Learn how to make caramel sauce with four simple ingredients in 15 minutes using my failproof dry caramel method! Sweet and salted, it’s perfect for dipping or adding to your favorite desserts.
Why you’ll love this caramel sauce recipe
Caramel is one of my favorite flavors, right next to chocolate, of course! As a result, I use it in a variety of recipes like my salted caramel chocolate chip cookie bars and salted caramel buttercream frosting.
Sweet and luscious in flavor, I just can’t get enough! However, I’m not a fan of store-bought options. So, I make homemade caramel sauce instead.
- Simple ingredients – Believe it or not, you only need 4 ingredients to make caramel sauce from scratch, and you likely already have them on hand!
- Fast – The dry method of making caramel sauce is faster compred to the wet method!
- No risk of crystalization – Unlike the wet method, you don’t have to worry about crystalization! This is the main reason why I love this caramel recipe. The cooking process is virtually failproof and surprisingly quick to do.
- Texture – Thick and silky smooth, this sauce is luscious and so good you’ll be tempted to eat it with a spoon.
One taste of this caramel sauce recipe, and you’ll never go back to store-bought options again! Use it to add delicious flavor to all your favorite treats.
Key Ingredient Notes
- Sugar – Use pure cane sugar to sweeten the sauce and create the rich, caramelized flavor we want. Learn more about the different types of sugar and how to use them in different recipes!
- Whipping cream – Make sure it’s hot! This prevents the sauce from hardening and creates a creamy, luscious consistency.
- Butter – I recommend using unsalted butter. Let it come to room temperature before you begin.
- Coarse sea salt – This rounds out the sweetness. I like Maldon sea salt flakes, but any brand will work.
Dry vs Wet Methods
There are many different ways to make caramel sauce from scratch. However, the most common methods are wet and dry.
- The wet method uses water to melt the sugar.
- The dry method means requires you to melt the sugar alone slowly over low heat.
Most recipes I’ve come across online use the wet method. It’s a slightly safer option because it’s easier to prevent the sugar from burning. However, it also makes the process longer, as the water needs to evaporate first. Then and only then will the sugar caramelize.
As a result, in my opinion, the dry method is quicker and easier. Instead of melting all the sugar at once, we’ll be melting sugar a little at a time. While it may seem like tedious work, it’s actually faster and easier than adding it all at once. Plus, it lets you control the color of the caramel.
In addition, with the dry method, you don’t need to worry about sugar crystalizing, brushing the sides of the pan with a wet pastry brush, etc.!
How to make caramel sauce from scratch
1. Melt the sugar
- Heat a large, heavy-bottomed, 2.5-quart saucepan over medium heat.
- Sprinkle ¼ cup of sugar evenly on the bottom, and allow it to melt slowly. This will seem like it takes a long time, but be patient! Definitely do not increase the heat!
- Swirl the pan gently as the sugar starts to melt around the edges. Since sugar melts in patches, swirling the pan gently helps to distribute the heat evenly.
- When the sugar is mostly melted, add another ¼ cup of sugar, and continue to melt it over medium heat. You’ll notice the color will start to turn light amber in color! If needed, reduce the heat to medium-low.
- Continue adding the remaining sugar ¼ cup at a time, and cook until all the sugar is melted and is dark amber. It’ll start to melt faster as more sugar is added and melted. So, keep a close eye on the pan!
- Keep swirling to encourage the sugar to move and melt faster. Or, use a heat-resistant spatula or a whisk to mix the dry sugar into the melted sugar. (TIP: Start using a utensil ONLY when enough sugar (more than half of the sugar) is melted!)
Slow the cooking
If you feel like the sugar is getting too dark and hasn’t fully melted yet, remove it from the heat. Then, stir the sugar with a heat-resistant silicone spatula, wooden spoon, or whisk to slow down the cooking before returning it back to the heat.
2. Add the cream
- Remove the pan from the heat, and slowly pour in the hot cream, whisking slowly to combat the rising bubbles. Be careful during this step! The mixture will bubble up very quickly.
Use hot cream
Make sure to heat the cream before adding it to the sugar, or your caramel will seize on you. If this happens, return the mixture to low heat, and cook until the sugar crystals are fully dissolved.
3. Add the butter
- Cool the caramel sauce for 30 minutes.
- Then add butter and coarse salt to the mixture.
- Whisk until the butter is fully melted.
- Transfer the caramel sauce to a jar. Use it immediately, or let it cool completely and store it for later.
Tips for Success
- Use a large heavy-bottomed saucepan. A heavy-bottomed pan distributes heat evenly, which is important to melt the sugar evenly. Also, make sure your pan is at least 2.5 quarts or bigger. The caramel will bubble up when you add the cream, and you don’t want it to overflow! Any smaller, and the sauce will spill over, making a big mess and causing a lot of trouble.
- Choose a stainless steel or light-colored pan, as it helps you see the sugar’s color change better than a dark pan.
