Caramel Sauce

a spoon with a scoop of caramel lifted out of a jar.

5 from 2 votes

This homemade caramel sauce is rich, buttery, and ready in minutes, making it perfect for drizzling over desserts. With just five simple ingredients, you’ll create a deliciously smooth sauce every time!

Prep Time5

Cook Time20

Total Time25

Course: Condiments, Sauce

Cuisine: American

Servings: cups

Calories: 1.32kcal

Author: Shauna

Ingredients

2 cups granulated sugar
2 tablespoons corn syrup
⅓ cup water
1 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ cup unsalted butter cut into pieces

Instructions

In a heavy saucepan, stir together granulated sugar, corn syrup, and water. Stir until combined.
Place the saucepan over medium heat and bring the mixture to a simmer. During this time, stir the mixture to ensure that the sugar dissolves evenly and completely as it heats.
Use a pastry brush dipped in water to wash down the sides of the pan, making sure that no sugar crystals remain stuck to the pan above the line of the mixture.
Once the mixture comes to a simmer and the pan has been washed down, do not stir any longer.
Place a candy thermometer in the sugar mixture and monitor it as it heats until the color turns amber and the candy thermometer has reached about 355-360°F.
Remove the caramelized sugar from the heat and slowly stir in the cream, taking care as the mixture will splatter.
Stir in the vanilla extract and then the pieces of butter, 2 tablespoons at a time.
Cool to room temperature.

Notes

Washing down the sides of the pan and avoiding agitation once the caramelization process begins are helpful steps to avoid a grainy caramel. The corn syrup also aids in preventing grainy caramel.
Medium caramel comes from a medium amber color at 355 to 360°F, and dark caramel comes from a deeper amber color heating to 375 to 380°F. Pay close attention, once the sugar begins to caramelize (change color), the temperature can increase quickly and burn.
The caramel sauce might thicken as it cools. Once it is completely cool, if it is too thick to pour smoothly, it can be reheated for 10 to 15 seconds at a time in the microwave to make it more pourable.

Nutrition