This Homemade Caramel Sauce Recipe is beyond good; it’s downright perfection…if made correctly. I have always preferred the taste of this Homemade Caramel Sauce to store-bought. That rich, deep sugar flavor, along with smoothness from the cream and butter, is just something that you can’t replicate from the store. It is a little bit of a process, but well worth the results.
Rich Homemade Caramel Sauce
Two things could go wrong when making caramel sauce: Either you don’t let the sugar caramelize enough, resulting in a pale, flavorless caramel, or you burn the sugar, and even after adding the fats, you will still have a strong burnt after taste.
Perfect Homemade Caramel Sauce Recipe Every Time
I started using a digital candy thermometer and I found that along with my eyes and nose as backups, when the sugar reaches 355 F degrees, it’s good to go! This simple trick took so much stress out of the preparation. This is honestly the most challenging part of the caramel sauce!
Helpful Tools For The Caramel Sauce
- Digial candy thermometer– Used in the kitchen so many different ways from candy making to deep frying
- 1 quart sauce pan- This sauce pan has a nice heavy bottom. I use it for heating up sauces, making caramel, simple syrups etc. I purchased mine on Bed Bath and Beyond, but it has since been discontinued. You can find it on Amazon using this link.
Now let’s start the caramel sauce by making a simple syrup. In a heavy bottom pot, add water and granulated sugar. You must try and keep the sugar in the center as you pour it in. Keeping the sugar towards the center of the pot and away from the edges helps keep the sugar submerged and melting correctly. Another essential tip is not to stir; this might actually be the most challenging part, but just let the magic happen on its own. Undisturbed, the sugar should melt nicely into the water and caramelize perfectly.
Cooking the Sugar
This is the crucial part, so if you want to use a digital candy thermometer as a backup, definitely do so. Once you have reached the beautiful golden amber color for your homemade caramel sauce, and around 355 F degrees, you need to stop the sugar from cooking any further. That’s where the cold heavy cream comes into play.
Remove the cooked sugar from the heat and add the cold cream. The sugar solution will start to bubble, so carefully stir with a wooden or silicone spoon and add your butter. Keep going until the cream and butter have thoroughly combined with the sugar.
Let it Cool and Thicken
At this point, the caramel sauce is delicious but extremely hot and thin. Transfer the homemade caramel sauce to a jar to cool and thicken, uncovered, until it reaches room temperature. As the caramel cools, you can drizzle the warm sauce over desserts like these Caramel Apple Cheesecake Bars. This Homemade Caramel Sauce Recipe has such a decadent old fashioned flavor and will not disappoint.
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