Caramel and I have quite the history. Cue the day I first decided to try making caramel. Because I wanted it for coffee and therefore wanted to keep it lighter on the calorie side, I decided to try a recipe I found online that included two ingredients: sugar and water. It was a dry-method caramel, and seeing as I had never done anything like this before, I ended up with burnt, liquidy caramel sauce – not what I had in mind for stirring into a creamy latte.
Take two, which took place the very same day, was a wet-method caramel, made with sugar, buttermilk, butter, and baking soda. It was pretty tasty, and definitley thick, but after a few hours in the fridge it was spoonable, as in no longer liquid. It would still melt into my hot coffee, or liquefy in the microwave, but I was pretty sure there had to be a better solution out there. That, and I didn’t exactly want to introduce butter into my morning coffee routine.
Finally, I decided to go back to another dry-method caramel. I chose a recipe with simple ingredients and worked from there. Instead of heavy cream (which most caramel recipes actually call for, and which it seems solely I was trying to avoid), I decided to use milk. I also did a lot of reading, trying to get the dry-method caramel down to a science – what works and what doesn’t. Then I practiced, again and again and again. I went from caramel stuck on the bottom of my pan to caramel that I can now practically make with my eyes closed.
I realize that my method of making caramel – with milk – is extremely unconventional, and partially for scientific reasons, being that 2% milk has a lot less fat than heavy cream. In fact, I wonder if some of the culinary greats of the world would read this and scoff at the fact that I’m making caramel sauce with milk. But, in my oh-so-humble opinion, it can work, it’s still deliciously addicting, and when you’re going through it the way we are at my house, it’s necessary.
In fact, I am now some sort of ultra-caramel proponent. I seem to want to stick it in everything, and it’s intoxicating, sweet, rich, deep, and distinguished flavor has me dreaming up all sorts of culinary creations. Say “caramel” right now, and I’m pretty much in. You’ll see. :)
A few basic tips to keep in mind when making caramel, from my experiences:
Make a single batch at a time, not a double and definitely not a triple, unless perhaps you’re very “caramelly adept”. I know this recipe like the back of my hand, but still I’ve learned that I need to stick to a single batch. Two much sugar in a pot becomes hard to melt evenly, and you might end up simultaneously sweating and crying over a pot of semi-clumpy, semi-melted sugar on a hot stove.
Use a heavy-bottomed, TALL pot. If you don’t, you’ll regret it. A thin pan will lead to burnt caramel, and a pan that is too short can lead to a dangerous mess, as the hot caramel steams and bubbles a lot when you add the milk. Even with a tall pan, I recommend wearing an oven mitt on the hand that you’ll use to stir in the milk. You need to keep the stirring going, but the steam can get so hot that this can become close to impossible with a bare hand.
Make sure your pot and spatula are clean and your sugar is pure. Clean conditions help prevent the sugar from crystallizing.
Don’t try to make caramel at the same time as you’re doing something else that’s time sensitive, unless perhaps you’re a very experienced caramel-maker/baker/cook. With caramel, once things get moving, they move quickly.
Don’t stir the heck out of melting sugar. In fact, don’t stir. Just scoop the melted sugar over the sugar that hasn’t melted yet, and hold off on the stirring until all of the sugar has melted.
Don’t burn the caramel. Just cook it until it turns a rusty golden-brown color and then STOP.
Don’t freak out if you start stirring in your milk and you find that a glob of caramel has hardened up, or worse, all of the caramel has frozen mid-bubble onto the bottom of your pot. This has happened to me before, and usually you can get it all to melt again, simply by putting it back on the stove with the milk and stirring. You’ll still end up with delicious caramel sauce.
And last but definitely not least, don’t give up if you fail once, or twice, or three times…. Caramel can be tricky to make, but you’ll get it eventually. And if you succeed on try #1, my hat’s off to you.
P.S. I would recommend reading through the whole recipe before you start, as the caramel-making process is time-sensitive.
A simple and dangerously delicious Caramel Sauce made with only sugar, milk, and sea salt.
Ingredients
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 1/4 cup milk**
- 1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon sea salt***
Instructions
- Place the sugar in a large, tall, heavy-bottomed pot, shaking it so that the sugar is in a thin, even layer. Place the pot over medium-low heat. Set a timer for 8 minutes and let the sugar heat up. During this time, just let the stove do it's work. Check on the sugar once the 8 minutes are up. It should look the same as when you started, because it hasn't gotten hot enough yet to start melting. Set the timer for another 8 minutes, but this time, keep an eye on the sugar. Around the end of this 8 minutes it should start to liquefy.
- Meanwhile, prepare for the next few steps, as they will come quickly. Warm the milk in a microwave-safe container for about a minute, and stir to even out the temperature. Place the warm milk near the stove along with a trivet (where you can quickly place the pot of caramel once ready), and a heat-safe spatula.
- When you start to smell the sugar heating up and it begins to appear light brown and translucent in some spots, it is about to start melting. As soon as you see some liquefied sugar, take your heat-safe spatula and carefully scoop the melted sugar over the unmelted sugar. Continue to do this as more sugar melts; the idea is not to stir the sugar, but just to keep the melted parts from burning while the unmelted parts are allowed to melt. Once all of the sugar has melted, stir gently until it turns a rusty golden-brown color. This should only take a few seconds. If you can't see the color of the caramel well, spoon a drop onto a white plate.
