caramel sauce

If I had to pick my favorite flavor in desserts, it would hands down be caramel, and there’s no better caramel than a rich caramel sauce. Sweet, buttery, and a little bit salty, this sauce turns a simple bowl of ice cream into something special. It’s also great with apple pie, chocolate cake, and almost every dessert you can think of. Once you master caramelizing the sugar, this sauce is quick, easy and doesn’t require any special equipment. Refrigerate it in a sealed container and it will hold up for 2 weeks, and just warm what you need in the microwave or over low heat. Cold caramel sauce can also be beaten into frosting to make a caramel buttercream.

Before I get started with the recipe, I want to remind all of my New Orleans subscribers about the bake sale I am organizing for California wildfire relief this Saturday, February 1 from 3pm to 5pm at La Boulangerie ( 4600 Magazine Street.) We have an incredible group of chefs and bakers participating, and will have a huge variety of both sweet and savory treats for sale, including cookies, biscuits, pound cakes, bagels, king cakes, cupcakes and whole cakes. Gluten free and vegan items will be available as well. I will be offering my decorated sugar cookies, cupcakes and layer cakes, blood orange olive oil loaves, and meyer lemon basil loaves. Venmo preferable, but we are also taking cash. Hope to see you there!

If you cannot attend, you can donate directly via Venmo(below.) In addition, I will be donating $20 for each annual Substack subscription purchased through the weekend, so if you are thinking of upgrading this is a great time to do it.

Caramel Sauce:

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups sugar

½ cup water

a squeeze of lemon( to prevent the sugar from crystalizing)

1 ½ cups heavy cream

2 tablespoons butter

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

½ - 3/4 teaspoon salt

EQUIPMENT:

medium pot

measuring cup and spoons

wooden spoon or heatproof spatula

YIELD: 2 1/2 cups of sauce

TO MAKE:

Place a medium saucepan on the stove and add 2 cups sugar. Pour in 1/2 cup water. Add a squeeze of lemon. DO NOT STIR. Cook over medium high heat. The mixture will boil, the water will cook out and then it will begin to brown. ( this will take about 5-10 minutes.) Once it is brown, you may stir so that it will cook evenly. Cook to a rich caramel color ( make sure to get it dark enough since caramel adds the flavor.) The caramel cooks very quickly at this point, so do not let it burn. Slowly and carefully stir in 1 1/2 cups heavy cream. The mixture will bubble up, so do not add all at once, especially if your pot is smaller. Cook until the sugar dissolves and the cream is completely incorporated. Remove from the heat. Stir in 2 tablespoons butter, 2 teaspoons vanilla extract and 1/2 teaspoon salt ( a bit more if you like it salty.)

Serve warm with ice cream or desserts. Store the sauce in sealed container in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.