Homemade Caramel Sauce

Hot chocolate fudge, rainbow sprinkles, chocolate syrup, strawberry syrup, peanut butter, nuts,  fruit and the like - Please step aside. Welcome the queen of all dessert toppings - Caramel syrup. Golden and royal from head to toe, need she do anything to woo you? Svelte like velvet and sweet as sugar, you'd be lying if you said you were not in love with her - Again!

I'd be lying if I said this was my own concoction. But, yes, I did mix up two recipes to make this wonderful sauce. One from one of my favorite Food Network Chefs, Ina Garten (Recipe here) and another from yet another Food Network Chef, Anne Burrell (Recipe video here). 

I know you're wondering what the waffles are doing with the syrup. Shouldn't it be ice cream there? Boy oh boy, you're right. But, I could not wait to eat the syrup and paired them with whatever I had on hand.

Chef Garten has not added butter in her recipe, but I opted to have it in for extra creamy texture. Chef Burrell added lemon juice and corn syrup both of which I opted not to add. The end result was good. So, its up here for grabs!

Now, before you come to a conclusion that this recipe is made by chefs and it's something not in your capacity. Think twice. Or even thrice! I mean, you're going to have a whole jar of caramel sauce at your disposal, and here's the best part - ONLY FOUR INGREDIENTS!! Just as Chef Anne Burrell says in all her shows "You certainly don't have to be a restaurant chef to cook like one".




As a prelude to this recipe, I 'd like to mention that I made a very scanty amount of caramel sauce since I was only trying out something new. Go ahead and multiply the proportions of the ingredients for more a sauce-y experience!

Ingredients
- 3/4 Cup granulated sugar
- 3 tbsp water
- 1/2 Cup + 1 tbsp Heavy Cream
- 1 tbsp Unsalted butter

Method
- Mix water and sugar in a heavy bottom sauce pan and place on low flame
- Increase flame to medium-high and allow sugar to melt. DO NOT STIR
- As sugar caramelizes/turns a golden brown hue (about 5 to 7 minutes) give the mixture a twirl and turn off flame. The sugar-water mixture will be really bubbly and very hot at this point
- Turn off flame
- Pour in heavy cream and stand back since the solution will now bubble very rapidly
- Return to a low flame, pop in the butter and stir until all ingredients mingle together to a luscious brown syrup
- Take off from flame and pour into bowl and allow to cool
- The caramel syrup will thicken as it cools

Makes about 1 Cup about sinful caramel sauce