Homemade Caramel Sauce

First, before you begin, make sure you have everything ready to go — the cream and the butter next to the pan, ready to put in. Making caramel is a fast process that cannot wait for hunting around for ingredients. If you don't work fast, the sugar will burn. Safety first! Make sure there are no children under foot and you may want to wear oven mitts; the caramelized sugar will be much hotter than boiling water.

Heat sugar on moderately high heat in a heavy-bottomed 2-quart or 3-quart saucepan. The sugar will begin to melt in a minute or two. As the sugar begins to melt, stir vigorously with a whisk or wooden spoon. The sugar will form clumps and will start to melt at the edges of the pan. As the sugar starts to melt, lower the heat a bit to keep the sugar from burning. Keep whisking until all of the sugar has melted. It will clump up quite a bit, but just keep stirring. Once all of the sugar has melted, stop stirring. You can swirl the pan a bit if you want.

As soon as all of the sugar crystals have melted (the liquid sugar should be medium amber in color), immediately add the butter to the pan. Whisk until the butter has melted.

Once the butter has melted, take the pan off the heat. Count to three, then slowly add the cream to the pan and continue to whisk to incorporate. Note that when you add the butter and the cream, the mixture will foam up considerably. This is why you must use a pan that hold at least 2 quarts, preferably 3 quarts.

Whisk until caramel sauce is smooth. Let cool in the pan for a couple minutes, then pour into a glass mason jar and let sit to cool to room temperature. (Remember to use pot holders when handling the jar filled with hot caramel sauce.) Store in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. To reheat the caramel, microwave for 30-second intervals, heating just until warm and pourable. Alternatively, add to a double boiler or a heatproof bowl set over a pot with a small amount of simmering water and heat until warm. Did you love the recipe? Let us know with a rating and review!