Tuesday, June 2, 2009

Caramel Sauce

Ingredients:
- 1 cup Sugar
- Water (enough to dissolve the sugar)
- 1 cup Heavy Cream (less or more depending on your desired creaminess)

Directions:
- Prepare an ice bath on the side, in case you need it to regulate the temperature of the caramel
- Put 1 cup of sugar in a saucepan. Make sure the sauce pan is clean on the sides. This is so, you don’t get any crystallized caramel particles. Add enough water to dissolve the sugar.
- Cook over low heat until the sugar dissolves without stirring.
- Increase the head and bring to a boil, again without stirring much (so the sides of the pot stay clean). Stir only as needed.
- Boil until the sugar turns almost a chestnut color. Darker colors will give you a stronger caramel flavor. Remove the caramel from the stove right before the color you want. I like a rich caramel color. So, right before that stage, remove from the stove (chestnut color), as the caramel will continue to cook. If the caramel is not dark enough upon sitting, you can go back on the stove. Be sure to watch the mixture very carefully at the end because it can go from caramel to burnt sugar very fast.
- As soon as the caramel is your desired color, slowly add heavy cream to the pot while whisking. The caramel will start to fizzle violently and rise, but don’t worry...it will not explode. It will also solidify, but will go down to a smooth sauce while you whisk. Add enough heavy cream to your desired texture and taste. You can place it back on the stove at this point on a low simmer.
- Let cool at room temperature for a couple hours.