Follow this easy recipe to make homemade caramel sauce – salted or not. It only takes 10 minutes and 5 simple ingredients. Then drizzle it on ice cream, cakes, pancakes, cheesecake, stir it into iced coffee, or use as a dessert dip for apples!
Right next to my homemade chocolate sauce, this homemade caramel sauce has got to be the easiest recipe ever. And it is pure Heaven!
Sure, you can buy caramel sauce at the store, but as with most foods, homemade tastes so much better and doesn’t have any added unnecessary ingredients. Plus, in the time it would take you to drive to the market, this caramel sauce would be done!
Since caramel is made of sugar, water, butter and cream, with sugar being the main ingredient, I don’t quite see how you could make it “less sugary”.
Does homemade caramel sauce need to be refrigerated?
Yep! Because it has dairy (cream and butter), it will need to be refrigerated once it cools. You’ll reheat it, as necessary.
Ingredients for this Caramel Sauce Recipe
Sugar, butter, and cream are the essence of making caramel, but I also add water, vanilla, and salt, which play important roles.
- Water helps the sugar dissolve, reduces the risk of burning, and heat more evenly.
- Salt turns caramel sauce into salted caramel, which is amazing. I do use just a pinch though for regular caramel and add more for salted caramel. Salt is such a great ingredient and gives wonderful balance to sweet foods.
- Vanilla is purely optional, but it really does elevate the flavor.
Caramel Recipe
FAQ
What is caramel made of?
What are the basics of caramel?
What does caramel syrup contain?
What are the raw materials for caramel?
What are the ingredients in caramel?
The main ingredient in caramel is sugar. However, depending on the recipe you use, you may have to incorporate butter, heavy cream, water, or corn syrup as additional ingredients. High-quality, real caramel is always made with three basic ingredients and those are sugar, heavy cream, and butter.
What ingredients are in candy?
Candies always have sugar in their composition. They may also have other sweeteners such as high fructose corn syrup and some colorings.
How do you make a caramel?
The main ingredient for making a caramel is sugar. A liquid caramel can be made using any quantity of sugar or water just as long as it follows the ratio of 2 parts sugar: 1 part water. Pour the water and sugar into a wide-based pan and place over a low heat to dissolve the sugar. Make sure that the water doesn’t boil before it has dissolved
What does caramel taste like?
The most simple explanation is that caramel is simply sugar that has been cooked until it browns. Granulated sugar or sucrose has no distinct smell, and its taste is sweet and simple. However, when it’s put on heat, it begins melting, which causes it to darken and develop different aromas and flavors that offer a more toasty kind of sweet taste.