Homemade Salted Caramel Sauce

Cooking method

1. Step 1:

   

   How do you make homemade caramel sauce? Gather the ingredients. Use the richest cream you can get.

2. Step 2:

   

   Set the cream over low heat and bring it just to the boiling point, but don't let it boil.

3. Step 3:

   

   Next we'll melt the sugar. Do this in a heavy-bottomed vessel — I'm using a pot, but a cast-iron skillet or Dutch oven works. Pour the sugar into the pot and set it over low heat. Now you have to be patient and wait for it to start melting. Don't stir, or you'll get hard candy — you can only swirl the pot gently.

4. Step 4:

   

   When the sugar is almost fully melted and has taken on a caramel color, grab a wooden or silicone spatula and stir vigorously to melt any remaining crystals. Take it off the heat. I scorched my sugar a touch — it's better to pull it off at a lighter caramel color.

5. Step 5:

   

   Add the butter to the melted sugar right away. The caramel will bubble up — don't be alarmed, but be careful. Stir well until the butter melts. It takes just a minute, since the sugar is very hot.

6. Step 6:

   

   The next step is to pour the hot cream into the caramel. Return the pot to the heat and add the cream in a thin stream, in a few additions, working the spatula the whole time. Add the salt. The mixture bubbles vigorously and can start to spatter. Be careful!

7. Step 7:

   

   Once all the cream is in and well mixed, let the caramel cook for another three minutes or so. Don't forget to stir! Then take it off the heat and let it cool.

8. Step 8:

   

   Pour the cooled salted caramel into a jar and store it in the fridge. This amount of ingredients gave me about one jar.