- As soon as the caramel turns the appropriate color, remove it from the stove onto the trivet and quickly stir in half of the warm milk. It's important to keep the caramel moving before and during the process of adding the milk. The milk will make the caramel steam and bubble A LOT, so be careful as you stir. Continue to stir as bubbling subsides, then stir in remaining milk.
- Some of the caramel may have hardened into a glob while you added the milk. If so, or if you want a thicker caramel, return the pot to the stove. Stir constantly over medium-low heat until any hardened caramel has melted again. Also be sure to carefully pry any hardened caramel off of the bottom or sides of the pot as necessary, melting these pieces back in as well. Be patient; it may seem like they aren't going to melt, but from my experience, they always will.
- If you want a thicker caramel, better for drizzling onto baked goods, cook the caramel, stirring constantly, for an additional 10-15 minutes after adding the milk. It will not look very thick while it's hot, but as it cools, it will thicken substantially.
- Once all hardened pieces of caramel have melted again (as needed) and the caramel has cooked longer (as desired), remove the pot from the heat. Whisk in the sea salt. Pour the caramel into a heat-proof container (if using glass, put something metal in it to prevent shattering). Cover and place in the refrigerator, allowing to cool and thicken. Keep the caramel stored in the refrigerator; it will remain pourable.
- Add it to everything!!
Notes
*A thinner caramel sauce will yield about 1-1/4 cups, while a thicker caramel sauce (cooked longer) will yield about 1 cup.
**I use 2% milk, and anything with a higher fat content than that will also work. I've also been told that rice milk works, although I haven't tried this myself.
***For more of a "salted caramel", use 1/2 teaspoon of sea salt.
Basic Recipe Adapted From: The Perfect Scoop
With a tip from The Baking Gallery
Copyright protected by Digiprove © 2012
{ 138 comments… read them below or add one }
Ok, I have to try this because I’ve definitely gone the sugar-water route and gave up after oh, 7 attempts in one day. Needless to say I haven’t tried again but I also want a caramel sauce without heavy cream!
Laura (Tutti Dolci) recently posted..blackberry crumb bars
Oh my gosh; I can’t imagine how miserable that day must have been! You should definitely try this out and let me know how it goes. It’s well-tested, I promise!
Mmmm, gorgeous!
Heidi @ Food Doodles recently posted..Chili Black Bean Burgers
Thanks :) It tastes even better than it looks.
Wow, this is such an amazing post! Thank You :)
Alyssa (Everyday Maven) recently posted..Sweet Onion Panzanella Salad + The Real Cost of Tomatoes
You’re welcome! I hope everyone finds it helpful.
I’ve definitely got to try this! Yum!
Riley recently posted..Roasted Pepper and Goat Cheese Panini
You should! I make this stuff so much now it’s crazy.
Love it. I must try it too. Thanks for sharing.
Ella-Home Cooking Adventure recently posted..Baked Potato Wedges
You’re welcome! I think I’d be selfish to keep it all to myself, although it sure is good enough to warrant that! ;)
So I tried this recipe using rice milk instead of regular. It made the most beautiful flowing caramel ever! I did leave it on for an extra half an hour so it could get thicker and it tasted as if i had used regular milk. I did also try it with regular milk and for some reason the milk curdled. But I’m glad I finally found a caramel recipe with only a few ingredients! Probably the only caramel recipe I will use from now on.
I’m so glad you let me know that rice milk works! I never would have thought about trying that. That’s really neat. :)
As far as your problem with regular milk curdling, did you stir it continuously once you added the milk, as you were cooking it longer? If not, that could have been the problem, especially if the mixture started to boil.
I hope you continue to enjoy the caramel!
When do I add the salt ? I keep reading the recipe n don’t see when to add it. Also how tall of a pot?
Thanks
Right after you remove the caramel from the heat, you whisk in the salt. I checked to make sure it’s in the directions; it’s one little sentence so I can see how it’s easy to miss! I use a big 6 quart pasta pot. Here’s a link if you want to see a visual.
hello :) do i keep the leftovers in the fridge? and how long can i keep it for?
Yes; keep the leftovers in the fridge. I don’t know exactly how long it will last, as it gets consumed in a week or two at my house, but certainly for quite a while.
So I tried and failed twice yesterday with a different recipe. I am in the process with this one and also failing! My caramel was beautiful until I poured the milk in. Now it’s hard as a rock in a pool of milk. Put it back on the heat and hoping it works!
Please let me know how it went after returning to heat. I’ve literally had a ball of solid caramel before that melted back just fine. It’s a matter of keeping it on heat and stirring constantly! Let me know!
Thank you SO much for this recipe! I just made it and it came our perfectly! Sugar can be very temperamental but you nailed it with this recipe. Thank you a TON for sharing! <3
Awesome! I really tried to explain the process as well as possible because it is so temperamental. I’ve found though that it gets much easier after you do it a few times. :) So glad it worked for you!
I am so excited to try this!!! I just made apple cinnamon rolls with my 6 year old today and we decided we wanted something on top of them! So… Wish me luck and thank you for posting a recipe with milk! I was getting worried…
Those rolls sound A-MAZING! I hope the caramel sauce went well for you!
I tried this recipe and my caramel got kind of “chunky”. It’s almost like the milk separated. I will admit that I was in a hurry and didn’t add salt. I made it in a cast iron pot and had to cook it longer than 16 mins to get it heat through and begin melting. Can you tell me where I might have gone wrong?
Well firstly, the salt isn’t mandatory… your caramel can turn out perfectly without it. If you only used 1 cup of sugar (as the recipe calls for), it usually takes around 16 minutes in my experience for the caramel to start melting, but if it hasn’t, just wait until it has to start moving it around with the spatula. Do make sure that the sugar isn’t piled up high, because then the sugar on the bottom will start to melt long before the sugar on top.
