One of my favorite things to make is homemade caramel! I prefer homemade caramel because I think that the caramel pieces you find at the grocery store tend to be too sweet and do not have as much caramelization. While it may seem intimidating, caramel is easier to make than you might think!

UPDATE: Here is a video of how to make this delicious caramel:

I use my caramel to make so many yummy items: caramel pastry cream, caramel buttercream, caramel filled chocolates, and drizzled over a slice of apple pie, just to name a few. Caramel also pairs extremely well with many different flavors, so there are countless delicious things that you can make with your very own homemade caramel!

Notes:

• Butter to Cream Ratio: Depending on what you are making, you will want to adjust the ratio of the butter to cream. When making caramel filled chocolates, caramel pastry cream, and caramel buttercream, use ¾ cup butter (1 ½ sticks) and ¼ cup heavy cream. On the other hand, when making caramel sauce for topping ice cream or pie, use ¼ cup butter (½ stick) and ¾ cup heavy cream.
• Salt: Always make sure to add salt to your caramel. Salt helps both temper the sweetness of the caramel as well as enhance the flavor of the caramelized sugar. When I want to make a salted caramel, I add an extra ¼ teaspoon of salt.
• Safety: Make sure that you are very careful when making caramel. Sugar melts at a very high temperature, so make sure that you do not get any on your skin as it will result in burns.
• Mise en place: Make sure that you have everything measured out and ready to use before you begin. Caramel has a fine line between perfect and burnt, so you will need to watch for when the caramel is ready and have everything in place to use as soon as that pot comes off of the stove.

Caramel

Recipe by Carly PrestonCourse: DessertDifficulty: Medium

Prep time

5

minutes

Cooking time

10

minutes

Ingredients

• 1 cup (200 grams) granulated sugar

• 1/4-1/3 cup (60-75 milliliters) water

• 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks or 165 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature

• 1/4 cup (60 milliliters) heavy whipping cream

• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions

• Add the sugar and water into a medium size saucepan with high sides and place on a medium high heat on the stove.
• While the water evaporates, the sugar melts and bubbles along the bottom of the pot. At this point, do not touch the pot! If sugar pops onto the side of the pot, you may take a pastry brush with a little water and brush the sugar off the sides of the pot.
• Let the sugar continue to bubble and cook until it begins to get some color. At this point, you may gently swirl the pan to ensure that all the sugar mixes and cooks evenly. Do this only occasionally to allow the sugar to caramelize in the pan.
• Once the sugar reaches a deep amber color, immediately remove the pot from the stove. Carefully* add in your cream and then the butter, whisking constantly as you do so.
• Add the pure vanilla extract and salt. Once thoroughly mixed, carefully pour into an airtight container. Let it cool until it is closer to room temperature, close the lid, and store in the refrigerator until ready to use.

Notes

• *The cold cream and room temperature butter are drastically different in temperature from the extremely hot sugar. As soon as you add these items, especially the cold cream, the mixture will bubble vigorously and release a lot of steam. When this happens, make sure that you are leaning slightly away from the pot and that you continuously stir until the dairy is fully incorporated into the sugar.
• To make a salted caramel, add an additional 1/4 teaspoon of salt.

Thank you so much for checking out this post! I hope that you give this caramel recipe a try! Please leave a comment below to let me know what you made with your caramel!