Salted Maple Caramel Sauce (easy recipe!) (2024)

Salted Maple Caramel Sauce is the discovery of the season at our house. With only 4 ingredients and no cane sugar or corn syrup this luxurious dessert sauce comes together in just 10 minutes. Oh joy! (What will you do with yours?)

Salted Maple Caramel Sauce (easy recipe!) (1)

This silky homemade salted maple caramel sauce is the ‘it’ recipe of the season ~

you’re going to love dreaming up ways to use it. It’s an all natural version of caramel sauce that brings the complex flavor of maple to the table. I guarantee your first batch will be gobbled up with everybody demanding a taste test! It’s super easy to make, so let’s gather our ingredients and get right to it.

According to Wikipedia: The process of caramelization consists of heating sugar slowly to around 170°C (338°F). As the sugar heats, the molecules break down and re-form into compounds with a characteristic color and flavor.

For this caramel, I’m substituting pure maple syrup for the sugar, with amazing results!

Salted Maple Caramel Sauce (easy recipe!) (2)

What you’ll need to make salted maple caramel sauce

To make a dairy free vegan caramel sauce

  • omit the butter and cream, and use full fat coconut milk instead.

Salted Maple Caramel Sauce (easy recipe!) (3)

This sauce is made like any other caramel sauce with a couple of important differences…it’s made with pure maple syrup, and it doesn’t contain any sugar or corn syrup. The result is a smooth silky caramel sauce that has the lovely flavor of caramelized maple.

How to use salted maple caramel sauce (other than polishing it off with a spoon 😉

  • Drizzle it over ice cream. If you heat your sauce briefly first you’ll have the best hot caramel sundae ever.
  • Enjoy it over oatmeal or in morning yogurt.
  • Add some to your coffee to make your own unique salted maple caramel latte (move over Starbucks.)
  • Enrich a decadent hot chocolate.
  • Drizzle it over fall cakes and quick breads, it makes an elegant dessert with store bought pound cake.
  • Top a cheesecake with it or drizzle over a flourless chocolate cake.
  • Use it as an easy dip for fruit like bananas, apples or pears.
  • Um, did somebody say waffles?

Salted Maple Caramel Sauce (easy recipe!) (4)

How to store your fabulous salted maple caramel sauce

  • Store your sauce in a closed container in the fridge. I like to use Weck mold jars, they’re cute and sturdy. It will last at least 2 weeks or more, and should stay nice and pourable.
  • If you find your sauce gets hard or slightly grainy after a while in the refrigerator, microwave it in short bursts to reheat it.

Salted Maple Caramel Sauce (easy recipe!) (5)

Troubleshooting your maple caramel sauce

Your sauce is grainy: grainy caramel is the result of overheating it. Did you heat the mixture past 230F? This could be the problem. Another issue might be that your thermometer is incorrect: to test it, immerse it in a pot of boiling water…it should read 212F. If not, it needs to be replaced, or you need to adjust your cooking accordingly.

Your sauce is thin: you may have undercooked it by a bit. Make sure it gets to 230F and make sure your thermometer is accurate, see above. Refrigerating it will thicken it. And keep in mind thin sauce is not necessarily a problem, you can use it in all the same ways.

Your sauce is darker or lighter than mine: different types and grades of maple syrup will produce slightly different colorations, but don’t worry, they’re all delicious. Each of the test batches I made came out a different color!

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Is maple syrup healthier than sugar?

  • It depends on your definition of healthier.
  • Maple syrup is less processed thanrefined sugars. It also contains antioxidants and minerals like zinc and potassium, and has a lower glycemic index than refined sugars, which means it won’t lead to blood sugar spikes.
  • But maple syrup is still a sugar, and so should be eaten in moderation.

Reader Rave ~

“There was a pint of vanilla ice cream calling me while I read your recipe. So I hopped up and made it on the spot. Came together so quickly. The sauce is divine and is fabulous over ice cream.” ~ Suzanne

Salted Maple Caramel Sauce (easy recipe!) (7)

Salted Maple Caramel Sauce (easy recipe!) (8)

Salted Maple Caramel Sauce (easy recipe!)

4.56 from 34 votes

Salted Maple Caramel Sauce is the discovery of the season in our house. With only 4 ingredients and no sugar or corn syrup this luxurious dessert sauce comes together in just 10 minutes. Oh joy! (What will you do with yours?)

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Prep Time:5 minutes minutes

Cook Time:10 minutes minutes

Total Time:15 minutes minutes

Servings: 10 servings (1 1/4 cups total)

Equipment

  • candy thermometer

Ingredients

Instructions

  • Put the maple syrup into a medium saucepan with a heavy bottom. Fit the pan with a clip on candy thermometer. You'll need a pan tall enough to allow the maple syrup to foam up as it boils. The heavy bottom helps prevent scorching. Most good quality saucepans will work.

  • Bring the syrup to a boil over high heat and boil until it reaches 225F - 230F, this is just under the softball stage.

  • Remove from heat and add the butter, stirring until it melts. Then add the cream and salt and mix in gently. Note: the mixture will be very hot. Do not stir too much, just enough to blend the butter and cream. Too much stirring can cause the mixture to crystallize.

  • Pour into a heat safe jar and let cool before refrigerating. It will thicken as it cools, and will thicken further in the refrigerator. This recipe makes just over a cup.

