Easy Homemade Caramel Sauce Recipe

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[Photograph and video: Vicky Wasik]

Real caramel sauce is a three-ingredient affair—nothing more than sugar, water, and cream. Okay, okay, salt and vanilla, too, but it hardly seems fair to count the seasonings. For a sweet and simple flavor, cook the sugar syrup until it's a pale, honey-colored hue. If you'd prefer a darker caramel with a slightly bitter edge, aim for a foxy amber hue. In either case, you're just 20 minutes away from the thick and gooey caramel sauce of your dreams.

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Ingredients

• 4 ounces water (1/2 cup; 115g)
• 8 1/2 ounces sugar (1 1/4 cups; 240g)
• 1/2 teaspoon (2g) Diamond Crystal kosher salt; for table salt, use half as much by volume or use the same weight
• 1 vanilla pod, reserved from another project (optional)
• 8 ounces heavy cream (1 cup; 225g)
• 1 teaspoon (5g) vanilla extract (optional)

Preparation

Step 1

1. In a 3-quart stainless steel saucier, combine water, sugar, and salt over medium heat. If you like, add an empty vanilla pod, too. Stir with a fork until syrup comes to a boil, about 4 minutes, then simmer without stirring until syrup is honey-colored, roughly 6 minutes, shaking and swirling as needed to ensure even caramelization. Continue cooking until syrup is light to medium amber, a minute more. Immediately add cream and reduce heat to medium-low.

2. Stirring constantly with a heat-resistant spatula to knock back the foam, simmer until caramel registers 225°F on a digital thermometer, about 3 minutes. Transfer to a heat-resistant container, stir in vanilla extract (if using), and cool to room temperature. (No need to discard the vanilla bean; it will continue to infuse the caramel over time.) Caramel will be runny while warm, but thicken as it cools, turning just a little chewy when cold. Refrigerate up to 1 month in an airtight container.