The Details
It is my personal opinion that every home baker should have a solid salted caramel recipe in their wheelhouse. This Salted Vanilla Bean Caramel is mine, and I love it for topping ice cream, smoothing in between cake layers, drizzling over brownies….well, for everything, really. I occasionally eat it by the spoonful. Yep, I admitted it. It’s just that good.
A really good caramel
A few things differentiate this caramel from others out there–
- It never gets hard. It does thicken with cooling but maintains its pliability and spread-ability. So you don’t have to dread that moment when your caramel cools too much and becomes a rock hard Werther’s.
- It is perfectly salted and has a nice sweet vanilla flavor thanks to vanilla bean paste.
- It does not burn as quickly as some others. Of course, ALWAYS watch your sugar’s color as you are making this. It is possible to screw it up. But having burnt a few caramels in my day, let me tell you this one is slightly more forgiving.
- Lastly, make sure you gently warm the heavy cream mixed with vanilla bean paste (30 secs-1 min in microwave) before beginning to make the caramel. This helps it incorporate quickly into the sugar mixture, and reduces bubbling/splashing of hot sugar which is a very good thing.
Make this, keep a jar in the fridge, and you won’t be mad about it I promise! It is particularly delicious with my Gooey Browned Butter Blondies. I hope you love it!
Here’s a preview of what you will see while you make your salted vanilla bean caramel. It’s really this easy! You’ve got this.
Bake to this music
Salted Vanilla Bean Caramel
This Salted Vanilla Bean Caramel is the only caramel recipe you will ever need to make–it’s creamy, simple, and elevates just about everything it’s drizzled on.
- Yield: 1 1/2 cups 1x
Ingredients
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup water
- 1 tsp corn syrup
- 1/2 tsp vanilla bean paste (or seeds scraped from 1 vanilla bean)
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 4 tbsp unsalted butter, cubed
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
Instructions
- Gently warm heavy cream and vanilla bean paste, mixed together. Set aside.
- Combine granulated sugar, corn syrup, and water in a large metal saucepan. Heat on medium and whisk until the sugar melts into the water and the mixture begins to boil. Stop mixing now!
- Resist the urge to mix boiling sugar and water. Now we watch and wait.
- Once the mixture begins to turn amber, slowly whisk in warmed heavy cream + vanilla bean mixture. The sugar mixture will bubble up. Continue whisking until thick and homogenous. Turn off heat.
- Add butter and whisk until butter is melted and combined. Add sea salt and mix until salt is melted into the caramel.
- Transfer caramel to a heat-proof glass container and allow to cool for at least 10 minutes.
- Serve warm immediately, or store in the fridge and heat for 30 seconds in the microwave before storing. Caramel keeps for up to one month in the fridge.
Notes
- Corn syrup can be omitted if desired. The purpose of corn syrup is to inhibit crystallization and reduce the likelihood that your caramel takes on a grainy texture. If you stop mixing before the sugar/water mixture heats, you shouldn’t have much crystallization even without corn syrup.
- Category: desserts, sauce
Keywords: caramel, salted caramel, sauce