Salted Caramel Sauce
This rich, satiny smooth Salted Caramel Sauce is easy to make as long as you pay close attention to how the sugar syrup colors and turns into caramel as it boils. This is not the time to multitask!
Make Some for You & As A Gift
Also, we recommend that you use a stainless steel pot, as the light color of the pot will allow you to see the developing color of the caramel.
As with many sweet treats this is best served in small portions, not only to stay within the low-FODMAP designation but also because it is so rich.
We like it best on lactose-free ice cream but you will think of other uses as well (please see Chocolate Pancakes).
This is a great sauce to make as a gift during the holidays – or anytime! It’s a great host/hostess item when visiting friends, whether they are FODMAPers or not.
Salted Caramel Sauce
Our Salted Caramel Sauce is low FODMAP in small portions. It is rich and has that awesome sweet/salty flavor with a rich, sticky texture.
Low FODMAP Serving Size Info: Makes about 2 cups (480 ml); serving size 2 tablespoons
Ingredients:
- 2 cups (396 g) sugar
- 1/2 cup (120 ml) water
- 1 cup (240 ml) heavy cream, warmed or at least at room temperature
- 4 tablespoons (57 g) unsalted butter, at room temperature, cut into pieces
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt or fleur de sel
- Large flake salt, such as Maldon or more fleur de sel, optional
Preparation:
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Place the sugar and water in a deep 4-quart (3.8 L) heavy pot, preferably stainless steel. Stir to combine the sugar and water and cook over a medium-high heat, without stirring, until the sugar syrup begins to take on a golden color, anywhere from 5 to 10 minutes depending on the heat conductivity of your pot. Wash down the sides of the pot once or twice with a damp pastry brush if necessary if sugar crystals are clinging but it is very important that you leave the boiling sugar syrup undisturbed or the sauce will crystallize.
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When the syrup take on a medium amber color, watch very closely as the color will darken very quickly. Don’t walk away! Within the next minute or two the caramel will turn a very rich amber color, almost a mahogany brown. Immediately remove from the heat and quickly but slowly pour in the cream. The mixture will most likely bubble up furiously; the deep pot will protect you from over-flow. Just let the bubbling subside a bit and whisk until smooth. Whisk in the butter and ½ teaspoon kosher salt until the residual heat melts the butter and your sauce is smooth.
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Cool to room temperature. Refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 1 month. Re-heat sauce in the top of a double boiler or in the microwave before using. Pour over lactose-free ice cream, use as a dip for fruit or drizzle over gluten-free cake - or pancakes! Sprinkle additional large flake salt on top of sauce if you like that sweet and salty thing.
Notes:
Tips
- The most important tip when making caramel is to WATCH IT! Once color of the sugar syrup begins to darken, it does so quite quickly. Also, as noted, a dark pot will make it much harder for you to see the color of the caramel as it cooks, so a stainless steel pot is highly recommended.
Nutrition
All nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered estimates. Actual nutritional content will vary with brands used, measuring methods, portion sizes and more. For a more detailed explanation, please read our article Understanding The Nutrition Panel Within Our Recipes.
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What about the lactose in the heavy cream?? That’s not low Fodmap.
Hi Cathy, many food items are given a low FODMAP Green Light by Monash that actually contain some level of FODMAPs. It is a “low” designation. Not a “no” designation. The diet is about monitoring and working with lowering and adjusting your FODMAP intake. Foods like ketchup and Worcestershire, for instance, contain forms of garlic, and yet are Green Light at certain portions. Even hard cheeses, which are low FODMAP, are simply that. They are “low” enough in lactose, not lactose “free”. They are low enough to work with this diet. It comes down to serving sizes, as it does with this recipe. Whipped cream made from heavy cream is given the Green Light by Monash in actually what is a generous amount – 1/2 cup (60 g). If you look up heavy cream itself, it is Red Light at 1/2 cup (128 g), another large amount. Heavy cream doubles in volume when whipped, which means that 1/4 cup (30 g) would be low enough in FODMAPs. You will note that our serving size here for the sauce is 2 tablespoons, and that volume contains sugar and water as well, which means it is well within the low FODMAP amount. I hope this answers your question! We know it is confusing and we are here to help make it easier and more understandable – and create recipes that you will enjoy. Of course, this sauce would be a special treat – to be enjoyed in moderation. But we bet you will enjoy it!
Can you really cook on med high for that long without burning it? Seems when I make pralines (similar ingredients) I need to continually stir or will burn.
The stove in the Test Kitchen is not a commercial stove with higher BTUs, however, it is a high-end stove with BTUs on the high-er end. My Medium-high might actually be even higher than yours BUT and this is the big BUT, I use very high grade equipment and the pots are heavy and usually either triple – ply stainless with aluminum cores or anodized aluminum. A thin pot absolutely would allow burning in either this recipe or a praline recipe. Equipment truly makes a difference and can be the difference between a dish working and not working – which I find fascinating. So often people blame themselves or the recipe and sometimes it is the equipment!
Hi DeDe! I wish I could put the accent marks in your first name! Anyway, I was looking for more sauce recipes, for savory foods, like chicken and fish, mainly, I love sauces! But i came across this and I have not made caramel in forever! Why? Because it is super hard to resist! Does this caramel stay soft? I can see it on popcorn,… even though i have a soft caramel for caramel corn recipe. I will get back to sauce searches. Have a great day! Nancy
Hi Nancy, you made me giggle at your sauce enthusiasm! This caramel firms up but doesn’t truly harden. If you want to make a caramel popcorn check this Gingerbread Crunch Caramel Popcorn. It will blow your mind:) In a good way…
Can you use a lactose free heavy cream?
Absolutely! It acts the same.