Quick and easy caramel sauce that takes only 5 minutes to make. No thermometer is needed!
If there is one thing I love more than chocolate (and Nutella and peanut butter and Snickers), it’s probably salted caramel. As much as I love caramel, I’ve always thought it is way too sweet (imagine that) – a phrase that barely exists in my sweet obsessed life.
A few days ago, Erez and I ate at one of our favorite restaurants. We were very excited about their new menu. Erez picked the dessert for us – a chocolate and salted caramel mousse (nom nom nom… great choice), He clearly ignored the word salted because when he took the first bite he looked at me (surprised) and said, “It’s salty”.
Me: Yes, because it’s salted caramel.
Erez: Salted caramel?
Me: Yes, when you add salt to caramel.
Erez: Why would you want to put salt in a sweet dessert?
You imagine the rest of the conversation… No agreement on that one.
Then yesterday I made this amazing caramel sauce and let Erez taste it. You know how a baby’s face looks when you let him taste something sour? He had the same expression on his face 🙂 Then he said: “it’s salty”, as if we’ve never had this conversation before.
Anyway, you get the point. He doesn’t like salted caramel. But I love him so much that I forgive him.
He did mention though, that the caramel itself tastes amazing so we’re good.
This caramel sauce is so delicious – salted or not. This caramel tastes just as good as caramel made in the traditional way (i.e. caramelizing granulated sugar first), but this one is much easier to make. The brown sugar in the recipe is what gives the sauce its amber caramel-y color.
No thermometer is needed. All you need to do is to mix the ingredients in a saucepan and let it simmer for about 4 minutes. Don’t be tempted to cook it for longer, otherwise it will get too thick once it’s cooled. Remove from the stove and add vanilla extract. Be careful though, because the mixture is very hot and will foam up.
The sauce can be kept refrigerated for up to 5 days. Warm it up in the microwave before using.
Now guess what I did with the caramel I’ve made?
- 1 cup (200 grams) dark brown sugar
- ½ cup heavy whipping cream
- 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick or 56 grams) butter
- salt (a pinch for classic caramel sauce or ½ teaspoon for salted caramel)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- In a medium saucepan, mix together the sugar, heavy whipping cream, butter and salt and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and let the mixture simmer for about 2 minutes, whisking occasionally.
- Remove the saucepan from the heat, add the vanilla extract (be careful, the mixture is hot) and stir. Let mixture cool in the pan for 2 minutes, then pour into a jar. Let cool to room temperature and refrigerate until ready to use (up to 5 days). Warm it up in the microwave before using.
35 Comments
Anne
April 21, 2014 at 10:28 pmOhhh… That looks delicious! No thermometer and burning/caramelizing the sugar? I’m sold!
Shiran
April 22, 2014 at 1:58 pmI know! It’s so easy! I’ve made it so many times 🙂
Glaucia
March 7, 2016 at 4:45 amI just made it! It’s PERFECT!
Shiran
March 7, 2016 at 7:07 amThank you, Glaucia!
Angie (@angiesrecipess)
April 22, 2014 at 4:17 amThis is so delicious and addictive! I dare not to make caramel any more…it’s too darn delicious that I usually end up eating the whole bottle myself.
Shiran
April 22, 2014 at 2:01 pmMe too! As you can see in the photos, I simply ate bananas with it 🙂
Cindy @ Pick Fresh Foods
April 23, 2014 at 2:41 amToo funny! Some people just don’t like salted caramel. It’s funny he had the same reaction as the first time. Sounds like my husband. 😀
Lovely recipe. So simple and easy to whip up!
Winnie
April 23, 2014 at 9:00 pmחחחחחחחח החצי שלי היה מגיב בדיוק אותו הדבר כמו בעלך חחחחחח
האמת שאני….. די מסכימה איתם
אני כן אוהבת מתוקים שיש שילוב של מלוח ומתוק אבל כל מרכיב שומר על ייחודו – או מתוק או מלוח
בכל מקרה – אני אוהבת מאדדדדדדדד קרמל, וזה מתכון קל מאד
נהדר!!
kayce
September 25, 2014 at 4:25 pmLooks and sounds great! Would it work for making Carmel apples though? Thanks in advance
Shiran
September 30, 2014 at 9:58 amThank you Kayce 🙂 This sauce won’t work for coating apples, but it will be perfect for dipping apple slices.
Pat
November 20, 2014 at 6:12 amThank you!! very useful to me. Love it.
Shiran
November 21, 2014 at 5:38 pmThank you Pat!
