Caramel Sauce: Make With Caution

    As promised, here is my first food post! Something I have realized recently is I am a chef, not a photographer. Anyways, I have always wanted to make caramel sauce from scratch. A couple weeks ago I decided to go for it. I found a recipe, gathered my ingredients, and set off to create. Little did I know I was creating almost more problems than a jar of caramel sauce is worth.

First, put your sugar in a medium pot on the stove top and turn the heat to medium.

Stir often and wait for the sugar to melt. It feels like forever waiting for it, but it will melt, I promise!

While your sugar is melting, go ahead and measure out your butter and cream.
This way you're all ready for the next stage.

Your sugar is almost ready! You want it to be completely melted and reach 350*F.

Warning: be careful where you put your camera while cooking, you never know who might find it
Once your sugar reaches 350*F, dump all of the butter in. Be careful, it will bubble up.
Next, add the cream carefully. This will also bubble up.
Finally, add the salt in and it's done! Pour into a glass jar and allow to sit.
Eat on pretty much anything and enjoy! 

 Salted Caramel Sauce

2 cups granulated sugar
12 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature, cut into pieces
1 cup heavy cream, at room temperature
1 tablespoon fleur de sel (or any other flaky sea salt)

  1. Add the sugar in an even layer over the bottom of a heavy saucepan, with a capacity of at least 2 or 3 quarts. Heat the sugar over medium-high heat, whisking it as it begins to melt. Stop whisking once all of the sugar has melted, and swirl the pan occasionally while the sugar cooks
  2. Continue cooking until the sugar has reached a deep amber color. This is the point where caramel can go from perfect to burnt in a matter of seconds, so keep a close eye. If you are using an instant-read thermometer, cook the sugar until it reaches 350 degrees F.
  3. As soon as the caramel reaches 350 degrees, add the butter all at once. Be careful, as the caramel will bubble up when the butter is added. Whisk the butter into the caramel until it is completely melted
  4.  Remove the pan from the heat and slowly pour the cream into the caramel. Again, be careful because the mixture will once again bubble up ferociously
  5. Add the fleur de sel and whisk to incorporate
  6.  Set the sauce aside to cool for 10 to 15 minutes and then pour into your favorite glass jar and let cool to room temperature. You can refrigerate the sauce for up to 2 weeks. You'll want to warm the sauce up before using.
Here is the blog I found the recipe on http://www.browneyedbaker.com/. 

 Disclaimer: Cooking is dangerous. Never leave utensils in pots while looking at the recipe. After adding the butter, I reached over to scroll down the recipe, leaving the whisk in the pot. The whisk flipped out of the pot and landed boiling caramel on my forearm. After cold water and an ice pack, I went to the urgent care center for 2nd degree burns. I apologize for the gruesome picture, but I thought it helped prove my point.

Moral of this post: Caramel sauce is awesome. Arms are awesome. Caramel sauce and arms together are not awesome.
~Rachel

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