Homemade Caramel Sauce

How luscious and delicious does this homemade caramel sauce look? I have a few recipes on my blog that all include caramel. So I thought it was about time I did a post and shared my homemade caramel recipe.

There are a few different types of caramel, this caramel doesn’t set. It isn’t the caramel I use in my Millionaire Shortbread recipes. That follows a slightly different recipe that means the caramel sets.

This is a caramel sauce, it is perfect for drizzling over ice cream and dare I say it just having a spoonful on its own. I have a couple of recipes coming up where we use this caramel it is perfect!

Before You Start Baking

Before you start to make the caramel it is important that you met out the double cream and butter. This way it is ready when you need it and this helps stop the caramel burning and you can just easily grab it.

Related Posts

Chocolate & Caramel Loaf Cake

Snickers Showstopper Cake

Rolo Cookie Cups

Cut the butter into small cubes and leave that and the cream to one side.

For this recipe, I would recommend using Unsalted Butter don’t use a baking spread like Stork.

Homemade Caramel Sauce

To make this caramel there are only a few steps but caramel can sometimes be tricky to get right. Whether it’s not leaving it to cook for long enough, so you end up with a really pale caramel or leaving it too long and burning it.

Don’t be disheartened if you don’t get it right the first time. It can take a couple of tries before you perfect it.

To make the caramel start by adding white granulated sugar to a saucepan and add the water. Put it on a low/medium heat and stir continuously. If you are a bit unsure or this is the first time you are making caramel, I would recommend making it on a low heat. It will take a bit longer for the sugar to dissolve but it means that there is less chance of the caramel becoming burnt.

Constantly, mix the sugar and water until the sugar is completely dissolved. It can be quite hard to tell when the sugar is dissolved. I use a silicone spatula and normally can feel if there are any grains of sugar left if I gently rub the spatula against the bottom of the pain. The water will be cloudy but that is completely normal.

Once the sugar has started to dissolve together stop stirring and leave the mixture to come to a boil. The mixture will stay a cloudy colour for a while, and you might begin to feel that nothing is ever going to happen (it can take up to 10 minutes)  but please please please don’t walk away and leave it. It turns to a lovely amber colour so quickly that if you don’t catch it you will burn it.

Once the Caramel Has Turned Amber

Once the caramel has turned a lovely amber colour remove it from the heat and pour in the cream while whisking. The mixture will bubble and spit so if you can stay a safe distance for it. I always use a long-handled spoon or spatula to do this part. Stir it as fast and as hard as you can until it stops bubbling.

One thing I will say about this stage is once you add the cream you need to whisk it quickly. Don’t put the cream in and leave it for a few seconds or the caramel will all clump together.

You also don’t want to leave the caramel sitting for too long after you remove it from the heat or it will cool down and this won’t work. Ideally, have your cream and butter measured out before you even start making the caramel this way, they are ready to go.

Next, add in the butter and mix again until the butter is completely melted. Once the butter is melted, add the caramel into your clean jars, put the lid on and store them in the fridge until they are completely cool.

Once the Caramel is Cool

When the caramel has cooled down completely, it should be thick and gloopy and the perfect drizzling consistency.

Troubleshooting

My Caramel is grainy

If your caramel is grainy it just means that the sugar didn’t dissolve completely at the beginning. Next time, keep mixing it at a low heat for longer.

My Caramel is burnt

When I first started making caramel this is something I struggled with. Remember the caramel will continue to cook even after you have removed it from the heat. You don’t want the caramel to already be a dark amber colour when you remove it or it will be burnt by the time you have added your double cream and butter.

The best way to ensure that you don’t burn your caramel is to remove it from the heat a little earlier when it is just a light amber colour.

My Caramel has Split

This could be due to you cooling the caramel too quick. It happens because the fat in the cream and butter might solidify at a different rate from the rest of the caramel. The good news though, if this happens, it can be saved.

Put the caramel back into a saucepan and heat on the lowest setting and stirring it continuously until it comes back together again.

Uses

As I said above this caramel shouldn’t be used for Millionaire Shortbread because it won’t set. However, there are plenty of other great recipes you can use. Why not use it in this Chocolate & Caramel Loaf Cake for the buttercream and drizzle. You could also use it to drizzle on this Snickers Showstopper Cake.

There are so many great ways to use this caramel sauce. You can even simply use it to drizzle on Ice Cream or how about on top of these Rolo Cookie Cups?

Alternatives

So this is just a basic homemade caramel sauce. You can make it a bit extra by adding in some Vanilla Extract at the same time as the butter.

You can also add in a pinch sea salt chunks and mix them in after adding the butter to make salted caramel.

Equipment

Saucepan

Kilner Jar

Spatula

Scales

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If you do have any questions about this Homemade Caramel Sauce or any other recipes on my blog you can contact me either by sending me a DM on social media or an email. You can find all my details on the right-hand side of this page.