I think your caramel may have gotten chunky if you added the milk, put it back on the stove, and then didn’t stir it continuously. It will get too hot and this causes that chunky texture. Make sure that once you add the milk, you stir the caramel constantly until you’re done cooking.
Let me know if you still have any questions. I’m happy to help if I can! I hope you give it another try… this is one of those things that you certainly get better at with practice. :)
Its my first time making caramel and it turned out perfectly! Thanks so much for posting this detailed recipe! :)
I’m so glad to hear that! This is one of those recipes where I tried to just lay it out as best as possible since it is a bit complicated, and then I just have to hold my breath and hope that everyone can be successful with it. Yay for another success!
Help!!! I tried making this and it turned out horribly!! I did exactly what you wrote, well almost. After the second time my 8 min timer went off the sugar turned a tiny bit brown in one spot but it wasn’t melting so I thought that it wasn’t hot enough. I turned up the heat and it started melting immediately. I still had some hard chunks of sugar in the middle once it all melted so I waited for it to melt but it didn’t. The caramel was soo thick too, more like oatmeal than liquid and when I poured the milk in, the caramel became a rock hard layer at the bottom of the pot with the milk floating on top. I poured the milk back in the cup and put the caramel back on the stove to melt it again. It was a deep amber color so I didn’t want to burn it but it was still really thick. The second time I tried pouring the milk in it bubbled up but the caramel was still a big glob at the bottem. I gave up so now I have a hardend piece of caramel candy and a cup full of caramel flavored milk. Please help!!! Thanks.
Well firstly, did you use only one cup of sugar with each attempt? If you tried to double the recipe, that could be the cause of your first problem. Otherwise, I think you probably shouldn’t have turned up the heat the first time. If the caramel hasn’t started to melt by the end of the 16 minutes, it’s okay to let it sit longer. Just make sure that you’re watching it closely, because once it gets brown like you mentioned, it won’t take long for it to start melting.
The next thing I would recommend is that you try to keep stirring the caramel a bit while you move it off the stove and pour the milk in. Make sure the milk is warm, as mentioned in the recipe, and that you pour it in right away after you take the caramel off the heat. The reason for this is that if the caramel sits too long in the pot without liquid, it will continue to cook and harden. Also, if the liquid isn’t warm, it can cause the caramel to seize. Even if the caramel globs, keep the milk in the pot, put it back on the stove, and just stir until the caramel melts back into the milk. In my experience, it always will.
This isn’t the easiest recipe to master but once you get it down, it becomes pretty easy. I know other readers have tried it with success, so I hope you give it another go! Let me know if you have any more questions. :)
Just made this last night and I am pleased with the results for a first attempt. When the recipe says “be patient” while waiting for the hardened caramel to reconstitute, believe it! I was stirring for about 30 min before I got too impatient and decided to just deal with a few small pieces of hardened caramel in my jar. I used lactose free milk and it resulted in a beautiful, creamy caramel. Hopefully my next attempt will be even better! Thanks for persevering and providing a butter-free, cream-free alternative!
I’m so glad it worked for you! It never takes 30 minutes for me, but it might have something to do with the lactose-free milk you used. Either way, if it works, it works! And I bet you’ll get better every time. I’ve gotten to the point where the caramel usually doesn’t even harden once I add the milk, so I can say from experience that practice makes perfect. :)
Tried this and it went so wrong as soon as it come to the milh the caramel went into a hard blob :(
Well I’m sorry that you were having trouble with this, but as I explained in the recipe, the caramel might turn into a big blob just as you described, and the problem can be fixed. You simply need to return it to the stove on medium-low heat with all of the milk in the pot and stir constantly until the blob melts. If you look back at the recipe you should see the detailed instructions on this. Hope you give it another go!
Hello- making caramel to drizzle over yummy Thanksgiving pies! Question: I’m making one batch at a time … But can I store in same container and put in fridge?
Sounds amazing! You can definitely do that. I would encourage you to try the recipe out before crunch-time comes just so that you get the hang of it if you haven’t made it before. It’s one of those things that you get better with after practice! Also, I don’t know how thick you want the caramel to be, but like I mentioned in the recipe, the longer you cook the caramel after adding the milk, the thicker it will get (just make sure you keep stirring). Cream will also make the caramel thicker faster, if you don’t necessarily feel obligated to use milk. You can always go half cream, half milk too.
Thanks for your reply! Three batches … done! It tastes fantastic but unfortunately thinner than I’d hoped. I stirred an extra 15 minutes as well. My question is: can I heat up and add thicker milk or cream at this point, or would that ruin it?
I think you could put it back on the stove, medium-low heat again, and just continue to cook and stir until it thickens more. Another option would be to make one really thick batch and then add the other batches in once cooked. You can make a really thick batch with 1 cup of sugar and 1 cup of heavy cream. Let me know if you have any other questions! I’m happy to help.
The first time making this, it came out heavenly! The second time, my milk curdled the second it hit the caramel (I was using 1% this time. Was that the problem?). The third time, it was perfect, until it cooled completely in the fridge and completely crystallized. What am I doing wrong?! I have a culinary degree, and yet I can’t seem to master this!
When you say the milk curdled, you’re saying that it wasn’t a problem of the caramel seizing, is that correct? I’m really not sure why that would happen. I have experienced the caramel seizing when the milk hits it, but as I explained in the recipe, that’s resolved by continuing to cook the caramel, continuously stirring, until the sugar melts again. I’ve never had the milk curdle, though. Did you remember to warm the milk before adding it to the caramel?
