Salted Caramel Sauce

You’ll want to pour this amazing Salted Caramel Sauce over everything! It’s silky smooth, sweet and slightly salty. Plus, it’s easy to make with just 4 ingredients and no special equipment.  

 

Before we discuss this luscious jar of caramel, I wanted to share a bit about the inspiration behind it. I found a little piece of heaven this summer.  It’s called Île d’Orléans, an island located just a few miles east of Quebec City, Canada . We were fortunate enough to visit this past June while on a summer trip with our girls. I’m sure my attempt at describing this 42 mile gem will not do it justice, but nevertheless, here goes.

Île d’Orléans is an island located on the St. Lawrence River just a 10-minute drive from downtown Quebec City. It has a rural, pastoral feel…the sort of place that transports you to a different state of mind. Slow-paced and filled with charm and history, this agricultural treasure is known as the “Garden of Quebec”. The whole island is considered a National Historic Site of Canada.

Our leisurely drive around the island was a treat for the senses and for the soul. Lovingly tended vineyards, black currant fields, apple orchards, and rows of fragrant strawberries. There were beautifully tended farms and homes, old seaside churches, and roadside produce stands.

It’s the kind of place that makes you question your life. It seemed simple there…in a good way. Part of me wanted to kiss my girls and my husband goodbye while waving from the porch of my quaint stone cottage by the sea. “Don’t forget to write and come visit me,” I would say as they walked away. Then, I would go inside and make jams and jellies in my cozy, rustic kitchen with my dog at my feet. But, who am I kidding? My kids could never live without that dog.

Speaking of jams and jellies, perhaps my favorite thing while visiting Île d’Orléans, was the amazing food stops along the way. We loved the crème de cassis (black currant liqueur) gelato and the black currant wine jelly at Cassis Monna & Filles.

We had an unforgettable, casual yet gourmet, picnic table lunch at La Roulotte du Coin, where we ate duck burgers topped with foie gras and the best poutine (fries with cheese curds and gravy for those who are unfamiliar) in all of Canada. My girls especially loved playing with the friendly pup, Confit. The owner was welcoming and even took us inside his shop after our meal to show us his next food venture – black garlic, which is regular garlic that is slow roasted for weeks until it is sweet and tastes like fruit!

Our last stop was at Confiturerie Tigidou, the most charming and unique food shop I’ve ever visited. They specialize in jams, jellies, syrups, and fruit butters that are handmade in small batches from their locally grown produce. There’s a tasting bar, where you can taste their delicious jams on uncooked pieces of fettuccine (clever). We stocked up on the pear maple caramel butter and the Blackberry Sea Buckthorn Jelly.

We so enjoyed our time in Quebec City (and Montreal), but our favorite place by far, was this amazing little island. It reminded me to take a breather now and then and it also inspired me to try new things in my kitchen. And, finally, after much rambling on my part, here’s the recipe portion of this post…

I came home inspired to try my hand at some sort of something involving caramel. My first attempt at a Tigidou-inspired confection was caramel apple butter. It turned out well and was very tasty, but I decided against it for the blog because it’s a bit labor intensive. It involves 4 pounds of apples, a candy thermometer, and a little more work than I felt comfortable sharing. So, I decided to switch gears to this heavenly caramel.

This Salted Caramel Sauce is easy (with just 4 basic ingredients), absolutely delicious, and makes a great gift for just about anyone. I have Bobby Flay to thank for this one. It’s a recipe from his book, Brunch at Bobby’s, where it’s drizzled over double chocolate pancakes (shame on you, Bobby). We went the vanilla ice cream route at our house, which I highly recommend. But, I’m also picturing it over cheesecake, waffles, apple pie or pound cake. You could also just eat it by the spoonful, which I absolutely did.

If you’ve never made homemade caramel (this was my first time), I can tell you it’s much easier and quicker than you think. There’s no candy thermometer or other special equipment required…just a very watchful eye. One thing about making caramel – you can’t leave it alone. It can go from a nice light amber color to a burnt mess in seconds. Just stay by its side and it won’t betray you.

You won’t believe how fast you can make this! All you do is combine the sugar with a little water in a medium-sized, sturdy saucepan. Once the sugar melts, the mixture will begin to bubble and the syrup will change color. The color change is gradual at first, taking almost 10 minutes to go from clear to light amber. But, once you start to see that color change, be on guard! Don’t be like me. I started over more than once. Don’t text your friends back. Don’t water the dying basil plant by your kitchen window. And, whatever you do, don’t choose this time to reorganize your mismatched plastic cutlery, even if it kills you to see red spoons living with purple forks.

The point is, as soon as you see it start to turn a golden color, it will cook at lightning speed, so be ready. Have your cream, butter, and salt measured and ready to go. If you like your caramel on the lighter side, you’ll want to add in the cream when the syrup is light amber. I like mine a little darker, so I waited until it was deeper in color.

In just about 15 minutes, you’ll have this amazing, homemade, creamy concoction and you’ll feel so happy and proud. You might even walk around your house, like I did, with spoonfuls of caramel, so that everyone can taste your genius (ok, Bobby Flay’s genius). Then, you can put it in cute mason jars and gift it to all your favorite people.

Thanks for listening to my long-winded conversation about the magical little place that inspired me to make this wonderful  caramel sauce. Next time you feel an urge to get away, I hope you find yourself somewhere that inspires your mind and refreshes your soul. In the meantime, if you have a sweet tooth and it likes caramel, I hope you’ll give this sauce a try.