How is caramel sauce made from scratch?

Combine brown sugar, butter, and milk in a saucepan and bring ingredients to a boil. Remove thickened mixture from heat before adding (optional) vanilla extract. Let the caramel cool slightly before using. The result is an impossibly rich sauce that is guaranteed to satisfy your sweet tooth.

Can I use milk instead of cream for caramel?

Caramel sauce is a wonderful topping for ice cream, cake, pie, and bread pudding. While a typical caramel recipe calls for heavy cream, what if you don't have any handy? This easy recipe uses milk and butter instead , ingredients you're more likely to have on hand.

What are the two methods for making caramel?

Wet caramel is made by combining sugar and a liquid and cooking them together, while dry caramel is made from just sugar, heated in a dry pan until it liquefies and browns .

What is homemade caramel made of?

Never leave your caramel sauce unattended: To make caramel sauce you essentially toast white sugar until it's melted, before adding in butter, cream, and salt . Your sugar can go from toasty to burnt pretty quickly though, so make sure you keep a close eye on it! Don't forget the salt!

What thickens homemade caramel?

To thicken a caramel sauce, use one tablespoon of cornstarch or tapioca starch (sometimes known as tapioca flour) and one tablespoon of water per cup of caramel . Then simmer the caramel, stirring it constantly with a wooden spoon until it becomes thick.

Why is my homemade caramel sauce bitter?

If your caramel sauce is bitter, it could be that your sugar burned . Lower your heat and pay attention to the color of your sugar; it should be no darker than a medium tan.

Why won t my sugar melt for caramel?

Make absolutely certain the pan is clean AND your sugar is clean and free from impurities like dirt or residue . Sugar crystals can hook up with those impurities causing your caramel to seize and crystallize.

Why isn't my sugar melting caramel?

Why is my sugar not caramelizing? If you don't add enough water, the sugar molecules will crystallize and become unstable when you turn off the heat . To fix this, add extra warm water to your pan and redissolve the sugar until it caramelizes.

What happens when you melt sugar and butter?

Although the sugar won't necessarily melt, it will ultimately dissolve if the mixture of butter and sugar is cooked long enough . The sugar will dissolve into the butter as a result of the heat and moisture when the combination is cooked or baked.

How was caramel originally made?

Most believe caramel was created more than 1,020 years ago in 1000 AD by Arabs mixing sugar and water to create a crystallized liquid . Funny enough, the original caramel was not believed to be enjoyed as a sweet treat but rather used as a beauty product.

Is caramel made from butter and sugar?

Ok you may not have known this but, ~newsflash~ caramel is literally just cooked sugar with a little bit of butter (for stability) and heavy cream (for flavor & mouthfeel) stirred in at the end . The longest (and “hardest”) part of making caramel is just toasting and melting down the sugar at the very beginning.

{Quick and Easy} Caramel Sauce Recipe (2024)

Follow this easy recipe to make homemade caramel sauce – salted or not. It only takes 10 minutes and 5 simple ingredients. Then drizzle it on ice cream, cakes, pancakes, cheesecake, stir it into iced coffee, or use as a dessert dip for apples!

Right next to my homemade chocolate sauce, this homemade caramel sauce has got to be the easiest recipe ever. And it is pure Heaven!

Sure, you can buy caramel sauce at the store, but as with most foods, homemade tastes so much better and doesn’t have any added unnecessary ingredients. Plus, in the time it would take you to drive to the market, this caramel sauce would be done!

Ingredients for this Caramel Sauce Recipe

Sugar, butter, and cream are the essence of making caramel, but I also add water, vanilla, and salt, which play important roles.

Water helps the sugar dissolve, reduces the risk of burning, and heat more evenly.
Salt turns caramel sauce into salted caramel, which is amazing. I do use just a pinch though for regular caramel and add more for salted caramel. Salt is such a great ingredient and gives wonderful balance to sweet foods.
Vanilla is purely optional, but it really does elevate the flavor.

How to Make Caramel Sauce

You’ll add sugar and water to a heavy bottomed saucepan, allow it to dissolve and gently bubble for about 9 minutes until it caramelizes and turns a beautiful amber color. Then butter, cream, vanilla, and salt get blended in. The mixture is set aside to cool and then poured into a glass jar to cool completely. It will be thin and loose at first, but will thicken as it cools.

There are a few more specifics (and tips – keep reading!), but that’s the gist of it. So easy!

Do I need a Candy Thermometer?

Sometimes I use a thermometer and sometimes I don’t. You definitely don’t need one. If you have a thermometer and want to be very precise, the target temperature you’re after is between 338 and 350 degrees F. Above 350 degrees, it’ll start to smell burnt (and the finished sauce will taste bitter.) Below 338 degrees F, and you won’t be able to achieve the proper color and caramelization.

