Salted Caramel Sauce
Caramel sauce might be one of Hubby’s favorite things ever. He will always choose a caramel treat over a a chocolatey treat. I’ve just recently gotten more comfortable making my own caramel sauce. It actually is so much easier than I thought it was. Having a candy thermometer is a must for making caramel at home. But that’s really all you need. If you haven’t made your own caramel sauce, do it. Trust me, it’s worth the minimal effort required.
I ended up making a triple batch of this salted caramel during the holidays. I ordered some cute jars online and gave them away as gifts to some family members. Hubby also enjoyed a bunch of this caramel sauce heated up over vanilla ice cream.
One Year Ago: Crunchy Nut Encrusted Chicken Tenders
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Salted Caramel Sauce
Salted caramel sauce is easier to make than you could ever imagine. And it makes a great gift!
Yield: 2 cups
Ingredients:
1 cup water
2 cups sugar
1 cup heavy cream
2 Tbsp cold unsalted butter
1 tsp fleur de sel
Directions:
Add water to a 2-qt saucepan. Gently add the sugar to the center of the pot - it will mound, that's fine. Cover the pot and bring to a boil over high heat.
Once boiling, uncover the pot and insert a candy thermometer. Continue cooking until the mixture registers 300 F and is just starting to develop some color, about 15 minutes.
Reduce heat under the pot to medium and cook until the syrup is amber and registers 350 F on the thermometer, about another 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, pour the cream into a small saucepan and bring to a simmer. If it simmers before the syrup is ready, just take it off the heat and set aside.
Remove the caramel from the heat and add about 1/4 of the warm cream to the pot. It will bubble furiously so be careful. Once the bubbling subsides, add the remaining cream. When it stops bubbling, whisk gently to incorporate fully. Add the butter and the salt and whisk to combine.
Refrigerate up to 1 month.
Recipe from Cook's Illustrated, as seen on Erin's Food Files
I am Jen the Beantown Baker. Engineer by day and baking maven by night. Hubby serves as my #1 fan and official taste tester. We got hitched back in 2006. Barefoot. In the sand. With the waves crashing behind us. It was one of the best decisions we’ve ever made. 
These look SO good. I was actually looking for s’mores _____ because I wanted to bake something with chocolate and marshmallows. These may be just the thing!
These are so cute! Now I’m craving real smores!
So freakin cute, I love them, so would my boys. Just today, Liam was picking up sticks in the yard and asked if he could start a fire so that he could make smores. I kid you not. He is 5. Where do they get these ideas?
Adorable Jen! Thanks so much!
I lurve smores! Your mini smore cupcakes are so fabulous. Great job!
-Clara
yum! what a great idea!
That idea is brilliant! Smores is one of my favorite all time treats and who doesn’t love a mini muffin? Wow, what a great idea.
WOW. those look completely luscious!
want some.
i’m hoping to enter the hero challenge this time, but i can’t quite decide what to make. . .
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kate
http://www.thecleanplateclub.net
join the cookie carnival!
http://www.bubbleandsqueak.biz/cleanplateclub/2008/03/cookie-carnival-march.html
These are so wrong, but so right! That batch would be seriously unsafe in my house. They’d have to be given away immediately or I’d risk eating every last one and never fitting in my pants again.
These will be perfect for an upcoming family vacation. We’re not camping, but are renting a house with a fire pit and we usually spend every night out there making s’mores. I can easily make the cupcakes beforehand and then we can roast the marshmallows outside. It will be something cute and different. Thanks for this recipe!!!