Homemade Salted Caramel Sauce Recipe.
Salted caramel sauce that’s luxuriously smooth with a sweet, rich caramel flavor perfectly balanced with a touch of salt.
This salted caramel sauce is amazing spooned over ice cream of course, but it’s also delightful drizzled over frosted cupcakes, apple pie, brownies, and pound cake. It takes roasted fruit to a whole new level.
It can be whipped into whipped cream or buttercream frosting and plays the staring roll in this Caramel Cake with Salted Caramel Italian Meringue Buttercream AND in this Gluten Free Caramel Cake with Salted Caramel Italian Meringue Buttercream AND in these Salted Caramel Cupcakes.
Greetings from beautiful southern California!
My husband and I are spending a few days at a gorgeous hot springs spa owned by some dear friends of ours in Dessert Hot Springs. Here’s mostly what I have to say about that: Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.
This place is a true oasis for us. It’s quiet and peaceful, the hot spring water is soft, silky and naturally warm, and the other guests are always kind, interesting, happy and relaxed because, well, this is a very difficult place in which to not be happy and relaxed. Best of all, we get to spend some time with our friends.
Last night, the four of us went to dinner at Bontá, a German, Argentinian, Italian restaurant. (Yes. You read that right.) The menu contains traditional German fair (schnitzel, German sausage, sauerkraut) alongside Italian dishes like pasta bolognese and chicken parmigiana, and Argentinian dishes like Patagonian stew and Argentinian skirt steak with chimichurri sauce.
Dinner was delicious, but dessert was even better – bread pudding with vanilla bourbon sauce and apple strudel. Here’s the thing: before we left on this trip, I spend an afternoon perfecting this salted caramel sauce recipe. So, everything we eat, I think – this would be awesome with salted caramel sauce drizzled on top.
Bread pudding with salted caramel sauce? Ummm, yes, please.
Apple Strudel with salted caramel sauce? Absolutely.
Salted caramel sauce drizzled over the cinnamon sugar monkey bread I ordered at a little cafe for breakfast yesterday? Would have been heaven.
There is very little on which I don’t want to drizzle this caramel sauce.
It’s really awesome to have a jar of this sauce on hand at all times. But, you should know that making salted caramel sauce takes a bit of TLC. It’s not particularly time consuming or difficult. It will take you roughly 30 minutes and there are only 5 ingredients. However, it can be a bit tricky getting the sugar to caramelize to a rich, deep, flavorful amber without burning.
Just follow the instructions in the recipe, be patient, and if your sugar burns, it’s OK. It happens. Don’t sweat it. Just start again. As Julia Child would say…
Because having this amazing caramel sauce on hand is SO worth it.
This recipe makes a generous 3 cups and keeps in the refrigerator for up to 6 months. So give this sauce 30 minutes of your undivided attention and reap the rewards for months. Sounds like generous trade off to me.
A few recipes that use this Salted Caramel Sauce:
- Caramel Cake with Salted Caramel Italian Meringue Buttercream
- Gluten free Caramel Cake with Salted Caramel Italian Meringue Buttercream
- Salted Caramel Cupcakes
Salted Caramel Sauce
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Salted Caramel Sauce
- Yield: 3 cups
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Salted caramel sauce that’s luxuriously smooth with a sweet, rich caramel flavor that’s perfectly balanced with a touch of salt.
Ingredients
- 3 cups heavy cream
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 3/4 cup corn syrup
- 2 tsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
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. Pour into a container and let cool completely. The caramel will keep in the refrigerator for up to 6 months.
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I can’t get corn syrup where I live, could you recommend an alternative? Glucose syrup perhaps?
I think using glucose syrup in place of corn syrup will be fine Frank. I’d suggest using a bit less glucose syrup, however – perhaps just a 1/2 cup instead of 3/4 cup. Please let me know how the caramel sauce comes out for you. If glucose syrup works well, I’ll add a note in the recipe for other people who live in areas where corn syrup is not readily available. xo
I made it with glucose syrup. The texture and flavour is good, but it’s not sweet at all. Could I heat it up again and add more sugar?
