Here’s a recipe for caramel sauce that takes some dedication (about 15 minutes of stirring), but is definitely worth it. And imagine all the things you can add it to: ice cream, coffee, milkshakes, fruit, yogurt, just to name a few. I’ll be posting a recipe for a cool, sweet, refreshing drink soon, using this caramel recipe.
I’ve tried this recipe using heavy cream and coconut milk (from a can), and both worked well. The overriding flavor is that of the salty sweetness of caramel (regardless of which cream or milk you use). Inspiration for this caramel sauce came from this recipe at 101 Cookbooks.
Tip If you’re using heavy cream with this recipe and you boil the caramel sauce to the point of almost burning, you can turn the caramel into caramel candies. Just place drops of caramel on a parchment paper (or a non-stick surface) and as it cools you can shape each drop and then wrap in paper. And there you have it -caramel toffee candies!
Caramel Sauce
This is lactose-free, and diary-free when using coconut or almond milk. It will be a bit thinner when using nut milk or coconut milk, but you can thicken it as much as possible by simmering it for a while longer.Ingredients
- 1 cup of heavy cream or milk (or coconut, almond, goat, or cow milk)
- 1/2 teaspoon of salt (or to taste)
- 1 cup of honey
Preparation
- Pour the cream or milk into a small saucepan and place on a low to medium heat.
- Add the salt to the saucepan and stir to dissolve.
- Bring to a steady simmer, and then add the honey. Stir to dissolve.
- Bring the mixture to a steady, low boil, and stir frequently. It takes about 15 minutes to get to the desired consistency. If you have a candy thermometer, it should read between 225 and 250 degrees F when it’s ready. I usually watch until it starts getting darker and thicker. Keep stirring while it’s boiling.
- The longer you boil it, the less pourable it will be at room temperature. So if you want it to be liquid caramel, don’t boil it as long. If you want firm caramel at room temperature, boil it until it is almost burning, and the color is clearly darker than when you started.
- When ready, turn the heat off and place the bottom of the saucepan in an ice water bath to stop it from boiling. Avoid getting any water in the saucepan. You don’t have to keep it in the bath that long, just long enough that you can still work with it to coat things or pour it into something.
- Once it is cooled, you can serve it, and store in the refrigerator in a sealed container/glass jar.
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Sounds lovely, but it’s not SCD if you start w. heavy cream….You could make the cream into yogurt and then it would be SCD (but taste different). Thanks. Love your blog!
Beautiful!! I bet that would be so delicious over an almond flour cake!
Yes, Ellen. I made note of the SCD condition. I don’t think this recipe would work well with yogurt, but let us know if you try it.
Yes, I saw that. I should have also noted that canned coconut milk is not considered legal on SCD. Again, I really love your blog, but SCD success is often in the details….
Ellen,
Canned coconut milk without additives actually is legal on the SCD. Many have used the Natural Value brand with great success. Here is a link to the Legal/Illegal list: http://www.breakingtheviciouscycle.info/legal/legal_illegal_a-c.htm
Hope you will try it Ellen — makes treats like these much easier : )
Katie
Yum. You can also make coconut milk from unsweetened coconut. I’ve been wanting to attempt making nut milk. If I can perfect it I’ll try making this recipe with it.
Tracee,
Elana Amsterdam has an easy recipe for homemade coconut that’s nice and straightforward. http://www.ElanasPantry.com
Great thinking — I erred on the side of sloth and immediately thought of those two cans of coconut milk in MY pantry, heh heh… ; )
Thanks Katie. Here is my post on various ways to make coconut milk as well: http://www.comfybelly.com/2010/06/coconut-milk.html.
To make almond or coconut milk, you can simply soak the ground almonds or shredded coconut in hot water at a ratio 1 to 2 (1 cup of almond to 2 cups of hot water). It’s actually all over the Internet, and varies in ratio, however the 1:2 ratio yields the richest milk.
Sounds great. I finally graduated to coconut milk.
I’m sooo happy. I can finally take back my carmel apples!!!
I was thinking of canning this. Do you think it is possible?
Looks awesome! How long does it keep in the fridge?
Also, any ideas on how to use it to make caramel popcorn?
Marie – so far my longest run in the fridge has been 4 weeks.
Caramel popcorn – yum. I haven’t tried it (yet), but I think I would combine some caramel sauce with some salted butter (or salt and butter), and lightly coat the freshly popped popcorn. I’ll let you know if we try it.
Marie – forgot to add that I would bake the popcorn on a low temperature in the oven for a while. I looked at this page for hints: http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=420375
Would xylitol or stevia work for a sweetner?
Hi Luana – I’ve only tried honey. I imagine maple syrup would work, but you do need some kind of syrup-like sweetener to get the consistency that you want for the caramel. So I suspect the other sweeteners would not work. Commercial caramel uses corn syrup quite often, to get the right consistency.
im scd and im looking for a good sauce for ice cream and caramel frap what nut milk works best
Elizabeth – I would suggest you use the nut milk that you like because the caramel will have that taste in it.
So I just made this with fresh coconut milk and added two tsp of coconut flour about two minutes before I stopped cooking.
It thickened it up a bit and does not taste gritty at all! Yum!
This is so good! I just made it for a Halloween snack for my husband and I! I haven’t had that taste in ab out 10 years! Thank you, thank you!
Can’t wait to try this with heavy cream for the good saturated fats. We follow Weston Price at our house. SCD diet did nothing for us, but everyone has to do what works. I do like using almond flour for added protein in recipes. My daughter and I love your blog. Thanks so much for the great recipes!!!!
Thanks Michelle. Yes, do what works – good advice!
this looks so good! i have a question can u keep it in a bolw or does it have to be a jar??
This looks so good. I have several bottles of Lyle’s Golden Syrup in my pantry that I haven’t figured out what to do with. I am going to use it for this recipe and see how it turns out. I’m hoping to make a caramel sauce that stays soft even in a cold drink – just like Starbucks. Caramel Macchiato’s are my downfall.
Do you think this would work to make caramel apples? Does it harden enough to stay on the apples? Thanks!
Try this recipe: http://comfybelly.com/2010/10/caramel-apples/
Thank you! I’ll let you know how they turn out
Just made this with almond milk, erythritol, stevia, and salt. I read somewhere else that when making caramel with erythritol it’s better not to stir it once it comes to a boil (erythritol tends to recrystalize all over the place and can harden easily), so that’s what I did. After 15 minutes it was delish! Thanks for the recipe.