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Are you a caramel lover? As of lately, I’ve been wanting to add caramel to everything! You’ll never grab a bottle of caramel sauce from the store again after trying to make your own!
For some reason a homemade caramel sauce comes off as intimidating. To be fair, I used to think that as well. However, I was really craving caramel lately and I decided it was finally time to see what the hype of homemade caramel is all about and check it off my bucket list! What do you know, it’s pretty straightforward to make and of course a homemade caramel sauce is way cheaper than buying it in the bottle and tastes SO MUCH better! The beauty of having the ability to make your own caramel sauce in your toolbox is that you can make it whenever you want! You’ll see that there are only five ingredients in this Caramel Sauce recipe, and you probably have them all!
If you make this caramel sauce, I guarantee this will inspire you to make other great recipes! This caramel sauce is extremely versatile, and I’ll show you topping ideas later on in this post! For more details on how using what you have can spark your creativity in the kitchen, check out my free motivational guide 5 Tips To Make Cooking Fun! However you use your caramel sauce, make it part of your Live to Cook challenge! You can get your free goodies by signing up for my newsletter! Be sure to tag me on Instagram so I can see your awesome caramel creations!
I recommend you watch the video to see me make the caramel sauce live and to really grasp the concepts of what to look for in the perfect caramel sauce. If you’re not already, please subscribe to my YouTube channel, and don’t forget to hit the bell button so you receive notifications for when the recipe videos go live! I love to share the video recipes to go along with the written recipes so you’ve got all the tools you need to make the best caramel sauce ever! Let’s get cooking!
What Tools Do I Need to Make This Easy Caramel Sauce Recipe?
You don’t need many tools to make this, and you may have everything already! Let’s discuss what you need for a perfect caramel sauce.
- Saucepan: A high quality pan is critical to making a good caramel sauce.
- Whisk: You need a great whisk in order to combine everything to make the mixture!
- Measuring cups: This could be handy to measure the sugar, cream and water.
- Measuring spoons: To measure out the vanilla extract.
A spatula will also be handy to transfer the caramel sauce into a jar or squeeze bottle. You won’t want to leave a lick on the saucepan, so a spatula easily gets all of it off the pan!
Some recipes recommend you have a candy thermometer to tell if it’s ready. However, that won’t be required here!
How to Use Simple Caramel Sauce
If you love caramel you can basically use it in anything! Here’s a list of ideas that came off the top of my head, but I’m sure you can find way more awesome ideas! Comment below how you’ll enjoy your Simple Caramel Sauce!
- Add a dollop in your overnight oats or stovetop oats!
- A dip for fruits or chocolate
- A drizzle over your Cafe Mocha , White Chocolate Mocha, or Tim Horton’s French Vanilla
- Add over whipped cream in my Iced White Chocolate Mocha or to top my Caramel Ribbon Crunch Frappuccino
- Starbucks Chocolate Cream Cold Brew
- Hot chocolates like Decadent White Hot Chocolate or S’mores Hot Chocolate
- Smoothies, such as Healthy Strawberry Cheesecake Protein Shake or Healthy Mango and Vanilla Protein Ice Cream
- Pancakes
- Strawberry Banana Nutella Crepes
- Espresso Brownies
- Skillet Protein Chocolate Chip Cookie
- Chocolate Chip Brioche Bread Pudding!
- Yogurt
- Ice cream
- With a spoon!
- Wrapped up to give as a gift!
Ingredients for This Simple Caramel Sauce Recipe
The ingredient list for our Homemade Caramel Sauce recipe contains only FIVE ingredients that you probably already have! For ingredient quantities, be sure to scroll to the bottom of this post for the FULL PRINTABLE RECIPE CARD and save it for later! You can also scale the recipe based on how much caramel sauce you want to make - you can either make a little bit of that’s all you need or make a large batch and portion it as gifts!
- Heavy cream: I’m using heavy cream to get a smooth and luscious texture to our caramel sauce.
- Butter: I like to add butter to the sauce to give some more richness and body. It certainly makes the caramel sauce smooth and buttery!
- Vanilla extract: I love vanilla, so I wanted to add a little bit of that aroma in my caramel sauce!
