Tuesday, August 28, 2018

Salted Caramel Sauce

A couple nights ago, my friend invited my family and me over for ice-cream sundaes. I asked her what we could bring, and she said just to bring our favorite topping. While my favorite topping for ice cream is the chocolate sauce/hot fudge that my dad taught me how to make, I thought I would try my hand at making caramel sauce.
From all that I've seen and read it seemed fairly easy. It's basically sugar, water, and cream. Everything else is just extra.
So, at 5:10pm I decided I would make the caramel sauce. If it didn't turn out, then I wouldn't take it, but I was hoping it would. We needed to be there by "6-ish" so I was cutting it pretty close, but that tends to be how I do things lately. Last minute, and off the cuff.
So, I looked at a couple recipes. Got the gist of the method, and started cooking.
If there is any trick to this at all, I would say it is to NOT STIR while it's cooking. Stirring increases the likelihood that your sauce will develop crystals, turn grainy, and "sugary." I added a touch of corn syrup to my sauce as a preventative measure. It has a different chemical make-up than the granulated sugar has, so when it bonds with the sugar during cooking, it prevents crystallization. Alton Brown explains it really well, if you're interested in the culinary chemistry of it all. His show Good Eats changed my cooking world forever.
It took 15 minutes for my sauce to come together start to finish, because I used the biggest pot I had. It cooked faster than it would have in a smaller sauce pan, so I was able to cool the sauce quickly and pour it into a jar, and get my family out the door in record time.
I was a little nervous at how it would set up, but it worked beautifully. It was thick enough to coat the spoon, and the ice-cream, but it wasn't overly thick or chewy. Just perfect.

My friend asked for the recipe, so that's what prompted me to share it with you. I honestly just threw it together, without measuring, as I do most things, so I had to go back and figure it out.

*As always, I use organic ingredients, but feel free to use what you have.
Also, the type of salt you use will determine how salty the final product is. (This what I use.) I recommend adding a little at a time to make sure the taste is to your liking. The type of butter used will also affect the flavor. I use salted butter. If you use unsalted butter you will probably use more salt than is listed.


Here's the recipe:

Salted Caramel Sauce

1 cup organic pure cane sugar
1/4 cup water
1 Tbsp corn syrup 
1 cup organic heavy cream
1/2 tsp to 3/4 tsp fine sea salt (to taste)
2 Tbsp butter
1 tsp pure organic vanilla extract


In a large sauce pan, stir together sugar, water, and corn syrup. Cook over medium high heat, without stirring, until the mixture turns a deep amber color (about 10 minutes). Turn off the heat and whisk in the heavy cream. The mixture will rise and bubble up fiercely, so be careful as you whisk it all to combine. When it has stopped bubbling, add in the salt, butter, and vanilla. Stir to combine and serve warm or at room temperature. Store in a glass jar or other airtight container.




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