Salted Caramel Sauce

Some trends I will never get on board with.  Exhibit A:

But one trend floating around the food world that I am a full-on supporter of is anything concerning salted caramel.  Ohhh my goodness, am I a fan.  It's been around much longer, but I first hopped on the salted caramel train a few summers ago at the beach when I first tasted a chocolate-covered caramel topped with coarse sea salt.  Pure food heaven magic.  The sweetness with the bite of salt that tingles on your tongue is the most amazing contrast ever.  And ever since that moment I have been all about salted caramel candies, cheesecakes, cookies, ice cream... pretty much anything I could get my hands on.  Also, a jar of this in the fridge is a necessity.

Homemade caramel can be very temperamental and while I wouldn't say it's difficult to make, it is pretty easy to burn and it may take a few tries until you get the hang of it.  No worries!  Follow these directions and you'll be smothering your baked goods/ice cream/fingers in sweet, homemade salted caramel in no time.

Apologies in advance for doing this to you right before bikini season.

Salted Caramel Sauce:
Recipe from Two Peas and Their Pod
Makes 2 cups

2 cups sugar
12 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces and at room temperature
1 cup heavy cream, at room temperature
1 T fine sea salt (original recipe called for fleur de sel or Maldon sea salt flakes)

Make sure you have everything measured out and ready to go before you start.  This will burn if you step away even for a moment!  Heat the sugar over medium-high heat in the bottom of a medium saucepan.  Leave it go (don't touch it!) until you see the sugar around the outside of the pan start to turn to liquid.  When you see the sugar beginning to melt, start whisking it.  It will clump, but keep whisking as it all begins to melt.  Once it is all melted, stop whisking, swirl the pan around and cook the sugar until the sugar reaches a deep amber color.  Make sure you watch the pan closely and do not stop swirling.  If you have a candy thermometer, you want the sugar to reach 350 degrees.  If you do this a few times, you will know by the color when your sugar is ready. 

As soon as the sugar is a deep amber color, add the butter.  Using a wooden spoon now, stir until the butter is completely melted and incorporated.  Remove the pan from heat and very slowly stream in your heavy cream.  If you do this too quickly, it will cause the caramel to seize. Whisk until the caramel is smooth.  Finally, whisk in your sea salt.  Let the caramel cool for about 10-15 minutes in the pan, and then transfer to a jar to cool to room temperature.  This will store in the refrigerator for about a month.