Mmmmm mmmm mmmm. Is there anything better than homemade caramel? Okay, maybe there are a few things. But not many. It's so smooth and buttery and.... well, caramel-y. Cooking it makes the house smell amazing. I really only see 2 downsides- 1: It's hard to stop eating it and 2: It's painfully disappointing to have store bought caramel ever again.
It keeps in the refrigerator for months. So if you're worried about eating it all "in time", don't. We've never had to throw any out. We store ours in old glass peanut butter jars, which work great. They aren't airtight, but they have a good seal.
This caramel is great for ice cream (obviously ;)), brownies, ice cream with brownies, Air Fryer Cinnamon Rolls, Churro Chips, french toast, pancakes, basically anything you'd eat with ice cream. Cookies, bars, etc. One of my favorite desserts in the world is oatmeal toffee bars with vanilla ice cream and this caramel topping.
Need another dip idea? Try our Cookie Dough Dip with Greek Yogurt!
Let's Make Homemade Caramel Topping!
Okay, so it's actually pretty easy. Put evaporated milk, brown sugar, butter corn syrup and salt in a sauce pan over medium heat (if you have an induction stovetop, medium low heat should work!). Stir and bring to a boil. Boil for 15-20 minutes, stirring constantly. The sauce will thicken a little as it cooks, and will thicken a lot as it cools. For a runnier sauce, cook for 15 minutes, for a thicker sauce cook 20 minutes. I usually end up at about 17-18 minutes. If you use a candy thermometer, 220-230 degrees is the range you want to be in, depending on desired consistency.
Remove the caramel from heat and give it a minute or two to cool down, then stir in the vanilla. It's likely the caramel will look a little curdled and separated. The last step is to let is cool for about 5 or 10 minutes, then stick it in a blender and blend for 10-20 seconds until smooth. The blender makes it nice and smooth (and don't worry, it won't separate again) and perfect.
Serve with your favorite dessert!
Homemade Caramel Topping
Ingredients
- 1 12 ounce can evaporated milk
- 1 ½ cups brown sugar
- ½ cup butter
- ½ cup corn syrup
- ¼ teaspoon salt if you like it a little savory, otherwise ⅛ teaspoon will do!
- 1 ¼ teaspoons vanilla
Instructions
- Put evaporated milk, brown sugar, butter corn syrup and salt in a sauce pan over medium heat (if you have an induction stovetop, medium low heat should work!).
- Stir and bring to a boil.
- Boil for 15-20 minutes, stirring constantly. The sauce will thicken a little as it cooks, and will thicken a lot as it cools.
- For a runnier sauce, cook for 15 minutes, for a thicker sauce cook 20 minutes. I usually end up at about 17-18 minutes. If you use a candy thermometer, 220-230 degrees is the range you want to be in, depending on desired consistency.
- Remove the caramel from heat and give it a minute or two to cool down, then stir in the vanilla.
- It's likely the caramel will look a little curdled and separated. The last step is to let is cool for about 5 or 10 minutes, then stick it in a blender and blend for 10-20 seconds until smooth. The blender makes it nice and smooth (and don't worry, it won't separate again) and perfect.
- Enjoy!
JC
Wow!!! This caramel is perfect. Excited to make again
Asia
What is a cube of butter? A stick/ half cup?
Andrea
Yes, 1 cube of butter is equal to 1/2 cup butter.