Caramel Sauce

I’ve had a love affair with caramel since my childhood; hey who hasn’t! It’s so versatile. It has so many different textures and lots of possibilities! Caramel candies, caramel sauce for sundaes, caramel for custards and flans and caramel lollipops, among others. I thought all this baking, cooking and making candies was very difficult. The reality is that it's not that difficult. The important thing is to, as Julia Child said “read the recipe”, and of course have all the ingredients at hand. Well today I overcame one of my biggest cooking fears, making caramel sauce. There are different recipes for caramel sauces. The one I’m about to show you is a caramel sauce that, despite having a deal of sugar and milk, is on the savory side. (Later next month I will be sharing a sweeter caramel sauce.) This sauce is awesome with ice cream! The vanilla ice cream you see in the photo is a recipe I will share with you guys next month! Enjoy this recipe, I hope the taste of caramel bring you fond memories from your childhoods!

Ingredients:

1-½ cups of white sugar

1/3 cup of water

1-¼ cups of heavy cream

½ teaspoon of vanilla extract

Procedure:

Put the sugar in a medium saucepan

 Put the water in the saucepan

Wait until you see that the water has covered the sugar completely.

 

It's very important that if you don't have a lot of experience working with sugar you use a  candy thermometer. This is a must!

Start cooking on low heat without stirring, for 5 to 10 minutes.

After the 10 minutes, increase the heat to medium and boil uncovered until the sugar turns a chestnut color or simply do as I did put the thermometer until it reaches 350 degrees Fahrenheit. (I used another thermometer so you guys can see a different kind)

This is the color the caramel will have, once it reaches the 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Turn off the heat. And stand back to avoid splattering.

Slowly add the heavy cream. The cream will bubble and solidify, don't worry about it. Stir constantly.

Add the vanilla extract and continue to stir.

Continue stirring until the caramel dissolves and the sauce is smooth.

Pour the mixture in a glass measuring cup. Allow the sauce to come to room temperature, at least 4 hours. 

The caramel sauce will get thicker as time passes by.

Tip:

If the sauce gets too thick, you can reheat it in the microwave.