This salted caramel sauce is made by combining caramelized sugar with butter, heavy cream, and a touch of flaky sea salt. It has a rich, creamy texture with a perfect balance of sweetness and saltiness, making it a versatile topping for so many desserts and treats.
Salt in caramel sauce
There is something so delicious about the buttery, nutty caramel with a hint of salt. I love to use flaky sea salt and you don’t need much to take regular caramel sauce to the next level. This a luscious, thick caramel sauce recipe that I’ve had on the site since January 2014. There are so many uses for this sauce (including I love eating off a spoon). I use it in my Salted Caramel Pecan Brownies (picture below) which is pretty much the ultimate use of this easy caramel recipe. For peach season, I caramelized some peaches and served it with Peach Caramel Pain Perdu (French toast) and a delicious summer treat, a Salted Caramel Date Shake is something you need in your life.
Why add butter to caramel sauce?
The butter (unsalted is best so you can control the salt level) enhances its richness and providing a smooth, creamy texture and depth of flavor.
Tips for the best caramel sauce:
It is important to not have the heat too high while the sugar is cooking. When you see the sugar bubbling, this is the stage you want to keep it at until it until it turns dark golden brown in color. Don’t stir, this will cause the sugar to crystalize and it can be gritty. Once the sugar has reached the dark golden brown stage, you must remove it immediately from the heat as it can turn very quickly from the perfect color, to too dark. Use cream that is slightly warmed. If you use cold cream it can cause the sugar to harden. Stirring the heavy cream into the sugar may seem scary because it will bubble because of the dramatic temperature difference between the sugar and the cream, but it will not bubble over, just keeping stirring. The key is to add the cream in a slow, steady stream so the sugar does not cool down too quickly and solidify. I like to transfer the sauce from the pan to a pouring jug to cool, this makes it easier to transfer the sauce to a jar.
This recipe yields 1 ¼ cups (162 grams) The sauce can be stored in a tight container for up to 2 weeks the refrigerator.
