Salted caramel is dangerously addictive. It is perfect for storing in the refrigerator as a topping for ice cream, cakes (like Apple Cake or Vanilla Sponge Cake), drizzling on cupcakes, as a dipping sauce (try it with these Baked Apple Pie Fries!), for churros, or simple eating with a spoon (erm yes, am guilty of that)…..the possibilities are endless! It is also perfect for making ahead and gifting as it keeps in the refrigerator for up to 3 weeks and in the freezer for up to 2 months.
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Salted Caramel Sauce
Prep: 3 mins
Cook: 10 mins
Total: 13 mins
Servings4 - 6
Tap or hover to scale
A very easy recipe for salted caramel. My "go to" that I make all the time for drizzling on ice cream, pancakes, bars and more!
Ingredients
- 1 cup caster sugar
- 1/2 cup water
- 3/4 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1/4 tsp salt
Instructions
- Combine sugar and water in saucepan over medium heat.
- Bring to rolling boil, stirring to help dissolve the sugar.
- Boil for 5 to 8 minutes, until it turns a golden brown.
- Pour in the cream, whisking constantly. Be careful, as the caramel is hot and it will foam.
- Once the cream is combined, remove from heat and whisk in the salt and vanilla.
- The caramel will seem thin. It thickens alot as it cools.
Recipe Notes:
Store in an air tight container for up to 3 weeks in the refrigerator or up to 2 months in the freezer.
Can I see some things to make in the microwave please as my oven is out for now. Love you stuff.
Hi Nagi, already doubting myself after reading the reviews. What is heavy whipping cream? Is that thickened cream in Aus? 🙂
Yes that’s the one Bree! N x
I maybe this,it was great but i chickened out and made it too light.
Hi Nagi, just made this and faced similar problems as many others who’ve posted before me. The sauce didn’t turn brown. We just kept it on the stove on low heat and stirred until our arms nearly fell off while adding a bit of water here and there. It eventually did turn to a light brown colour. On hind sight, I realised that I missed out on the bit where you said to cook the sugar solution until it turned golden brown before adding the cream. Maybe that’s where many of us went wrong? Lol.
Anyway, does it matter whether we add the vanilla extract after the caramel has cooled off a little or not? Will the extreme heat change the flavour profile of the vanilla extract? Thx for the recipe and your wonderful site!
Hi Jen – yes that’s where you’ve gone wrong, the sauce needs to be golden BEFORE you add the cream. You can add the vanilla once it’s cool if you like it should make a difference. N x
Just made this and it worked out perfectly. I didn’t stir it but swirled the pan a few times. I love your recipes Nagi- they always turn out fabulous! Thank you!
Hi, I have a jam thermometer, could I use this for boiling the sugar and water ?
Is there a video on this by any chance 🙂
Not just yet Mim – one to add to the list. N x
Oh a wee video would be great Nagi, I made this tonight to go with your apple crumble (which was sensational!) but it was really pale!! Still tasted nice not sure if I maybe didn’t cook the sugar and water long enough hmmm
Hi Nagi,
I’m making your carrot cake (double recipe) for a 60th so it will be 3 or 4 tiers, do you think I could use this salted caramel sauce would be suitable as drips down the cake?
Hi Janet – I assume so! Please send me pictures as I’d love to see what you have planned! N x
It worked amazingly, can’t work out how to send you photo, your carrot cake, your salted caramel sauce ❤️Winner winner thankyou 😘
I’m in the same boat as a few other commenters…made 2 batches, neither worked. First attempt, cooked it til it turned brown, added creamer cold and basically got rock candy. Second attempt, doubled the recipe, stood there and watched it the entire time, heated the creamer up in the microwave prior to adding, and waited and waited for it to turn brown…it never did…but it did however turn rock hard before I could even get the cream added. Clearly, my temperature was too high on the second attempt…but I’m nervous to even try it again. I’m not able to find a video on this either!! TIA!!
Hi Shannon, sorry you are having issues here – if it’s turning hard, the caramel has gone too far, try taking it off the heat a little earlier before putting the cream in 🙂 N x
Hi Nagi:
Thank you for the reply. 3rd time was a charm…and after some google searching I determined my root cause…stirring it!! Almost every other recipe I found made it abundantly clear that once the sugar is dissolved in the very beginning, you should NEVER stir the mixture again. I did not stir the mixture at all on my 3rd try once the sugar dissolved and the result was perfection. I also cooked it on a much lower temperature and it took 3x longer, but it worked. In hindsight, I don’t believe it had so much to do with the temperature as it did with me stirring it through the process on my first 2 tries. It was absolutely delicious once I got it to work! I also made the apple crumble, the fudgy brownies and the artisan bread…and everything was incredible!