- Prepare all the ingredients before you start. Once you start melting the sugar, you won’t have time to run around to cut that butter or measure the salt.
- Swirl gently. Avoid stirring the sugar too much at the beginning of cooking. Instead, gently swirl the pan.
- Once more than half of the sugar is melted, you can use a heat-resistant silicone spatula, a wooden spoon, or a whisk to gently swirl the sugar and promote faster, even melting.
- Heat the cream before adding it to the sugar to prevent the sugar from seizing.
- Pour hot cream into the pan only once removed from the heat. Hot liquid minimizes splattering and prevents the caramel from seizing up!
- If the caramel seizes up, don’t worry. Simply return the mixture to low heat, and cook until the sugar crystals are fully dissolved.
- For a creamier texture, cool the caramel sauce before adding the butter.
Ways to use homemade caramel sauce
Honestly, this sauce is so good I wouldn’t blame you if you eat it on its own! However, I love to use it to make chocolate caramel cups, salted caramel swiss meringue buttercream, and salted caramel mini layer cakes.
Or, it’s fabulous as a topping or dip with:
- Fresh fruit like apple slices
- Ice cream
- Waffles or buttermilk pancakes
- Lattes
- Chai latte no-bake mini cheesecakes
Storing Tips
- Store the caramel sauce in an airtight container, or a canning jar with a lid in the fridge for up to 1 month.
- You can also freeze it in a freezer-safe container for up to 3 months!
- To thaw, transfer the frozen caramel sauce to the fridge, and thaw overnight.
- To reheat the sauce, microwave it or reheat over medium heat on the stovetop.
FAQs
Caramel and dulce de leche are pretty similar. However, they’re not the same. Dulce de leche is made of milk and sugar and cooked low and slow until caramelized. Caramel, on the other hand, is basically a caramelized sugar. Depending on the recipe, caramel sauce may include heavy cream.
Heat and fat are the primary thickeners in homemade caramel sauce recipes. As sugar melts and cooks, it caramelizes and loses moisture, creating a thicker consistency. Heavy cream and butter help to thicken the caramel sauce as well.
Technically, you can use milk in place of heavy cream. However, I don’t recommend it! Milk has much less fat than cream, which will impact the flavor and create a thinner consistency.
More Sweet Sauce Recipes
How to Make Caramel Sauce
Ingredients
For Salted Caramel Sauce:
- 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar
- 1 cup (240 ml) heavy whipping cream heated
- 4 tablespoons (55 g) unsalted butter at room temperature
- ½ teaspoon coarse sea salt I like Maldon sea salt flakes
Instructions
- Heat a large heavy-bottomed pan, at least 2.5 quarts, over medium heat.
- Then sprinkle ¼ cup of sugar evenly on the bottom of the pan. Slowly melt the sugar over medium heat. (This first stage may seem like taking long time, as you stare at the sugar. But be patient.)
- As sugar starts to melt around the edges, you may swirl the pan gently to move the sugar around and encourage it to melt.
- When the sugar is mostly melted, add another ¼ cup of the sugar and continue to melt it over medium heat. You'll notice the color will start changing to a light amber color. NOTE: If you feel like it's getting too dark, yet the sugar isn't melted fully, take it off the heat and stir the sugar with a heat-resistant silicone spatula, a wooden spoon, or a whisk to slow down the cooking.
- If needed, reduce the heat to medium-low.
- Continue with the remaining sugar, ¼ cup at a time, and cook until all the sugar is melted and it's dark amber color. NOTE: The sugar will start melting faster as more sugar is melted. Keep swirling the pan to encourage the sugar to move and melt faster, or you can also use a spatula or wooden spoon. See the step by step photos above for visual demonstration.
- Meanwhile, heat the cream in a microwave until hot.
- Remove the pan from the stove and slowly pour in hot cream, while whisking it slowly to combat the rising bubbles. Be careful, as the mixture will bubble up furiously. That's why adding cream slowly and using a large enough pan is crucial. TIP: Make sure to heat the cream before adding it to the melted sugar, or your caramel will seize up on you. If that happens, return the mixture to a low heat and cook it until the sugar crystals are fully dissolved.
- Cool the caramel sauce for about 30 minutes.
- Then add butter and coarse sea salt and stir until the butter fully melts.
- Transfer the sauce into a jar and cool completely.
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Video
Tips & Notes
– Store the caramel sauce in an airtight container, or a canning jar with a lid in the fridge for up to 1 month.
– You can also freeze it in a freezer-safe container for up to 3 months!
– To thaw, transfer the frozen caramel sauce to the fridge, and thaw overnight.
– To reheat the sauce, microwave it or reheat over medium heat on the stovetop.
Nutrition
This recipe was originally published on December 11, 2019.
Mine turns out perfect other than tasting like burnt sugar…. I keep the heat low and make sure everything melts up nice but it always turns out the same.