Decadent Rum Spiked Caramel Sauce
This caramel rum sauce would make shoe leather taste like a gourmet treat. It really is that good.
Honestly, I generally make a double batch of this caramel sauce and keep it in the jar in the refrigerator, ready to pour over anything that strikes my fancy at any time. Like Banana Crumb Cake, or Best Ever Carrot Cake with Caramel Rum Sauce, for example. It does take a fair amount of self control to not just eat it out of the jar with a spoon, but if you can manage it, it's pretty awesome stuff to have on hand.
Short Cut Caramel Rum Sauce
If you don't have the time or the inclination to make this sauce from scratch, you can just buy a jar or two of caramel sauce (ice cream topping), heat it in a sauce pan on the stove and add some rum. The result won't be quite as rich, but still absolutely delicious.
- {Note} Caramel Rum Sauce is a Building Block Recipe. Building Blocks are tried-and-true recipes that I find myself coming back to time and time again, sometimes to make them exactly as is, and sometimes as a starting point for something new. -> More Building Block Recipes.
If you give this recipe a try, let me know! Leave a comment, rate it, or take a picture and tag it #ofbatteranddough on Instagram.
Happy baking!
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Caramel Rum Sauce
Ingredients
- 3 cups heavy cream
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- ¾ cup corn syrup
- 2 tsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- ½ cup Rum - or more! (I usually use dark rum, but light works too)
Instructions
- In a medium, heavy bottom saucepan, heat the cream to almost boiling – bubbles will start to appear around the side of the pan and the surface will get a bit “rumbly”. Turn down the heat to low and keep warm.
- In a large heavy bottom saucepan, add 1 cup of the sugar, the corn syrup, and salt. Stir to moisten the sugar and then cook without stirring over medium high heat just until the sugar starts to turn golden. If you notice that the syrup is quickly turning brown in one spot, but the rest is not browning at all, grip both sides of the pan and swirl the syrup around to distribute the caramelizing sugar before it burns. Cook until all the syrup is a light golden color – somewhere between the color of straw and milk chocolate.
- Turn the heat down to medium-low and add the remaining cup of sugar in three additions, stirring constantly, allowing each addition to melt before adding more. The sauce will continue to darken in color. Cook, stirring constantly, until the sauce is a deep amber color. Watch the heat in order to prevent the sugar from burning. The sauce should steadily darken in color, but if it begins to smoke at all, immediately remove it from the heat, stirring vigorously, and lower the burner heat. Return the pan to the burner and continue. If the sugar does turn black and burn, there’s no other option except to start over.
- Turn the heat up to medium and add the warm cream in three additions. The cream will cause the syrup to bubble up significantly – stir constantly and be very careful to not let the hot steam burn you. Simmer for a minute or two between each addition of cream to reduce slightly. Once all the cream has been added, continue to cook, stirring constantly, until it forms a thick syrup. If you draw your finger across the back of your spoon, it will hold the line.
- Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla and rum. Taste and add more rum if you like. Pour into a container and let cool completely. The caramel sauce will keep in the refrigerator for up to 6 months.
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I could seriously have a glass of this to drink! Sooo yummy and it makes the banana crumb cake soar to delicious heights! Buh-bye banana bread, I am a cake girl now. What a gorgeous website!
★★★★★
By dark rum, are you referring to Meyers Rum?
Hi there! Meyers Rum will work great. Light rum will work too... I just prefer dark rum because the flavor is a bit richer. Dark rum is usually made from molasses or burnt sugar and is aged longer than light (white) rum. Meyers is molasses based and aged for several years, so it will work beautifully in this recipe! Please let me know if you have any other questions! And, if you make this sauce, I'd love to know what you think! xo
Thank you so much for answering me. I keep Meyers Rum on hand for baking. jk
I should never have stumbled onto your site. Now how do I quit?
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Hi Lucis! You might be able to reduce the amount of butter to 1/2 cup. I haven't tested it, I'd suggest making the recipe with all the ingredients the same except reduce the butter to 1/2 cup. When the sauce is almost done, check the consistency. If it's grainy at all, it's probably because the sauce doesn't have enough fat. At that point, you can go ahead and add the extra 1/4 cup of butter - stir it in slowly, one tablespoon at a time. If you attempt this little experiment, will you let me know how it goes?
It’s delicious, mine is not a nice dark amber like yours what should I do differently? Thank you.