I’ve also never experienced the caramel crystallizing once it’s cooled. That’s really strange to me. The only thing I can come up with is that you may not have have had all of the sugar completely melted in the first place, so once the caramel cooled, it started to recrystallize. Make sure when you’re melting the sugar you “stir” it as little as possible before adding the milk so that it melts smoothly. Were you using pure cane sugar? Also, I know that a bit of cream of tartar, corn syrup, or lemon juice can help prevent caramel from crystallizing, but I’ve never used it when making this recipe.
Making caramel with milk versus cream is more temperamental, but I like doing it this way to skip the added calories of the cream. I hope you don’t give up on it; because I know it works!
Let me know if I can help in any other way. :)
Hi this recipe looks quite easy to do but will I be able to make it thick enough for a banoffee pie? I have seen that you’ve wrote it can be quite thick but I’m wondering if its thick enough for banoffee pie
I’ve actually never had banoffee pie, but if cooked long enough after adding the milk, the caramel will achieve a really thick, spoonable consistency. However, it will still be in a liquid state, meaning that it won’t set completely (unless, perhaps, you cook longer than I did). If you want it to thicken to the point that it will set, the easiest way to do that is to use heavy cream instead of milk, and use equal parts cream and sugar (1 cup of cream, 1 cup of sugar). Within a few minutes of adding the cream the caramel will be really thick, and it will set quickly as it cools, like a soft caramel chew. You could also try doing this with the milk, but I haven’t tested that myself.
thank you for sharing this great recipe. it saved me from having to run to the store for heavy cream.
Zsuzsa recently posted..CARAMEL APPLE LAYER CAKE
I’m glad you liked it :)
This looks exactly like what I’m looking for! One question: above you asked a poster if they were using pure cane sugar. Will that make a difference? Because that is what I generally use. Any help is greatly appreciated. Caramel is the sauce of choice for my daughter and me, and I want to get away from the store bought with all the junk in it.
Pure cane sugar is exactly what you want. Good luck with your caramel-making endeavors! Let me know if you come up with any more questions, because I’m happy to help. :)
Never came back to say that this was great! I think I had to put it back on the stove to get thicker, but it was great. I’m making another batch today. I don’t think I actually made the first batch until February, but it did last just fine in the fridge. I was sort of rationing it! Thanks again.
Thanks for letting me know! I’m so glad you’re enjoying the caramel. It does last pretty well… definitely long enough to be consumed, at least!
Making this right now!! So excited!!
It looks beautiful! Waiting for it to cool, but planning to have it on ice cream tonight and I did 1 small jar for a friend as a gift! Thank you for the great recipe!
So it is just about cooled, looks beautiful, but it is very liquid, what should I do on the next batch to thicken it up a bit?
Cook it longer! Usually you can sense the caramel getting thicker as you cook, but the dramatic thickening happens after it cools. It will probably still thicken up though if you just wait longer; you can stick it in the freezer for a short amount of time if you need it to happen quickly, but normally I would stick to the fridge for cooling. But next time, like I said, just cook it longer after adding the milk. As long as you keep stirring it’s fine to go as long as needed to get the consistency you want.
And in response to your other comments: you’re welcome and I’m really glad it went pretty smoothly for you the first time! It’s not always easy to make that happen. ;)
Thank you sooo much! 2nd batch I cooked too long before adding milk…yuck, but 3rd batch after I received your message turned out perfect! One of the problems I noticed was that my milk was only 1%, so I did 1 cup instead of 1 1/4 and it worked! Thanks for such a great recipe! I love caramel sooo much anyways and this is delicious
Awesome! The lower fat the milk is, the longer it will take to get thick and the harder it will be to make the caramel turn out well (although it sounds like you have it down!). I’ve made really thick caramel that sets for drizzling on things I’ve baked, and to do that I use cream and do equal parts sugar and cream. It gets thick quickly and easily, which is why I do it that way sometimes. So you were wise to use a little less milk; I hadn’t tried that with milk so now I know it works!
Hi – i made 5 attempts this morning, the first one split, 2nd, 4th adn 5th were perfect but the third one i burnt the sugar and it also split.
Any ides why it would split (looks curdled) the one that i didn’t burn still tasted nice but looks terrible!
Also, I used caster sugar (what i had on hand) and it melted within the first 8 minutes.
thanks
In the instances when the caramel
curdled, when did it happen? If it happened when you were cooking it after you added the milk, were you stirring constantly? If you weren’t, that can cause the curdling. If you give me more information I might be able to help more. :)
Hey! I tried your recipe and mine curdled too. I turned off the stove, added half the milk. I stirred it while it was bubbling furiously (maybe not constantly). After I added in the rest of the milk and the bubbling subsided, I noticed it had curdled. I’ve made it using cream and didn’t have a problem. Do you let the sugar cool for a while before adding the milk? Any other ideas of how to prevent curdling? Thanks!
Well, when you add the milk, you pretty much have to stir CONSTANTLY until you’re done cooking. What I do is remove the pot from the stove, stir as I add the half the milk, keep stirring for a couple seconds, and then stir as I add the remaining milk. So I don’t wait at all really between the two additions. Then I put it back on the stove and literally stir constantly until I feel like it’s thickened enough. Otherwise, the heat will quickly make the milk curdle. Does that help?
I made it this morning with 1/2 cream and 1/2 milk (turned out great). I just saw your reply, so I’ll try again using only milk. Thanks for your help!!
