Browned Butter Salted Caramel Sauce has a rich flavor, unlike any caramel sauce you have tried before. Great when drizzled on ice cream, apples, and pie.
Ever come across something that you then can’t live without? For me, it’s this Browned Butter Salted Caramel Sauce. It unlike any other caramel sauce out there. It has swept me off my feet.
I never was a caramel kind of girl. Then salted caramel became a thing and sort of sucked me in. I found myself craving it more and more. I couldn’t get enough.
Browned Butter Caramel Sauce
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Then someone suggested I try making a browned butter salted caramel sauce. That little devil knew I would fall in love – hard for this stuff. Man it is good. Rich, deep flavor that is so insanely creamy. I just swoon.
Here are some commonly asked questions
How long does it take to brown butter?
This is not a recipe that will be done quickly. You don’t want to scorch your butter or sugar. Just be patient. It is very easy to go from brown to burnt. That won’t taste great.
Just let the butter melt and then watch closely as small brown specks begin to form in the foam. It will also start to have an aroma of nuts. At that time you can remove it from the heat. This can take several minutes, but it is well worth it.
How long does it take to make this caramel?
Actual cooking time is about 15 minutes for this. Again, be patient. You don’t want to rush a good thing.
Depending on your stove, this can vary a bit. It will take time for the sugar crystals to melt down. Just keep a close eye on it so it doesn’t get out of hand. You need to be able to add the other ingredients at the appropriate time.
If you have a high-output range you will want to make this recipe on your lowest BTU burner so it doesn’t cook too quickly causing your moisture to evaporate faster.
HOW DO YOU MAKE Browned Butter Salted Caramel Sauce
- Prepare the pan: Use a high-sided, heavy-bottomed saucepan, preferably stainless steel or another light-colored pan so you can easily monitor the color of the butter and caramel.
- Brown the butter: Melt the butter over medium-low heat, whisking or swirling the pan occasionally. Once the milk solids turn golden brown and the butter smells nutty, immediately remove from the heat. Pour into a small bowl to cool, then wash and dry the saucepan.
- Melt the sugar: Add the sugar to the clean saucepan and cook over medium-low heat, stirring often with a rubber spatula. The sugar will become clumpy before melting into a smooth amber liquid. Continue stirring until all the sugar has completely melted.
- Add the browned butter: Slowly pour the browned butter into the melted sugar, whisking constantly until combined.
- Add the cream: Remove the pan from the heat and slowly whisk in the heavy cream. The mixture will bubble vigorously—keep whisking until it becomes smooth and glossy.
- Finish the caramel: Return the pan to low heat and simmer for 1–3 minutes, whisking occasionally. The caramel will continue to thicken as it cools.
- Add the salt and vanilla: Let the caramel cool slightly, then stir in the salt and vanilla.
- Serve or store: Use immediately, or cool completely and store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 2–4 weeks.
Browned Butter Caramel Ingredients
- granulated sugar
- butter
- heavy cream
- coarse salt
- vanilla
Look at that gorgeous amber color! Delish!
Best Browned Butter Salted Caramel Sauce recipe
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Browned Butter Salted Caramel Sauce
Ingredients
- 6 tablespoons butter
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon coarse salt
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
Prep
- Grab a high-sided, heavy-bottomed saucepan for this recipe. A stainless steel or other light-colored pan works best because it's much easier to see the butter and caramel change color as they cook.
Brown the Butter
- Add the butter to your saucepan and heat it over medium-low heat.
- As it melts, it will foam up, that's completely normal. Keep whisking or gently swirling the pan every so often to help it cook evenly.
- After a few minutes, you'll notice little brown specks forming on the bottom of the pan. These are the milk solids. Once they're a beautiful golden brown (not dark brown or black) and the butter smells rich and nutty, remove the pan from the heat right away.
- Pour the browned butter into a small bowl to cool, then wash and thoroughly dry the saucepan before moving on.
Melt the Sugar
- Add the sugar to the clean saucepan and cook it over medium-low heat, stirring often with a rubber spatula.
- At first, the sugar will begin melting into a pale, syrupy liquid and may look a little clumpy. Don't worry, that's exactly what you want! Keep stirring and gently breaking up any larger clumps as they form. Gradually, the sugar will melt into a smooth, amber-colored liquid.
- Before moving on, make sure every last sugar clump has completely melted.
Make the Caramel Sauce
- Slowly pour the cooled browned butter into the melted sugar, whisking constantly as you pour.
- Turn off the heat and remove the pan from the burner. Gradually add the heavy cream while whisking continuously.
- The mixture will bubble and foam up quite a bit, but don't panic! Just keep whisking, and it will settle into a smooth, glossy caramel sauce.
- Return the pan to low heat and let the caramel gently simmer for 1–3 minutes, whisking occasionally.
- Keep in mind that the caramel will continue to thicken as it cools, so if it seems a little thin now, give it a little time.
- Once it's cooled slightly, stir in salt and vanilla.
Serve
- Enjoy your caramel right away, or let it cool completely and store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 2–4 weeks.
Nutrition
Nutritional information for the recipe is provided as a courtesy and is approximate. Please double-check with your own dietary calculator for the best accuracy. We at Yummi Haus cannot guarantee the accuracy of the nutritional information given for any recipe on this site.
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Do you brown the butter first then add it
Or add the butter to the sugar and watch it brown with the sugar ?
It browns with the sugar
This is definitely going on my must make list.
Do you know an approximate weight of 6 tbls of butter? I can never figure out how to measure it.
How many % should be the heavy cream?
Have you tried googling it? I found this https://www.errenskitchen.com/cooking-conversions/butter-measurement-weight-conversions/
OMG, this caramel sauce looks addicting!
I normally do not leave negative comments but this is a very poorly written recipe. The directions are not very clear on how long to cook the sugar or when to add the butter. How long to cook after you add the butter. I had to search other Carmel recipes to get it right.
There’s not much to it – I think you are overthinking it. The directions state ” 1. heat until it is melted, bubbly and rich in color. (this tells you how long to cook it) 2. Add butter. Whisk well.” Since everyone has a different type of stove it wouldn’t make sense to add an actual amount of time. For me, cooking on a professional range – the time could be only a couple of minutes, vs a standard residential range would take far longer. It doesn’t say anything about continuing to cook after the butter is added because that isn’t necessary or called for. You add the butter and whisk it in well. Then move on to the next step. Following another method from other recipes you found will result in a different end result.