Raspberry-Caramel Sauce

By cuznvin

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup sugar
• 3 cups frozen raspberries
• 1/2 teaspoon lemon extract or zest

Preparation

Step 1

In a heavy bottom pot, dissolve the sugar in ¼ cup water with a whisk. Bring the water to boil over medium – high heat and cook until the sugar and water have formed a medium-dark caramel, 8 – 10 minutes. Be careful! The caramel is extremely hot and can burn you.
Carefully whisk in the raspberries and lemon extract and cook until the caramel is dissolved and the sauce is liquid, about 5 minutes. Once you add the raspberries, the sugar in the caramel will solidify but should gradually loosen after 1 – 2 minutes. If caramel sticks to the whisk, run the whisk along the bottom of the pot to melt the caramel.
Ladle the sauce into a fine strainer. Press the sauce through the strainer with a heat-proof spatula until only the raspberry seeds remain. Cool the sauce.
Reheat the amount of sauce you need in the microwave. If the sauce becomes too thick, add hot water to thin it.

Note: This sauce has a great shine to it. It is perfect with chocolate desserts, such as Flourless Chocolate Cake (page X), or on top of ice cream, bread pudding or with Peach Melba.

The raspberry puree will cause the sauce to strain more easily because of the lack of seeds.

Restaurant Trick: Use a pastry brush, dipped in a small bowl of water, to brush down the sides of the pot while the caramel cooks so that the sugar crystals don’t burn onto the pot.