Making your own delicious caramel sauce from scratch is a lot easier than you might think! Once you make it, you will find a million and one things to dip in it, pour it over, and mix it in.
Spoon it over ice cream, swirl it into brownies, or add it to your morning coffee, the list goes on. Trust me! Fresh homemade caramel sauce tastes way better than the one you buy from stores. There’s really no reason to buy it when you can so easily make it with just three simple ingredients sugar, butter, and cream.
So, let your worries take the backseat and follow the below recipe to make homemade caramel sauce in simple steps.
Easy Homemade Caramel Sauce Recipe:
First, before you begin, make sure you wear oven mitts and long sleeves to prevent burns if the caramel splatters. Keep all the ingredients (the cream and the butter) next to the pan, ready to put in. To make the caramel sauce, first, you start by heating white granulated sugar in a saucepan which has a flat even layer. Melt it over medium-high and just watch it, whisking it as it goes. The whole melting process should take about 10 minutes, give or take. Slowly, the melted sugar will start to 'caramelize', changing color and creating caramel flavors.
Once the sugar has all dissolved and turned brown, add all of your butter cubes to the saucepan at once and whisk until the butter is fully incorporated. The caramel will bubble up, but continue to whisk to make sure all of the butter has melted. Once the caramel has gotten a golden color, like honey, turn off the heat and immediately add the heavy whipping cream, while whisking continuously. This will make the mixture lose enough to be used as a sauce.
Right now the mixture will look very thin and runny, but the caramel sauce will thicken as it cools. You can let it cool for about 15 minutes, or until it’s however thick you want it, then use it. Or pour it into a jar and store it in the fridge for a couple of weeks. You can add the optional sea salt to the mixture for a Salted Caramel Sauce that is absolutely sublime! There you go, your homemade caramel sauce is ready in no time. Serve it with various dishes and give your taste buds a sumptuous treat.
Preparation Time: 5 min
Cook Time: 10 - 15 min
Servings: About 1 1/4 Cups
Ingredients:
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 6 tbsp butter (salted or unsalted)
• 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1 tsp vanilla extract (optional)
Instructions:
1.Add the sugar and water to a 3-quart saucepan set over medium heat.Keep whisking the sugar until melted.At first, the sugar will clump up a bit,but will eventually completely melt.This will take about 10 minutes.
2.Once the sugar has melted,stop whisking.Raise the heat to medium-high,and cook until the sugar has turned to a little darker amber color to get a deeper caramel flavor if you like.
3.Add butter and whisk until combined.The mixture will bubble up,but keep whisking until all the butter has melted and combined.
4.Turn the heat off and immediately add the heavy cream into the caramel and whisk until incorporated.
5.Let the caramel sauce cool to room temperature, then transfer to a jar and refrigerate.
6.The caramel can be stored in the refrigerator for 1 month, or in the freezer for 3 months.
Notes:
If you want to make Salted Caramel Sauce, just add salt to the caramel, stir in 1/2 tsp at the end along with the vanilla extract.
