Bourbon Caramel Sauce Recipe Recipe - Rachel Cooks® (2024)

FAQs

Why butter in caramel sauce? ›

Some form of dairy — typically butter and/or heavy cream — is usually added to the mixture at either the beginning or the end of cooking. This addition makes the caramel richer, thicker, and lighter in color, lending more viscosity and rounder flavor.

After the caramel cools down, pour it into a glass jar or container. Refrigerate for up to 1 month. The caramel solidifies as it cools, but you can reheat in the microwave or on the stove so it's liquid again.

To thin caramel, just add some cream or water over heat. Melt caramel loaves in the oven. You can also add corn syrup or lemon juice to caramel sauces to prevent them from crystallizing. It's also a good idea to know how to make caramel in the first place!

Reheat low and slow: If your caramel sauce has seized up with the butter/cream additions or still has crystalized sugar at the end of making it, place it on the saucepan on low heat for a good 15-20 minutes. This usually clears up most of my issues and results in a melted, smooth sauce.

If you have added too much butter to your caramel sauce, you may find that it is too oily or it might even begin to separate. To fix this, add 1 tablespoon of either water or milk and stir while cooking over medium heat. Adding 1-2 Tbsp of a simple cornstarch slurry may fix the problem, as well.

Alternatively, you can mix in water with cornstarch or flour to thicken the sauce. If you're using cornstarch, add 1 tablespoon each of water and cornstarch for every cup of caramel sauce.

The water evaporates, leaving sugar crystals behind. If even one sugar crystal falls back into the pan of cooking caramel, it starts a chain reaction of sugar crystals and the entire pan will harden. The result? Gross, grainy caramel that is unusable in most recipes.

Caramel is the correct spelling if you're talking about food or colors. Carmel is a misspelling when used in those contexts, but it is a word that can be used as a name for people or places.

Overheating the mixture. Be very careful as you heat your caramel. Follow the recipe carefully, and never melt your caramel on your stove's highest setting—it will cause the caramel to scorch and taste burnt. Once it gets a burnt or bitter flavor, it can't be saved.

The key to getting it right is to use soft caramels as opposed to hard. You must also add some sort of liquid, such as milk or cream, to prevent the caramels from drying out. Knowing these tricks will help you to melt caramels with ease.

How to harden caramel sauce? ›

As it cools, it will thicken. You will need to store the caramel sauce in the refrigerator, so it will firm up even more once chilled. Just bring it back to room temperature and microwave before drizzling or dipping!

If caramels are too soft, that means the temperature didn't get high enough. Again place the caramel back into a sauce pan with a couple of tablespoons of water and heat to 244°F. If you don't have a candy thermometer, you can test with a cold water test. Details on how to use this method can be found here.

Adding Butter To Tomato Sauce Brings A Balanced Richness

Rather than reach for olive oil to heat up the veggies, swap it with salted butter. Sautéing the veggies in butter will help infuse the dairy product's rich flavor into the rest of the sauce.

The main ingredient in caramel is sugar. However, depending on the recipe you use, you may have to incorporate butter, heavy cream, water, or corn syrup as additional ingredients. High-quality, real caramel is always made with three basic ingredients and those are sugar, heavy cream, and butter.

If the two elements melt unevenly it can result in separation. If you have good stovetop burners, we recommend turning them to medium-low to allow the butter and sugar to melt gently in the beginning stages. If the heat is too high, but butter might melt too quickly and can separate from the sugar.

Monter au Beurre is a French term used to describe the process of adding or whisking in whole, cold butter into a sauce or puree at the end of the cooking process. This process, which is usually done off the heat, adds shine, flavor and richness.