Making caramel sauce in pan

by Cat, Jan 2008 (photo, right, from Wikimedia Commons)

Includes: 1. Caramel Sauce; 2. Toffee or Butterscotch Sauce; 3. Serving Suggestions; See also: 1. Dessert Sauces (menu); 2. Caramelized Sugar (About): Caramel, Toffee & Butterscotch

Caramel, butterscotch and toffee are all varieties of caramelized sugar, made by heating sugar to melt it and then convert to a caramel product. As the sugar heats (and melts), its individual molecules break down into intermediate products that react with each other to form polymers (chained molecules) with distinct flavors.

When butter or other ingredients like flour or almonds are added, different flavors are produced that we know as caramel, butterscotch and toffee.

Caramelization products:

• Caramel is the result of the sugars caramelizing (reacting with each other) alone, or in the presence of water and heat;
• Butterscotch is the result of brown sugar (molasses and sugar) caramelizing in the presence of butter and heat; and
• Toffee is the result of sugar or molasses caramelizing in the presence of butter, and occasionally with flour or almonds, and heat.

Caramel Sauce

Caramel sauce is the traditional sauce used in making Flan or Crème Caramel.  However, in the case of this dessert, the cream is not added to the melted sugar; rather, it is in the custard.

Generally, Sucanat sugar is a lighter golden color than Rapadura, because the molasses is removed before drying, and then some of it is added back.  If you use the more molassasy Rapadura, you will get butterscotch or toffee.  If you cannot find the lighter colored Sucanat, use Turbinado, which is unbleached white sugar. (Refer to my articles on sugars: Unprocessed & minimally-refined sugars and Processed sugars for more).

If you have trouble with the caramel crystalizing, try adding 1/4 tsp fresh-squeezed lemon juice to the sugar before melting.  The acid in lemon juice will help break the sugar (sucrose) into its two simple sugar parts (glucose and fructose), which will melt more readily (and avoid crystallization).  This advice comes from Cooks Illustrated Magazine: The Best Recipe (3).

Water and lemon juice are listed as optional ingredients:

• Water dissolves the sugar, and helps avoid hot spots in your saucepan, which can scorch your caramel.
• Lemon juice helps the sugar melt and avoid crystallization.  It is slightly acidic and helps break the sugar (sucrose) into its two simple sugar parts (glucose and fructose), which melt more readily

Caramel Sauce Recipe

I present two processes for making this sauce.

• The first, adapted from elise.com (1), which provides photos at each step, is the classical way of making caramel, without water.  It’s a bit tricky because the sugar will more easily scorch in spots.
• The second process adapted from bhg.com (2) involves first dissolving the sugar in water and lemon juice which is later evaporated off.  This helps mediate the tendency to scorch and is the method I prefer.

If you cannot find a light golden colored ‘raw’ sugar, use half Rapadura and half white sugar.  (Rapadura is darker than ‘light golden’ and has more molasses.  If you used all Rapadura, it would be a toffee sauce–see below).

Two Methods:

For both methods, you need the following equipment:

• 2- or 3-quart heavy-bottomed saucepan
• whisk and/or wooden spoon
• mason jar with lid

Without water: Ingredients & Method

• 1 cup Sucanat or Turbinado sugar (light golden color)
• 3 – 6 Tbsp butter
• ½ – 1 ½ cup raw cream or whipping cream*
• 1 -2 tsp vanilla, brandy, bourbon, whiskey, rum or liqueur (optional)

* you can vary the amount of cream and butter depending on taste and how the sauce will be used.  The more cream you add, the softer the sauce.

1. Heat sugar (or sugar and lemon juice) in saucepan.  As sugar begins to melt, stir constantly with a whisk or wooden spoon.  When all sugar crystals have melted, the liquid will be a medium-dark amber color.  Don’t overcook; it will scorch and burn.
2. Immediately add butter; continue to whisk until butter is completely melted.  Be careful; this mixture is very hot, and may foam up (this is why you use a large saucepan).  It may also go from caramel to burnt very quickly.
3. Remove from heat, wait 3 seconds, then whisk in cream.  Mixture will continue to foam up.
4. When sauce is smooth, let sauce cool in pan and then pour into serving bowl, or into mason jar for storage (warm before serving).

