Real salted caramel requires patience, dexterity and a sugar-thermometer, none of which come naturally to me, but a salted caramel sauce can be rustled up in a matter of moments. True, in those moments you wouldn’t want to walk away from the stove, but the saucepan provides captivating enough watching to make that agreeable.
I have given a range of quantities for the salt, but I tell you now that I go for the full whack. It might be wise to start off with half a teaspoon and add more to the finished sauce as needed, bearing in mind that the colder this is served the more the flavours will be muted and therefore need bolstering….
Final note: I use unsalted butter as was told when young that salt is added to inferior butter to mask any rancidity or unpleasant flavours and also because I prefer to be in control of salinity myself.
Recipe posted by Nigella
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Made this salted caramel sauce last night and absolutely loved it. Was so simple to make and we just had it over vanilla ice-cream. I'll definitely try the other salted caramel recipes.
Posted by sweetcatz on 1st Jan 2012 at 10.30
Absolut addiction! My family won't eat ice cream without it. Works great with vanilla and nougat but not with chocolate. We had to try, of course. In DK, we usually make small chocolates for Christmas, and this year I filled some dark (70%) chocolate heart shapes with this sauce and they were a smashing hit. Thank you Nigella
Posted by Dani512 on 12th Jan 2012 at 23.01
I have now made this sauce twice and it is absolutely delicious. We have had it over vanilla ice cream and also spiced apple crumble. Be warned - it is highly addictive! Not sure if my jeans will actually do up tomorrow! Thanks Nigella, for such a great recipe. xx
Posted by vtemple on 6th May 2012 at 19.09
WOW someone please stop me licking the spoon this is soooo good it is still cooling at the moment i might have to go for a walk as i want to keep dipping into it ;-) if you haven't tried it you simply must so easy to do x
Posted by suzie44 on 20th Aug 2012 at 12.11
Heaven on a stick!!!! So simple but so divine. Another fabulous Nigella recipe.
Posted by homerphillip on 24th Dec 2012 at 5.15
If you do not Fleur de Sel to hand can you substitute with any sea salt?
Posted by debbie72 on 27th Feb 2013 at 16.55
Oh yes! I have made a similar sauce to this for years with vanilla added. Tried this as I love salted caramel ice cream. Even better than I could have hoped and extremely versatile. Over butter pan fried apple slices it is heavenly.
Posted by Marj Jeffs on 23rd Mar 2013 at 23.45
Made this as a truffle filling we served at my cousin's bridal shower and everyone absolutely loved it. Cousin was asking for more and I had some leftover filling in my fridge, so I gave it to her and she was just eating the sauce on its own and she was in a state of ecstasy. Since then, I have made this a few times and every single time, it tastes awesome. I find it slightly sweet, so I just lessen the amount of white sugar and put more brown. All in all, I absolutely love this recipe. Will definitely continue making this for many many years to come.
Posted by AliefNurudin on 1st May 2013 at 9.16