Did I ever tell you that I’m a sucker for sugar? Desserts of all kind, butter scotches, caramels, candies, cakes, cookies…. all the bad stuff, I love. With a passion. And while I’m also a BIG fan of chocolate, I’m an even BIGGER fan of salted caramel. Like I can literally spoon salted caramel into my mouth as if it were yogurt and I wouldn’t care. Sounds crazy? Im crazy for the stuff. And while it took me a while to get salted caramel sauce just right, I managed, and got it to the right consistency where it’s doesn't turn into toffee the moment it cools down, but remains that thick, drizzly consistency that falls in utter perfection onto ice cream, brownies, cake… my mouth (no effort to contain my excitement here!). To make a long love-story quite short, here’s my recipe… It honestly doesn’t get simpler than this :)
Ingredients
1 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup salted butter, diced
1/3 cup heavy cream
Vanilla essence
1/2 tsp fine sea salt, or more to taste
Method:
In a heavy-bottomed saucepan (preferably stainless steel, so you can see the color of your caramel changing), whisk together granulated sugar and water. Cook over medium heat until the sugar is almost dissolved. You’ll need to whisk often.
Add in the butter and bring the mixture to slow boil. Continue cooking until the mixture turns a deep golden brown/copper color, approximately 10 to 15 minutes. Make sure that you do not stir the caramel during this process! Just leave it be, and once it reaches the right color, remove from heat and immediately add in the heavy cream. (careful — the caramel will hiss and bubble up like crazy. This is expected, so don’t freak out!). Add the vanilla and sea-salt, and whisk vigorously. It’s okay if it’s still slightly runny — the caramel will thicken as it cools (see note below*).
Once cooled, pour it into a glass jar. It keeps well in the fridge or at room temperature.
*Note: IF you feel that even as it cools, its too runny, you can set the caramel back on the stove to simmer for another 10 minutes or so.