With water: Ingredients & Method

• 1 cup Sucanat or Turbinado sugar (light golden color)
• ½ cup filtered water
• ¼ tsp fresh-squeezed lemon juice
• 3 – 6 Tbsp butter
• ½ – 1 ½ cup raw cream or whipping cream*
• 1 -2 tsp vanilla, brandy, bourbon, whiskey, rum or liqueur (optional)

* you can vary the amount of cream and butter depending on taste and how the sauce will be used.  The more cream you add, the softer the sauce.

1. Combine sugar, water and lemon juice in heavy-bottomed saucepan.  Bring to boil over medium heat.  Reduce heat and simmer about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened and bubbly.  During this time, the water will evaporate and the sugar will melt and turn amber.
2. Carefully stir in butter and cream (or you can add butter first and then cream as in first process). Be careful; the liquid is very very hot, and will foam up.  Cook and stir until the butter is melted.  Remove from heat; stir in vanilla or liquor.  Cool completely and re-warm for serving.  Store in mason jar with lid, in refrigerator up to 3 days, or in freezer for a few months.

Butterscotch Sundae

Toffee or Butterscotch Sauce

(Photo of Butterscotch Sundae from Wikimedia Commons)

Some recipes use corn syrup or a mix of brown sugar and corn syrup, but because corn syrup is highly processed and likely GMO, I do not recommend using it.  Similarly, I do not recommend using brown sugar, as it is made by adding molasses to highly processed white sugar, and unless the packaging says “brown cane sugar,” it is made from GMO sugar beets.  Rapadura, which is simply dried sugar cane juice, has never had the molasses removed from the sugar and so contains most of the original nutrients from the cane juice; and because it is Organic, you can be sure it is not GMO.

Highly processed evaporated milk is often cited in many recipes instead of cream; my preference is for good quality fresh cream, pasteurized or not (but definitely not ultra-pasteurized). The cream in this recipe is heated to boiling, so raw cream would essentially be pasteurized by this heating.

One way to make Toffee or Butterscotch Sauce is to follow the recipe above for Caramel Sauce, but substitute Rapadura Sugar; however, it isn’t truly Butterscotch unless the sugars are melted with butter.  So the most authentic option is as follows, adapted from 3  Sticky Toffee Pudding recipes: Food Network (4), Recipezaar.com (5) and Epicurious (6).

This recipe makes about 2 1/4 cups sauce.

Ingredients & Equipment:

• ½ cup butter (1 cube)
• 1 cup Rapadura sugar 1 – 1 ½ cup cream
• 1 -2 tsp vanilla, brandy, bourbon, whiskey, rum or liqueur (optional)
• 2- or 3-quart heavy-bottomed saucepan
• whisk and/or wooden spoon
• mason jar with lid

Method:

1. Melt butter in small heavy saucepan.  Add sugar and stir/whisk until blended, then add cream and stir again.
2. For a soft sauce, cook over low heat, stirring constantly for 2 minutes.  Remove from heat and add vanilla or liquor if desired.
3. For a sauce that will set hard, heat to boiling over moderate heat, stirring constantly.  Boil gently over medium-low heat until thickens, about 8 minutes.
4. Serve warm, or store in mason jar and re-warm for serving.

Serving Suggestions (all sauces)

• Serve warm over fruit, puddings or cake.  Or spoon a bit on a desert saucer and arrange fruit and/or cake on top.  Add a small dollop of fresh whipped cream, if desired.
• To reheat, spoon into top of double boiler and heat over simmering water.

References:

1. elise.com/recipes/archives/001979caramel_sauce.php
2. bhg.com/recipes/recipedetail.jsp?recipeId=R094032
3. The Best Recipe (from Cooks Illustrated magazine); sorry, I did not make note of the issue date.
4. Sticky Toffee Pudding recipe: foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,1977,FOOD_9936_8781,00.html
5. Sticky Toffee Pudding recipe: recipezaar.com/113993
6. Sticky Toffee Pudding recipe: epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/231668