The BEST Salted Caramel Sauce

It is an excellent topper for ice cream! I have been eating it off the spoon, baking it into brownies and blondes, and filling cupcakes! It will be making several cameo appearances soon!

Thank you!!

Mmmm all this talk of caramel is making want some! Maybe I’ll just take a quick trip to the fridge….

Leave it to you, the Crepe Master, to think of putting it in a crepe! That would be so yummy! I think I remember you having a banana bread that was dripping in caramel. Good thing I have some left or I would have to make some more to spice up my usual banana bread recipe!

I am not generally an advocate of quitting anything cold turkey especially caffeine…can lead to headaches!

Hmmm plastic and caramel…bad plan. The big question though is when you do get hot caramel on your hand while in the middle of cooking, do you stop and run it under cold water and burn your caramel, or do you suffer through the pain to save the caramel? I say anything to save the caramel!!

Hi LJ – I’m so sorry you are having trouble! Caramel can be tricky! If I am understanding your situation correctly, it sounds like you had no problems melting down the sugar and caramelizing it. The problems happened when you added the butter and the cream. That is exactly what kept happening to me when I added cold butter and cream to the sugar – it seizes up and, once re-crystalized, there is no way to fix it. I tried. Once I used room-temperature (i.e- really warm) butter and cream it stopped seizing up. The only other time that I ended up with sugar crystals in my finalized caramel was when I stirred the sugar while it was melting on my induction stovetop. I could not get the the crystals to reincorporate before I burned the sugar. I hope that helps!

Have fun with the cupcakes!

Lol! That’s the problem!! My site’s been a little caramel heavy since I first made it! Aaaaannnnddd I may have some still in the fridge…..here comes trouble!

It definitely can!

Hi Jeanie! Those hard pieces are from the sugar seizing most likely from adding cold butter. Sugar naturally wants to recrystalize so if any sugar crystals on the spoon or side of the pan fall into your caramel it also may create lumps of sugar. The same thing happens when you add cold butter and cream to the hot sugar; the cold will shock the syrup and chill parts of it creating crystals. Sometimes you can keep heating it and the crystals will dissolve but often it’s best just to strain it.
To achieve the caramel sauce consistency in the photos, I did not need to keep heating it. If you do keep cooking it, it will continue to thicken. Hope that helps!!

LOL! I will have to add your #1 and #2 suggestions to my list! Hilarious! And so true
If the sauce is too thin, you can cook it longer and it will thicken up. And there is no shame in drinking salted caramel! I do it all the time 🙂

Hi Mae! I have never tried to freeze caramel sauce, but I don’t see why you couldn’t. The general rule is 1-2 weeks in the fridge or 2 months in the freezer!

Haha! I am soooo happy to hear that your caramel came out (almost) perfectly! I absolutely love this recipe! I have dropped my spoon too, but fortunately the caramel was saved! As for the salt…I have a few thoughts on salt. I never use table salt in my baking because it it processed and tastes completely different than sea salt. Maldon salt is a very high quality sea salt with thin flakes that melt very quickly into the caramel. I have used regular sea salt but I used fine texture. If the crystals are too large then they won’t dissolve and you will have salt at the bottom. The other mistake that I made with salt was adding it too late so the caramel wasn’t hot enough to dissolve the crystals and I just got pieces of salt in my caramel like you. I add it immediately after the butter. You can put it back on the heat to dissolve it too but the longer you cook your caramel, the thicker it will be after cooling! I hope that helps!!! Happy baking!

Hi Rosie! Don’t give up! I’ve totally been there. Promise. Let’s start with your last question and go from there. There are two different methods for making caramel. One is the dry caramel method (this recipe) and one is the wet caramel method. One is not any better than the other. Some find the wet caramel method easier but you absolutely cannot stir it after the sugar has dissolved because the agitation combined with the hydration will cause it to crystallize. Also once the sugar has dissolved into the water, you should wash the sugar crystals from the side of the pot with a clean pastry brush dipped in water or I have even used a wet papertowel. If you leave crystals on the side of the pot then they can fall into the caramel and cause it to crystallize. Once you hydrate the water and wash the sides, don’t touch it! You can swirl a few times but don’t stir! There is no wrong amount of water to add but the more you add, the longer it will take too cook because the water needs to boil off before the sugar will caramelize. No big deal. You can change this recipe into a wet caramel if you want to try it.

