Homemade Caramel Sauce
Homemade Caramel Sauce is sweet and buttery, made with only 5 ingredients and ready in 15 minutes, perfect for drizzling in coffee, on fruit, or paired with other sweet desserts!
Servings: 8 servings
Calories: 223kcal
Equipment
- 1 medium saucepan
- 1 silicon spatula high-heat resistant
Ingredients
- 1 cup white sugar
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter room temperature, cut into pieces
- 1/2 cup heavy cream room temperature
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
Instructions
- In a medium sauce pan, melt sugar over medium-low heat. Stir sugar very gently in swirling motions as it melts. You may see some clumps of sugar form before it melts. Continue stirring gently until sugar is completely liquid and turns a deep amber color. This will take about 6-8 minutes.
- Carefully add the butter to the caramelized sugar. Rapid bubbling and slight rising is normal when butter mixes with the hot sugar. Continue to stir, but be careful not to touch the sugar, because it will be very hot!
- After butter is completely melted, add cream very slowly and carefully to the sugar mixture as it will bubble again. While continuing to stir, add vanilla extract. Then stop stirring and allow the sauce to simmer an additional 30-60 seconds. Stir in salt and remove from heat.
- Cool to room temperature before adding to the storage container. It will be thinner while it's still hot and thicken more as it cools.
Notes
Click on the time in the instructions to start a timer!
Storage
Refrigerate for 1-2 weeks in an airtight container.
Freeze in an airtight freezer-safe container for 2-3 months.
Cooking Tips
- Caramel sauce will thicken as it cools, so don't worry if it looks thinner at first.
- Don't be tempted to turn the heat up too high! You want the sugar to melt evenly. If the heat is too high, some of the sugar may caramelize before the rest of it is melted, causing grainy caramel.
- Try to keep the sugar in an even layer when stirring, to make sure it all melts at about the same time.
- Use hot water to rinse your saucepan after, the sugar will melt right off, making cleaning easier.
Nutrition
Calories: 223kcal | Carbohydrates: 25g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 14g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Trans Fat: 0.3g | Cholesterol: 39mg | Sodium: 151mg | Potassium: 18mg | Sugar: 25g | Vitamin A: 481IU | Vitamin C: 0.1mg | Calcium: 13mg | Iron: 0.03mg