As much as I love to cook, desserts are not my thing. I find the precision of baking annoying. Also, as an abstainer (not a moderator), I can’t really have sweets around the house. Well, I can. But I eat them. Usually in one sitting. However, for some unknown reason, I got a bee in my bonnet about making dessert for New Year’s Eve. I was having some friends for dinner and I thought it’d be special. Two blown attempts at a tart crust latter, I was cursing the baking gods. Refusing to go back to the grocery store for the third time that day, I decided to ditch the Chocolate-Caramel tart and regroup.
I still had caramel on the brain so I settled on blondies. I could make them without a mixer (which I don’t own) and I knew that I had the ingredients. I asked my friend Jules to pick up some vanilla ice cream. Delicious, right? But I wanted this dessert to be really special so I had to kick it up a notch. It needed the world’s best salted caramel sauce.
Salt and caramel are probably two of my favorite flavors. Combine them together and honestly, my mouth practically explodes with happiness. This recipe for the Best Salted Caramel Sauce is so delicious that I swear, it would taste good on cardboard. I am not kidding. You could cut up a box (I’m sure that you have one from Amazon lying around), place it in some bowls, top it with this sauce and your guest would rave.
This recipe for the best salted caramel sauce is not actually hard to make. However, there are a few things to keep in mind.
Wear Oven Mitts
Caramel is basically one step before hard candy. Which means that it is hotter than hades. Also, when you add the cream, it splatters (as the blisters on my thumb can attest). So, wear oven mitts when you whisk the butter into the melted sugar and when you add the cream. Your skin will thank you.
Keep Butter & Cream @ Room Temp
This recipe doesn’t require a lot of prep time. You can basically make it on the fly. However, you do want to make certain that you bring both the butter and cream to room temperature before starting your caramel. It will ensure a consistently delectable sauce.
Maldon Sea Salt Best for Best Salted Caramel Sauce
This recipe calls for any fleur de sel, but Maldon, which is a flaky sea salt, works particularly well. Luckily, for me, I use Maldon everyday. I love the way that it tastes. I love that the flakes are big and that I can crumble them in my fingers to control the amount of salt that I add to my food. It’s available at most grocery stores these days, and costs about $10 a box. Totally worth the price in my opinion.
Ok, with these tips in hand, you are ready to roll. This recipe makes about 2 cups of caramel so have a glass jar (or jars) ready that can hold that amount. Also, don’t get distracted when making this Best Salted Caramel Sauce. The melted sugar can go from yummy caramel flavor to burnt in the blink of an eye so you need to watch it like a hawk.
Best Salted Caramel Sauce
Ingredients
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 12 T unsalted butter room temperature, cut into pieces
- 1 cup heavy cream room temperature
- 1 T fleur de sel
Instructions
- Melt the sugar in a 2-3 quart saucepan over medium-high heat. You can really let it be until the sugar starts to melt. Then, stir to incorporate.
- Once the sugar is completely melted, watch the caramel like a hawk, stirring occasionally. When the color turns golden to amber (the darker the color, the richer the flavor) add the butter all at once. Whisk like crazy until the butter is all melted.
- Remove the pan from the heat and add your cream. It will bubble up like a mad science experiment so be prepared. Whisk until all of the cream has incorporated.
- Whisk in your sea salt and set the pan aside to cool for 15 minutes. Then, pour the sauce into your glass jars to cool completely.
- Serve the sauce at room temperature. Or it can be refrigerated for up to 2 weeks. Reheat by placing the glass jar in a saucepan of warm water or in 5 second intervals in the microwave.
Ok that looks completely divine. Definitely trying it when I have some help in the kitchen!