Easy Caramel
Ok, so this is NOT how I learned how to make caramel in Pastry School. Cooking sugar can be quite tempermental and dangerous, just check out the burns on my hands from splattered hot sugar. Awesome. And no, I’m not posting a picture of that, just use your imagination.
People are usually intimidated at the idea of making a caramel from scratch. I remember as a kid, we always bought the individually wrapped caramels and melted them down to use as the caramel in any dessert we made. I’m sure many of you can relate and have a recipe in your box that calls for them. But today I am offering you a fool-proof caramel recipe that ANYONE can make. No candy thermometer required, just an attentive pair of eyes.
Easy Caramel
- 1/2 cup of butter or coconut oil
- 1/2 cup of honey
- 1/2 cup of milk of choice (coconut, nutmilk, or for the richest flavor use heavy cream or dairy free heavy cream)
- In a heavy bottom saucepan, combine butter and honey. Bring to a boil.
- Continue to cook, stirring frequently until it turns a dark caramel color. You want it to be slightly darker than what you want in the end. Turn off burner.
- Add milk (stand back, it will splatter!) Stir to combine.
- use immediately for a sauce application – to serve with a dessert or on icecream, etc.
- let completely cool to room temperature and it will thicken as it stands- makes a great dip for apples, filling for cakes, etc.
- if you are making a sauce ahead of time and want it to remain that consistency, double the milk or simply re-warm before use.
yeah nice
Michelle, your website is a life-saver. It is full of recipes for things I never thought I’d get to eat again!
Thanks Johnny! With the SCD you’ve gotta get creative and think outside the box :)
Can you use anything else besides honey?
What kind of honey do you use?
This looks delicious, but trying to go entirely dairy free, is there a substitute for the butter? I know you’d lose all that rich buttery caramel goodness, so it might not even be worth it. But here’s to hopin’. :)
Hi Lance,
You might want to give my coconut caramel sauce a try. Made with coconut oil, coconut milk and honey. Recipe can be found
~Michelle
Do you think this would work with stevia instead of honey? I am cooking for a friend who is a diabetic. Maybe I could use a bit of gelatin or something like that for it to be a bit more dense? Please let me know your thoughts
Hi Jimena,
I have never worked with Stevia, so I really have no helpful advice for you. My suggestion would be to search for a caramel that already calls for Stevia in the recipe. If you do try to substitute it, please come back and let us know how it turns out! Thanks!
~Michelle
hey michelle
I was thinking of making some batches of this….where have you been? Hope you are well. I was just wondering what the shelf life on this wld be? or to put in a mason jar in the fridge?
So a very funny story with this….Yesterday I thought to myself I think I’m wanting some carmel and apples around 8ish at night…. well I get to boiling and getting the coconut milk out …im reading this blog on it may splatter so stand back….ok… so i pour in the milk and there is a little fuss so I go ok normal and I stand back for a second …as soon as I go to step up grab the pot and wisk it kabooom the whole show napalms my whole kitchen …all I could muster up to say as I was standing there in shock was help…hahaha I had burns all over my hands it was in the cupboards all over the cieling stove countertops ….it was a gigantic caramel mess and all I could think was to have a pray and go you know what it musta just been time for me to clean my kitchen hahaha any advice would be good but to funny of a story to not share
freakin amazing. Added some sea salt and it was just perfect// put it over a grain free cake and it was heaven in a bowl :)