Salted Caramel Sauce
A foolproof recipe for silky salted caramel with no candy thermometer needed! Delicious to eat off a spoon, over ice cream, dipped with apples, or really with anything. Makes 24 oz.
Whenever I see people struggle making caramel, I have Elle Woods’ voice in my head saying “What like it’s hard?” Maybe I have just been lucky, but in my almost decade of making this, I have only ever really messed it up once. The original recipe is adapted from Two Peas & Their Pod, but I have made it so many times I know it by heart, and have figured out a few techniques to make it more quickly with less problems.
If you are nervous about getting the caramel right, then keep reading as I have quite a few tricks to minimize burnt or crystalized caramel.
How to use this Recipe
This recipe is admittedly very good eaten by itself off of a spoon, especially when you’re looking for a little something sweet but don’t want an actual whole dessert
Aside from a loaf of bread, this is by far the most common host gift I bring people. I also love making it at Christmas time as gifts to family and friends.
I have used this in a buttercream frosting (you can find the recipe here on Instagram, but hopefully I’ll get to add this to my site soon), that goes amazing with pumpkin or chocolate cake
If you aren’t familiar with caramelitas, you should be and also I’m sorry for introducing you to a very decadent and addicting dessert. Everyone will be asking you to bring them again after you make them for a party.
Over ice cream, of course. Though it is very rich, so it may be too rich for you if you have it over anything other than vanilla
With apples, in case you want to convince yourself that having caramel for a snack is actually healthy
In coffee. Add it to the cup you’re brewing in so it mixes immediately with the hot coffee. That’s how they do it in coffee shops!
Ingredients
2 cups (420gr) Granulated white sugar: Make sure it is nonorganic, or blitz organic sugar to be smaller
12 tablespoons (6 oz, 1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter: If you use salted butter, reduce the salt by 1/2 a teaspoon
1 cup heavy cream: Not half and half or milk, cannot be substituted
2 teaspoons sea salt: Use fine grain, not coarse or flakey or it won’t dissolve all of the way
Directions
Prepare your ingredients: Prep your ingredients beforehand since the recipe comes together quickly in the end. Cut butter into 1/2" cubes, and place the heavy cream in a glass measuring cup with a pourable spout. Put the salt in a small bowl to the side.
Melt the sugar: Add the sugar to a medium sized heavy bottomed sauce pan over medium heat. When the sugar starts to look brown around the rim, start stirring with a rubber spatula, scraping the corners as you go. Stir frequently until the sugar is uniformly melted, and let darken in color until it is a dark brown, and before it starts to smoke (which is a sign that it's burning).
Add the butter: Remove the pan from heat and add the butter. Be very careful because the mixture will seize, and the steam can burn. Whisk to combine. Once the butter is fully melted (it may not fully combine at this point), then return to the burner on low.
Whisk in the cream: Carefully pour the heavy cream in a steady stream while whisking. When done, turn off the heat and whisk in the salt.
Store until ready to use: Store in jars in the refrigerator and warm in the microwave or stovetop when ready to use.
Tips for success
Use a rubber spatula to stir the sugar once it starts to melt. Use the back of it to press sugar chunks down once it is mostly all melted to force them to dissolve
Make sure you scrape the corners with the rubber spatula so that none of the sugar gets stuck
Combine the butter and cream using a large balloon whisk, and scrape the corners with the spatula again
Make sure your ingredients are room temperature. If you are in a hurry, you can gently warm your butter and cream by putting them in the microwave for 15-30 seconds (I almost always do this).
Organic sugar tends to have larger granules, so blitz it in a food processor if it’s what is in your cabinet. Otherwise try to use nonorganic sugar for more even melting.
You might be tempted to use flakey sea salt, but even if it’s ground with a mortar and pestle it has a hard time dissolving properly, resulting in very salty last bites of caramel. Instead, use fine sea salt.
Be very patient when adding the heavy cream, whisking quickly while you pour it in with a small stream.
Common Problems:
The sugar doesn’t melt evenly and you have chunks left over at the bottom.
How to fix it: Stir frequently with a rubber spatula once the sugar starts to melt (not a whisk), and use the back of your spatula to press down the chunks so they can break apart and dissolve. Use finely granulated sugar, or blitz organic sugar into smaller granules using a food processor
The salt doesn’t dissolve all of the way and the last bit is extremely salty.
How to fix it: Use fine grain salt, not flakey salt, and add it when the butter is added.
The caramel tastes bitter.
How to fix it: You over cooked it, you are looking for a deep brown before adding the butter, not a dark brown. Take it off the heat if it starts to smoke but doesn’t smell burned yet, and quickly add the butter to cool it down.
FAQ
Is this shelf stable? No, you need to store it in the fridge since it doesn’t contain additives to prevent it from developing bacteria. That being said, it keeps for quite a long time in the fridge, as much as three months before spoiling.
Salted Caramel
Ingredients
Instructions
- Prep your ingredients beforehand since the recipe comes together quickly in the end. Cut butter into 1/2" cubes, and place the heavy cream in a glass measuring cup with a pourable spout. Put the salt in a small bowl to the side.
- Add the sugar to a medium sized heavy bottomed sauce pan over medium heat. When the sugar starts to look brown around the rim, start stirring with a rubber spatula, scraping the corners as you go. Stir frequently until the sugar is uniformly melted, and let darken in color until it is a dark brown, and before it starts to smoke (which is a sign that it's burning).
- Remove the pan from heat and add the butter. Be very careful because the mixture will seize, and the steam can burn. Whisk to combine. Once the butter is fully melted (it may not fully combine at this point), then return to the burner on low.
- Carefully pour the heavy cream in a steady stream while whisking. When done, turn off the heat and whisk in the salt.
- Store in jars in the refrigerator and warm in the microwave or stovetop when ready to use.