Fantastic! And you’re welcome. :)
I just made this sauce and it came out perfect! Thanks so much for sharing this!
Great! I’m so glad you let me know. :) You’re welcome.
My caramel smells and tastes a little burnt. I used plain white table sugar. Was I supposed to use a different kind of sugar? My temperature was correct. My milk also curdled and I did stir constantly but I guess it was because the milk wasn’t hot enough and when it came in contact with something hotter, it curdled. Next time ill try heating up the milk more.
Make sure your sugar is pure cane sugar; that’s your best bet for caramel. If the caramel seems burnt, you just cooked it a little too long before taking it off the heat and adding the milk. Next time, stop right when it turns a reddish-brown color. It helps to use a light colored pan if possible so you can see the caramel better. This is something you’ll be able to gauge better with practice, too. As far as the milk curdling, did you heat it up as much as instructed in the recipe (1 minute)? If so, try adding another 30 seconds. It should be pretty warm by then.
Thanks! I was using a dark colored pot! Ill try a whiter colored pot today!
Wow! I tried a much wider pot and I heated up the milk almost to boiling point. It came out perfect and everyone loved it!! Thanks for a great recipe!! Happy New Years 2013!!!
Perfect! Thanks for letting me know; I love hearing when someone tries a recipe and has success with it. :)
Have a very Happy New Year yourself!
Thanks so much for the recipe and the very thorough explanation! It was very helpful to know what to expect before getting started. It worked like a charm on the very first time.
You’re welcome! I’m so glad it worked well. :)
Thanks for the recipe. I did it yesterday and it worked out perfectly, even though I’ve always lost my battles with caramel before. Thanks!
You’re welcome! That’s fantastic to hear!
I just made this with goats milk as I have a milk allergy. Tuned out perfectly and I finally get caramel in my latte!! Thanks for this recipe.
I’m so glad! Thanks for letting me know that goats milk works too – that’s really interesting and good to know in case someone else with a milk allergy asks. :)
OH MY GOODNESS THIS RECIPE IS AWESOME!! I failed making caramel soooo many times I can’t even tell you! I was also looking for a recipe without the heavy cream and I came across this one..
I read the whole site and followed the instructions closely and BOOM, 30 minutes later I have the most delicious caramel cooling on my counter top!! AND I GOT IT FOR THE FIRST TRY!!!
Thank you so much for this recipe and all the tips that helped me make the best caramel ever!!!
Wow, that’s amazing to hear! You have no idea how much you made my day with that comment. The post is so long because I wanted to make the recipe as detailed as possible; I’m so glad all those details helped you out!
I just made this, and when I re-heated it to melt the hard lumps, it separated! Why? :)
Before you put it back on the stove, did you have mostly a pot of milk with a big hunk of hardened sugar, or was it mostly fluid caramel with just some small pieces of hardened sugar?
If it was almost all nice, fluid caramel and then messed up once you put it on the stove, my next question for you is, did it then become a pot of milk with a hunk of sugar, or did it just get really lumpy, like the milk curdled?
If everything was looking pretty good before you put the caramel back on the heat, my best guess at this point would be that you weren’t stirring it constantly. But if you can get back to me with answers to these questions, I might be able to help you more with a solution! :)
It was mostly mixed before I put it on the stove, and it pretty much curdled. I was stirring constantly like it said to. Isn’t that weird?
Yeah, that is weird… Your stove was on medium-low too? If so, how long did it take you for the caramel to melt in the first place? If it melted faster than about 15-18 minutes, I’m thinking that maybe your stove runs hotter and you need to lower it a bit?
I just did it! Yieii!! And its really good!
Yay! So glad to hear it!
I thought, what could be so difficult in it… until. The sugar cools down too quickly and turns into lumps when adding the milk. Ps. Third try going on
Don’t give up if the sugar hardens when you add the milk! Your caramel isn’t ruined. Just put it back on the stove and stir continuously until all of the sugar melts back in again, and you should have a nice, fluid caramel.
So glad I found this recipe! I’ve been looking for an easy one without cream and this was perfect. I did a batch earlier today and I had the same problem with milk separating though. My sugar also started melting before the first eight minutes so I determined that my burner was way too hot on the medium-low setting. I did a second batch the heat on the lowest setting. It took about 15 minutes longer, but the end result turned out great. A little more time versus burnt sugar was worth it. Gotta love trial and error! Anyways, thanks for posting this. It made my hot apple cider taste just like Starbucks’ Caramel Apple Spice which is exactly what I was looking for.
PinchOfLime recently posted..Roasted Garlic Hummus (and the benefits of eating it)
That’s awesome to hear! I can only imagine how good that Caramel Apple Cider must taste. You do need to play around with the heat level on your stove sometimes since each one is different, so I’m so glad you figured out what works for you. Making this caramel sauce gets super easy with time, trust me!
I’ve made this twice within the last month and both times its been PERFECT! Really simple to make so long as you dont give up when the sugar hardens, just keeps stirring and voila, the most delicious sauce I’ve ever tasted!
The first time I made it i let it cook a little long so it was quite thick, however I stirred it into my morning coffee(caramel latte’s are my fave too). This time I only cooked until the sugar clumps had dissolved as I wanted to pour it onto icecream.
Thankyou soo much for a recipe minus the cream!
You’re welcome! I’m so happy that you’re enjoying the caramel sauce and that you’ve gotten the hang of making it. It gets easier every time you do it; I make this sauce all the time, and it’s incredibly easy to do now. I still need to try it on ice cream myself. Sounds fantastic!