If you follow this recipe exactly, without deviation, all you really need is a good nose and set of eyeballs!

Does homemade caramel sauce need to be refrigerated?

Yep! Because it has dairy (cream and butter), it will need to be refrigerated once it cools. You’ll reheat it, as necessary.

How to Store Caramel Sauce

After the caramel cools down, you’ll pour it into a lidded glass jar or container.

Store in the refrigerator, tightly sealed, up to 3 weeks, or freezer for up to 2 months. Thaw in the refrigerator or at room temperature, before using.

Caramel solidifies in the refrigerator so it needs to be reheated, either on the stove or in the microwave, until desired consistency is reached. Note: reheating the caramel will make it thinner and runnier.

Can I use this caramel sauce for caramel apples?

Unfortunately, no. This caramel is not thick enough to coat apples for caramel apples. But it sure makes a great dessert dip for apple slices!

Recipe Tips!

The utensils you use do matter. It is important to use either a wooden spoon or a heat-resistant silicone spoon to make the sauce.
Resist the urge to stir! As the sugar and water are heated, if you stir them, you’ll cause grains to form and it will not be smooth and creamy. Instead, you can gently swirl the pan over the heat if needed, but be sure not to let the caramel go high up the sides of the pot or this will make the caramel sauce crystallize and become grainy, as well.
What if my sauce does crystallize? Luckily, you don’t need to start over. Whew. Add a scant 1/4 cup of water and bring the sugar back to a gentle bubble. (Heating it up with the water should dissolve the crystals. Then proceed with the recipe until you get color on the sugar.
Use unsalted butter. Even if you want salted caramel sauce, I recommend using unsalted butter. This gives you better control over the saltiness of the finished product. For salted caramel sauce, I like to add 1/2 teaspoon of salt, but I recommend starting with 1/8 teaspoon and adjust to taste.
Stay put and be patient. Do not step about from the stove while the caramel is cooking. This sauce is super easy, but it can take anywhere from 8-12 minutes to thicken and turn that gorgeous amber color. Since you don’t know where your sauce will land in that window, you need to be paying close attention.

This caramel sauce is sweet and buttery and going to rock your world, trust me! You’ll likely never get store-bought again.

Uses for Caramel Sauce

It’s the perfect topping for so many things!

Poor it over ice cream.
Stir it into a Mocha Frappuccino.
Drizzle it over brownies or angel food cake.
Layered it in a chocolate trifle.
Use it as a dip for fruit.
Give it as a gift!

Watch the video for Caramel Sauce

I hope you love this delicious and easy recipe – be sure to give it a review below! Also don’t forget to follow Belly Full onFacebook,Instagram,Pinterest, andYouTube!

Easy Caramel Sauce

4.98 from 218 Ratings

Follow this easy recipe to make homemade caramel sauce - salted or not. It only takes 10 minutes and 5 simple ingredients. Then drizzle it on everything!

Print Recipe Rate Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 2 minutes minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes minutes

Cool down 10 minutes minutes

Total Time 22 minutes minutes

Ingredients

1 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup water
6 tablespoons unsalted butter ,cut into pieces
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
pinch of salt

Instructions

Add the sugar and water to a 3-quart heavy bottomed saucepan; stir a little so it sits in a flat, even layer.
Warm pot over medium heat and cook until the sugar dissolves, turns clear, and starts to bubble. (It will be cloudy at first, but will turn into a clear, bubbling liquid.) This takes about 3-4 minutes.
(At this point, do not stir again - simply allow to bubble, swirl the saucepan occasionally and brush down the sides of the pan, as needed, to prevent crystallization.)
Sugar will form clumps, but continue swirling and cooking until the mixture thickens and turns a deep amber color like honey (this can take anywhere from 8-12 minutes), keeping a watchful eye so the mixture doesn’t burn.
Carefully add the butter and whisk until completely melted. (The caramel will bubble up rapidly, so be careful and continue to whisk.)
Remove the saucepan from the heat and slowly pour in the cream, whisking continuously until all of the cream has been incorporated.
Whisk in the vanilla and salt.
Set aside to cool in the pan for 10 minutes.
Then pour into a lidded glass jar and allow to cool completely. (It will thicken as it cools.)

Video

Notes

Read the full article for recipe tips and watch the video!
Store in the refrigerator, tightly sealed, up to 3 weeks, or freezer for up to 2 months. (Caramel solidifies in the refrigerator. Reheat in the microwave until desired consistency is reached.)

Nutrition

Nutritional information given is an automatic calculation and can vary based on the exact products you use and any changes you make to the recipe. If these numbers are very important to you, I would recommend calculating them yourself.

Other Notes

Course: Condiment

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Caramel Sauce, Caramel Sauce Recipe

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