This homemade caramel sauce is so easy to make. No candy thermometer needed! It’s perfect on ice cream, cupcakes, cheesecake, and more!
Get ready for the best homemade caramel sauce ever! It is creamy, velvety, golden, delightfully sweet with a hint of saltiness, and so incredibly delicious. This new and improved version is straightforward and foolproof, which means you won’t end up with crystallized or separated caramel sauce.
How to Make Homemade Caramel Sauce
Making caramel sauce is really, really easy. Follow these simple steps:
- In a heavy-bottomed medium saucepan, combine the sugar, water, and corn syrup. Stir to combine carefully so it doesn’t splash up the sides of the pan.
- Bring the mixture to a simmer over medium heat.
- Use a pastry brush dipped in water to brush any sugar crystals off the side of the pan, if needed.
- Simmer until the mixture turns a dark golden amber color.
- Immediately remove the pan from the heat.
- Add the cream, butter, vanilla and salt (do so carefully as the mixture will bubble and steam) and stir until the sauce is smooth and silky.
- Pour the sauce into a jar or other container.
Important note: When boiling the sugar mixture, the color matters more than the exact time. It can go from golden to burned quickly, so keep a close eye on it. A candy thermometer will register anywhere from 350 to 370 degrees F.
Ingredients Notes
- Granulated Sugar: When adding the sugar with the water and corn syrup, stir carefully to prevent the mixture from splashing onto the sides of the pan.
- Water: Use room temperature water.
- Light Corn Syrup: This ingredient is important. Adding two tablespoons corn syrup helps ensure a more foolproof caramel sauce (less crystallization).
- Heavy Cream: Heavy cream is preferred over regular whipping cream for a thicker, more velvety caramel sauce.
- Butter: Just a few tablespoons butter added with the cream boost the silkiness of the caramel sauce. I always use salted butter.
- Kosher Salt: I use 1/4 teaspoon coarse, kosher salt (Diamond Crystal brand) for this sauce. You can dial that amount up or down, to taste.
How to Store Caramel Sauce: After the sauce has been made, immediately pour it into a container (so it doesn’t continue to cook in the hot pan). Let it cool completely before refrigerating. This helps prevent separation or grainy texture. Rewarm lightly in the microwave for a few seconds at a time before using.
How to Use This Caramel Sauce
I mean, is this really a question?? 😜
This easy homemade caramel sauce is delicious on EVERYTHING. Serve it:
- Over ice cream
- With apples, for dipping
- Drizzled over cakes, cupcakes, muffins, or cookies
- In recipes like these caramel apple cheesecake bars, caramel apple crisp, samoas chocolate pudding dessert
I set out to perfect this older recipe after readers reported that it was a bit finicky and sometimes separated or turned grainy. Just like you, I wanted a homemade caramel sauce recipe that worked out every single time without fail.
This new version is absolutely amazing. The caramel sauce is thick and creamy, smooth and silky, buttery and delicious. Make it today!
The Best Homemade Caramel Sauce
Servings 2 cups caramel sauce
Equipment
- Liquid Measuring Cup
- Silicone Spatula
- Measuring Cups
Ingredients
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup water
- 2 tablespoons light corn syrup
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 2 tablespoons butter
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
Instructions
- In a heavy-bottomed medium saucepan, combine the sugar, water, and corn syrup. Stir to combine carefully so it doesn't splash up the sides of the pan.
- Bring the mixture to a simmer over medium heat. During this step, use a pastry brush dipped in water to brush any sugar crystals off the side of the pan, if needed.
- Increase the heat to just above medium and boil for 7 to 8 minutes until the mixture turns a dark golden amber color. The color of the mixture matters more than the exact time. It can go from golden to burned quickly, so keep a close eye on it. A candy thermometer will register anywhere from 350 to 370 degrees F.
- Immediately remove the pan from the heat. Add the cream, butter, vanilla and salt (do so carefully as the mixture will bubble and steam).
- Stir slowly until the ingredients are well combined and the sauce is smooth. If you feel any hard sugar crystals on the bottom or sides of the pan, don't aggressively scrape them up – just leave them be and stir around them.
- Pour the sauce into a jar or other container. Let cool until room temperature. Refrigerate for up to several weeks and reheat on low heat to warm for serving, if desired.
Notes
Double Batch: This sauce can easily be doubled. Use a larger pan and keep an eye on the timing; it will take a few minutes longer for the sugar/water mixture to get to the golden brown stage.
How to Store Caramel Sauce: After the sauce has been made, immediately pour it into a container (so it doesn’t continue to cook in the hot pan). Let it cool completely before refrigerating. This helps prevent separation or grainy texture. Rewarm lightly in the microwave for a few seconds at a time before using.
Recipe Source: from Mel’s Kitchen Cafe (a new and improved version of this caramel sauce)
The post The Best Homemade Caramel Sauce {New and Improved} appeared first on Mel's Kitchen Cafe.
