Easy Homemade Salted Caramel Sauce

If there's one recipe that you must know (next to my Perfect Shiny Crust Fudge Brownies), it's my homemade Salted Caramel Sauce Recipe! It's rich, thick and creamy, and best of all easy to make! Caramel sauce can elevate any dessert - even one you didn't make. Store-bought pound cake can be taken to the next level with a drizzle of caramel, and a pint of your favorite vanilla bean ice cream transforms into an elegant dessert. Pair that ice cream with a warm fudgy brownie and that's called HEAVEN! Make sure you watch the video at the bottom of the page to see exactly how to make it. If you're looking for recipes that incorporate caramel, try my Salted Caramel Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars, Caramel Apple Cake and this Turtle Cheesecake.

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS

• Easy to make - this caramel is easy to make in one pot with basic ingredients.
• No candy thermometer recipe - you can make this recipe using a few visual cues and no candy thermometer is required.
• Creamy caramel sauce - this sauce is super smooth, thick and creamy. It has the perfect consistency for drizzling so it's ideal for serving over ice cream or drizzling over brownies.
• Rich salted caramel - salt is so important to make this caramel taste rich and with a bold flavor.

WHAT IS CARAMELIZATION?

Caramel gets its name from the chemical process that creates it - caramelization. It is a temperature-dependent non-enzymatic reaction that occurs when simple sugars are exposed to high temperatures and all of the moisture is driven off. It involves the decomposition, dehydration and degradation of sugars to form other complex compounds that have a brown color and nutty, buttery, toasty flavors.

WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN WET CARAMEL AND DRY CARAMEL?

Wet caramel starts with water in the pan to help dissolve the sugar and make a very concentrated sugar syrup. This method takes longer because you need to boil it to then drive off the moisture through evaporation until the sugar becomes concentrated enough that it caramelizes. The result is a softer, more mellow-tasting caramel that has a smooth drizzling consistency.

Dry caramel involves heating sugar directly in a dry pan without water. The sugar gets much hotter initially and the caramel flavor is more intense with a slightly bitter, burnt sugar taste. The result is a very thick caramel that is great for fillings, for layering onto cookie bars or drizzling onto cookies since it sticks more.

INGREDIENTS FOR EASY SALTED CARAMEL SAUCE

• Granulated sugar - simple fine white granulated sugar is the bases of caramel. During the cooking process, simple sugars transform into deep brown compounds with rich nutty taste and aroma.
• Cream - it is important to use heavy whipping cream with 35% milkfat content. The fat is important to help the sauce come together smoothly with a thick consistency.
• Butter - you can use salted or unsalted butter in this recipe. It makes the sauce extra velvety and will also let it set up with a glossy fudge-like consistency.
• Pure vanilla extract - it is nice to have good vanilla for this recipe! It's one of the main flavors so you want it to taste great. I like this Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla extract.
• Salt - you can't have salted caramel without salt! Any salt will do, but I prefer sea salt. If you use Kosher salt, note that you will need a bit more since Kosher salt is lighter than regular fine table sale.

HOW TO PREVENT CARAMEL FROM TURNING GRAINY:

• Add an invert sugar like honey, corn syrup or liquid glucose. What is invert sugar? It's a liquid sugar that contains the simple individual sugar molecules (glucose and fructose) that sucrose (granulated sugar) is made out of. When there are lots of these simple sugars floating around, it's harder for sucrose molecules to build up on themselves and crystallize. Corn syrup also contains larger sugar molecules (called oligosaccharides) which can physically interfere with sucrose molecules and prevent them from coming together and clumping.
• Add acid. Acid ingredients (like vinegar or lemon juice) can help prevent re-crystallization which causes caramel to become grainy. Acid physically breaks the bonds between the glucose and fructose molecules that form sucrose and ensure that it stays apart. By adding a little lemon juice to the sugar and then heating it, you are essentially creating invert sugar in your pan.
• Place water in the pan first, then add the sugar on top of the water. By respecting this order, the sugar dissolves more readily and evenly.
• Let sugar dissolve gently first over medium-low heat before increasing heat to boil the syrup and create caramel.

