Salted Caramel Sauce

Before you start

Salted caramel sauce is sugar cooked until it turns deep amber, then stopped with warm cream and finished with butter and salt. The flavor is mostly about color: pale gold tastes simply sweet, while a deep amber like an old copper coin has bitter, toasty notes that the salt makes even more striking.

This recipe uses the wet method, where sugar dissolves in water before it caramelizes. It is easier to control than melting dry sugar, but syrup can crystallize into a cloudy, grainy mass if stray crystals fall back in. A tablespoon of corn syrup prevents that, and so does leaving the pan alone once the syrup boils. Swirl instead of stirring. Warm the cream before adding it so the caramel does not seize, and pour it slowly at arm's length: the mixture bubbles up violently and the steam is scalding.

Ingredients

• 200 g (1 cup) granulated sugar
• 60 ml (¼ cup) water
• 1 tbsp light corn syrup
• 180 ml (¾ cup) heavy cream — warmed
• 60 g (4 tbsp) unsalted butter — cut into pieces
• 1 tsp flaky sea salt — or ¾ tsp fine salt
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Method

1. Measure everything before you start, since caramel moves quickly. Warm the cream in a small pan or the microwave until steaming, then keep it nearby.
2. Stir the sugar, water and corn syrup in the heavy saucepan over medium heat until the sugar dissolves and the syrup is clear. Brush down any crystals on the sides with a wet pastry brush.
3. Stop stirring once the syrup boils. Let it cook, gently swirling the pan now and then, until it turns pale gold, about 6 to 8 minutes.
4. Keep cooking and swirling until it reaches a deep amber, like dark honey or a copper coin, and smells nutty, 1 to 3 minutes more. A thermometer will read about 175 to 180°C (345 to 355°F). Watch it closely; it can burn in seconds.
5. Take the pan off the heat. Wearing oven mitts and standing back, pour in the warm cream slowly while whisking. The mixture will foam up sharply and then settle.
6. Whisk in the butter until melted, then the salt and vanilla. If any hardened lumps remain, return the pan to low heat and stir until smooth.
7. Pour into a heatproof jar and cool for about 20 minutes. The sauce thickens as it cools and firms further in the refrigerator.

Tips for success

• A light-colored pan lets you see the true color. In a dark pan, spoon a drop onto a white plate to check.
• Salt to taste after it cools a little. Flaky salt dissolves less fully and gives a crunchier, brighter salty edge.
• For a thicker sauce to layer in tarts, cook it 1 to 2 minutes longer after adding the cream.

Substitutions

Corn syrup

Use ¼ tsp lemon juice or cream of tartar. Acid also helps prevent crystallization, though corn syrup is a little more reliable.

Heavy cream

Full-fat coconut milk makes a dairy-free caramel with a coconut flavor; use coconut oil in place of the butter.

Granulated sugar

Light brown sugar is hard to judge by color and burns easily, so it is not recommended for the caramel base. Stir in 1 tbsp molasses at the end instead for a deeper flavor.

Variations

Bourbon caramel

Stir in 2 tbsp bourbon with the vanilla. Simmer for 30 seconds if you want a softer alcohol flavor.

Miso caramel

Replace the salt with 1 tbsp white miso whisked in with the butter.

Troubleshooting

Syrup turned cloudy and grainy

It crystallized, usually from stirring after it boiled or crystals on the pan walls. Add 60 ml water, stir over low heat until it dissolves again, then boil without stirring.

Caramel tastes bitter and burnt

It went past deep amber. Start again; burnt caramel cannot be fixed. Take it off the heat as soon as it smells nutty and reaches the color of a copper coin.

Hard lumps formed when cream was added

The cream was cold and seized the sugar. Return the pan to low heat and stir until the lumps melt.

Storage

Refrigerate in a covered jar for up to 2 weeks. Rewarm gently in a water bath or in the microwave in 10-second bursts, stirring between each, until pourable. Discard if it smells sour or shows mold.

Safety notes

Molten sugar is far hotter than boiling water and sticks to skin. Keep children away from the stove, use a deep pan, and add the cream slowly at arm's length. Contains milk.