Instructions

1. First, make sure your butter and cream are at room temperature. This is very important!
2. Measure out all of your ingredients and set them next to your stovetop.
3. In a medium saucepan, add the sugar and melt down over medium heat. If your burner takes a long time to heat up and doesn’t get too hot, melt over medium-high heat.
4. Whisk occasionally at first, as it will take about 5 minutes to see any changes in the sugar. As clumps start to form, whisk constantly until it’s completely melted down (about 15-20 minutes).
5. Once melted, it should be golden in color. Stop whisking and allow it to caramelize and darken. It will only take 1-2 minutes for it to turn a rich amber color. Don’t step away from the stove as this happens quickly.
6. Take the pot off the burner and quickly whisk in the butter all at once. Whisk for about 30 seconds (it may not fully combine and that’s OK).
7. Quickly pour in the heavy cream and whisk again. Keep whisking until it’s smooth and fluid. *if yours clumps up, see my notes in the post about troubleshooting your caramel.
8. Finally, whisk in the vanilla and sea salt.
9. Pour into a glass jar (it will be very thin at this point) and allow it too cool uncovered at room temperature for about 30 minutes.
10. Cover and transfer to the fridge where it will last for up to 2 weeks. The caramel will thicken quite a bit once chilled, so warm it for about 15-30 seconds in the microwave to get the consistency seen in the images here.
11. See just above this recipe card for all of my salted caramel dessert recipes to put your homemade caramel to good use!