METHODS FOR MAKING CARAMEL SAUCE

There are two methods - wet caramel vs. dry caramel. This recipe today is the wet caramel version which means sugar dissolves in water before caramelizing. This slows the process so that you can control how dark you want the sauce to be. Dry caramel is cooked in a dry saucepan with no water added until it melts and caramelizes - in this method the reaction is faster and always produces a very dark caramel that has a very thick and chewy texture once cooled. This is my recipe for Dry Salted Caramel Sauce here.

STEP BY STEP INSTRUCTIONS FOR SALTED CARAMEL SAUCE

Caramel sauce is relatively easy to make once you get the hang of the technique. It's really about getting used to the transformations… like knowing how dark to cook the sugar and how often to swirl the pan so that there aren't any sugar crystals forming on the sides. Adding cream to the hot caramel sugar syrup may seem daunting at first, but once you get familiar with the fact that it bubbles up vigorously (and you get over the scare the first time), then it all starts to feel normal. It's about knowing what to expect.

• STEP 1). Add sugar to pan. Pour water into a 1- or 2-quart stainless steel saucepan with high sides and add sugar over the water.
• STEP 2). Add re-crystallization inhibitors. Add lemon juice and corn syrup or honey.
• STEP 3). Cook. Cook until the sugar dissolves, it bubbles and turns to a clear syrup. Do not stir. Continue to cook over medium-high heat until it begins to change to a golden color. Swirl the pan gently as necessary to help it cook and color evenly.
• STEP 4). Add cream and butter. When the syrup turns amber (up to the color of a copper penny), remove from heat and carefully pour in hot cream. Heating the cream will help to prevent the syrup from clumping (adding cold cream to hot caramel will cease the syrup). It will bubble up violently as the moisture from the cream immediately evaporates, so just keep back a bit. Whisk or stir until the sauce is smooth. Stir in salt, butter and vanilla.
• STEP 6). Thicken if desired. Return the pan to medium heat and simmer for 1-2 minutes until slightly thickened. Then pour it into a clean jar and let cool completely.

VOILA! - Caramel sauce a la carte  It will keep in the fridge for weeks - I like to store mine in a mason jar.

EXPERT TIPS

• Prep your ingredients first. Have all of the ingredients measured and at room temperature so they are ready to go before you begin making the sauce. The process moves quickly once the sugar starts to melt and pausing for a moment to measure ingredients may mean that you'll miss the timing for the next step and the sugar will burn.
• Do not stir. Stirring can initiate re-crystallization of the sugar which can cause it to be grainy. Instead, swirl the pan gently to move the liquid syrup around and help it cook evenly.
• Heat the cream first before adding to the caramelized sugar. Adding cold cream to the very hot caramel will cause it to seize and clump. Warming the cream first will allow it to incorporate more easily.
• Make sure the pan is clean and the sugar is not contaminated.
• Use a light-bottomed 1- or 2-quart stainless steel saucepan with high sides that heats evenly. Do not use a dark colored non-stick pan because you will not be able to see the color of the sugar change.
• Cook over medium-high heat. Keeping the temperature up will ensure the sugar stays melted. The caramelization process will happen quickly, so do not walk away from the pan!
• Do not walk away. The caramelizing process proceeds very quickly once the sugar starts to turn yellow, so do not leave the pan unsupervised or it will burn.

RECIPE FAQ

If you love caramel, check out these recipes!

Homemade Snickers Shortbread: Chocolate-Covered Caramel Shortbread Bars Molten Salted Caramel Fudge Brownies Salted Sour Cream Caramel Chocolate Tart Gingerbread Spiced Fig Crumble Bars with Salted Caramel Drizzle