This recipe for homemade salted caramel sauce will be the only one you will ever need. It makes gooey, thick, shiny extremely delicious caramel sauce. This recipe is vegetarian and gluten-free.
I have to admit, I am not a big fan of caramel. I am more of a chocolate gal. Caramel for me is too sweet and overpowering. My husband on the other hand is a different story. If he could he would live on caramel (and bacon of course). How about you? Do you prefer chocolate or caramel? Let me know in the comments below.
The recipe below is a fool-proof recipe that is easy to make and can be incorporated in many different desserts. You have to remember to follow the recipe precisely and understand what kind of caramel do you wish to make and what do you want to use it for. Please read all the tips below to get the best results.
IMPORTANT: you will be dealing with very hot sugar so pay attention in order to avoid burning!
This recipe makes about 350G caramel sauce.
How to make homemade salted caramel sauce
Many people struggle with making caramel. I was one of them until I realised what the issue was and fixed it. After many trials and errors I have finally discovered that the most important thing about making caramel is temperature and technique.
Let’s start.
First you need to decide what kind of caramel do you want to make?
- Thin caramel sauce . The one one you can drizzle on ice cream or different desserts. Thin caramel is not recommended as filling for cupcakes, cookies etc, as it will ooze and leak. In order to make this kind of caramel, you need to follow the steps and cook caramel to the thread stage, temperature 101C – 112C (215F – 235F).
- Thick and gooey caramel sauce. The one that is perfect for any type of filling. Can be used to fill cupcakes, cookies, macarons, cakes, doughnuts, etc. It holds its shape easily. In order to make this caramel, you need to follow the steps and cook caramel to the soft-ball stage, temperature 112C – 116C (235F – 240F). The caramel you see in the photos here is cooked to 116C (240F).
Of course there are more stages of cooking sugar but we focus on caramel recipe here.
It is important to know:
- The longer you cook the caramel the thicker it will become as the sugar temperature will go up.
- When you add water and sugar to the pot, stir it for a minute and then turn the heating on and DO NOT STIR anymore. If you stir sugar syrup at the early stage it will clump up and crystalize, which is not good. You will have to start all over.
- Use a deep pot with a heavy bottom. The mixture will foam when you add cream so it is better to use a deep pot to avoid overflowing.
- Make time to make caramel and be patient. You will need about 1 hour to make thick caramel sauce.
- It takes about 15 min for sugar syrup to become amber gold.
- It takes about 30-35 minutes for caramel to thicken after adding cream.
- This recipe is called salted caramel but of course you can omit the salt if you wish.
- For the best results and control I would recommend using a kitchen thermometer. It does not cost a lot to buy one and it is worth heaving if you plan making caramel, nougat, marshmallows or anything that requires cooking sugar.
- Caramel will thicken as it cools down.
- Making caramel requires stirring a lot. After adding cream you will have to stir all the time to prevent caramel from burning.
- If you overcook caramel it will become very hard, I mean like rock hard. By overcooking I mean boiling caramel to the temperature over 117C (242F). If you do it, do not panic as you can rescue it by following the below steps.
How to fix hard caramel
- Place caramel in a deep pot and melt it, add 70 ml water, cream ( double, or whipping) or milk and cook to the desired consistency.
What does homemade salted caramel taste like?
This salted caramel is just the best. It is indulgent, smooth, buttery, sweet and salty…just dreamy.
How to use homemade salted caramel sauce
Depending on your needs, this caramel is perfect for many desserts. I used thick caramel to add on top of my hypnotising sugar cookies with caramel and chocolate and carrot cupcakes with salted caramel, salted caramel buttercream and caramel and chocolate ganache frosting. I have also added it in the middle of my caramel macarons. Really there is no limit here. I will be sharing more recipes with caramel on my blog soon.
You can also use homemade salted caramel sauce as a spread and add it on a toast or freshly baked bread. What an indulgent breakfast ide for everybody with a sweet tooth.
How to store homemade salted caramel sauce
You can store caramel in a jar in a fridge for up to 2 weeks. You can also freeze it for up to 6 months.
If you are looking for more recipes with caramel, I can recommend you the following:
Hypnotising sugar cookies with salted caramel and chocolate
Carrot cake cupcakes with salted caramel
Apple pie millionaire’s caramel shortbread
Click this link to see all the best recipes with caramel
I hope you will make my recipe and if you do, please leave a comment below and let me know your feedback. You can also find me on social media such as Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Gab and Gettr. Please say hi and do not forget to tag me in if you make my recipe. I love seeing your creations.
Recipe source –my own
Cheers!
Homemade salted caramel sauce
Sweet and salty thick caramel, perfect for fillings and toppings.
Ingredients
Instructions
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IMPORTANT: you will be dealing with hot sugar syrup, so please be careful.
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BE PREPARED as you will need to act fast! Have all ingredients ready and DO NOT USE WHISK! Use flat spatula for stirring your caramel sauce
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In a medium deep pot with a thick bottom add sugar and water, mix well.
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Now, turn gas on and set gas to medium. From now on you will NOT touch sugar mixture until it becomes amber gold. It will take about 15 minutes for sugar syrup to turn amber colour. You will notice that the mixture will thicken and bubbles will start to form.
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When you notice that sugar mixture turns into medium amber gold color, take the pot away from the gas.
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Pour in double cream. This step will be rapid and the mixture will foam a lot but it will calm down in few seconds) keep stirring and move the pot back on the gas. Keep stirring the mixture until it becomes smooth.
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Then add butter and keep stirring, making sure you reach edges of the bottom as well. From this step it will take about 25-35 minutes for caramel to thicken. Depending if you want thin or thick caramel.
- Thin caramel sauce . The one one you can drizzle on you ice cream or different desserts. Thin caramel is not recommended as filling for cupcakes, cookies etc, as it will ooze and leak. In order to make this kind of caramel, you need to follow the steps and cook caramel to the thread stage, temperature 101C - 112C or 215F - 235F.
- Thick and gooey caramel sauce. The one that is perfect for any type of filling. Can be used to fill cupcakes, cookies, macarons, cakes, doughnuts, etc. It holds its shape easily. In order to make this caramel, you need to follow the steps and cook caramel to the soft-ball stage, temperature 112C - 116C or 235F - 240F. The caramel you see in the photos here is cooked to 116C - 240F.
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When caramel reaches the desired temperature turn the gas off. Let caramel cool down for 5 minutes.
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Sprinkle some sea salt to your liking. Never taste freshly made caramel sauce as it is very hot and it needs time to cool down.
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You can store caramel in a jar in a fridge for up to 2 weeks. You can also freeze it for up to 6 months.