I thought I also ought to add that I made it with skimmed (0.1%) milk and it worked fine :) I usually use skimmed at home and I had forgotten to buy 2%!
Thanks for telling me! Good to know. :)
I have to say thank you, thank you, thank you! I just made this caramel sauce tonight and it is amazing! I can’t believe how great it tastes with just three tiny ingredients. I’ve made caramel sauce before with heavy cream, and I’m so excited to find a healthier version! I do have to mention that my caramel turned into a hardened ball when I added the milk -even with constant stirring- but after 15 minutes (yes, be patient, people!) of more continuous stirring, I was rewarded. The hard caramel bits eventually incorporate into the sauce. I waited til it cooled, and my oh my, is it yummy! Cannot wait to drizzle it over sliced bananas and add a spoonful to my coffee, too!
P.S. Try adding a dash of balsamic vinegar if you’re feeling daring- it definitely adds another dimension!
Ooh, I love the idea of drizzling the sauce over bananas! Sounds incredible! I’m so glad you like the sauce; sometimes caramel with cream has its use, but I find this sauce is awesome
for certain applications. And thanks for the heads up to others about needing to stir after adding the milk. I think sometimes people think there’s no way all that sugar will melt again, but it definitely does! Eventually you might not even have the issue of the sugar hardening in the first place. Somehow the more you make the sauce, the smoother the process becomes.
Hi, I made this today, first time trying to make caramel. It doesn’t seem quite right though and after being in the fridge all afternoon its not pourable anymore.. my hob seems to get hot very quickly as the sugar melted in the first 8 minutes!
Also, I’m making the caramel to go into chocolates.. have you got any tips for how it should be?
Thanks. X
Hi Bex! I’ve never experienced this caramel getting solid at all, so I’m a little surprised you had this issue. Your hob definitely seems to run on the hot side though, so I would suggest turning down the temperature if possible so that the sugar takes longer to melt (closer to 16 minutes). But, assuming you added the milk as soon as your sugar melted and turned the right color, how long did you cook after adding the milk? And was the milk boiling at all while you were cooking the caramel? If you could get back to me hopefully I can give you some more answers and you can make those chocolates perfectly!
I can’t turn my hob down any more.. that was the coolest it goes. But will try again today
I cooked it for around 5 minutes after adding the milk, just to get the lumps to melt again. It did boil, is it not meant to?
Thank you for the quick reply!
Okay, I tried again. I managed to get the heat lower, it took over the 16 minutes to completely melt. All seemed fine, but end result still seems off.. maybe a little grainy? It just doesn’t look like smooth caramel. Any ideas??
The caramel will bubble up when you add the milk, but once you stir it in and put it back on the heat again, you don’t want it to be boiling anymore. If it does, the stove is too hot. With your second attempt, I’m thinking that probably shouldn’t have happened since you lowered the heat, right? Did you stir constantly once the milk was in? One thing I’ve experienced is that if you don’t, the milk quickly gets too hot and curdles a little, giving the caramel a weird texture. Does that help at all?
THANK YOU SO MUCH for this recipe! I never keep condensed milk, half and half or evaporated milk on hand and needed some caramel sauce today. Your recipe saved me and is SO YUMMY! Having it on a spice apple cake right now – heaven! My playgroup moms will be so impressed tomorrow!
Also – Your recipe was soooo wonderfully detailed that I was able to pull it off on the first try. Thanks for the taking the time to be so specific so I didn’t spend my whole night scraping burnt sugar out of a pot!
You’re welcome! That’s so great that the recipe helped you out and your caramel sauce turned out well. :) Thanks for making my day with your comment; it’s nice to hear when someone really appreciates a recipe!
hi from Sardinia!yesterday i had a friend over for coffee and a chat and along with the coffee and some banana bread i served a mini wafer cup filled with my very own first batch of caramel sauce….said friend texted me today first thing in the morning telling me she actually woke up thinking of that blissful flavour and texture….everything went according to plan in preparation, even the caramel lumping in one single ball and the milk bubbling right to the brim of the pan….not to worry, everything went fine anyway….i kept it on the hob for a few more simmering minutes to get the gooey consistency i was looking for to go with my very own delicious vanilla panna cotta….a happy time was had by all!!!!!
That’s great Sara! I’m so happy to hear that you and your friend enjoyed the caramel sauce! I love how creative you were getting with it, serving it with panna cotta and banana bread too? Yum!
I am the type of person who can mess up my kids boxed Mac n cheese so when I found your recipe, I was prepared for failure! :) but I NAILED it and it was soooooo good and surprisingly easy! Thanks!
That’s amazing! Thanks for letting me know Amy. :) I’m so glad you’re enjoying your caramel sauce!
Thank you so much for your post. I was actually trying to make caramel from one of the youtube recipes (with cream, etc) and thought mine had failed (& now what do I do with this failed caramel – usually you don’t have to throw things out – you just have to figure out how you can still use them!). So I googled failed homemade caramel sauce & got your site, and due to your encouragement to not freak out if the caramel’s hardened, I therefore didn’t, kept stirring & sure enough I have a caramel that’ll work for that cheesecake I made for Easter dinner at my brother’s house after all! Yum! I’ll have to read your recipe & try it next time, if it’s just as good using milk instead of cream (I’m not too concerned about the cream – we have raw cream from our raw milk (except I did use store bought this time, as I didn’t think to save the cream for the caramel)).
Anyway, thank you thank you for addressing the “failures” so they need not be failures!
