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salz karamell sauce

Never-fail Salted Caramel Sauce

No candy thermometer required! This sweet & buttery salted caramel sauce is my favorite topping for ice cream and many other desserts and cakes! With this never fail recipe you can make it at home using only 4 ingredients!!
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 20 minutes
Servings 6 people
Calories 300 kcal
Author Kiki Johnson

Ingredients

  • 1 cup granulated sugar 200g
  • 1/4 cup of water
  • 6 Tablespoons salted butter 90g, cut up into 6 pieces
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream 120ml
  • 1 teaspoon salt or more to taste
  • optional: 1 tsp vanilla

Instructions

  1. Heat the sugar with the water in a medium saucepan over low heat, stirring constantly with a high heat resistant rubber spatula or wooden spoon. Stir gently until the sugar is dissolved, 6-10 minutes. To be sure the sugar is dissolved, dip a spoon in the sugar mixture and then gently slide my finger over the mixture on the spoon and take a taste. If the sugar is dissolved, the syrup will be smooth and not grainy. Make sure the sugar is completely dissolved before letting the mixture come to a full boil. If you notice any sugar particles on the sides of the pan, gently wash them down with a clean wet pastry brush.
  2. Once the sugar is completely dissolved, increase the heat to medium or medium-high and bring the syrup to a boil. Cover the saucepan and let the syrup boil for 2 minutes. Uncover, reduce the heat to medium, and continue to boil, until the edges start to turn golden brown. It is critical not to stir the caramel while it boils covered and then turns a light golden color . The crystallization happens due to undissolved sugar grainsthat fall into the syrup while it is boiling. By not stirring, the syrup doesn’t move around as much which reduces the chances of any undissolved sugar granules falling into the caramel. Got it? Yeah, it took me a while too !
  3. Once the syrup has turned a light golden brown, swirl the pan until it turns a deep amber, caramel color. This takes about 5-7 minutes. If you want to stir at this stage do not stir vigorously or quickly and don’t scrape down the sides of the pan while stirring. Simply move the spoon or rubber spatula slowly over and around the bottom of the pan.
  4. Remove the sauce from the heat and add the butter and stir until the butter is incorporated. Stir in the cream. If the sauce becomes lumpy and isn’t whisking together, set the pan over the still-warm burner and stir until smooth. Stir in the vanilla (optional) and salt.
  5. Allow it to cool to room temp :-)

Recipe Notes

You can of course make this caramel in advance and store it for up to 2 weeks in the refrigerator. You want to warm the caramel up for a few seconds before using in a recipe though as it gets harder in the fridge.