The Easiest Caramel Sauce Ever

Creating a pot of homemade caramel sauce will make you feel equal parts skilled chef, science wiz, and magician. Sugar starts solid and dry, and — with time, heat, and some butter and cream — transforms into a thick, rich caramel sauce. There are several ways to make caramel, but for this classic recipe I stuck with the traditional stovetop method using only essential ingredients.

Although it looks similar to dulce de leche, which is milk-based, caramel is all about boiling sugar. I know this can be intimidating, but it’s mostly a hands-off process of watching and waiting. The end result is a soft, luscious sauce that’s perfect for drizzling over just about anything. 

• It actually tastes like caramelized sugar. Jarred caramel sauce is convenient, but let’s face it — there really isn’t much flavor beyond sweet compared to the toasty, buttery, ever-so-slightly bitter taste of homemade caramel sauce.
• The consistency is perfect, warm or cold. The ratio of butter and cream to sugar in this recipe ensures the sauce can be drizzled while warm and remain dippable straight out of the refrigerator with a soft, silky texture that isn’t hard or chewy. 

• Heavy cream: Gently warming the cream before adding to the hot sugar reduces the chance of the sugar seizing.
• Butter: Cut it into medium-size pieces for easier melting, and set aside while the sugar cooks just to take the chill off (it doesn’t need to be at room temperature).
• Sugar: The most critical ingredient in caramel sauce. This recipe sticks with granulated white sugar, as opposed to the brown sugar used in butterscotch recipes. Even though sugar is technically a wet ingredient, use a dry measuring cup and level the top for accurate measuring. 
• Kosher salt: Although this is not a salted caramel sauce, a small bit of salt is still crucial to balance the sweetness. 

1. Stir the sugar and water together. This is also referred to as a wet caramel method (versus the dry method, which involves melting sugar without any liquid) and helps the sugar dissolve and cook evenly while minimizing the chance of the sugar crystallizing into hard bits.
2. Cook the sugar to a rich amber color. Swirling the pot gently, but not stirring, helps the sugar brown evenly. Once it turns a soft yellow keep a close eye, as it will go from pale to dark quickly. You don’t want the sugar to start smoking, or the sauce will be too dark and bitter.  
3. Stir in the butter and cream. Make sure to have the butter and cream nearby so you can add them quickly when the sugar is ready. Adding both off heat minimizes how intensely the mixture bubbles up in the pot. 
4. Cool briefly and then pour into a heatproof container. Let the caramel stop bubbling and then pour into a heatproof container to cool. You don’t want the caramel to keep cooking in the hot pot because the longer it cooks, the chewier the caramel becomes, turning more into a candy than a sauce. 

• Salted butter works just fine if that’s what you have. Reduce the kosher salt to a pinch, or leave it as is for a salted caramel vibe.
• We call for kosher salt in this recipe, as that’s our everyday go-to salt, but because it dissolves and is just there for flavor balance, sea salt or table salt can stand in. If using a fine salt, you will only need about half the amount. 
• We kept this caramel sauce super classic, but you could add a splash of vanilla extract or something stronger like rum or bourbon when you add the salt for a flavor twist.

• Although you need to pour the hot caramel into a jar or heatproof measuring cup, wait to refrigerate it until it cools so the steam isn’t trapped in the container, adding water back into the sauce.
• Plan to make the sauce several hours before you want to serve it, as it needs to cool, both to thicken and to prevent burning yourself with hot sugar. Once cool, you can refrigerate it for 1 week or freeze it for 2 months. 
• Let frozen caramel sauce thaw in the refrigerator or at room temperature, and then gently warm to loosen the sauce. 

• Vanilla Ice Cream
• Apple Pie
• Bread Pudding
• Homemade Latte (Hot or iced, it will give coffeehouse vibes.)
• Fudgy Brownies