Well, I must say that I never expected to help someone with a different caramel recipe through this post, but I’m so glad I did! Kitchen failures kinda stink, and I’m always one to do a lot of research when I experience one so I can rectify my problem. Great to know that this time I was able to help someone else!
There are a lot of variations on caramel sauce out there and since I don’t know what recipe you were using, it’s hard to say how this recipe would compare, but this caramel sauce made with milk has been a big hit at my house and I’ve heard from a lot of other readers who have tried it and loved it. I would say, give it a try if you’re feeling experimental! (And don’t be worried about a big hunk of hardened caramel in the process). ;)
This recipe is awesome!!!! I’m 15 completely clumsy and managed to make this on the first go!!!
That’s AWESOME! I’m so glad you told me… made my day! :)
Hi – I tried this recipe twice yesterday, and both times they failed. Both times, it was fine dissolving the sugar, but when I took it off the stove to add the milk, I was continuously stirring, as you said, but once I’d added the milk and it had stopped bubbling, I noticed small bits floating on top. I scooped some out and it wasnt hardened sugar, it was soft, probably curdled, milk. The milk was hot when added, so I’m stuck about where I went wrong! I tried just heating it up more afterwards, but the lumps still stayed there. I’m determined to find out because so many people are getting great results!!
Hmm.. Is it possible that you heated the milk too much and it was curdled before you added it to the sugar? Perhaps your microwave runs hot…
I’ve never experienced what you described or heard of anyone experiencing that, so that’s the only thing I can think of. Also make sure you keep stirring once you put it back on the stove.
Mine curdled too :(
Used hot milk but it still split. Definintely curdled, not crystallised sugar. Very bummed, I need a caramel sauce for tonight but don’t have any cream and was avoiding dragging the kids out in the rain, but looks like I’ll have to, cos now I’m out of milk too!
Hi Stacey,
I’m sorry that you had trouble with the caramel sauce! However, I’ve come up with a few things that may explain why your milk curdled. Firstly, are you using regular granulated white cane sugar? That’s what you should use for this recipe, as a different type of sugar could cause a variety of problems. Secondly, if you got the caramel too dark (and therefore too acidic) before adding the milk, this could have caused the milk to curdle. Lastly, if your milk was getting old, it would have been more likely to curdle. Hope these tips help and you give the caramel another try!
I just trief this out it turned out great good to know it works with rice milk too
now dialysis patiants like myself can enjoy can enjoy caramel sauce without worrying about the high phosphous content in heavy cream
That’s great to here! Thanks so much for letting me know about your success with the recipe. I haven’t tried rice milk, but I think it’s awesome that it works here!
this is the ONLY caramel sauce i will ever use. it is downright amazing and EASY. thank you so much for the wonderful recipe!
Wow, thanks so much for the amazing comment! I’m so glad you like the caramel sauce! :)
Tried this three times and followed the instructions to the letter every time (including the troubleshooting suggestions in the comments), but always ended up with a curdled mess. Well done to those of you who can make it work but I’ll just have to stick with tradition.
I’m sorry to hear the caramel didn’t work out for you. I’ve never had the curdled problem myself, so it sort of baffles me when people do. Did you happen to read this from a previous comment I replied to?
“Firstly, are you using regular granulated white cane sugar? That’s what you should use for this recipe, as a different type of sugar could cause a variety of problems. Secondly, if you got the caramel too dark (and therefore too acidic) before adding the milk, this could have caused the milk to curdle. Lastly, if your milk was getting old, it would have been more likely to curdle.”
If so, and if you were stirring constantly when you returned the caramel to the stove, I’m really not sure what else to tell you.
Have never made caramel before so this was my first attempt and so far it’s been a success. Once the sugar was melted, not completely watery but runny (I was afraid to burn it), I took it off the heat and added half of the warm milk and it immediately turned to a rock. I initially started to panic but remembered your suggestion and returned it to the heat. After about 10 minutes it did finally melt but I left it on the heat a bit longer in hopes to thicken it a bit as I plan to use it for dipping apples. It’s in the fridge now in 4oz jars cooling. Will let you know how the end result turns out.
Sounds like you did pretty well, especially for a first attempt! I’m hoping you kept stirring while you had it on the heat… that is CRUCIAL, but if it looked fine going in the fridge, all should be well. I would love to hear if the apple-dipping works out for you. I would think you’d need some pretty thick caramel for that!
By the way, do make sure that when you melt the sugar, you don’t have any sugar crystals still visible. It should all turn to liquid before you have to worry about burning it; I get mine pretty dark rust-y colored since I like to take it all the way to the edge, so don’t be too timid. :) That being said, you’ll definitely get better and less “shy” with practice at this method!
Yes, I did continuously stir the caramel while continuing to heat it after adding the milk. The caramel is a dark walnut color and extremely thick, perfect for dipping apples. I will be making several more batched tomorrow as its for teacher appreciation gifts for my children’s teachers.
Hi I tried this recipe and it mostly worked but there were a few things I had trouble with. After I adde the milk, the caramel hardened and I put it back on the heat and it eventually melted like you said it would, but the finished product was too thick and when I put it into the fridge, it became solid. I warmed it back up and put in more milk to thin it, which worked, but it’s still too hard to pour after being in the fridge. Is it still too thick because when it’s warm it’s the right consistency… And btw thanks for the wonderful recipe
How long did you have it back on the stove after you added the milk? If you kept it on there for a long time, that might have caused it to get really thick. Maybe next time you could try lowering the heat a bit after you add the milk. Also, just check to make sure your proportion of sugar to milk matches the recipe. My caramel is very fluid even after being in the fridge.
