Caramel Sauce
Homemade Caramel Sauce tastes a thousand times better than any version you’d buy at the store, and is simple to make. It only takes 15 minutes! Use it for apple dipping, topping ice cream, cheesecake, banoffee pie, coffee drinks like caramel macchiato, and more. No thermometer needed!
“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. There are a lot of comments below from people who have had success with this recipe, and you don’t even need a thermometer to make this homemade caramel sauce!
Tips for Best Results
Use a quality heavy-bottomed pan – Cookware varies wildly in quality. If you have a thin and cheap pan, the heat will be less consistent and the caramel will be more prone to problems. Use a heavy-bottomed saucepan.
Shake the sugar flat before adding the water – Once you add liquid to the sugar, you won’t want to touch or move anything, in order to prevent crystallization. So shake the sugar flat in the pan before adding the water, so it all moistens evenly.
Don’t touch the pan! – Until you add the cream, the pan should not be touched at all once the sugar has been moistened with the water. No stirring, no swirling, no movement at all. This prevents crystallization.
How to Avoid Crystallization
If you follow the below instructions precisely, you should not have any issues with crystallization. The biggest cause of crystallization is from stirring or swirling the pan. The pan should not be touched AT ALL once the water has been added, and until the cream is added to stop the cooking.
Why does caramel crystallize? It’s almost always triggered by some kind of early agitation before the sugar has been fortified with fat, like cream and butter. First you’ll 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? If you properly shake the sugar to flatten in the pan, then do not touch or move the pan after adding the water, crystallization should not happen. However, if for whatever reason it does, use a wet pastry brush to wash down any 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 preventative 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. Most importantly, never stir the caramel until you’ve added 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 mixture 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.
Step by Step Overview:
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 until the sugar dissolves into a clear syrup. Remember, do not stir, and do not touch!
The sugar mixture will look cloudy at first, but eventually will 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.
What temperature is needed?
A thermometer is not needed for this recipe, as I’ve found it very reliable to go off color, and a thermometer can risk crystallizing the sugar if it moves around too much. However, if you insist on measuring, a temperature between 338 and 350F is your target. Above 350F, you’ll start to smell (and later taste) a burned, bitter quality. Below 338, and you won’t have proper color and caramelization.
Now add two tablespoons of butter:
Continue stirring until the caramel has an even texture.
What if the mixture seizes?
If the caramel sauce seizes up when you add the cream and butter, do not worry! This is normal and there is nothing wrong. It should smooth out with more stirring and residual heat, in about a minute or two. If for whatever reason it doesn’t, turn the heat back to medium low and stir for a couple minutes more.
The caramel sauce will look foamy upon adding the cream and butter, like this:
Eventually as the heat dissipates, the caramel will settle down:
It needs to cool to thicken
Right now while the mixture is hot, it 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. If you refrigerate it, it may become too thick to drizzle, and you’ll need to warm it slightly. You can do this gently in the microwave or in a saucepan on the stove.
Suggestions for Serving
Caramel is a great topping or finishing ingredient, but can also be mixed into lots of different recipes.
Drizzle over cheesecake like Mini Cheesecakes with Gingersnap Crust and Raspberry Sauce, or your favorite ice cream (try my Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream Without An Ice Cream Machine).
Serve as a dip for cut apples, or incorporate it into any apple dessert like this Caramel Apple Crisp or Apple Tarte Tatin.
Bread Pudding is also great with a drizzle of fresh caramel, or add a few spoonfuls to the blender of your favorite milkshake, like this Toasted Marshmallow & Malt Milkshake or Apple Pie Milkshake.
Tips and FAQ
It will keep in the refrigerator for at least one month. Store in an airtight container so it does not absorb any off odors from the fridge.
Yes, for up to 3 months. Store in an airtight container so it does not absorb any off odors from the freezer. Thaw it in the fridge overnight or in a water bath before serving.
Yes! The cream, butter, and sugar all need refrigeration. It will get very thick as it cools, so reheat as necessary to achieve a drizzling consistency again.
In a microwave-safe container, microwave in 15 second intervals until warm and able to be drizzled. Or, heat over medium low heat in a saucepan on the stove, until warm. Heating the caramel makes the consistency thinner and runnier.
Do not stir, swirl, or even touch the pan once you’ve added the water. If you run into crystallization somehow, use 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 preventative 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. Most importantly, never stir the caramel until you’ve added the cream.
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.
Did you enjoy the recipe? Please leave a 5-star rating in the recipe card below and/or a review in the comments section further down the page. Or, follow me on Facebook, Instagram or Pinterest!
Homemade Caramel Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1/3 cup water
- 3/4 cup heavy whipping cream
- 2 tbsp salted butter*
- 1 tsp vanilla extract optional
Instructions
- 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. Do not stir or agitate the sugar in any way once the water has been added. It's okay if a few spots didn't moisten, don't touch it.
- 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**, about 10 minutes.
- Turn the heat off and immediately add the heavy cream. It's okay (and expected) if the caramel seizes up when adding the cream.
- Add the butter and stir everything together until the caramel smooths out. If it's still clumpy, turn the heat back on to low, and gently stir for a few minutes until it's smooth. When finished cooking, add vanilla extract, if desired.
- Let the caramel sauce cool to room temperature, then transfer to a jar and refrigerate.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition is estimated using a food database and is only intended to be used as a guideline for informational purposes.
Post updated from the archives with new photos, new text, and more tips in August 2018. Originally published March 2012.
