Rich and delicious, this brown sugar butter caramel sauce will make you close your eyes with one taste. My homemade caramel is so easy to make, you'll be drizzling over ice cream, cheesecakes, apple pie in no time. With deep brown sugar notes and a butter base this caramel is glorious right off the spoon.
After you've assembled all of your ingredients, this is a one pot method. All of the ingredients go in at the same time and caramel comes out when it's done.
Trust me, after trying this once, it will become your go-to for caramel sauce recipes!
Ingredients - brown sugar butter caramel
- brown sugar
- corn syrup
- heavy cream
- sweetened condensed milk
- butter
- salt
- baking soda
- vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
Equipment- brown sugar butter caramel
- heavy duty, thick bottomed pot (8 quart minimum)
- high heat spatula or wooden spoon
- candy thermometer
- gram scale
- 9" x 13" casserole dish
- airtight container to store finished and cooled caramel
Storage and shelf life
Cooked caramel does not need to be stored in the refrigerator, but a lot of people like to keep it there! It will have a longer shelf life if kept in the fridge. If you keep this brown sugar butter caramel at room temperature in an airtight container, the shelf life is around 6 weeks. However, if you'd like to keep it in the fridge, it will last up to six months - if you can keep it around that long!
My top tips
When cooking sugar, please take extra caution. The final temperature of this caramel is 226F. It will burn you if you lick the spatula before it's cooled down. Sugar also can bubble and pop out of what you are cooking it in. Don't have kids or pets around when cooking if possible.
I like to let this caramel rest overnight. The overnight rest lets it regain it's body and the flavor develops more. You do not need to keep this caramel in the fridge- it's fully cooked! For a longer shelf life, it can be placed in the refrigerator. It will be thicker and more viscous at cooler temperatures and return to it's normal texture once it warms to room temperature.
This caramel is NOT good for making things like caramel apples or caramel squares that will be cut and dipped in chocolate.
Caramel that is cooked to 226F is typically used for:
- ice cream sauce
- coffee syrup
- soaking caramel (cakes/poke cake)
If you love caramel recipes, you should check out my easy salted caramels to make some fantastic, wrapped soft caramels.
Brown Sugar Butter Caramel
Equipment
- large, heavy duty, thick bottomed pot
- gram scale
- high heat spatula or wooden spoon
- 9 x 13 sheet pan or casserole dish
Ingredients
- 620 grams corn syrup
- 330 grams brown sugar
- 155 grams heavy cream
- 265 grams sweetened condensed milk
- 90 grams butter
- 5 grams salt
- 2 grams baking soda
- 2 grams vanilla bean paste can substitute 6 grams of vanilla extract
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients except vanilla in a large, heavy duty, thick bottomed pot.
- Stirring slowly but constantly, cook over medium heat until butter has melted and mixture starts to boil.
- Turn heat to medium high and cook until 226F, stirring the whole time.
- Turn off heat, stir in vanilla.
- Pour on greased casserole dish or sheet pan.
- Cool and seal in an airtight container.
Did you make this recipe? Let me know!