Caramel Sauce
User Reviews
4.9
Caramel Sauce
Description
The Caramel Sauce recipe begins by dissolving sugar, salt, and water over medium-high heat while whisking. Once boiling, whisking is stopped to allow caramelization, during which the sugar mixture transitions from clear to a deep reddish-orange color, indicating the desired caramel stage. At this point, diced salted butter is added and whisked in to form a rich mixture before removing from heat. Heavy cream is then poured in carefully and whisked continuously to produce a smooth and luscious sauce.
The resulting sauce is thick, velvety, and salted, suitable for topping ice cream, cakes, or using in other sweet preparations. Its flavor balances deep caramelized sugar notes with creamy butter and gentle saltiness.
A practical tip is that on a gas stove, uneven heating can cause local color differences in the pan; brisk whisking and wetting the pan sides with a wet pastry brush can help prevent burning.
Ingredients
- 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp (85ml) water
- 1/4 cup (56g) butter diced into 1 Tbsp pieces, salted
- 1/2 cup (120ml) heavy cream
- 1/2 tsp sea salt or more to taste, fine
Instructions
- Gather all of your ingredients and have them nearby ready to add to the mixture as needed.
- In a heavy-bottomed 2 - 3 quart saucepan (something that isn't dark on bottom so you can see the shade of caramel), heat sugar, salt and water over medium-high heat whisking constantly to dissolve sugar.
- Once mixture reaches a boil, stop whisking and allow mixture to boil until it reaches a dark amber color, carefully swirling pan occasionally* (this will take time, so be patient. See photos below for the stages to watch for).
- It will first bubble vigorously and steam and it will be a clear shade, then bubbling will continue but the bubbles will become smaller and slower and it will slowly tint yellowish, then orangish, then a deep reddish orange and that is what you are looking for.
- Once mixture reaches a dark amber color, immediately add butter and whisk until butter has melted then immediately remove from heat.
- Carefully pour in cream and immediately whisk with a long handled whisk to combine (it will bubble vigorously). Whisk until mixture is smooth.
- Pour caramel into a glass jar to cool. Once cool, store in an airtight container in refrigerator.
- Caramel sauce will be thicker once cooled to room temperature and much thicker once chilled.
Notes
- On gas stoves, heat may not be uniform; whisk briskly and use a wet pastry brush to wash down dried sugar residues on pan sides to avoid burning.
User Reviews
Overall Rating
4.9
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