Looove all of your recipes, I’ve made so many for my family! ❤️🙌🏼
Awesome, I’m so happy you’re enjoying them Brenda! N x
Thanks a lot for this recipe, Nigi!
Delicious !
You’re so welcome Louise!
Could I please quadruple this recipe for Xmas gifts without affecting the sugar/water turning to caramel. I’ve tried googling but couldn’t find an answer. We’ve eaten the first batch this week already 😝🎄🎉
You sure can Mel!
First attempt seems perfect! I was happy to have read the other comments and heated the cream slightly. (Also happy to have got the other half to mix as it was super hot!) having this with apple crumble bars 🙂 love every recipe of yours that I’ve tried (lots!)
Sounds divine Simone!
what is ‘caster’ sugar?
p.s. Love your recipes!!
Hi Cathy, it’s white sugar, just finer that regular sugar however.
I failed at my first attempt when I poured the cream all at once to the sugar/water mixture. The sugar hardened so fast and I was left with a ball of sugar and a liquid that didn’t looked good anymore.
I tried again and this time I warmed (slightly) the cream in the microwave and really slowly added the cream while stirring vigorously. It will foam but as you put more cream it will calm down. The sauce didn’t get the really dark color but it was good nonetheless.
Hi Winnie, yes you shouldn’t pour cold cream into the hot mixture but I’m so glad your second attempt worked. If the colour isn’t dark enough, just take the sugar syrup a little further next time and cook slightly longer before adding the cream – N x
Can i use a substitute for cream? Its hard to get where i am. Thanks in advance
Hi Yemna, I haven’t tried with anything else sorry!
Coconut milk can work as a substitute
Hi
Just found you and am loving your recipes. I have been looking for a good caramel sauce recipe and thought I’d try yours. My question is that I tried someone elses that was a failure. I used too much water (1/2 C vs. 1/4C). That was the error, but it never thickened. It was a ‘Salted Caramel Sauce” but they used 6 Tablespoons of butter. It was a failure and WAY buttery and didn’t thicken. I don’t think I cooked the sugar and water long enough. 🙁 I was wondering why you do not use butter and is butter ok to use for caramel . Thanks
Hi Linda! With double the amount of sugar to water, I can assure you this thickens! I don’t use butter because this uses cream which gives it that rich creamy flavour that butter also provides. After all, butter is made from cream!
Hi Nsgu!
I made this recipe the first time and it turned out very good I was making g up a batch yesterday. The first batch while cooking up sugar and water. It never got golden brown and sugar hot very very hard. Prior to adding cream I stopped. Tossed and tried again. This second time I cooked at a lower temp. It ‘started’ to get golden. I took it off and finished the recipe- but the Carmel Sauce MEVER thickened. What do you think I’m going wrong? I may have got him shy on second batch and didn’t cook it long enough??? Help!!
Hi Linda! If your sugar got hard I’m afraid to say you cooked it for too long and it turned into toffee! I will add a video for this recipe sometime soon which should help. N x ❤️
I made the caramel sauce as well. My first attempt was not successful as I think I had the sugar and water boiling to hard and fast, so I had to throw it away. My second attempt was successful though as I dissolved the sugar at a lower rate, then increased the temperature until it started to go brown. However, a video would be wonderful Nagi, as I’m not sure what ‘rolling boil’ is meant to look like.
I’m going to be making your delicious apple crumble and caramel sauce again this weekend. It is going to be an accompaniment to Jamie Oliver’s Lamb Shank Tagine which I’m cooking on Monday for close relatives of mine.
Any chance you could post a video for this one Nagi? Thank you
Hi there! I was thinking of using this recipe to give as a Christmas gift for a caramel sauce lover…how long should I wait after it comes off the stove to put in a mason jar? Thank you. P.S. Love your site and have printed off your recipes today for my Christmas holiday menus! So glad I found you!
Thanks so much for your lovely message Melissa, so glad you enjoyed my recipes! I would definitely let it cool until it is a low-warm temp before sealing in a mason jar. 🙂 What a wonderful idea for a gift!!! Actually, I might do some batches myself! N x
Hi I noticed that you forgot to add when the vanilla extract is added to the salted caramel. I added with the salt., but I don’t know if this is correct. can you update you recipe please? Thank you so much! Your website is amazing!
Gosh Kody, I’m terribly sorry! I will update it now! It is added right at the end along with the salt. 🙂
Hi Nagi, where can I view this video? I’ve thrown away 2 batches of this sauce as mine doesn’t seem to turn golden brown before turning to toffee!! Thanks, Julie