Easy Salted Caramel Sauce
Homemade Caramel Sauce is deceptively easy and way better than store-bought. You can make this in under 15 minutes with some basic ingredients that you likely have hanging around your cupboards!
You can use this Salted Caramel Sauce as a dessert topping, fruit dip... eat it straight out of the jar (yeah, you’ll do it, trust me), or adapt it to make a drip or cake filling - check out the recipe notes below.
First thing’s first. What’s with the lemon juice? I’ve tested other caramel sauces and kept having an issue with crystallization once it cooled. They would get grainy, and while it tasted okay, the texture wasn’t appealing. The lemon juice helps prevent the sauce from crystalizing and doesn’t impact the flavor. The photos in the post were taken 4 days after I made the caramel - look how perfect that looks!
Making the sauce…
This recipe gets easier the more you make it and get to know your equipment. You’ll start by adding the sugar, water and lemon juice to a sauce pan with tall sides. Tall sides are important here because when you add the butter and cream, the sauce will bubble up. If your pan doesn’t have tall sides, it may bubble over (I speak from experience).
You’ll bring these ingredients to a low-boil. I recommend cooking this slowly and keeping a close eye on it. Caramel can burn quickly, and once it’s burnt, there’s no fixing the bitterness.
You’ll notice the cook time for this sauce is 5-15 minutes - that seems like a wide-gap, I know. Cook time will depend on what kind of stove and pan you’re using (and your altitude, but that’s another story). Using a heavy-bottom, medium pan, my cook time normally hits the 15 minute mark. If you’re like me, you’ll likely be a little more conservative with your heat initially to prevent burning - and that’s okay!
Once your sugar reaches a light amber colour, take the pan off the heat to add the butter and cream. Exercise caution here. It’s very important to add these in small additions, stirring between. The mix will bubble up, but if you add the butter and cream a little at a time, it won’t bubble up as much.
If it does bubble over, let it cool a moment. Water boils at 100°C but sugar has a higher melting point, your mix will likely hit the 115-120°C mark. All that to say, sugar burns hurt, so just be careful.
Making the sauce thicker
If you want your sauce to set a little thicker, put the mix back on the stove and boil for another few minutes. It’s okay to stir as you bring it back to a boil. Your caramel will darken a little more, again, keep and eye on it to make sure it doesn’t burn.
Remember that your sauce will thicken as it cools, so it’s best to take it off before you think it’s ready. Once your caramel cools, if it’s not quite thick enough, you can throw it back on the stove to cook out a bit more moisture.
Salted Caramel Sauce
Ingredients
Instructions
- Prep all of your ingredients ahead of time.
- Add sugar, water and lemon juice to a medium saucepan with high sides.
- Cook over medium-low heat until the sugar is dissolved. Don't stir it and don't let it boil until the sugar is dissolved. You can gently swirl the pan a few times to avoid hot spots.
- Bring the sugar to a low boil and watch it carefully. You're looking for the sugar to turn a golden/amber color. Again, don't stir it. Keep an eye on it to avoid burning. This can take 5-15 minutes depending on your equipment.
- Remove from heat immediately. Add the butter in three parts, stirring between. Add the cream, again in two or three parts. Be careful, the mix will bubble up as you add the butter and cream.
- Add vanilla and salt and stir to combine.
- At this point, I like to put it back on the heat for another two or three minutes to thicken a little more. If you have a thermometer, you can heat it to softball stage. Remember, the sauce will thicken as it cools and you can always heat it back up to thicken a little more if you're not happy with it.
- Let cool for a few minutes in the pan before you pour into a storage container to cool. I like to use a wide-mount jar.
Notes:
Cook time will vary based on your equipment (pot and stove).
Once cool, if sauce isn't thick enough, put it back over heat to cook a little more moisture out.
The lemon juice helps prevent the sugar from crystalizing - you don't taste it.
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