In terms of flavor, however, cajeta brings more to the table. Due to the different character of its main ingredient (goat’s milk), cajeta has a more complex and nuanced flavor than dulce de leche, with a subtle brightness that lifts you off your feet, lightening the rich caramel and balancing its sweetness. And it ratchets up the flavor profile of any recipe it’s added to.

Hailing from Celaya, Mexico, in the present day state of Guanajuato, cajeta is named after the small wooden boxes (cajetas) it was originally sold in. Historically, the method of making sweets from milk has its origins in Spain, but the region famous for producing cajeta is where the method was first applied to goat’s milk. 

1. Vainilla: a light golden cajeta flavored with vanilla
2. Quemada: literally translated as “burnt” cajeta; further reduced and caramelized for a darker, more intense end product
3. Envinada: a cajeta flavored with spirits, such as rum, sherry, or tequila

1. Use it as the caramel layer in our Mini Chocoflanes. 
2. Warm it gently to drizzle over ice cream.
3. Stir it into your coffee as an especially delightful sweetener.
4. Swirl it into the top of brownie batter before baking.

If you can't find cajeta or would prefer to make it yourself, try our recipe.