Follow these easy instructions to make salted caramel sauce at home. Keep a bottle in the fridge to add to your favorite dessert.
My fascination with salted caramel began when I made my first batch for this caramel custard dessert. It’s been my favorite dessert flavor ever since. Sweet, rich, creamy with a hint of salt that just brings it all together. One can either make a batch, keep it in the fridge and serve it with ice-cream, brownies, fruit & pound cake; or use the sauce to add a twist to one’s favorite desserts – salted caramel cheesecake, salted caramel chocolate brownies or salted caramel granola pudding parfait among other numerous possibilities.
This particular recipe I use is from Bon Appetit. It’s a pretty straight-forward but requires care and attention. One needs to ensure a watchful eye to prevent the caramel from seizing or burning.
Use a small saucepan and keep turning it a little in case the sugar starts to caramelize faster on one edge due to temperature. It’s absolutely necessary for the contents to remain unburnt. Eyes off the saucepan for 10 seconds and one ends up with bitter caramel. Its only when one gets to taste the fruits of one’s labor does one realize it was completely worth it!
Salted Caramel Sauce
Print RecipeIngredients
- ½ cup sugar
- 1 cup / 200 ml cream
- ½ vanilla bean, split and seeds removed (or 1 teaspoon vanilla essence)
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 1/4 teaspoon coarse salt
Instructions
Place cream in a small bowl. Scrape in seeds from vanilla bean or add vanilla essence.
Heat sugar over low-medium heat until sugar dissolves. Increase heat to medium-high, occasionally swirling pan and brushing down sides with a wet pastry brush, until deep amber color forms, 5–6 minutes. Remove from heat.
Gradually add vanilla cream (mixture will bubble vigorously so be careful). Whisk over medium heat until smooth and thick, about 2 minutes.
Remove from heat; whisk in butter and salt.
If any crystals/hard sugar has formed, stir the caramel over very low heat until the hardened pieces melt and the sauce becomes smooth.
Strain into a heatproof bowl. Let cool slightly.
4 Comments
Atiya Abbas
November 17, 2016 at 1:19 pmI LOVE Salted Caramel. I made a salted caramel chocolate tart that came out SO divine I couldnt believe it. Where did you find vanilla bean pods? I have a box that was gifted to me so I use those but I dont think they are easily available here?
kiran
November 17, 2016 at 1:53 pmI got them from ‘De Joe’ – he used to be the owner of Upper Crust bakery in Karachi and he was selling them on a food forum.
Rs.2000 for I think 175 vanilla pods – these didn’t seem Grade A but pretty good for experimenting. You can get them from Neco’s or you can order online.
and ohhhh – salted caramel chocolate tart sounds yum!
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