3 Ingredient Salted Caramel Sauce

This sauce is a serious go-to around our house. We always have the ingredients on hand (sugar, cream and salt), and I've been known to whip up a batch at 9:30 at night for a quick topping for late night bowl of ice cream. Seriously....3 ingredients and 15 minutes! You've got to give this one a try.

The best part? It's really, really easy to make. Homemade caramel sauce gets a bad rap sometimes for being finicky, but I promise, this recipe is as simple and straightforward as they come.

Tips and Tricks for Perfect Salted Caramel Sauce

Making perfect Salted Caramel Sauce every time is all about technique and a little bit of practice. Here are some tips and tricks to help you along:

• Gently whisk the water and sugar together on the bottom of the pan while the sugar is dissolving. You want to avoid splashing the sugar and water mixture up on the sides of the pan as that can lead to crystallization of the final product (a caramel sauce that is grainy in texture and cloudy in appearance).

• Once the sugar has dissolved, leave the mixture undisturbed as it cooks. Again, it's all about avoiding crystallization on the sides of the pan. The mixture will be clear and extremely bubbly as it cooks. Simply let it do its thing and keep a close eye on it.
• Once it begins to turn amber in color, gently swirl the pan over the heat. This helps even out the heat and the caramelization of the sugar.

• Once you've reached the desired deep shade of amber, turn off the heat and immediately pour in the cream. Caramel can go from perfect to overcooked in a matter of seconds. Pouring in the cream will cool down the mixture and stop the cooking process.
• Be extra careful during this process! Caramel is extremely hot and the mixture will bubble up when you add the cream. At this point, the caramel will be a bit of a incohesive mess. No worries! Simply whisk the mixture until it is silky smooth throughout.
• If you plan to use the caramel sauce on ice cream (and you should), add a tablespoon or two of water after everything comes together. When the caramel comes into contact with the cold ice cream, it can harden rather than maintaining that silky smooth texture we just worked so hard to achieve. Adding a tablespoon or two of water prevents this from happening and maintains the fluidity of the sauce.

Where might you use this Salted Caramel Sauce? Ice cream is just the start! Here are some other recipes on the site that might benefit from a drizzle of warm salted caramel:

• Swedish Apple Cake
• Swedish Sticky Chocolate Cake (Kladdkaka)
• Salted Caramel Apple Oat Porridge

I hope you give this easy 3 Ingredient Salted Caramel Sauce a try! It's incredibly delicious and versatile....just the thing to have in the fridge for that morning bowl of porridge or late night bowl of ice cream.

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