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Today is the beginning of a new recipe series I’m dubbing Fundamentals. I get a lot of emails from new bakers asking for basic recipes, tips, and product recommendations that will get them started with their newly acquired baking addiction.
While I can’t guarantee rock star status, I can provide you with some practical tips and simple tested recipes that work for me in my kitchen. The first recipe I am going to try and demystify is caramel, more specifically homemade caramel sauce.
I have a confession. Making caramel scares me. I love caramel, whether it’s by itself, sprinkled with sea salt, covered in peanuts, enrobed with nougat…well you get point. Although my love for caramel has been present for many, many years, I just recently started to make my own.
There have been some serious failures along one of which required the disposal of a pan. Yep, I tried to clean that sucker for days, so I ended up chucking it into the trash. Bottom line, caramel is finicky, it goes from perfect to a burnt mess in the blink of eye, but when you nail it, the outcome is extraordinary. Plus, you’ll never have to buy that overly sweet jarred stuff again!
On Friday, I’ll combine this luxurious caramel sauce with my Fleur de Sel Caramels to create one heck of a dessert!
Fundamental Information:
- Caramel is essentially melted sugar.
- There are two basic ways to make caramel: the dry method and the wet method. The dry method involves slowly heating sugar until it melts and is deemed as a bit more difficult. The wet method is more common and is what you will find in today’s recipe.
- In the wet method, granulated sugar is dissolved in water and then boiled until the water starts to evaporate. As the water escapes, the mixture goes through a series of stages that indicates the ratio of water and sugar.
Fundamental Gear:
- Heat safe spatula or wooden spoon
- Heavy bottomed pot (non-stick is easier to clean) – If using non-stick, it may be difficult to know if your caramel has reached the desired shade of amber. Simply use a heat safe utensil to remove a few drops of caramel to a white plate.
- Reliable candy thermometer – you will risk burning your sugar if you don’t have an absolutely accurate thermometer; cheapos from the supermarket typically don’t cut it.
Fundamental Safety:
- Give your undivided attention to the caramel sauce while you are preparing it.
- Caramel is HOT! Be careful. For reference- Water boils at 212°F, we are taking this sugar mixture over 350 degrees, so it’s incredibly hot.
- When you add the heavy cream to the pot of molten sugar, it will bubble violently and steam will escape. Stand back and keep your face away from the pot!
- Avoid a caramel catastrophe by making sure your heavy bottomed pot is large enough. Trust me; you do not want this caramel sauce to boil over onto your stove. It will bring you to tears. When you’re done, be sure to soak your pot and tools with hot water to help the cleaning process.
- Make sure your stirring utensil is heat proof. I typically use a wooden spoon or a silicone spatula.
Uses for Homemade Caramel Sauce:
- Eat it with a spoon
- Spoon it over your favorite ice cream
- Drizzle it over your favorite baked goods
- Stir it into your morning latte to create a homemade caramel macchiato
- Use it as a dip for fresh apple slices
- Jar these up and pass along to friends and family; just be sure to tell them it needs to be stored in the refrigerator
Homemade Caramel Sauce
Ingredients:
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 tablespoon light corn syrup
- 1/4 liquid cup water
- 1/2 liquid cup heavy cream, heated until warm
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
- ½ teaspoon fine grain sea salt
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Directions:
- In a heavy saucepan (at least 5 cup capacity), stir together the sugar, syrup, and water until the sugar is completely moistened. Place your candy thermometer into the pot taking care that it is tip in immersed into the sugar mixture.
- Heat, stirring constantly, until the sugar dissolves and the syrup is bubbling.
- Stop stirring completely and allow it to boil undisturbed until it turns a deep amber (like the color of Bass Ale) (see notes below).
- Immediately remove it from the heat and slowly and carefully pour the hot cream into the caramel. It will bubble up furiously.
- Use a high-temperature heat-resistant rubber spatula or wooden spoon to stir the mixture until smooth, scraping up the thicker part that settles on the bottom. If any lumps develop, return the pan to the heat and stir until they dissolve.
- Stir in the butter and salt. The mixture will be streaky but become uniform after cooling slightly and stirring.
- Allow the sauce to cool for 3 minutes. Gently stir in the vanilla extract.
