Homemade Caramel Sauce
Sure, you can buy it from the store, but Homemade Caramel Sauce tastes a thousand times better and is simple to make. It only takes 15 minutes! This is a great caramel sauce for apples, ice cream, cheesecake, banoffee pie, coffee drinks like caramel macchiato, and more.
“Fresher tastes better.”
It’s something we all hear over and over again about food.
Well, let me tell you…it’s SOOOOO true when it comes to caramel.
It’s easy to pick up a jar of caramel sauce from the grocery store, but it won’t taste nearly as good as the freshly homemade stuff.
And as much of a scary reputation that it has, it’s totally doable for cooks of all levels.
You don’t even need a thermometer to make homemade caramel sauce!
To get started, place a cup of granulated sugar in a saucepan, and give it a little shake so the sugar lays flat in an even layer. Then add 1/3 cup of water, which should moisten all of the sugar:
Turn the heat to medium and cook (do not stir!) until the sugar dissolves into a clear syrup.
It will look cloudy at first, but eventually give way to a clear, bubbling liquid. You can see some spots of cloudiness below where the sugar is dissolving, as well as some clear spots:
Continue to cook the caramel, and watch as it begins to take on an amber color:
Do not leave the caramel’s side, and have 3/4 cup of heavy cream standing by.
Once the caramel has gotten a golden color, like honey, turn off the heat and immediately add the heavy cream:
This will stop the caramel from continuing to cook.
Now add two tablespoons of butter:
Continue stirring until the caramel has an even texture.
(And if the caramel seizes up when you add the cream and butter, do not worry! It should smooth out with more stirring and residual heat).
The caramel will look foamy, like this:
Eventually as the heat dissipates, the caramel will settle down:
Right now the mixture will look very thin and runny, but the caramel sauce will thicken as it cools.
I find the caramel has the best drizzling consistency at room temperature.
The caramel is now ready to be enjoyed!
Here are some extra tips and tricks for homemade caramel sauce:
- How long will homemade caramel sauce keep? I’ve found it will keep in the fridge for at least a month.
- Can you freeze caramel sauce? Yes, for a few months. Thaw it in the fridge or in a water bath before serving.
- Does caramel sauce need to be refrigerated? Yes, because of the cream and butter. It will get very thick as it cools, so reheat as necessary.
- Can you reheat caramel sauce? Yes, either in the microwave or on the stovetop. Heating the caramel will make it thinner and runnier, FYI.
- Why does caramel crystallize? Usually what happens is you get a few crystallized sugar spots on the sides of the pan, where water evaporated and the sugar granules turned into crystals again, and this sets off a chain reaction for the entire pan.
- How do you keep caramel from crystallizing? The easiest way off the bat is to prevent any crystallization on the sides from happening by using a wet pastry brush to wash down the sugar from the walls of the pan. An alternative is to put a lid on the pan for a minute or two when you see crystals forming, which will use steam/condensation from the lid to wash down the sides. Another option is to use a little bit of corn syrup (2 tablespoons) to prevent crystallization. However, a lot of people don’t like to add corn syrup and you don’t need it to make caramel. Finally, never stir the caramel until you’re adding the cream.
- Can you fix crystallized caramel? YES! You don’t need to start over or throw it away. Add 1/4 cup of water and bring the sugar back to a boil. Heating it up with the water should re-dissolve and moisten the crystals. Then you can proceed with the recipe and start getting some color on the sugar.
Homemade Caramel Sauce
Sure, you can buy caramel sauce from the grocery store, but Homemade Caramel Sauce tastes a thousand times better and is simple to make. It only takes 15 minutes!
Ingredients:
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1/3 cup water
- 2 tbsp butter
- 3/4 cup heavy cream
- 1 tsp vanilla extract, optional
Directions:
- Add the sugar to a heavy bottomed saucepan, then shake it so it lies in an even, flat layer.
- Add the water to fully moisten the sugar.
- Place the pot over medium heat and cook until the sugar dissolves and turns clear, a few minutes.
- Raise the heat to medium high, and cook the caramel until it turns amber colored.
- Turn the heat off and immediately add the heavy cream.
- Add the butter and stir everything together until the caramel smooths out. If desired, add vanilla extract.
- Let the caramel sauce cool to room temperature, then transfer to a jar and refrigerate.
- The caramel can be stored in the refrigerator for 1 month, or in the freezer for 3 months.
Recipe Notes:
If you want to add salt to the caramel, stir in 1/2 tsp at the end along with the vanilla extract.
{Post updated from the archives with new photos, new text, and more tips. Originally published March 2012}
More Caramel Dessert Recipes:
No, it was way too watery. I didn’t let it cook long enough, it never really turned to that real pretty amber color. Finally got it though. Thank you 🙂
Oh good! Glad you got it the next time. Enjoy =)
Does the cream need to be at room temperature or can it be cold?
