Salted Caramel Sauce

Jump To Recipe by Cindy @mycountrytable

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Learn how to make salted caramel sauce using five ingredients. It’s delicious on ice cream, brownies, cakes, and so many other desserts. It’s also great for gifting!!

Store-bought Salted Caramel Sauce is loaded with artificial flavorings and it’s cloyingly sweet. Make this homemade version with pure caramel flavor, and never look back!

Ingredients

Granulated Sugar – Make sure to use granulated sugar, not brown sugar. Brown sugar is used to make butterscotch sauce. Granulated sugar is also made with sugarcane and melts easily for a smooth caramel.

Whipping Cream – Make sure to use heavy whipping cream, not light, and don’t substitute half and half for the heavy whipping cream. The heavy whipping cream along with butter contributes to the rich flavor.

Butter – Use real “unsalted” butter, not margarine.

Flaky Sea Salt – Try to use flaky sea salt if you can. If you don’t have any, you can substitute kosher salt. The bigger coarse salt is harder to dissolve.

Light Corn Syrup – We only use 1/4 cup of corn syrup here. The purpose of the corn syrup is that it prevents the sugar from crystalizing, therefore, ensuring the candy has a smooth texture, not grainy.

What is Sugar Crystallization?

I feel it’s important to talk about sugar crystallization, in case you’re a novice at making any type of candy or caramel.

When you make caramel, you’re mixing water, and sugar together and sometimes honey or light syrup. Once this sugary mixture begins to boil, the wet sugar crystals that splatter up onto the sides of the pan will form a crusty crystallized sugar ring around the pan. This is not a good thing, because pieces or small clumps of this crusty crystallized mixture can fall into your caramel. However, there are ways to prevent sugar crystallization.

Two ways to keep sugar crystals from forming on the insides of the pan

Dip a pastry brush in water and brush down the insides of the pan frequently, or

Once the ingredients are combined, place a lid on the pan until the mixture comes to a boil and keep covered for for 2-3 minutes, then remove the lid. The steam will condense and wash down the insides of the pan, preventing sugar crystals from forming. This is my favorite!

More helpful tips…

Use the right pot: Make sure to use a heavy bottomed pot with tall sides, preferably stainless steel, to make caramel. Thin bottomed pans heat unevenly, and will cause some of the sugar to burn before the rest has melted. Use a pot with a light colored bottom too. That way you can see the true changing of color as the caramel changes.
Don’t scrape the pot: When pouring the caramel out of the pan, don’t scrap the bottom and sides, trying to get all of it. There might be small bits of crystalized sugar stuck to the bottom or sides that will end up in the caramel. Simply pour out what you can, and leave the rest.
Use a candy thermometer: Don’t skip using a candy thermometer when making caramel. It’s imperative if you want your caramel to be perfect. Otherwise, you will end up with caramel that’s under cooked (too soft & runny) or over cooked (too hard).
Don’t splash sugar water onto the sides of the pot: Add the sugar and water, and syrup or honey to the pan first, (off the heat). Very gently mix the ingredients together with a wooden spoon until all of the sugar is wet with the water, being careful to not let any wet sugar granules splash upon the sides of the pan.
If covering the pan with a lid, place the lid on before the mixture begins to boil, and make sure to remove the lid after 2-3 minutes of boiling. Don’t leave the lid on the pan throughout the entire cooking process. Why? The water needs to boil off of the sugar in order for the sugar to concentrate and caramelize. As long as the lid is on the pan the water will not evaporate, meaning the temperature of the sugar will not rise enough to concentrate. Okay, now you’re ready to make the caramel.

Caramel Sauce vs Butterscotch Sauce

Caramel Sauce – Is made with granulated sugar. The sugar is heated over high heat until it caramelizes (melts and browns). Then cream is added, and it’s cooked to a soft ball stage before adding butter.

Butterscotch Sauce – Is made with brown sugar. It also includes butter, and cream. The molasses in the brown sugar lends to a buttery rich taste. Dark brown sugar gives it a more intense flavor.

How To Make The Caramel

Part 1

Off heat, add the sugar, water, and corn syrup to a heavy bottomed medium saucepan. Using a wooden spoon, very gently combine the ingredients, making sure to not splatter any wet sugar granules up on the insides of the pan. Choose one of the two options listed above for washing the sugar crystals down from the sides.

Cook over medium-high heat, without stirring, until the mixture becomes a dark amber color, (see the stages in the above pictures). This could take up to 14 minutes. You can gently swish the pan around from time to time to evenly distribute the sugar mixture. Don’t walk away! The mixture can turn from dark amber to burnt within a few seconds. Remove the pan from the heat.

Part 2

Carefully add the cream. Be careful…it will splatter! Stir until it’s smooth.

Clip a candy thermometer on the side of the pan. Return the pan to medium-high heat, and cook until the caramel reaches 238 degrees, (soft-ball stage).

Remove from heat, and mix in the salt. Allow the caramel to cool for 15 minutes.

Add the butter a couple of pieces at a time, mixing it into the caramel each time.

Allow the caramel to cool completely. You can also make the caramel up to three days in advance. Refrigerate it and bring it to room temperature before using.

Can I Freeze this caramel sauce?

The answer is yes. However, due to the amount of sugar in this recipe, it will not become totally solid in the freezer. The water content will also form ice crystals, and once the caramel is thawed it can have a somewhat gritty texture. However, the taste won’t change, and you can easily freeze it for up to 3 months. Make sure to use a freezer safe container, leaving a little bit of head space at the top.

Can I make Caramel Apples with this recipe?

No. This sauce is on the thin side. I recommend using my recipe for Caramel Apples for that. It’s a different caramel.

Can I make candy with this recipe?

No. You would have to cook it longer and I’m not sure it would set properly. I recommend using my recipe for Maple Caramels or my recipe for Cinnamon Rum Caramels.

I used this salted caramel sauce in my Salted Caramel Chocolate Cake, that I adapted from Martha Stewart.

Store the caramel sauce in a sealed mason jar in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.