Notes

Don't try this with imitation syrup, it will only work with pure maple syrup.

Recipe lightly adapted from American Heritage Cooking

NEW FEATURE! Click here to add your own private notes.

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Author: Sue Moran

Keyword: caramel, dessert, easy, fall, maple, sauce

Nutrition

Serving: 2 Tbsp · Calories: 127 kcal · Carbohydrates: 22 g · Protein: 0.2 g · Fat: 4 g · Saturated Fat: 3 g · Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.2 g · Monounsaturated Fat: 1 g · Trans Fat: 0.1 g · Cholesterol: 13 mg · Sodium: 81 mg · Potassium: 79 mg · Sugar: 19 g · Vitamin A: 157 IU · Vitamin C: 0.04 mg · Calcium: 40 mg · Iron: 0.04 mg

Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. This information comes from online calculators. Although The View from Great Island attempts to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures are only estimates.

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Salted Maple Caramel Sauce (easy recipe!) (2024)

FAQs

How do you make salted caramel sauce thicker? ›

To thicken a caramel sauce, use one tablespoon of cornstarch or tapioca starch (sometimes known as tapioca flour) and one tablespoon of water per cup of caramel. Then simmer the caramel, stirring it constantly with a wooden spoon until it becomes thick.

What is the difference between caramel sauce and caramel syrup? ›

The application depends on the intent. If you mix caramel syrup in iced coffee for flavor, it will not mix well and remain as a layer in the bottom. Caramel sauce is easier to mix and dissolve, and it also has a richer flavor because of the dairy / fat.

Does maple syrup caramelize? ›

Pure maple syrup is actually made from maple tree sap that's been boiled down to reduce the water content and concentrate the sugars. Those sugars caramelize, resulting in maple syrup's characteristic rich color and flavor.

Does maple taste like caramel? ›

Very light maple syrup often has a buttered popcorn flavour to it. The very dark maple syrups have a more caramel or "buddy flavour". The medium coloured maple syrup will have that recognizable maple flavour.

How to make caramel sauce thicker without cornstarch? ›

Most caramel sauces are made by caramelizing sugar and adding milk and a little salt. If you increase the amount of sugar in the recipe you'll end up with a thicker caramel. Try increasing the sugar by about 1/3. The amount of milk suggested by the recipe, then, will leave you with a thick caramel sauce.

What happens if you add too much butter to caramel? ›

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.

How is caramel sauce made from scratch? ›

Combine brown sugar, butter, and milk in a saucepan and bring ingredients to a boil. Remove thickened mixture from heat before adding (optional) vanilla extract. Let the caramel cool slightly before using. The result is an impossibly rich sauce that is guaranteed to satisfy your sweet tooth.

Should caramel be made with white or brown sugar? ›

Sugar Note: Most chefs say that only granulated sugar can be successfully caramelized; other sugars — such as brown sugar and unrefined sugar such as cane sugar — contain impurities that can inhibit caramelization. It's those impurities that can burn before the sugar has time to caramelize.

What are the three types of caramel? ›

Caramel can be produced in so many forms such as, sauce, a chewy candy, or a hard candy because of how much of an ingredient is added and the temperature it is being prepared at.

What happens if you cook maple syrup too long? ›

Maple syrup that is boiled too long will crystallize and maple syrup that isn't boiled long enough will spoil quickly and will be watery because the concentration of sugar in the syrup will be too low.

What is a syrup cooked until it turns light brown called? ›

This process is known as caramelization.

Why did my maple syrup turn to sugar? ›

Storing maple syrup in the open is a probable cause of crystallization. When syrup is exposed to air, it evaporates and crystallizes, creating lumps of sugar that are too hard to cook with.

Why doesn't my maple syrup taste like maple? ›

When the buds appear on the maple trees, it's our signal to stop collecting sap from the trees. Failing to do so will result in syrup that has what is called a “Buddy” flavor. This has sometimes been described as having a Tootsie Roll flavor. This flavor can manifest if new tap holes are too close to old tap holes.

Why does my maple syrup taste funny? ›

Syrup that is fermented will have a sickening sweet flavor, at times a honey like similarity. Depending on the type of ferment, it may have an alcoholic or fruity taste. Severe ferment may have a foamy appearance.

Why does my homemade maple syrup taste bitter? ›

You likely burnt something on the side of the pansd and it spoiled the batch. A second cause might be buddy syrup, if you tapped any soft maples they butd earlier than sugars, lood for buds opening. They will cause a bitter taste and it doesnot take many taps with buddy sap to spoil a much larger batch of good.

How to make caramel set harder? ›

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.

What causes caramel to thicken? ›

If the melting sugar splashes up onto the sides of the pan, it quickly loses its moisture content and forms back into crystals. That can set off a chain reaction that can cause caramel to seize up, ruining the entire batch.

How do you fix salted caramel? ›

Assuming you're talking about a batch of caramel that you've already made, and you want to cut the saltiness of it, the only real solution is to dilute it with something unsalted. If you're planning to serve it as simply caramel, you will have to make a new batch and mix them together.

Why add water to caramel sauce? ›

When making a wet caramel, water is added to help dissolve the sugar before cooking. Like dry caramel, you want to gently move the sugar mixture in that same side-to-side paintbrush-like fashion until the sugar dissolves.

References

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