Salted Caramel Sauce Recipe
Cooking the sugar dry (no water needed once you know the technique) gives a deep amber color and real caramel flavor rather than a one-note sweetness, and warming the cream first keeps the molten sugar from seizing into a hard clump when the two meet.
- Prep
- 5 min
- Cook
- 15 min
- Total
- 20 min
- Servings
- 12
Ingredients
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup water
- 1/2 cup heavy cream, warmed
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cubed
- 1 teaspoon flaky sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 116
- Protein
- 0g
- Carbs
- 17g
- Fat
- 6g
Based on the recipe as written, one serving. Recalculates if you swap an ingredient above. An estimate only, exact values depend on the specific ingredients used.
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Instructions
- 1Warm the heavy cream in a small saucepan or the microwave until steaming but not boiling; set aside.
- 2Combine the sugar and water in a medium, light-colored saucepan (so you can see the color change) over medium heat. Stir gently just until the sugar dissolves, then stop stirring.
- 3Let the mixture boil undisturbed, swirling the pan occasionally by the handle, until it turns a deep amber color, 6-9 minutes. Watch closely in the last minute; it can go from amber to burnt in seconds.
- 4Remove the pan from heat and immediately pour in the warm cream while whisking constantly. It will bubble up rapidly, this is normal, keep whisking until smooth.
- 5Whisk in the butter, a few cubes at a time, until fully melted and glossy.
- 6Stir in the salt and vanilla extract. Let the sauce cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then pour into a heatproof jar. It will thicken further as it cools.
Tips & variations
- Use a light-colored pan, not dark nonstick, so you can accurately judge the amber color as it develops; dark pans make it easy to burn the sugar without noticing.
- For a deeper, more bittersweet caramel, cook the sugar an extra 30-60 seconds past pale amber, watching closely since it darkens fast at that stage.
- Swap the vanilla extract for a tablespoon of bourbon added with the butter for a boozy variation.
- If the sauce seizes into hard clumps after adding the cream, set the pan back over low heat and whisk until the clumps remelt smoothly.
Storage & reheating
Store cooled sauce in an airtight jar in the refrigerator for up to 3 weeks. It will firm up considerably when cold; microwave in 15-second bursts, stirring between each, or warm gently in a saucepan over low heat until pourable again.
Tips from the Tulo kitchen
- Have the cream measured and warmed, plus the butter cubed, before starting the sugar; caramel moves fast once it hits amber and there's no time to prep ingredients mid-cook.
- A candy thermometer isn't necessary here since color, not temperature, is the real doneness cue for this method.
FAQ
Why did my caramel sauce turn grainy?
Grainy caramel usually means the sugar crystallized, often from stirring too much while it dissolved or from stray sugar crystals on the pan sides. Brushing the pan sides with a wet pastry brush at the start helps prevent this.
Can I make this sauce without cream?
Coconut cream can be substituted in a 1:1 swap for a dairy-free version, though the flavor will be noticeably coconut-forward rather than neutral.
Why did the sugar seize into a hard clump when I added the cream?
This happens when the cream is too cold or added too quickly. Set the pan back over low heat and whisk continuously; the clump will remelt into a smooth sauce within a minute or two.
How do I know when the caramel is ready without a thermometer?
Watch the color rather than relying on temperature: a deep amber, similar to the color of a copper penny, is the target. Pull it off heat right as it reaches that shade since residual heat keeps darkening it for a few extra seconds.