How to Make Caramel Sauce (キャラメルソース)

How to make Caramel Sauce for Japanese pudding is a frequently asked question here on Chopstick Chronicles. The recipe requires only two ingredients so it seems super simple and easy to make. However, it can be a dish with a lot of room for error with crystallised, burnt, or hardened caramel being a main issue. So, I am going to share my tips and tricks so that you can make caramel sauce successfully!

What is Caramel Sauce?

Caramel sauce is a sauce made from a small amount of water added to sugar, boiling it and then dissolving it with hot water. Some recipes add fresh cream, butter or flavour such as salt and miso. The caramel sauce can be enjoyed in various dishes such as Japanese pancakes, ice cream and even in drinks.

Why you will Love this Caramel Sauce

• Only requires two ingredients which you probably already have in your pantry. You don’t need any Japanese ingredients.
• Not only for Japanese pudding (Purin) but can be drizzled over many other things.
• Fail-proof when you follow my tips and tricks below in this post.

Ingredients

Sugar: I recommend granulated sugar. Cotta.jp did an experiment to compare making caramel sauce using different sugar: granulated sugar, white sugar, oligosaccharides powdered sugar, cane sugar and brown sugar.
The granulated sugar was the best in aroma and flavour of caramel. Everything else was ok but aroma and flavour were more subtle than granulated sugar.

Water : There are many different recipes with and without water. In my humble opinion, to avoid caramel sauce getting easily burnt, adding water is easier at the start of the process.

Hot Water : After the sugar is caramelized, if you don’t add water, the caramel will become hard when it is cooled down. If you want to make a thick sauce consistency, you need to add water. Adding cold water to very hot caramel is dangerous because it will splash. For that reason, add hot water in 2-3 bits at a time.

How to Make Caramel Sauce Successfully?

Place sugar and cold water in a small saucepan or frying pan over medium heat.
Bring it to boil without stirring.
When the sugar water bubbles and turned an amber colour, turn the heat off and add hot water in two to three times.

Tips & Tricks

1. Do not stir unnecessarily – It is tempting to stir when making caramel sauce for the first time. You need to be patient and not stir it. The sugar will recrystallise and create a gritty and cloudy sauce rather than smooth clear amber coloured caramel sauce. Instead, hold the saucepan’s handle and shake gently a few times.
2. Add HOT water – Adding water is essential for preventing it from solidifying when the caramel sauce is cooled. Adjust the amount you add depending on what you use the caramel sauce for. If you are making caramel sauce for drizzling, you need to add more water. Be careful when you add hot water to the hot melted sugar, it will splash and for that reason, do not add cold water.

What to serve Caramel Sauce with?

This is the caramel sauce I use to make Japanese custard pudding(purin) recipe. Also you can use this on Japanese extra thick and fluffy pancakes, Japanese souffle pancakes and Moffle. Also check this Miso caramel variation too!

FAQ

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