Hi Christina, it doesn’t matter, either works. If the cream is cold it might take an extra 30 seconds or so for the caramel to warm up and become homogenous but both will be fine.
This is my go to recipe for caramel sauce. It always turns out perfect! Love love love this.
Hi , just wanted to know if i could use this caramel sauce for making caramel filled chocolates.
What burner are you using?
Love this caramel recipe….looking forward to making it…
but have a question….could brown sugar be used instead of white sugar ?
You know, I’ve never tried it personally, but I’ve heard from other people that it doesn’t melt properly. So I guess the answer is I’m not sure since I haven’t tried it, but maybe? If you try it let me know how it goes!
So glad that you’re back. How are you doing? You were missed.
Great, thank you! How was your weekend?
Oh Gawd!!! For anyone who is contemplating making this, MAKE IT!!! MAAAAKKKEEE IITTTTT!
This is so incredibly delicious. I’ve never had nor made homemade caramel sauce before, but I decided to try this because it seemed so simple and I had the ingredients on hand. I think I added the cream a little too early, as my caramel sauce kind of turned into a surgary blob and dark, creamy juice, but I stirred, and stirred, and stirred til that sugary blob was but a memory. The result was nothing short of a culinary triumph over all almost-ruined caramels.
And I have to say, after making this stuff, I’m not sure I can go back to the dodgy, store-bought goo…
YAY so glad to hear this Sarah! And yes, sometimes it seizes up when you add the cream, but if you continue to heat and cook it, it smooths out.
Is the butter supposed to be unsalted? Or can I use salted butter
I typically use unsalted but salted butter would be fine here too.
Well… I am confused.
First thank you for the recipe.. I have never tried homemade caramel but this recipe worth trying.. for sure.
Now, in the recipe (step 3 – Remove the pan from the heat, and add the heavy cream and vanilla extract. It will bubble up violently but will calm down within 5 to 10 seconds)no stirring is mentioned after removing from hea. And then reading all comments it seems after adding the cream you have to stir.. not only stir but in the reply to Sarah on July the answer was: “but if you continue to heat and cook it, it smooths out”.. That means we have to keep it cooking
So now after adding the cream do i need to stir on heat? to keep it cooking without heat? no stirring at all? can you please specify.
Thank you
Hi Hala, You don’t need to stir necessarily, and if the caramel really seizes up, it will be so hard you won’t be able to. But putting it back on the heat will make it all melt together and smooth out again.
Hi,
I was wondering, after I make the sauce, how should it be stored? Does it need refrigerated? What is the shelf life of the sauce once made or how long will it keep? Thanks!
Hi Glenna, yes, store in the refrigerator (note that it will be firmer when cold). It should keep for a month or two, at least. Enjoy!
Joanne you use heavy cream in your caramel sauce is that thicken cream
Hi Jennifer, I’m not sure what thicken cream is? Heavy whipping cream is the one I buy. Are you from outside the US?
Hi! I made this caramel and it taste very good. The only problem is my caramel is soupy even when I put the heavy whipping cream in. I was wondering how long did your caramel sit to thicken up and if not long how do I get it to thicken up? Thanks!
Hi Kaya, did you refrigerate it? It gets much, much firmer as it chills. Let me know!
Hi I did the caramel recipe but the water and sugar mixture took SUPER long at medium heat, so I add started adding the rest of the recipe and now I lokks like butterscotch and a bit watery is there any way I can make it creamy and ‘ stronger ‘
Thanks
It looks like butterscotch because of the butter.
This looks like a good recipe. I’ve made homemade carmels a number of times, but never used heavy cream.
For a delicious dinner…try caramel on pork! I cook a pork tenderloin..cut in inch thick slice…drizzle with caramel and a sprinkle of sea salt.
Never heard of that, thanks for sharing, Susan.
I tried making this yesterday. I had a problem,. It seized up before turning amber. Do you think I cooked it too fast. I went ahead and added the cream and butter. It smoothed out but did not color up. Do you have any ideas for me. I use an electric range. An afterthought is I needed to take it more slowly. Any help???
Hi Joyce, when you say it seized up before it turned amber, do you mean that it crystallized?
Yes. It was like it was turning back to granular sugar.
Okay, I have a little note in the post about when this happens, you can add 1/4 cup of hot water to the caramel and re-dissolve the crystals so you can keep going to the amber stage. If you notice crystals forming on the side of the pan, you’ll want to “wash down” the sides with a wet pastry brush before the whole thing crystallizes, or put a lid on it for a minute to do the same. If you find you have trouble with crystallized sugar a lot of the time, you can add a little corn syrup which will really help. Also, you aren’t stirring the sugar, correct? Had to check on that one. Hope this helps!