How to Make a Delicious Caramel (on Your First Attempt!)

by flour on my apron

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Intro: How to Make a Delicious Caramel (on Your First Attempt!)

I attempted to make this twice before getting it right as the sugar kept burning! Bad stove!

Anyway, on my third effort I mixed it when the melting sugar was getting dark in color and it worked fine - I ended up with a really nice caramel.

Lets get melting!

STEP 1: Ingredients

To make the caramel you will need:

  • 3/4 cup caster sugar
  • 2/3 cup cream
  • 100 grams butter

STEP 2: Melting the Sugar

Pour the sugar into a pan and turn the heat on low. You will need to watch this the entire time as it can quickly burn. In the second photo you can see that it is starting to melt around the edges but in the third photo the melted sugar has begun to darken and we are ready to stir.

STEP 3: Sugar

Using a wooden spoon gently stir the sugar around until it has melted, it should take around 5-10 minutes.

STEP 4: Time to Add the Cream

Once the sugar has completely melted pour in the cream. Now the sugar will cling together due to the cooling effect of the cream and it will firm up like toffee, but keep stirring until it all melts together.

STEP 5: Butter

Once the cream and sugar have come together nicely it is time to add the butter. Take the pan off the heat and then add the butter, just stir until the butter melts. Once the butter has melted it should be a runny consistency.

STEP 6: Finished

Pour the caramel into a heat proof dish, cover with cling film and leave in the fridge over night. By morning it will have lightened in color and will be nice and thick. It's ready to use on all sorts of things - we used it in our delicious Walnut and Caramel Ice-Cream.

I hope you enjoy making this lovely caramel and find plenty of uses for it. Please share them with us!

61 Comments

gmsmg 7 years ago

salted butter or unsalted butter.

Thanks

Jerry

gmsmg 7 years ago

Thanks for getting back to me.
Jerry

DragonGal 7 years ago

awesome!!!!!! ill be sure to try this out!!!!!!

OneBirdieMa 7 years ago

Bravo! Caramel with cream! In other words REAL caramel! I'll have to try this one, for sure. Thanks for posting this!

flour on my apron 7 years ago

Haha if you make the caramel post a picture, i love seeing them.

OneBirdieMa 7 years ago

You know, I think I've never taken a pic of the caramels I make! I will take a pic when I next make a batch. Be a while yet, though; I get a knee replaced on Wednesday and won't be trucking in the kitchen for a while after that.

FunLife3315 7 years ago

mmm.... I agree....

Real caramel, not soppy stuff without any flavour....

Good Job!

dsantil71 7 years ago

Using a double boiler will help minimize the risk of burning the sugar.

What exact type of cream did you use? I only know about 1/2 & 1/2, heavy cream & heavy whipping cream.

Also I don't know what caster sugar is. Is there something I can substitute for it, like confectioners or powdered sugar?

JerryS42 7 years ago

I'm thinking a double boiler would not get warm enough to melt sugar (212F vs 370F)? And I don't think there is a significant enough difference between heavy and whipping cream to really change the result.

I've used recipes where all the ingredients are mixed together in a pot and brought to rolling boil, after 10-15 min you can drop a little of the boiling caramel in a glass of water and ice. When the sample doesn't dissolve, it is done.

DianeW64 7 years ago

U.S. cartons don't list fat content on cream. :-(

I would suggest using whipping cream. The heavy cream may be a bit much.

Half & Half is, of course, half milk, so you wouldn't want to use that.

Ninzerbean 7 years ago

DianeW64, I have used all sorts of sugar from large crystals to light brown to regular US cane sugar, it all works.

OneBirdieMa 7 years ago

Use whipping cream or table cream. As for the sugar, I haven't the time right this moment to look up the conversion, but because caramel shouldn't be dependent on the texture of the sugar, there should be a weight equivalent that will work.

FunLife3315 7 years ago

caster sugar is fine sugar.

halfway between icing sugar and normal, really. (but not a mix)

flour on my apron 7 years ago

Hi,

A double boiler could work but it might not be hot enough when adding the cream.

The cream that I used has around 40% fat. You could just look at your cream and see what its fat content is.

Caster sugar has finer crystals than regular sugar. It is not a powder. To make caster sugar all you need to do is put regular sugar in a blender or food processor until the crystals are smaller.

nursermk 7 years ago

There is a US version of Caster sugar called "Baker's Sugar"; it comes in a carton and is the fine sugar best for this recipe.

naomiandtom 7 years ago

DON'T use confectioners' sugar! It has corn starch in it and will affect your caramel.

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