Easy Caramel Sauce

Tempo

10 min

Picante

Dificuldade

Fácil

Rende

120porções

Ingredientes

½ cup

(100 g) granulated sugar (açúcar refinado)

3 tbsp

butter (manteiga, ponto pomada)

60 ml

(¼ cup) heavy whipping cream (creme de leite fresco)

½ tsp

vanilla extract (essência de baunilha; ideally *extrato* puro)

01**Heat sugar** in a medium saucepan over **medium-high**. (If the pan isn't heavy-bottomed, add 1 tbsp water to help even melting.)
02**Whisk until sugar melts and turns brown.** It will go: white granules → clumped → liquid amber → deeper amber. **5-7 min.** Stop when it's the colour of a copper penny — going past = bitter.
03**Butter.** Add butter; whisk vigorously. It'll bubble dramatically — that's fine.
04**Cream + vanilla.** Off heat, quickly pour in cream + vanilla. It'll bubble up; whisk fast until smooth.
05**Cool** — sauce will thicken as it cools.
06**Storage:** fridge up to 3 weeks in a jar. Microwave 20-30 sec to re-pourable.

The "you don't need a thermometer or safety goggles" version. 4 ingredients, 8 minutes, foolproof.

Heat: 0/5.

Don't stir hot sugar with anything thick. Whisk lightly. Stirring with a spoon brings sugar up the sides where it crystallises.
Watch the colour aggressively — caramel goes from perfect to burnt in 30 seconds. Pull it off heat just before you think it's ready (residual heat keeps cooking).
Salt variant: add ½ tsp flaky sea salt with the cream → salted caramel.
Bourbon variant: add 1 tbsp bourbon with the cream.
Espresso variant: add 1 tsp instant espresso to the cream before pouring in.
Uses: drizzle on ice cream (the no-churn vanilla in Desserts/sorvete_no-churn-vanilla-ice-cream.md); over apples (Apple pie); into coffee; with bananas + brown sugar for bananas foster; on porridge.
Avoid: don't refrigerate in plastic — caramel hardens to a block. Use a glass jar.