Homemade Salted Caramel Sauce

Do you love salted caramel sauce? If so, this recipe is perfect for you! Salted caramel sauces are all the rage and can be found in many coffee and ice cream shops. But why buy them when it’s so easy to make at home? This recipe will teach you how to make salted caramel sauce with just 4 ingredients. You’ll have a jar ready in no time! It’s perfect for cakes, ice cream, cheesecake, and a spoonful in your morning coffee and with these cinnamon brioche bites.

This salted caramel is the easiest caramel recipe and only requires 4 simple ingredients. It tastes phenomenal on anything it touches, and readers often ask me how to make this delicious treat themselves!

Salted Caramel Sauce

This refreshingly easy-to-make dessert has a melt-in-your-mouth texture that leaves you craving more with each bite. The sugar coats every inch of the surface area while salt brings out just enough salty flavors for balance between salty or sweet lovers alike. With such few ingredients needed, there’s no question why we continue to fall in love with salted caramel over time—it truly never gets old!

Caramel sauce is intimidating, but the more you make it, the more you have a feel for what to look and smell for.

The process of making caramel sauce can seem daunting at first since there are so many things that could go wrong when cooking sugar over the heat or getting the mixture just right to avoid crystallization. But with practice comes confidence!

Ingredients

Sugar
Cream
Unsalted Butter
Salt

How To Make Homemade Caramel Sauce

The recipe is below, but here is the basic process. Place sugar and water in a heavy bottom medium-sized saucepan, and continue to cook over medium heat until you reach 350° F. Be sure to use a candy thermometer or an instant-read thermometer to determine the temperature. Do not stir the caramel sauce; you will cause sugar crystals to form on the sides of the pan, and they will eventually fall back into your sauce, causing crystallization of your caramel. And no one wants a grainy caramel.

Once you are at 350° you are going to slowly (be very careful here; a lot of bubbles and splashes are about to happen) stream in your warmed-up cream. Did I mention, be careful and pay close attention to this step! Hot sugar will cause serious burns. Stir until smooth, then add in the butter and salt. Stir until combined and smooth. Let sit for a minute or two and pour into your heatproof container. I like to use small mason jars for this.

The Difference Between The Wet And Dry Method

The difference is straightforward and exactly as it sounds. The wet method combines the sugar with water at the beginning of the cooking. The dry method is just sugar in the pan without water. Both create a very flavorful caramel. I like to think of the wet method as a bit more forgiving. It allows you to add the butter and cream without the entire mixture seizing up because the butter and cream are cooler than the sugar. So we are going to go the easy route with this caramel and use the wet method.

FAQ

What is the texture of the salted caramel?

Once the caramel is finished cooking, it is a liquid. As the caramel cools, you can see that it starts to solidify into a chewy texture.

How to store salted caramel?

Once you let the caramel cool for a bit, you will pour it into a jar. You will need to keep it in the refrigerator due to the cream. It will thicken up in the refrigerator, so when you are ready to have some, heat it for a few seconds in the microwave to get it back to a sauce texture.

Do I have to use a thermometer?

No, you don’t. I just highly recommend it. We use an instant-read Thermapen. You could make the caramel based strictly on color instead of temperature. If this is your very first attempt at making caramel, I wouldn’t recommend that. But if you are experienced with caramel, I’m sure you already know what color is best for the caramel sauce and can get away without using a thermometer. I’m just going to remind you that sugar burns quickly. You don’t want a burnt taste in your sauce. 350°F is what we are looking for.

How do I make the cinnamon brioche bites?

Grab a loaf of brioche. Remove crust and cut into 2″ cubes. Brush on the egg and milk mixture (2 eggs and 4 tbsp milk mixed in a bowl). Then dip brioche into the cinnamon-sugar mixture. (300 grams sugar and 1 tbsp cinnamon combined in a bowl). Then place on a sheet pan that is lined with parchment paper. Bake 7-10 minutes in 425°F oven. Let cool and enjoy with the caramel sauce.

Can I make caramel apples with this sauce?

Nope. This sauce is too thin to make caramel apples. But it is great for a dipping sauce for apple slices.

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