Please let me know if you have any more questions! I’m glad you liked the caramel even if you hit that little roadblock, and I’m sure practice will make perfect with this!
Delicious. They do not carry my favorite coffee creamer anymore, Salted Caramel, but this taste exactly like it so I am very happy with this recipe. Thank You.
You’re welcome! I’m so glad the caramel lived up to your expectations!
well after two fails, third time was the charm! it finally turned out, and boy was it yummy! i put it on vanilla ice cream with sea salt on top. delicious!
So glad that you preserved! The combination of caramel sauce, vanilla ice cream, and sea salt sounds TO DIE FOR!
Third attempt in progress! Here’s hoping that third times the charm. I had the first batch on way too high of heat- it started melting after five minutes! I tried to keep going even though it melted early, but I hadn’t heated up my milk yet and the whole thing kind of failed. The second time I had much lower heat, but the milk curdled. :( I think I may have gotten the caramel too dark before adding the milk, and I think I had the heat too high when I put it back on the stove. I was trying to get the hard pieces to re-melt, and I got impatient. I’m hoping this third attempt goes well!
Good luck! Sounds like you’re troubleshooting yourself pretty well. I’ve only had the curdling issue happen to me once (actually just a few days ago) and I was pretty baffled by why/how it happened. I think I either got it too dark or I may have had something in my measuring glass that threw the whole thing off since I has only rinsed it from a previous use. Hope your next batch works out! And by the way, if you only have a few small pieces of hardened sugar left after you add the milk, sometimes you can just let the pot sit (off the stove) and the residual heat will make it melt after a while. :)
Can i use this for caramel popcorn?
I can’t say for sure since I’ve never made caramel corn before… what I can tell you is that the longer you cook the caramel after adding the milk (stirring constantly), the thicker the caramel will be. If you try it out, I would love to hear how it works!
Thanks for the post! I almost always have a hankering for caramel and almost never have cream! Tried this just now with relative success; the end result wasn’t quite as smooth as it could have been (milk got too hot, sugar may have been too dark also), but I poured it over a pan of brownies anyway. Texture shortfalls aside, this is still a huge success to me because 1) I now have a no-cream caramel recipe, and 2) Any attempt in candy without catastrophic results is a pretty huge win! :)
Well I’m glad it went relatively well; for your first time around, that’s pretty good! I guarantee you’ll get better after a few attempts; I make iced caramel lattes every day, so I literally make this sauce ALL the time. It gets much easier with practice. :)
Hi! I didn’t exactly followed your instructions, but I used the same ingredients. Turns out, it worked well! (BTW, it was my first attempt)
thanks for sharing your recipe with us! :)
Well I’m glad it worked for you!! You’re welcome of course :)
I’ve just attempted this recipe, and since I only need a little bit of caramel, I decided to CUT the recipe in half. I did the measurements correctly, and followed the recipe still, but when I added the milk it balled up and left me with LOTSS of milk sitting in the pan. I melted the ball, but it was still milk. So I gave up after that half and tried to do it again, this time, I’d add the caramel-milk mixture instead of plain milk. This time it curdled. -_- I ‘m willing to try it again but after two days of trying to create a perfect caramel to lace in this ice cream I’m making, I’m tired. Any suggestion? I just know next time I’m doing it all at once.
Hi Eliza!
When you say that after you melted the balled-up sugar, you still had milk, what do you mean by that? The caramel sauce is thin unless you cook it longer, so is the fluidity of it what makes you say it was still milk? Or did it look different than what you see in my photos? You can always keep cooking the sauce, stirring constantly, after you add the milk if you want it to be thicker. You can also try scaling down to 1 cup milk while leaving the remaining ingredients as-is. Does this help at all?
I’m so excited to try this & put it in my coffee (among many, many other things)! Where would I be able to find that curved container with the spout that holds the caramel in your photos? It’d be perfect!
Hi Tanja! I got the container at Home Goods I believe, but if you search for “syrup container” on Amazon you can also find it there. :) Enjoy your caramel!!
So, it’s my mom’s birthday and I figured I’d experiment with a dessert I’ve never made before. So I made a baked cheesecake. It looks like it turned out well, but I won’t know for sure until we try it. Here’s hoping!
But the reason I’m telling you this is because I wanted to top it with something and I thought salted caramel would be an awesome idea. But since I’ve never made it before, I had to scour the internet for a good recipe. (And I figured, if I screw up the caramel and the cheesecake turns out horribly, at least I haven’t really wasted a good cheesecake haha. Great logic, huh?)
Anyway, so I found a recipe and it went HORRIBLY MISERABLY wrong! So that went in the trash, but I was determined to make another batch. And I found your recipe, which was made with NO CREAM!!! And I thought, surely this will fail, but let’s try it! And my oh my it was SHEER PERFECTION! It turned out exactly as you’d described (except my sugar started melting in the first 8 minutes and I used soy milk). It was absolutely smooth and velvety, no hardening, no clumping.
I am so excited to try it this evening!! Thank you for an amazing recipe!
Haha I got a kick out of reading your story! I was scanning to the end at first thinking, “Did it work? I need to know!” So suspenseful haha :) I’m so happy if turned out well for you and that’s great that you were able to use soy milk. The sugar will liquefy faster depending on the temperature of your stove; yours might run a bit hotter than mine. Sounds like you did an awesome job though! Your cheesecake sounds amazing!
{ 2 trackbacks }