Caramel Sauce

Caramel Sauce

Caramel Sauce

We use a lot of caramel sauce in our shops. It goes on our specials and ice cream. It's a silky, sweet concoction that can make most ice creams even more special. Making it is not easy, it takes practise, but its worth it when you see the smiles on peoples faces!
Please take care when making this recipe, especially if there are kids around, because melted sugar is dangerously hot! Use a pan with high sides to avoid splatter! 

Ingredients 

- 200g Sugar
- 45ml (3 table spoons) water
- 150ml milk
- 50ml cream

1. Combine the milk and the cream in a single jug or measuring cup.
2. Pour the water in a medium-sized, high-sided, thick-bottomed saucepan and distribute the sugar evenly over the water.
3. Place over the medium/high heat without stirring, until the sugar has dissolved.
4. If the sugar forms a crust on top, don't start stirring! Place a lid over the saucepan for a few minutes until the sugar is dissolved.
5. Continue cooking until it turns a deep amber colour, stirring it gently if it browns only at the edges.
6. Take off the heat, wait a few seconds, then add the milk and cream in a single quick pour, stirring vigorously with a whisk.
7. Be prepared - the sugar will clump up, but continue stirring until the sauce is smooth.
8. If you have trouble dissolving all of the sugar bits, return it to the heat and keep stirring until it is smooth.
9. Pour caramel into a heat safe container.
10. Serve warm or cold.

Notes:

- You can freeze caramel sauce and thaw it for later use
- Sugar dissolves in water, so add water to the pan and heat it. Pout it our before you start cleaning.
- It should last for three days in the fridge (if you are good at practising restraint)

Tips from the kitchen

- If you don't want to use refined sugar, it is possible to caramelise almost any sugar, including fructose. It tends to curdle milk, however, so the best way to make fructose caramel is to leave away the cream and substitute apple juice for the milk.