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.

Did You Make This?We love seeing what you've made! Tag us on social media at @theviewfromgreatisland for a chance to be featured.

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

FAQs

How do you thicken caramel sauce? ›

Add more sugar to the sauce.

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.

What does butter do in Carmel? ›

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.

Can you substitute maple syrup for corn syrup in caramel sauce? ›

Maple syrup has a pretty specific flavor and it's a bit thinner in consistency than corn syrup, but you can still use an equal amount in most baked goods and sauces. At around 67 degrees Brix, it's slightly less sweet, but the rich flavor will carry it through, especially when subbing it in for dark corn syrup.

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

Caramel sauce is easier to mix and dissolve, and it also has a richer flavor because of the dairy / fat. If you want to use it to decorate your coffee (hot or iced) on top of the whipped cream, I'd recommend syrup because it holds well in lower temperatures and it is better to make drawings.

How to get caramel to harden? ›

Cool: Pour caramels into prepared pan then refrigerate until cooled and hardened. (Best if you refrigerate them overnight, or for several hours.

How to thicken caramel without cornstarch? ›

How to Thicken Caramel Sauce
  1. Add heavy cream. Some caramel sauce recipes call for milk, but if you find this still produces a thin sauce, you can add room-temperature heavy cream and return the caramel sauce to the stove for another few minutes. ...
  2. Cook the sauce longer. ...
  3. Make more caramel. ...
  4. Use a slurry.
Jan 21, 2022

Why add water to sugar when making caramel? ›

According to Fine Cooking, caramel can be made using either a dry or wet method:
  • Dry: White granulated sugar is placed over a medium-high heat and cooked until it turns liquid and becomes golden brown.
  • Wet: Water is added to the pan, which allows the sugar to cook longer and develop better flavors.
Apr 6, 2021

Why add heavy cream to caramel? ›

The heat of the caramel will melt the butter and create even more wonderful flavors. Finally, after the butter has melted, we add heavy whipping cream. This will allow the mixture to be loose enough to be used as a sauce.

Why add corn syrup to caramel sauce? ›

Corn syrup acts as an "interfering agent" in this and many other candy recipes. It contains long chains of glucose molecules that tend to keep the sucrose molecules in the candy syrup from crystallizing. Lots of sucrose crystals would results in grainy caramels.

Why does my maple syrup taste like caramel? ›

The very dark maple syrups have a more caramel or "buddy flavour". The medium coloured maple syrup will have that recognizable maple flavour. This difference in flavour is created by an actual chemical change in the composition of the sugar and other elements that make up the distinct maple flavour in the syrup.

Can I use Karo syrup instead of sugar? ›

Although corn syrup and granulated sugars are both sweeteners, it is not possible to use them interchangeably in recipes. Because corn syrup is a liquid, it cannot be substituted for granulated sugar without adjusting other ingredients, particularly in baked goods.

Is dulce de leche same as caramel sauce? ›

Caramel and dulce de leche might look and taste somewhat similar, but they are actually pretty different. While caramel is made from slowly simmering water and sugar until it caramelizes, dulce de leche is made from simmering milk and sugar super slowly until it turns into a creamy, caramelized substance.

Is Butterscotch the same as caramel? ›

Similar to caramel, butterscotch is made by heating sugar. The main difference between the two is that butterscotch uses brown sugar instead of white. The ingredients are also combined in a slightly different order for butterscotch: your start out by melting butter with brown sugar.

What is Starbucks caramel sauce made of? ›

CORN SYRUP, INVERT SUGAR, SUGAR, BUTTER (CREAM, SALT), HEAVY CREAM, WATER, SKIM MILK POWDER, NATURAL FLAVORS, POTASSIUM SORBATE (PRESERVATIVE), MONO AND DIGLYCERIDES, SODIUM BICARBONATE.

How do you make caramel more liquidy? ›

Caramel is a deliciously sweet sauce that can turn up the volume on any dessert it's added to. But if you're hoping to drizzle caramel over vanilla ice cream or getting ready to dip apples for a fall celebration, you need a sauce that's not too thick. To thin caramel, just add some cream or water over heat.

What causes caramel to thicken? ›

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?

What to do if caramel doesn't set? ›

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.

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