Hi Pamela! I'm glad the caramel sauce tasted good! That's the important part! 🙂
Getting it that lovely amber color just comes from cooking the sugar long enough. In step #2, you want to make sure to cook the sugar until it's golden. This can be tricky - because if you cook it too long it will burn. But, if you cook it until it's nearly the color you see in the pictures in this post, you should be fine. As you add the remaining cup of sugar, it should darken a bit more. Does that help?
Ok thanks I’ll try that 😊
What type of corn syrup is best?
Hi Dani! Use a light corn syrup - like this Karo syrup. Please let me know if you have any other questions! xo
It turned out PERFECTLY the 2nd time round because I was more patient😊
Love it!
★★★★★
Hooray! I'm so glad! Thank you so much for taking the time to let me know! xo
Question? Can I use rum flavoring instead of real rum?
Hi Trisha! Rum flavoring should work great in this recipe. My only suggestion would be to add it slowly, tasting as you go, to get the right amount. Please let me know if you have any other questions! xo
Hi Jennifer! I've updated the recipe since the butter comments. Fat content is important to smooth, creamy caramel sauce. The fat can come from either butter or cream, or a combination of both. After testing several ratios of butter and cream, I found more consistent results with using all cream rather than a combination of butter and cream. If you make this, will you let me know what you think?
If I leave out the rum (so the kids can eat this caramel too) do I need to do anything else to it, or just omit the rum?
No need to do anything else - just leave out the rum, and you'll be good to go. Please let me know if you have any other questions! xo
I made this recipe to drizzle on an eggnog cheesecake I made for Thanksgiving. This caramel sauce turned out soooo yummy. I will say I wasn't prepared for how long it would take and how much stirring was involved but it was definitely worth it. It was rich, creamy, and a beautiful color. To me it tasted almost identical to werthers original caramel candies (with rum). This recipe definitely takes patience but the end result is a large batch of caramel you'll want to drizzle on everything!
★★★★★
OMG. Caramel Rum Sauce over eggnog cheesecake???? Be still my beating heart. That sounds incredible! I'm so happy to hear that you liked this recipe. 🙂 Thank you so much for taking the time to let me know! I appreciate it so much! xo
There is no butter listed in the ingredients. Should there be?
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Can this rum caramel sauce be used to make caramel apples?
Hi Brenda! Let me preface my answer by saying that I haven't personally tried using this sauce to make caramel apples. But, I don't see why it wouldn't work. The key is to cook the sauce to the firm ball stage: 240 - 245 on a candy thermometer. At that temperature, if you drop a bit of caramel into ice water, it will form a firm ball that is still malleable and will flatten when squeezed. I am a bit concerned about the rum interfering in the caramel's ability to adhere to the apples and form that firm, chewy layer of caramel. I'd suggest either leaving it out, using a rum flavoring instead of actual rum, or just testing a small amount of caramel sauce by adding a few drops of rum and then seeing what effect that has on the caramel's ability to remain firm enough to adhere to the apples. Will you keep me posted about how this works out for you? I'm sure other readers will be interested!
Wow-oh-wow! This stuff is GOOD! Others were right in the comments above - patience is key. Having never made caramel sauce before, I found this recipe easy to follow and crazy delicious. I almost prefer it without the rum, but the rum certainly adds a little somethin'-somethin'! Thanks for the recipe!
Hi Amy! I am so happy to hear that you liked this sauce so much! Thank you so much for taking the time to leave a comment and let me know. I truly appreciate it! xo
Question...one person asked if the amount of butter could be reduced. You said to try it and if it is grainy add a bit of butter. I do not see butter listed in the ingredients. Is it missing or was the question about another recipe and I missed the first part.
And can this be made with Amaretto, Bourbon or Kahlua? I recently followed another recipe and used Bourbon, it was good but separated I do not see comments about that so would love to try with another flavor profile.
Hi Nikki! I've updated the recipe since the butter comments. Fat content is important to smooth, creamy caramel sauce. The fat can come from either butter or cream, or a combination of both. After testing several ratios of butter and cream, I found more consistent results with using all cream rather than a combination of butter and cream, so I updated the recipe to use all cream. Maybe I should delete that comment so it doesn't confuse people. 🙂
Yes! You could absolutely use Amaretto, Bourbon, Kahlua, or any kind of liquor in this sauce! I've used Bourbon and whisky and love the idea of trying it with Amaretto. I was also thinking about trying it with a bit of Limoncello one of these days. Lemon and caramel is one of my favorite flavor combinations, so I think I'd love it.
Please let me know if you have any other questions! And, I'd love to hear what you think about whatever liquor you end up using! xo