Classic Perfect Peppery Caramel Sauce Make At Home

STEP : 1

1 c of sugar (Just use the normal extra-fine grain sugar you find at the grocery store. Do NOT use powdered or confectioner's sugar as it usually has starch added and this will mess up your candy.)

STEP : 2

Start off by putting the sugar into your saucepan. Ideally, the sugar should come 1/4 - 1/3 up the edge of the pan. There's quite a bit of expansion and boiling when we put the cream in at the end, so there needs to be ample room so your mixture doesn't boil over. Measure out your cream. Here's why I said around 1 cup of cream.

STEP : 3

you don't even need water, but the added heat convection water provides will boil the sugar more evenly in the crucial beginning stages, where recrystallization is most dangerous. At this point, you should also add your choice of inhibiting agents (either the corn syrup, vinegar or cream of tartar). These help to prevent recrystallization and will give you a better chance at a smooth candy or sauce.

STEP : 4

Time to start cooking the sugar! Put the pan over high heat and start it boiling, stirring occasionally until all the sugar is dissolved in the water. Once you see steam rising and the liquid is clear, STOP STIRRING. The syrup is now super saturated with sugar. Any agitation will disrupt it and cause sugar crystals to form, which will result in cloudy candy.

STEP : 5

As your sugar solution passes 300, you'll start to see changes in the color. This is the critical point in the cooking, don't walk away or go watch TV or take a nap at this point. Also, obviously, be careful. This stuff is really, really hot and it sticks to you like napalm.

STEP : 6

Getting darker.Getting closer... (This is probably around 320F) If you were to toss in some nuts at this point, and let it cool, you'd have brittle!

STEP : 7

Getting closer... (This is probably around 320F) If you were to toss in some nuts at this point, and let it cool, you'd have brittle! Fun! Now, you'll be really surprised how fast this changes color. You can really see the change take place right before your eyes.

STEP : 8

The INSTANT you see wisps of smoke or smell a little bit of burning (if you're using a thermometer, this will occur at about 335-340F), take it off the heat and CAREFULLY dump your cream into it all in one motion.

STEP : 9

The cold cream stopped the cooking dead, but putting it over gentle heat will dissolve the caramelized sugar into the cream and all will be smooth. This is also the point where boil over can be a problem. If the mixture starts to boil over, just remove it from the heat for a moment, stir a little bit, then put it back on.

STEP : 10

The Maillard reaction causes proteins (cream) to brown when they come in contact with carbohydrates (sugar) and heat. The same reaction also causes the inverted sugars to react with the protein and create even more new flavors and textures.

STEP : 11

Once your sauce has taken on a smooth texture and a nice brown color, it's been stabilized enough to put in a container and cool in the fridge. It won't be very thick at this point, probably about the consistency of a cream soup, but don't worry, as the sugar cools further, it will thicken nicely.

STEP : 12

Let it cool, and serve it up. I personally like to dip apples in it....mmmmm. 1 cup of sugar and 1 cup of cream should yield almost exactly 1.5 cups of finished caramel sauce.