Caramel sauce is quite possibly the best thing in the world! It’s buttery, sweet taste is comparable to nothing else! Fill cupcakes or macarons with it, drizzle it over desserts, cookies or into hot drinks.
It has a reputation for being a bit tricky to make but I think if you give it a go, you’ll find it very simple. The key is simply to not walk away from you caramel at any point. Make sure you have all your ingredients measured out and to hand. The best indication for when judging caramel is the colour and timings. A lot of people recommend using a thermometer, I have never used one and haven’t burnt a batch yet – see, simple!
A few pointers before we get started:
- Use a large pot as when you are cooking the caramel it will bible up and rise in the pot.
- Once the sugar has melted an is an amber colour you will need to add the butter fairly quickly. Once it is at the amber stage it can be easy to cook it slightly to long and burn it.
- Be careful! Caramel can get super hot and can bubble and spit a bit so you will want to make sure you don’t burn yourself. I usually make sure I have long sleeves on just in case!
- The salt is optional – I just happen to prefer salted caramel.
Lets get baking!
Recipe
90g Caster Sugar
60g Salted Butter (cut into cubes)
100g Heavy Cream
1 tsp Salt (Optional)
Method
- Heat sugar over a high heat in a medium sized pot, it will start to melt down slowly and then will begin to darken. When its a rich amber colour you’ll know it’s ready for the butter (on my hob this takes approx 2-4 minutes). Just be sure to continuously stir the sugar around the pot using a wooden spoon.
- Turn heat down slightly until you have a medium heat and add the cubes of butter to the pot, stirring continuously. Be careful as the caramel can bubble and spit a bit at this point. The butter will melt very quickly so keep stirring for about 1 minute until it combines with the caramel.
- Slowly drizzle in your cream. This is when your caramel will really start to bubble and rise up in the pot. Keep stirring on the heat for another minute, then let the caramel bubble and rise up in the pan.
- Turn off the heat. If you want salted caramel sauce, this is the time to add your salt. Just stir the salt in until it has dissolved.
Enjoy your caramel with everything and anything!
Side of Frosting 