273 Comments on “Caramel Sauce”
So easy and oh so very good!
Wanted to make this to add to the top of a fresh baked apple crumb cake. It was the perfect addition! Followed instructions exactly with no issues and great results
So the first time I made this, it was near perfect. A bit darker than expected, but a nice consistency and only some solid bits at the very bottom. The second time, I wanted to have it a bit lighter and waited exactly 10 minutes to turn the heat off and add the heavy cream. It didn’t look dark but it was starting to smell a bit burned, so that’s why I didn’t wait more. I instantly realized it wasn’t caramelized at all and it turned out beige. I turned on the heat once more and kept it stirring constantly. It got a bit darker, but it got much more cristallized and too solid. I ended up adding more heavy cream and heating it a few times in the microwave and I’m not sure what consistency it will have when it’s cold. Anyways, my advice: don’t go by the 10 minutes, just make sure the sugar/water is already brown before you add the cream.
The caramel tastes good but when it was cooling in the pan afterwards it got a bit grainy or sandy textured. I will have to try it again and hope this doesn’t happen.
This was a success and very easy. It truly is foolproof if you read the entire blog post first. Upon adding the heavy cream, it did seem to “seize up” but don’t worry, as the recipe mentions, just keep stirring and it all comes together in the end. I thought I did something wrong when it seemed too thin, but as the recipe mentions, it WILL thicken when it cools. I’ll be saving this recipe to use again and again.
I respectfully disagree with the comments suggesting that this is incredibly difficult, not for beginners, etc – it seems that the things that went wrong in the negative reviews were entirely due to not reading the recipe. For example, people stirring the sugar when the recipe says not to move it, people adding “additional” water to the sugar heating process when the recipe says to just heat it and not touch it, people using watery low-fat liquids like soy milk when the recipe says to use heavy cream, people doing random things when it seized up after adding the dairy when the recipe says that it might seize but not to worry and just keep stirring, etc. etc. Read the recipe first.
What am I doing wrong? I have followed the recipe to the letter, and have burnt my sugar 4 times. I never even get close to the amber color before all the water dissolved and I’m left with a dry sugary mess. I thought “oh maybe my stove gets too hot” so I did it on a lower temp and same result. I’ve tried it without stirring at all, and with stirring just a little bit once it became clear. I don’t have a clue why people say it’s such an easy recipe.
I have the same problem. I can’t get it to turn amber before the water evaporates. It looks like a simmer based on the photos.
Thank you – that was truly amazing.
I liked the “wet” method of caramelizing the sugar and the added salt
I’ve used it on vanilla ice-cream – will never go back to shop bought stuff again
Hello, is it possible to make this recipe in bulk?
I asked the same thing. Since I didn’t hear back I went ahead and tried it. YES! I only make double batches now as it goes so fast in our house! In response to others that had problems smoothing it out after adding cream and butter, I also noticed that the recipe says turn off the burner, but doesn’t say “remove” it from the burner. I don’t know if that’s what’s intended, but I added the cream and butter leaving it on the burner after turning the burner off, and though it did initially still seize, leaving it on the burner helped it smooth out much easier, and a final increase to med for just a few seconds more was all that was needed to turn it completely creamy. Loving it!!
The end result was some sugary goo inside some cream and a big mess. I followed the printed recipe exactly, and after removing from heat and adding the cream, the pot foamed up terribly, making a gooey mess all over my stove top. The caramel was beyond seized up- there were two small blobs of sugary goo inside the cream. No amount of stirring was going to dissolve them in the room temperature cream. I have made caramel before following other methods and I have not had so much trouble. The first time I attempted this recipe the sugar burned- it does not need the full ten minutes at medium high; I would recommend watching very carefully after 4-5 minutes because it turns fast.
Forgot to rate this wonderful recipe!
Amazing! Perfect for my Caramel hot Lattes, and poured over my homemade coffee cake before adding the cinnamon streusel crumb topping. Delicious. I was wondering if I could double the recipe without it becoming too unwieldy in the pot? If that makes sense… lol
Can I double this recipe? If so, do I need to make any adjustments?
Thanks so much!
This recipe is SO EASY to follow compared to others I’ve tried and the sauce turned out beautiful. I’ve made this recipe three times now and do recommend leaving ur heavy cream out on the counter about 5 or so minutes prior to pouring it in.
When I used it straight from the cold refrigerator the first couple times I made this, my sauce seized up (I didn’t mind though, I just strained the crystallized bits). However, when I had it out for about 5 or 6 min before pouring it into my caramel I didn’t get any crystallization!
Thank you for the wonderful recipe! 😊
seriously this the best caramel sauce I have ever tried. I think I must have made it 5 times already and I ‘ve just bought cream to make it again, cause I’m out of this precious golden caramel-y nectar of Gods.
I have tried many recipes in the past but this one has the right balance for my liking.
thanx!
A delicious and very simple recipe! If you read the entire recipe plus tips and make sure to follow them accurately, it’s dang near foolproof. Looking at the negative reviews, some people clearly did not do this and they end up doing things in a different way (keeping a lid on the pot, continuing to add water, cooking to too low a temperature, cooking after adding cream and butter, etc.). This leads to poor results. As long as you follow the instructions exactly, no prior candymaking experience is necessary for this to come out well.
238 not 338
AHHHH!! Thank you!!
This was a super super fun and easy recipe! I didn’t have heavy cream though, however I used hole milk and added a little extra butter and suger. It worked out great:) I made two and saved the extra for coffee.