Salted Caramel Sauce

In France we get the most delicious salted caramel ice cream. I came across this as part of an apple pie recipe so I just had to squirrel it away for future reference, maybe to use more like a tarte tatin, but still within the spirit of the sweet original. Perhaps I should save for when I am not on a diet (!!!) or maybe even try making ice cream with it and blow the diet. Yum.


Salted Caramel Sauce

This salted caramel sauce is good on everything! Drizzle it over ice cream, dip apples in it, whip it into a buttercream frosting, or my favorite, just eat it by the spoonful.

Prep Time: 2 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 17 minutes
Yield: 1 1/2 cups

Ingredients

1 cup sugar
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into chunks
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
1/4 cup water
1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt (I prefer Maldon sea salt flakes or fleur de sel)
Preparation

Heat sugar and water in a 2-quart or 3-quart saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir to help the sugar dissolve, but stop stirring when the sugar comes to a boil. You can swirl the pan a bit if you want.
When the liquid sugar hits a dark amber color, add all the butter to the pan. The mixture will foam up and thicken. Whisk until the butter has melted. Once the butter has melted, take the pan off the heat.
Add the cream to the pan (the mixture will foam up again) and continue to whisk to incorporate.
Add the sea salt and whisk until caramel sauce is smooth. (Note: if making Bourbon Salted Caramel Sauce, add 3 tablespoons of bourbon at this time.)
Let cool in the pan for a couple minutes, then pour into a glass jar and let cool to room temperature. Don’t worry if the sauce seems a bit too thin at first, it will thicken as it cools. Store in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. Warm before serving to loosen it up again.