Hmmm…. I’d suggest adding more glucose rather than sugar. Heat the caramel sauce over medium-low heat, and add additional glucose, tasting as you go until it gets to the right level of sweetness for you. Glad to know the glucose worked! It sounds like the amount just needs to be increased.
Made the recipe this weekend. SO GOOD. So easy – worth the little bit of time to make. I made the first batch to use with your Italian meringue buttercream, but it wasn’t into the jar when everyone started tasting it by the hot spoonful! Has made it onto ice cream, into coffee, and onto s’mores. Thank you so much for sharing this delectable sauce!
★★★★★
I am SO glad you like this caramel sauce recipe Angela! Thank you so much for taking the time to let me know!!! xoxo
What do you mean by “hold the line”? I made it today but I obviously took it too far as it’s more hard toffee than sauce (still absolutely delicious though and my error!) Can’t wait to make it as it’s intended!
★★★★★
Hi Hannah! Since your sauce was more candy than sauce, I’m guessing that it cooked too long before the cream was added. When you make it again, add the cream a bit sooner. You’re looking for the caramel to have a rich golden color that’s not quite brown. To answer your question, in the recipe instructions, when it says, “If you draw your finger across the back of your spoon, it will hold the line.” – I just mean that the mark your finger makes in the sauce as you draw it across the back of the spoon should remain. If the sauce is too thin, it will begin to run back together, covering the mark your finger made across the spoon. Does that help clarify that instruction? It’s kind of hard to explain. 🙂 Even though your sauce was on the “hard” side, I’m so glad to hear that it tasted good! Please let me know if you have any other questions and how the sauce comes out next time! xo
Rebecca,
I just want to thank you for your wonderfully detailed recipes. Every recipe is written bubbling over with every detail necessary to feel confident making the dish. Your attention to such details is well written and easy to follow, taking any guess work out of equation. I have been baking for many years (not professionally), I’ve always used a traditional american buttercream. I am baking a cake for a friends bridal shower and am eager to try the italian buttercream and also the salted caramel sauce! With your amazing recipes, I feel confident working with sugar in a way that has never worked out before! Thank you again!
Sherry! Thank you so much for these wonderful words! You’ve just made my whole week! I can’t wait to hear what you think about Italian Meringue Buttercream after using traditional buttercream over the years. I think you’ll be amazed at how great it is to work with. Please let me know if you have any questions or challenges as you make it. Happy Baking! xoxo
Hi
Can you use glucose or maple syrup instead or corn syrup?
Hi there! I think either glucose or maple syrup will work well in this recipe as a substitution for corn syrup. I say “I think”, because I haven’t actually tried either. But, I don’t see any reason why they won’t work well. Maple syrup will, of course, contribute flavor to the caramel sauce – but it might be delicious! Another option is Golden Syrup, which has the same chemical properties of corn syrup, making it good for candy making and caramel. If you try any of these options, will you let me know how they work? I’d love to know! xo
This is my second time making this recipe – loved it so much the first time! This time, i think we overcooked it a bit (or maybe because humidity levels are different at this time of year), as the little bits and leftover bit in the pot is hardening up when it cools (so far the jars we filled are still warm, so not sure what will happen there). My plan was to add to the Italian Meringue Buttercream recipe you have, as i did last time, but not sure i can given it’s state…will it ruin the buttercream? The colour and taste are great, I just don’t remember it hardening up like that last time (and the bit i have in the fridge is still super soft)
★★★★
Hi Alexandra! It sounds like you might have some some crystallization going on… before we dive into why that might have happened and what you can do about it, how is the caramel in the jars? Is it ok, or is the caramel in the jars crystalizing as well?
I am really looking forward to trying this recipe with IMBC. I don’t want salted caramel so can I just leave out the salt?
Thank you in advance
Hi Laura! I’d suggest leaving out some of the salt, but not all. A little bit of salt is necessary in every sweet treat because it actually supports and brings out the sweetness and other flavors in foods when used in small amounts. So, I’d suggest just adding 1/4 – 1/2 tsp of salt. The caramel won’t taste salty – it will just taste more caramel-y. 🙂 Please let me know if you have any more questions. And, I’d love to know what you think after you make it! It is sooooooo good in Italian Meringue Buttercream! xo