Homemade Salted Caramel Sauce Recipe

A gorgeous amber-colored Salted Caramel Sauce Recipe is infused with a pop of sea salt and poised to complement any of your Fall desserts or baked goods. This easy homemade recipe is rich and buttery in texture with a velvety smoothness that coats your tongue and sends happiness to your tastebuds.

When the Fall season rolls around, I start craving things like pumpkin and caramel. And nothing is better than pouring this thick decadent caramel sauce over my Pumpkin Layered Cake. If I really want to warm up a chilly Autumn evening, sipping on a Spiked Apple Cider drizzled with this sauce definitely does it for me. Or I love to simply dip apple wedges in a messy caramel-dripped jar. The possibilities are endless! But I must say my favorite is a Puff Pastry Caramel Apple Galette. 

Why I love this Homemade Salted Caramel Sauce Recipe:

Homemade Caramel Sauce is tastier than store-bought. Pretty much anything you make from scratch is far superior to something out of a box or a jar off the grocery shelf. And I’m convinced, that once you make this homemade caramel sauce, you will never go back to using the purchased product. It’s that much better.

You can’t believe how easy this recipe is. There is NO constant stirring, NO complicated instructions, No lengthy-time demand. Making caramel is a little intimidating at first but once you’ve made it a few times, you’ll wonder why you haven’t done it time and again.

There are only four ingredients to this recipe. No need to run to the store with a long grocery list. Other than, maybe, heavy whipping cream, the other three items are found right there in your kitchen.

This sauce can be combined with an abundance of other recipes. This is an item you will want to have in your refrigerator on a continual basis. It complements desserts, cocktails, and coffee. Also, I’ve been known to stand at the counter and eat spoonfuls of it by itself.

Only Four Ingredients Are Needed for this Easy Caramel Sauce

• Granulated Sugar
• Heavy Cream
• Butter
• Coarse Sea Salt
• Water (but that doesn’t really count)

Choose A Large Heavy-bottomed Pan. 

Thin pans distribute heat unevenly which in this case could cause the caramel to burn in certain spots.

Also, the pan should be large enough for an expansion of the ingredients throughout the cooking process. There’s a lot of bubbling and sputtering that takes place, especially when you add the heavy cream at the end.

What Kind of Sugar should be used?

Make sure to use only white refined sugar, not brown or raw cane sugar. These other sugars contain impurities that inhibit the caramelization process. Refined sugar produces a smooth caramel sauce and helps prevent clumping and recrystallization while cooking. Always select sugar that is from the sugar cane or sugar beets when making caramel sauce.

How to Make Homemade Caramel Sauce

Step #1 – Combine the Water and Sugar together

In a large saucepan stir the sugar and water only until they are combined. Once you start cooking, DO NOT stir again until you add the cream. You will (like me) be tempted to stir the mixture while it is boiling but if you do, the agitation will cause the sugar to crystallize and become grainy.

How do you keep the sugar from crystalizing while cooking? When cooking sugar, if you’re not careful, the sugar will clump and re-crystallize during the process. Here are a few tips to help prevent a ruined finished caramel sauce.

• Make sure your pan and sugar are perfectly clean and free of any stray particles. This may seem a bit silly but if there are any other crumbs or specks the sugar will latch onto them and a solid mass will form and crystalize.
• There are two different processes, a dry process and a wet one, which in my opinion, choosing the latter one gives greater control over how quickly and easily the sugar caramelizes. 
  • The “dry process” begins with sugar only in a dry pan with no liquid. This takes a little more skill as the sugar can turn brown quickly causing the batch to burn and ruin the caramel.
  • The “wet process” incorporates water with sugar while cooking. The water helps the sugar to melt more evenly and smoothly. Therefore, this recipe follows the “wet process.”

Step #2 – Cook over medium-high for 12-15 minutes 

Watch it like a hawk once the mixture starts turning brown because it can get out of control in just a few seconds and burn quite quickly. I let mine get just a tad bit darker than you see in the photo above because I like a deep amber color with a subtle burnt taste. Once the caramel turns that deep amber color, immediately remove it from the burner.

• There is no need for a thermometer with this recipe. You just have to stay close and watch for the color to change. 

Step #3 – Add the Cream, Butter, and Sea Salt

As soon as the pan is removed from the heat, add the cream and stir vigorously. Once you add the cream, the caramel will sputter and foam up the sides of the pan. Keep stirring vigorously until it is all combined. Once the cream is stirred in, add the butter and sea salt and continue to stir until it is all combined. 

• It is important to warm the cream before stirring it in. You can do this while the sugar and water are cooking. Cold cream will cause the caramel to harden. 
• Use caution at this point because the mixture is extremely hot. 

How to Store this Salted Caramel Sauce

The caramel sauce should be stored in an airtight glass jar or a microwavable container and will last in the refrigerator for up to three weeks.

If you are planning on keeping it longer, you can store it in the freezer for up to three months. Let it cool completely and transfer the sauce to a freezer bag or an airtight plastic storage container. 

How to Reheat the sauce

From the Refrigerator –  this sauce will have hardened because of the colder temperature of the fridge. To reheat, use a microwavable container and microwave on high for 1 to 1 1/2 minutes stirring every 20 or 30 seconds until it is smooth and pourable. 

The caramel sauce can also be reheated by using a double boiler. Pour a few inches of water into a saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Add the sauce to a smaller pan and place the pan over the water. Stir frequently until it is heated and smooth. 

From the Freezer – remove the caramel sauce from the freezer and let it thaw overnight in the refrigerator then reheat as directed above. 

This Homemade Salted Caramel Sauce Recipe “ahhhmazing” on anything it comes in contact with: ice cream, Salted Caramel Pumpkin Cake (pictured above), drizzled on apple pie, cheesecake, etc. You name it, it goes with it.  Believe me, it is definitely liquid gold in a jar. You’ll think you’ve died and gone to heaven once you dip into it.

If you love homemade caramel sauce, you’ll love these recipes:

Spiked Apple Cider with Caramel

Salted Caramel Pumpkin Cake Roll

Caramel Drunken Apple Galette 

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