Homemade Salted Caramel Sauce (4-Ingredient)
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 15 minutes
Servings: 10 servings
Ingredients:
1 cup granulated sugar
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, sliced into 1-inch pieces and softened
½ cup heavy cream
2 teaspoons flaky sea salt
Directions:
In a deep saucepan, place sugar in an even layer. Heat sugar over medium-high heat, whisking frequently. Once sugar starts melting down, whisk continuously until all the clumps are melted into liquid (this can happen quickly, so watch carefully that the sugar doesn’t burn. See video in original article for visual.)
Immediately turn the heat down to medium and insert the candy thermometer into the melted sugar; gently stir until the liquid turns reddish-brown in color – the minute your thermometer reaches 350°F, slowly add the butter – caramel will bubble up, so be careful.
Continue to gently stir until fully melted; try not to let the mixture splash up the sides of the pan. Once the mixture is smooth, immediately remove the pan from the heat. Carefully pour in the cream and whisk until a smooth, thick sauce forms. Whisk in the flaky salt. Let the sauce cool to almost room temperature before drizzling it over dessert. Store leftover sauce in an airtight glass container in the fridge for future use.
Notes:
If you can’t find flaky sea salt, you can use coarse kosher salt in a pinch.
Caramel sauce can be kept in an airtight glass jar in the fridge for up to a month. Great for gift-giving, too.
Chilled caramel sauce may need slight reheating in the microwave before drizzling.
Caramel Sauce Recipe Tips for Success:
A candy thermometer or other kitchen thermometer is an essential tool. It allows you to be precise and avoid burnt caramel that nobody’s a fan of. You’ll also come to realize that a candy thermometer is a handy tool to have in your kitchen beyond caramel.
Be sure to whisk sugar until all bits of sugar are dissolved; this is important for a velvety smooth caramel sauce.
In fact, whisking is the name of the game with homemade caramel sauce. Keep whisking at all stages to ensure your caramel is smooth and doesn’t burn.
Your golden caramel sauce will come together rather quickly, so before you know it, you’ll have a beautiful jar of Salted Caramel Sauce to keep in the fridge for favorite ice cream recipes or caramel popcorn.
Make big batches of caramel sauce and place them in mason jars for gifting. These are ridiculously awesome food gifts that keep really well in the fridge.
Caramel Sauce Commonly Asked Questions:
What is caramel sauce made of?
Our caramel sauce recipe contains only 4 simple, pure ingredients: sugar, butter, cream, and salt. Nothing artificial goes into this caramel recipe.
What makes a caramel sauce thicker?
Some caramel sauce recipes use thickeners such as corn starch or tapioca starch. The caramel sauce recipe below does not need any thickeners
Does caramel sauce need to be refrigerated?
You can keep caramel sauce in an airtight container at moderate room temperature for a few days. After this, it needs to be kept chilled, as caramel sauce contains dairy products.
How do you know the caramel sauce is done?
Caramel sauce can burn easily if you’re not vigilant, so watch carefully as you stir. Once you’ve added in the butter, stir just until it is melted and remove from the heat immediately. A candy thermometer is an important tool for consistent results.
Nutritional Facts:
Serving: 1g | Calories: 175kcal | Carbohydrates: 22g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 9g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Cholesterol: 13mg | Sodium: 5mg | Potassium: 65mg | Fiber: 0.5g | Sugar: 21g | Vitamin A: 175IU | Vitamin C: 0.1mg | Calcium: 13mg | Iron: 0.2mg
Recipe courtesy of Chew Out Loud.com