Take heart: The problem is not you and your caramel making skills; the problem is your electric cooktop. The heat is uneven and the burner turns off and on to maintain a “consistent” heat, which is never consistent. Don’t fret. I made the caramel in this post on an electric stove. If your caramel starts to melt unevenly, which it always will, just stir it gently with a wooden spoon (bonus points for one with a flat bottom). Then allow it to continue to melt. Think of corn syrup as cheap insurance against crystallization. I only use corn syrup with wet caramel though. If you want to try that add about 1/2 cup of water to the sugar in this recipe and stir to hydrate the sugar then add about 1 tablespoon of corn syrup, stir to combine; wash down the sides of the pot and don’t touch it! There are scientific reasons why I do not add the corn syrup to the sugar before it is hydrated but I’ll spare you!

The other recipe you tried – the one with the cream that never set – you just need to put it back on the heat and keep cooking it to thicken it. That is how you make caramel candies.

Lastly, just remember that caramel *is* burned sugar. The key is just to figure out how “burned” you like it. I like really dark, rich caramel so I let mine get a dark amber before I add my butter and cream. If you like it lighter, add the cream and butter when it reaches a lighter amber color. The darker the caramel, the less sweet it is. There is about 2 seconds between dark amber and black-burned. You may have to burn a few before you figure it out. I know I did! I hope that helped! Don’t give up. Let me know what you try and if it worked!

You are so welcome, Nikki! I am so glad you enjoyed it! Your espresso cheesecake sounds fantastic!!

Hi Jen! Great question! Room temperature is just fine. You just don’t want them cold or they will seize the hot caramel. You can warm the cream a little in the microwave if you want but it’s not necessary. If the butter is soft, it’s warm enough.

Hi Ashleigh! Sure! Just add some bourbon after the butter!

Obviously you already tried! Sorry for the delay, I was on vacation.

Hi Mao! What exactly are you going to pipe? It’s probably a bit too loose at room temperature for that. I would use less cream and butter to get a pipeable caramel.

You could certainly try! Sometimes coconut milk and almond milk do funny things like separate when they are heated but please let me know how it works out! Happy baking, Jessica!

Hi Shirley! I am so glad you like the sauce! I successfully used it as a filling in these cupcakes and also these! The only things I can think of are that either the cupcakes are still warm or the sauce is still warm. Try chilling the sauce first and then scooping it in – this won’t be as easy as when it is still warm or even room temperature but it won’t absorb. To make the sauce thicker use less cream or butter. Good luck and happy baking!

Hi Roxanne! Unfortunately making caramel on an induction burner is a lot harder than on gas, but it is possible so don’t give up! When sugar melts its physical state changes and if a sugar crystal is introduced to this melted sugar it could cause the entire batch to recrystalize. These are the crystals you had to strain out. I like to think of it as if sugar “wants” to be in crystal form and we are coaxing it into a different state. The slightest interruption or contamination will cause it to revert back to its natural state. This is why you never stir a wet caramel after the initial wetting of the crystals and you take great care to use a clean pot and wash all the sugar crystals from the sides of your pot. Stirring a dry caramel (like this one) is allowed but I still find it better to swirl the pot to use those hot patches to melt the rest of the sugar without disturbing it too much. You can also try adding the sugar to the pot slowly by sprinkling more on top as it starts to melt. This works best with a smaller quantity.

Brown sugar doesn’t caramelize like white granulated sugar because of the molasses. YOu can still make a delicious sauce like I did here, but I used 100% brown sugar. I hope that helps!

Hi Angelica, I don’t see brown sugar in the recipe, so definitely use white sugar. You can try with canned milk or you can do with just added butter. Cream makes it stay looser and pourable and gives it a little creamier taste.

Hmm. Well acquiring a ton of caramel sauce sounds like a blessing and a curse! 🙂 You can try to cook it again to 260 degrees and then pour it out. Let me know how it goes!

Sir until it is incorporated. You can put the salt in the with the cream if you want. 🙂

You are most welcome!

Hi! WHile I use grams exclusively at work, I do not have time to convert all my recipes on AHC to grams. Googling the conversion works very well especially for the simple ingredients used here. Best

HI Bridget, this is a dry caramel recipe so it doesn’t use water when making the caramel. If you want to turn it into the wet caramel method you totally
can. Honestly it doesn’t really matter how much water you use because all the water has to evaporate before the sugar will caramelize – more water, more time to cook the sugar. No big deal. Just add enough to make wetting the sugar easy. Don’t forget with a wet caramel, there is NO STIRRING after the cooking has begun, only swirling!

HI Beth! Brown sugar does not have the same properties as white granulated sugar, so, no it won’t work with half and half in the way you want it to. It will create a syrup but it will be a bit grainy unless hot. It will thicken up to pour over cake but it will have to stay cold or it will begin to run. I would also pour it onto a frozen cake. Happy baking!

I’m so glad!