Caramel Apple Salad

This is a sweet salad/dessert that is perfect for fall when apples are in season. The sauce uses cajeta caramel, which is easy to make but a little time-consuming.

• Ready In: 2 hrs 30 mins
• Serves: 6-8

Ingredients

• 1  quart  goat's milk
• 1  cup sugar
• 1⁄2 vanilla bean, split open
• 3  inches  long stick of canela cinnamon
• 1⁄4 teaspoon baking soda, dissolved in 1/2 TB water
• 8  ounces cream cheese or 8  ounces  neufchatel cheese, softened
• 3  lbs apples (prefer a crisp tart variety)
• 2  tablespoons lemon juice
• 1⁄2 cup raisins
• 3⁄4 cup walnut halves

Directions

1. Combine the goat milk, sugar, vanilla bean, and cinnamon stick in a heavy-bottomed pot. Heat on medium-high heat until boiling. remove from heat and add baking soda/water mixture. stir until the goat milk mixture stops foaming, and then return to heat. cook the milk mixture at a low boil for about 2 to 3 hours, until it is reduced to a thick caramel - you will have approximately 1 1/2 cups of caramel sauce. Remove the cinnamon stick and vanilla bean (I usually do this about halfway through the cooking process because it's a little easier to remove them while the sauce is still thin).
2. Combine the hot cajeta caramel with the softened cream or neufchatel cheese and whisk until the cheese is uniformly melted into the caramel.
3. Core the apples and chop into bite sized pieces, putting the chopped pieces in a large bowl of cold water with the 2 Tbs lemon juice added as you work. When all of the apples have been chopped drain them well, and combine them with the caramel/cheese sauce in a large bowl. Coarsly chop the walnuts. Add walnuts and raisins to the apples and mix well.