Notes:
- Keep at room temperature for up to 3 days; refrigerated, about 3 weeks. To reheat, simply place in a microwave safe container and heat for about 45-60 seconds. Stir well.
- I have 3 thermometers and they all register different temperatures. In my opinion, it's best to rely on the color of the caramel as opposed to the temperature. You want to look for a dark dark amber color. However, dark amber goes to burnt in a matter of seconds. If using a thermometer, start paying close attention at about 340 degrees. Once the color deepens, pull the mixture from the heat.
Tempting Twist:
- Use fresh vanilla bean instead of vanilla extract. Simply scrape the seeds from inside ½ vanilla bean. Place the seeds and pod into the cream while it’s warming. Remove pod from the cream before adding to the hot sugar mixture.
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On your experience what is the best thermometer model? Thanks!
Hi Cristian,
I don’t have a favorite that I can recommend. I would suggest checking out reviews on Amazon to find one that works for you.
All the best,
Jamie
I made this recipe today as a last minute addition to my thanksgiving dessert. It was very easy to make and turned out perfect! I am going to pour it over a cheesecake and I think it is going to be amazing! Thanks for the wonderful recipe!
Adria-
I’m so glad the recipe was a success for you. Thanks for stopping by.
-Jamie
Thanks for this great caramel sauce recipe! I managed to make it perfectly without ruining anything in my kitchen (a first for me). Your directions are easy to follow and spot on, and the sauce is delicious! I’ll be drizzling it over a creme fraiche bundt cake and topping it with sea salt.
Tala-
I am so glad the recipe worked for you. Thanks for visiting!
-Jamie
Corn syrup isn’t very common where I live. Can I substitute it by anything? :D
Try using honey. Thanks for stopping by.
-Jamie
Did the honey work
This sounds absolutely decadent! Thank you for sharing the recipe – you’ve given such wonderful instructions… even though I’m new to candy making, I really want to give this a try!
I have one question – is it possible to freeze this recipe? Not that there will probably be much left once I get started on it… :)
Thanks again,
Weniki
Weniki-
I have never attempted to freeze the caramel sauce, so I am unsure how it will perform.
Jamie
Perfectly Delicious!!!
Thanks for posting I didn’t even use a thermometer (your right they all register a diff temp) and it was amazing!!! My new go to!!! @carols_got_cakes on Instagram
I can’t tell you how many different caramel recipes I have tried in an effort to find a decent one. This one isn’t decent. It’s extraordinary! Honestly! Additionally, your directions are so precise and spot on, I don’t see how anyone could not have complete success with this recipe. Thanks so much for sharing!
Greer-
Yay! I am so glad to hear the recipe was a success for you – this is definitely my fave! Enjoy!
-Jamie
OMG!!! We made hot fudge sauce and this today for a sundae bar at my son’s graduation party on Friday. I’m not a chocolate lover but I LOVE caramel and this made me weak in the knees. My husband was eating it like soup :) Thank you!!!
Mary-
That’s fantastic to hear! I’m so happy that you and your family enjoyed the sauce. Have a great day and thank you for following MBA!
-Jamie
Thank you for your baking addiction because THIS is Pure Perfection!! I have made this caramel sauce so many times that I have it memorized. Because of your fundamentals/educational info, I have played with it too, thinning or thickening it for different uses and adding things such as sel de fleur when appropriate, which is often!!!
This morning was special, not because of a holiday or birthday. Spring was putting its foot down and making a strong impression. Fine! I will join in the joy and do something different too!!!
There were about 3 TBSP of caramel left in the mason jar. I was making oatmeal and I did do something different. I used Almond Milk instead of water to make it wonderfully creamy. I chopped up a delicious Pink Lady apple into the finest little cubes so they were like little pearls of apple instead of chunks. I put those on the cooked oatmeal, and then the glorious topping! Those 3 TBSP’s of warmed caramel were the perfect topping to drizzle on the apples and oatmeal, WITH an appropriate sprinkle of the damp sel de fleur I have come to love.
I have been meaning to thank you for this easy, perfect caramel recipe for some time and today was the day. Thank you! I truly enjoy your site. I love learning why, not just how. Thank you, and keep up the good work!
Peace,
Debbie
I’m glad you figured it out. Thanks for stopping by.
-Jamie