Salted Caramel Sauce

Meet your new favorite topping: salted caramel sauce. It’s buttery, glossy, and just the right mix of sweet and salty. Melted sugar turns deep amber, cream and butter make it silky, and a pinch of sea salt brings everything together. Try not to eat it straight from the jar

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Here’s Why This Salted Caramel Sauce Recipe Works

Versatile and endlessly usable. Drizzle it over vanilla ice cream, swirl it into brownies, or add a spoonful to coffee.

Warm cream, no drama. Heating the cream with butter and vanilla helps it blend smoothly into the hot sugar. No seizing, no lumps, just a glossy, pourable sauce.

Corn syrup keeps it silky. A splash of light corn syrup prevents sugar crystals from forming, so the sauce stays smooth even after cooling.

That salty-sweet balance. The touch of salt heightens the sweetness and complexity, making it more addictive than plain caramel.

I also have a butterscotch sauce (which is also pretty fabulous and much easier to make, by the way).

Can’t get enough caramel? My brownie bottom cheesecake with caramel swirl doubles down with a fudgy base, creamy cheesecake, and a glossy caramel ribbon

If caramel is your thing, don’t miss my cinnamon rolls with caramel sauce. They make their own gooey caramel as they bake

Homemade Caramel Sauce

This is the kind of salted caramel sauce that makes you want to drizzle, dip, or just dive right in. It’s rich, glossy, and balanced, thanks to that pinch of salt. Keep a jar in the fridge and you’ve got dessert insurance whenever the craving hits.

If you can’t get enough of that salty-sweet flavor, try my salted caramel custard next. It’s rich, silky, and the perfect way to put this sauce to work.

Prep Time: 5 minutes mins

Cook Time: 20 minutes mins

Total Time: 25 minutes mins

4.83 from 35 votes

Salted Caramel Sauce

By Pat Nyswonger

A salted caramel sauce that is decadent and delicious. It is smooth and creamy and wonderful on vanilla ice cream or anything you can imagine.

If you make this recipe, please leave a star rating and comment.

Servings: 2 cups

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Ingredients 

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• ▢ 12 tablespoons butter, 1½ sticks
• ▢ 1 cup heavy cream
• ▢ 1 ½ teaspoon salt
• ▢ 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ▢ ¼ cup light corn syrup
• ▢ 2 cups granulated sugar

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Instructions 

• In a small saucepan over medium heat, add the butter, cream, sea salt and vanilla and bring just barely to a boil. Reduce the heat to simmer, stir to dissolve the salt and hold at simmer to keep warm until needed.
• In a 3 to 4 quart saucepan, add the corn syrup and sugar over medium heat. Allow the sugar to melt slowly, disturbing it as little as possible.
• When you see liquid forming around the perimeter of the pan use a spatula to push the sugar toward the center and continue with this process breaking up any clumps.

  This will take a little patience and you will be tempted to stir and stir but resist the urge. If you stir it too much, the sugar will clump up before it has a chance to melt. If this happens turn the heat down very low and let it melt slowly without stirring.
• As soon as the sugar is completely melted and the syrup is a nice amber color, remove it from the heat. It should smell like caramel at this point.
• Slowly pour the hot cream mixture into the melted sugar whisking as you pour. Be very careful as there will be aggressive bubbling and it will appear that it will bubble over the pan.

  Keep stirring and it will settle down again. Continue to whisk the caramel to incorporate it well. Allow the sauce to cool for 10-15 minutes before pouring it into a container.
• This sauce will appear thin until it cools down. Store it in the refrigerator for up to 3 weeks or in the freezer for 3 months.

  To serve, remove from the refrigerator and set the container into a dish or pan of hot tap water for 5 minutes and it will soften to a spoonable consistency.

Notes

Start with a solid pan. Choose a heavy-bottomed saucepan with plenty of room. The caramel will bubble up once the cream goes in.

Be patient with the sugar. Let it melt gradually around the edges before nudging it toward the center. Rushing or stirring too early can make it clump.

Gently move, don’t mix. As the sugar liquefies, use your spatula to ease the unmelted parts inward rather than stirring .

Use color as your guide. Look for a deep amber tone instead of watching the clock. That’s when you’ll get rich flavor without bitterness.

Add the cream slowly. Pour in a thin stream while whisking nonstop; it’ll foam up but smooths out quickly as it comes together.

Expect it to thicken as it cools. It’ll seem thin right off the heat but sets into the perfect drizzle texture once it rests.

Warm ingredients. Room-temperature cream and butter prevent seizing and make the sauce come together seamlessly.

Cleanup made easy. If any caramel hardens on your utensils, soak them in hot water.

Store and reheat gently. Keep it in a glass jar in the fridge for up to two weeks, and rewarm it slowly over low heat or in short microwave bursts until pourable again.

Nutrition

Serving: 1tablespoon, Calories: 127kcal, Carbohydrates: 17g, Fat: 7g, Saturated Fat: 4g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g, Cholesterol: 20mg, Sodium: 337mg, Sugar: 17g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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