Sauces and sides
Salted Caramel Sauce
A no-fuss, plain and simple salted caramel sauce.
Everybody needs a good salted caramel sauce in their repertoire and this one is a pretty standard, trusty version.
For those maths geeks, it's actually a pretty simple ratio of 4 parts sugar, to 2 parts cream, to 1 part butter.
The trickiest part of making this sauce is to get the caramel to the right colour, such that it does not have a burned aftertaste. The recipe is very versatile and can be used to flavour buttercreams, as a filling for cakes, to spread on bread or even as a filling for a tart/pie. I use it, in different ratios, for my salted caramel cupcakes and salted caramel peanut cake as well.
The recipe
Salted Caramel Sauce
adventureswithsugar.com/salted-caramel-sauce/
Method
Method: salted caramel sauce
- Add the sugar to the pot: Place the sugar in a large pot so that the sugar just covers the base of the pot (if the sugar feels too much, I suggest making the caramel in two batches).
- Caramelise the sugar: Heat the sugar until it just turns an amber colour. You want it to take on some flavour, so do not let it be too light.
- Add the butter: Remove from the heat and whisk in the butter.
- Add the cream: Then slowly pour in the cream, constantly whisking all the time.
- Return to the heat: Return to the stove for just 20 more seconds and then remove.
- Add the salt: Crush the flaked salt and add it to the caramel sauce.
Tips for making this salted caramel sauce
What type of pot should I use?
You want to use a light-bottomed saucepan so that you can see the colour change to an amber colour. I find that a cast iron pot heats up far too quickly and almost burns the sugar, so I would avoid this if you can. Alternatively, ensure that you melt the sugar on low heat. Ensure that your pot is big enough, bigger than you think, because when you add the butter and cream, it does bubble up quite aggressively.
What happens if sugar crystals begin to form?
You can use a wet brush to brush down the sugar crystals to prevent them from crystallising.
The recipe asks for you to use room temperature ingredients, why?
The butter and cream being at room temperature is important to prevent the caramel from seizing.
What happens if my caramel splits?
The fats and the oils sometimes split in the caramel. Typically, if you use an immersion blender and blend this for a few minutes, the ingredients will emulsify again.
What are the storage instructions?
The salted caramel will keep at room temperature for one week.
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