Authentic Caramel Sauce Recipes

Steps:

• Bring brown sugar, butter, and milk to a gentle boil and cook until thickened, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from heat; add vanilla extract.

Steps:

• Combine the sugar and 1/3 cup water in a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan. This is the only time you can stir the sugar. If you stir it while it's cooking, it turns to rock candy. Place the saucepan over medium to low heat until the sugars start to dissolve, 5 to 10 minutes. Then turn the heat up to medium-high and cook until the sugar starts to caramelize, 5 to 7 minutes. Do not stir while this is happening. You've got to watch the pot, because it goes from caramel to burnt really quickly. And be careful, the mixture is extremely hot!
• Turn off the heat and stand back to avoid splattering. Slowly add the cream. Don't panic - the cream will bubble violently, and the caramel will solidify. Just give it more time to liquefy again-trust me!
• Simmer over low heat, stirring constantly, until the caramel dissolves and the sauce is smooth, about 2 minutes. Allow the sauce to cool to room temperature, at least 4 hours. It will thicken as it sits.

Steps:

• Mix the brown sugar, half-and-half, butter and salt in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Cook while whisking gently for 5 to 7 minutes, until it gets thicker. Add the vanilla and cook another minute to thicken further. Turn off the heat, cool slightly and pour the sauce into a jar. Refrigerate until cold.

Steps:

• Bring the cream to a boil in a 1-quart saucepan over medium heat.
• Cook the sugar, water, and honey in a 3-quart heavy-duty saucepan over high heat until the mixture comes to a boil. Brush around the inside of the pan with a damp pastry brush at the point where the sugar syrup meets the sides of the pan. Do this twice during the cooking process to prevent the sugar from crystallizing.
• Cook the mixture over high heat, without stirring, until it turns amber colored, 6-8 minutes. Lower the heat to medium and slowly add the hot cream to the sugar mixture while stirring constantly. The cream will bubble and foam. Continue stirring to make sure there are no lumps. Remove the saucepan from the heat and stir in the butter until it is completely melted. Then stir in the vanilla.
• Transfer the caramel sauce to a bowl, cover tightly with plastic wrap, cool slightly, and serve warm.

Steps:

• Mix the water and sugar in a large heavy-bottomed saucepan. Cover and cook over low heat until the sugar dissolves. Increase the heat and boil uncovered until the sugar turns a medium brown, about 5 to 7 minutes, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon. Watch it carefully at the end, as it will go from caramel to burnt very quickly. Stand back to avoid splattering, and gradually add the cream and the seeds scraped from the vanilla bean (or vanilla extract). Simmer until the caramel dissolves and the sauce is smooth and thick, about 2 minutes. Serve warm, or add another 1/4 cup of heavy cream and serve room temperature.

Steps:

• Also need: instant read thermometer, pastry brush and a small bowl of cold water In a heavy 2 quart sauce pan combine sugar and 1/2 cup of water, cover with a snug fitting lid and heat over med-low stirring occasionally until sugar is dissolved.
• Once sugar has dissolved, brush down inside of pan with pastry brush and water to remove any traces of sugar from the sides of the pan.
• Remove lid from pan and increase heat to med-high.
• Do not stir mixture at this point.
• Mixture will boil until all water has evaporated, use pastry brush and cold water to keep the inside of the pan clean of any splashes.
• The danger here is that sugar will crystallize on the sides of the pan and set off a chain reaction that will crystallize the entire pot.
• Have a second pot of water boiling and your 1/4 cup measure with salt in it all ready to go as you'll need to work fast once the sugar has reached the desired temperature.
• Adjust heat so mixture is boiling gently, slowly raising heat to raise temperature of the sugar syrup.
• Boil mixture until it reaches 315°F.
• for a light caramel, 330°F.
• for a medium, 345°F.
• for a dark caramel.
• You can go as high as 360°F for a very dark and nutty tasting caramel, however it's a bit too much for the average caramel eater.
• Once caramel has reached the desired temperature immediately remove from heat as the temperature will continue to rise very rapidly, put on some heavy gloves, point pan away from you, or anyone else for that matter, and pour in the 1/4 cup of water mixed with the pinch of salt.
• This exciting step arrests the cooking and keeps the sugar from solidifying.
• The mixture will splatter for a few seconds then subside.
• I like to set the pan on the edge of a burner so it's tilted away, hold the lid with one hand, pour the water with the other and cover it FAST!
• When mixture cools to 220°F add the condensed milk and vanilla extract.
• Stir over a low heat until well combined.
• Pour mixture into your serving container (I use small, wide mouth mason jars) and fill pan with boiling water and return to stove.
• Allow it and your tools to boil for a few minutes and your clean-up will be a snap.
• Once you get the hang of it there will be just a couple splatters to clean up and you you'll be able to tell the temperature of the mixture by looking at the color.
• Store in the refrigerator. I've kept a single batch for three months-- it may last longer.