I'm not afraid to say it: this homemade salted caramel sauce is pretty much perfection. It's easy, made with only 4 ingredients, and the perfect topping for ice cream, cake or pie―or just drizzled over warm toast on an autumn morning. This is why we're proudly calling it our go-to sweet treat. 😋

There's no need to settle for store-bought caramel sauce when you can make it from scratch! This recipe requires no candy thermometer, takes only 13-15 minutes and has a 0% chance of crystallisation! Which means you can stir the sugar! Your taste buds will thank us for making it as easy as opening a jar (or two) of this caramel sauce. If you follow all the tips and tricks, you’ll be able to make silky, rich and creamy salted caramel sauce at home in no time.

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WHY YOU’LL LOVE THIS RECIPE!

• Easy to make
• Better than store-bought
• Fool proof recipe
• Ready in less than 20 minutes
• Zero per cent chance of crystallisation 
• Perfect for all sorts of desserts! You can drizzle it over ice cream, cinnamon rolls, apple oat bars, cupcakes, cakes or even just eat with a spoon straight from the jar.

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INGREDIENTS YOU'LL NEED!

• Granulated sugar: When sugar caramelises, it gives signature colour and flavour to the caramel sauce.
• Double Cream/Heavy cream: Cream keeps the caramel silky and smooth. Always use warm cream because cold cream causes the hot sugar to clump.
• Unsalted butter: Always use unsalted butter, so you can control the amount of salt according to the recipe requirement. Butter makes sauce rich, creamy and flavourful. Always use good quality butter. Always use room temperature butter as cold butter can seize the hot melted sugar.
• Salt: It balances the sweetness. Caramel sauce is very sweet, so a small amount of salt deepens the flavour and balances the extra sweetness of caramel.

EQUIPMENT REQUIRED

• Heavy-bottomed saucepan
• Heatproof spatula or wooden spoon
• Hand Whisk

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THE BEST METHOD TO MAKE THE PERFECT CARAMEL SAUCE!

You can make caramel sauce by using two methods: the wet method and the dry method.

In the wet method, sugar is combined with water in a pan. It's a slower method, because the more water you add, the longer the caramel will take since the water needs to evaporate before the sugar caramelises.

In the dry method, only sugar is melted over low heat and there are zero chances of crystallisation but sugar is more prone to burning so that's the only thing that you have to keep an eye on. You can also stir the sugar during the process.

Many people have trouble making caramel with the wet method because they're afraid that their caramel will crystallise, which is why I'm going to show you how to make caramel using the dry method. It's our go-to method and it 100% works!

HOW TO MAKE EASY CARAMEL SAUCE STEP BY STEP!

STEP 1: Heat the double cream/heavy cream in the microwave and set aside. Prepare all your ingredients in advance so they are ready to add to the caramel when needed.

STEP 2: Add the sugar into a light-coloured, heavy-bottomed saucepan (stainless steel is the best). Spread it evenly and let it melt over low heat and wait for the sugar to melt (no stirring at this point, just swirl the pan).

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STEP 3: Once the sugar starts to melt and clump together, use a heatproof spatula or wooden spoon to stir it continuously until completely melted otherwise it can burn. Sugar makes clumps as it melts so no need to worry as it will gradually melt. Gently break up clumps using a spatula. Still, if there is any clump of sugar, keep stirring until all the clumps melt.

STEP 4: Once the sugar has melted, stop stirring and swirl until a golden amber colour is achieved. Keep an eye on it as it takes only a few seconds to burn (the approximate time for the above entire process is 13-15 minutes). Please be careful, caramel can go from deep amber-coloured to a burnt one in seconds, so keep an eye on it! Don’t let it get too dark as it makes the caramel bitter.

STEP 5: Immediately remove from the heat and add in softened butter while constantly whisking. Mix until it is thoroughly combined. Whisk carefully as the mixture will bubble up and can splutter, add cream in two batches and stir until smooth.

STEP 6: Add in salt and stir until smooth. Put it back on low heat for 30-60 seconds. keep stirring until caramel is smooth.

STEP 7: Pass this mixture through a strainer to remove any lumps of sugar. In this way, you can get silky and smooth caramel.

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RECIPES TO USE SALTED CARAMEL SAUCE IN!

• Spoon it over ice cream.
• Use as a filling in a cake and cupcakes.
• Make delicious coffee with caramel.
• Swirl it into brownies.
• Just eat with a spoon because nothing can beat caramel with a spoon.
• It goes excellent with almost every dessert, options are endless.
• Make salted caramel buttercream for caramel cake.

TIPS TO MAKE THE BEST AND EASY HOMEMADE SALTED CARAMEL SAUCE!

• Always use a light-coloured, heavy-bottomed deep pan with high sides because the caramel will bubble up a lot when you add in cream and butter.
• Cook over low heat. High heat can burn the sugar. Patience is the key to getting the best caramel sauce.
• Always use good quality butter. Make sure to buy unsalted butter because you can control the amount of salt according to the recipe requirement. Butter should be softened to room temperature.
• Make sure to warm your cream in advance, if you don’t, sugar will burn while heating the cream and if you add the cold cream to the boiling sugar mixture it will seize the sugar. Please prepare all your ingredients in advance so they are ready to add to the caramel when needed.

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• Be careful, while adding butter and cream as the mixture will violently bubble up and can splutter due to the difference in temperature of hot caramel and cream or butter.
• Please be careful, caramel can go from deep amber-coloured to a burnt one in seconds, so keep an eye on it! Don’t let it get too dark as it makes the caramel bitter.
• Pass this mixture through a strainer to remove any lumps of sugar. In this way, you can get silky and smooth caramel sauce.
• If you like thick caramel sauce, you can reduce the amount of double cream.

STORAGE

Caramel sauce will be liquid when it is hot and will thicken up as it cools. Allow it to cool then transfer to an air-tight container. Store for up to 1 month in the fridge.

It solidifies in the fridge. Reheat it in the microwave for a few seconds when needed.

I hope that you'll try this recipe and you'll love them as much as my family and I do! If you make this recipe then be sure to tag @kaotickrunch on Instagram. We'd love to see your creations!

Happy Caramel Eating!