- Sugar: I’m using regular table sugar to mix with the water, and it’s the base of our caramel.
- Water: Mixed with the sugar before bringing the mixture up to a boil.
How to Make Simple Caramel Sauce From Scratch
In a pan, add the sugar and water and whisk well to combine.
Turn the heat to medium-high heat and leave the sugar-water mixture alone.
The mixture will start to simmer, and eventually the color will change from white to amber. Keep a close eye and don't stir or shake the pan until the color changes.
Then, remove the pan from the heat and pour in the cream gently, while whisking well. Add the butter as well.
Once the mixture has stopped bubbling and has turned into a rich caramel color, add the vanilla extract and whisk to combine.
Set aside to cool down.
Tips for the Best Caramel Sauce
- The most CRUCIAL tip to making the best caramel sauce is to allow the sugar-water mixture sit UNTOUCHED! Let it bubble up until the caramel sauce changes colour. You CANNOT touch the pan or shake it until the sauce has changed colour.
- You must also exercise care when pouring the cream into the pan as the sugar will bubble - just continue whisking. Make sure you take the pan off the heat once the cream is added and whisk confidently until the texture resembles a smooth sauce and stops bubbling.
- Make sure store the caramel in the refrigerator once it has cooled down slightly.
Questions You May Have
How to Prevent Crystallization in Caramel Sauce?▼
Stirring or moving the sugar-water mixture as it’s turning from white to amber will ruin the caramel and cause the sugar to crystallize.
How Do I know if I Need to remake my Simple Caramel Sauce?▼
The texture of the final sauce should be smooth, pourable with little to no sugar crystals. Also, the colour range should be between light amber to dark amber - the colour here will directly affect the flavour. If the sauce is any different, you might need to restart.
How to Prevent the Caramel from Burning▼
The best sign is to look for that amber colour and to keep a close eye until most of the mixture turns to this colour. Any darker, and you are risking the caramel to burn.
What texture to look for in the caramel sauce?▼
The mixture should be thick and smooth. The colour before adding the coffee or vanilla should be a rich toffee like colour, light brown and the entire sauce should have a sheen.
How do I adjust the thickness of the Caramel Sauce?▼
The amount of heavy cream you add will be best to adjust the consistency. Using 1 cup of cream already results in a sauce that’s thick, plus keep the sauce becomes thicker as it cools down.
Can I use Brown Sugar?▼
Go ahead! Just keep in mind that the texture and flavour might differ between white, light brown and dark brown sugar.
Do I have To Use Heavy Cream?▼
You should be able to get away with half and half 10% cream, although the consistency will be much thinner, so add accordingly.
How Much Caramel Does this recipe make?▼
This recipe will make about 1 cup of caramel sauce. If you’d like to scale the recipe, use the recipe card at the bottom of this post!
Does Caramel Sauce Need To be Refrigerated?▼
Yes, you need to store this sauce in the refrigerator. This is because we’ve added butter and heavy cream to the sauce, and the dairy will spoil if you leave it at room temperature.
How Long Should I Let The Caramel Cool Down?▼
I usually let it cool down to room temperature.
How to Store Homemade Caramel Sauce▼
The best ways to store your Caramel Sauce are in an airtight container or in a mason jar. You can spoon out the desired portion when serving.
If you’re looking to have more control over your drizzles with the caramel sauce (and perhaps you want to feel like a barista!), then storing in asqueeze bottle may be ideal for you.
How Long Can I Keep Caramel Sauce?▼
This caramel sauce from scratchwill stay fresh in the fridge for two weeks. You cannot keep it for longer because of the dairy. You’ll know if your caramel sauce has spoiled if it smells bad and if there are mould spots in the jar or container. I know this from first-hand experience - it’s very sad to see your caramel sauce spoil!
How to Reheat Caramel Sauce▼
It’s easy to reheat your caramel sauce in the microwave. When reheating, transfer the desired amount in a microwave-safe bowl or container and heat at 15 second intervals, giving the sauce a stir. If you’re storing the caramel sauce in a squeeze bottle, then you can place the entire bottle in the microwave.
If you’re reheating a large amount of caramel sauce, I recommend that you reheat in a saucepan over the stove on low heat. I would recommend you do this if you’re reheating a large amount.
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