Brittani
November 23, 2014 at 11:27 pmThis recipe was delicious! Didn’t work very well for the caramel popcorn I just made, the popcorn shrunk as soon as I poured the caramel on! I’ve never made this caramel or caramel popcorn before so could have been something i did. Still sooo good even though it was a soggy puddle of slimy popcorn/caramel mess that I ate with a spoon! (darn you pregnancy cravings)
Shiran
November 24, 2014 at 3:39 amHi Brittani! I use this caramel recipe mostly as a sauce for desserts/pancakes/ice creams etc. Here’s my recipe for caramel popcorn. The popcorn needs to be baked so it would be crunchy. Hope this helps!
Amanda Goodwin
November 2, 2018 at 11:44 amwhen you make caramel popcorn, you pop the popcorn, make a caramel sauce that contains karo syrup, and then bake it with it ontop of the popcorn.
Lucy
March 21, 2015 at 5:44 pmI’m surprised it was so easy and delisous I’m glad I found this recipie thanks a bunch.
Shiran
March 22, 2015 at 6:33 amThank you Lucy!
Isabella
June 14, 2015 at 7:48 pmThis turned out really grainy for me, but the taste was so delicious… any ideas on what went wrong?
Shiran
June 15, 2015 at 7:05 amHi Isabella 🙂 I’m guessing that the sugar didn’t melt properly. Try cooking it for a bit longer next time until it’s completely smooth.
Moe
September 28, 2015 at 5:36 pmThis recipe was so good, that I had to stop and comment. Super simple and delicious. While it was hot, I spooned it over air-popped popcorn. Ah-mazing!
Shiran
October 2, 2015 at 12:31 pmThank you for your comment 🙂 I’m so glad you like it!
Gail
October 17, 2015 at 7:11 pmHi, this looks yummy but can you use 2% milk instead of whipping cream? Thanks 🙂
Shiran
October 18, 2015 at 4:30 amHi Gail, personally, I wouldn’t recommend it for this recipe. The fat content is significantly different and milk is thinner in consistency, and of course, the taste is different, too. Yet, if you still want to try it, you can read this.
Isabela
November 3, 2015 at 1:32 amI love caramel on everything and this looks so easy!
Quick question, do you think this recipe would work on pretzel rods or chocolate covered apples?
Thank you for this recipe!
Shiran
November 3, 2015 at 3:44 amHi Isabela 🙂 I wouldn’t recommend it for coating because it would be too liquid, but it would be great for dipping apples.
Caroline
November 30, 2015 at 3:23 amHey Shiran,
sorry you’re probably sick of answering these questions, but i was wondering if i could use his as a glaze over a butter cake? i mean, sure it would take great, i was just wondering about the consistency.
Shiran
November 30, 2015 at 12:15 pmDon’t be sorry, Caroline! That’s what I’m here for, I’m happy to help 🙂 You can use it to top your cake, but use it moderately rather than pouring it all over the cake because it’s quite thick and heavy. The caramel firms up in the fridge, so make sure to serve the cake at room temperature.
nikita
March 5, 2016 at 10:16 pmCan i use full cream milk instead of heavy cream. Will the result be the same or less tasty
Shiran
March 6, 2016 at 6:25 amHi Nikita, personally, I wouldn’t recommend it for this recipe. The fat content is significantly different and milk is thinner than heavy cream. Regarding flavor, heavy cream would taste better 🙂
Jane
May 22, 2016 at 8:16 pmCan this recipe be thickened to make it into chewy caramels. I made this the other night as a sauce to go with my churros. I put the remainder in the fridge and it had firmed up slightly, I ate a spoonful the next morning and it brought tears to my eyes as it was exactly the same taste as my late grandmothers chewy caramels. I would love to make a batch for a reunion we are having in August.
Shiran
May 30, 2016 at 7:23 amHi Jane! Thank you for your sweet comment! Unfortunately, I suggest to use a different recipe for caramel candies. The process of making those candies is different than this recipe, and usually requires using a thermometer.
Anh
June 21, 2016 at 8:48 amDo you think this could go in one of those squeeze bottles? I am always on the lookout for real caramel sauce to make caramel lattes at home. I put store bought caramel sauce in a squeeze bottle and then just nuke it for 10 secs before making a latte. Will this sauce be able to do that? Thanks.
Shiran
June 22, 2016 at 6:03 amIt has a consistency of caramel so I don’t see why not!
Carla J Seeks
April 24, 2018 at 8:01 amCan you freeze this?
Shiran
April 24, 2018 at 4:28 pmYes, it freezes well.