Simple salted caramel sauce; a smooth and creamy dessert sauce that goes well with everything, ready in a matter of minutes!
Some trends in the world of food and drinks disappear as quickly as they arrive. Think of that baked feta pasta, or of Dalgona coffee.
Some stick around for a few years before fading into irrelevancy. Think of the cupcake, BBQ pulled pork, gin liqueurs.
Some, however, just don’t seem to go away. They’ll arrive in a great whirlwind of hype, yet still manage to embed themselves into the national diet in a surprisingly seamless fashion.
Salted caramel is one of those latter phenomena.
Around the early 2010s, salted caramel began appearing everywhere. I mean, everywhere. Suddenly it was like regular caramel didn’t exist anymore. Every big-brand chocolate bar was replacing its gooey saccharine filling for one with a, still somewhat meagre, pinch of salt added. The coffee shop chains were putting it in their drink syrups, drizzling it on their cakes, and stuffing it into their muffins. Bakeries were downsizing their quantities of casual favourites like chocolate and vanilla to make way for the demand of the holy salted caramel.
Of course, there was also that photo shoot starring our Queen and saviour Nigella Lawson, sensuously doused in the stuff.
Sometimes I wonder if being alive and conscious during this phase of culinary evolution will be our generation’s equivalent of the creation of sliced bread. Truly, how did we live without it before? How did our simple peasant palates get by day to day without that savoury touch in our favourite sweet sauce??
I’m a happy advocate for the stuff, when it’s done properly. Far too many brands, bakeries, and manufacturers still push out a salted caramel that seems like it’s still to be introduced to sodium chloride. It’s like they’re scared to offer half of what this very substance is all about. If we’re tasting only sugary sweetness in your salted caramel, you’re doing it wrong.
For this very reason, the super simple salted caramel sauce before you today is one with a generous proper pinch of salt added. It’s that balance of sweet and salty that keeps you coming back for more, and stops things from becoming too overwhelmingly sickly. Feel free to add even more salt, if that’s your thing, or to add less. Just make sure not to dare call it “salted” in the latter case, please. Please.
This simple salted caramel sauce is one you can have made in minutes. In involves a wee bit of necessary danger when boiling the sugar, but is otherwise very straight-forward. It keeps well, and goes with just about anything. Ice cream, yoghurt, biscuits, cheesecakes, chocolate, even cheese.
Keep a stash for yourself, use it in a recipe, bring a jar of it to a dinner party, or even give it as a little gift this Christmas. Whatever you use it for, this simple salted caramel sauce is a winning recipe to keep on hand. Promise.
To make this simple salted caramel sauce, simply follow the recipe below.
Ingredients
- 200g (1 cup) caster, granulated, or demerara sugar
- 100ml (scant ½ cup) cold water
- 100g (7 tbsp) unsalted butter
- 120g (½ cup) double or whipping cream
- 1 tsp large grain or flaky salt, feel free to add more to taste
Instructions
- Pour your sugar and water into a small (ideally stainless steel, not non-stick)saucepan and set it over a medium heat.
- Allow to bubble and boil until the sugar has dissolved and the mixture has turned a deep amber colour. The bubbles should be big, slow, and sticky-looking. This can take up to 10-15 minutes. You can swirl or shake the pan but don’t stir as the caramel may crystallise. (If using demerara sugar, the colour will not change much, so instead rely on timing and the appearance of the syrupy bubbles!)
- Remove the pan from the heat and whisk in the butter until melted. Be very careful as the very hot mixture could splatter slightly.
- Whisk through the double cream and salt.
- Pour the salted caramel into a heatproof bowl, jug, or jar.
- Set aside and allow to cool.
- Enjoy!
BE A MAVERICK: feel free to add other flavours to your salted caramel sauce, such as chilli flakes, ground cinnamon, or orange zest!
This simple salted caramel sauce will keep well for up to a week or so when kept chilled in an airtight container.
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