I am a salty sweet kind of girl, I love chocolate with pretzels and salty peanuts on my ice cream. So it isn’t a big surprise I’m in love with salted caramel! I like the sauce to be just drizzled over ice cream, or a piece of chocolate cake, or over cheesecake. I like it in cookies, or yummy fall coffee drinks, or in frosting on cupcakes. Yes, I love the combination so much I just had to learn to make salted caramel sauce and then used it in my cream cheese butter cream icing! I took some chocolate cupcakes with salted caramel icing to a pot luck and they were a hit 🙂 I even got the sweet compliment of being called the “cupcake queen.”
Salted Caramel Sauce Ingredients:
1 cup sugar
6 Tablespoons butter
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon flaky sea salt like Fleur de Sel
Put the sugar in a thick bottomed pot.
Before heating gather your other ingredients to have close by because caramel sauce is a time sensitive project. A few seconds too long to get an ingredient and it burns! You will need a candy thermometer also. The picture shows 1 1/2 teaspoons salt but I’ve tweaked the recipe since the picture and 1 teaspoon tastes better.
Now turn on your burner to medium heat, maybe just a tad bit warmer. Stir while heating with a whisk.
The sugar will become lumpy, keep whisking so all the sugar melts evenly.
When the sugar is melted use your candy thermometer to gauge the temp of the melted sugar. It needs to reach 325 degrees. Make sure the tip isn’t touching the bottom of the pot though.
As soon as it reaches 325 pull the pot off immediately and add the butter. It will boil up quickly, just keep whisking.
Next add the heavy cream and salt and keep whisking until well incorporated. The cream might bubble up as well.
Let cool and then chill in the refrigerator. It will become much thicker when cold.
I put mine in a pretty bottle, it would make a nice gift for a salty sweet lover in your life <;;3
Salted Caramel Buttercream Icing ingredients:
8 ounces cream cheese
2 sticks of butter
1/3 cup salted caramel sauce
6-7 cups powdered sugar depending on the stiffness you prefer
Let the cream cheese and butter come to room temp and then beat it together with the salted caramel sauce. I did this with the whisk attachment on my stand mixer. Slowly add the powdered sugar until it reaches the stiffness you want for your frosting. Chill for at least an hour in the refrigerator. Then use on a cake or cupcakes! I used it on chocolate cupcakes and then drizzled them with my salted caramel sauce.
Talk about a little taste of amazing! Thanks for stopping by 🙂
Johanna
My Crazy Blessed Life! 
Have you tried making caramel with condensed milk? If so, what did you think of it? If not…. One, unopened can of condensed milk, put in crock pot , cover with water, use lid, cook on low for 8 hrs. (I did it overnight), place in refrigerator until completely cooled. Voila, you’ve got caramel! I use it to drizzle over cupcakes, ice cream, and brownies…. I think it tastes great and wow it’s easy.
No I haven’t. I’ve heard of it and will have to try it 🙂 thanks!
Johanna ~
Just attempted your recipe~ after two failed attempts the third was okay but the color of the melted sugar gets dark while I’m waiting for the candy thermometer to reach 325. Any suggestions? I have a electric stove and had the setting on 6.
Thanks, Kelly
I definitely be trying this again!