Caramel Drizzle Recipe

This past week, I wanted to recreate a salted caramel drip cake I made a few years ago. This meant I needed to make a batch of my caramel drizzle recipe!!

I use this caramel drizzle recipe to make my caramel frosting and caramel drips on my cakes! It’s super versatile and can be used in so many different ways.

I actually struggled to name this post because it’s so versatile! This recipe can be used for everything from adding caramel drips to cakes to filling macarons.

I decided to stick with caramel drizzle to let you get creative with how you use it.

Homemade caramel sauce tastes infinitely better than store-bought caramel and keeps in the fridge for several weeks.

Making Caramel Drizzle From Scratch

I know that making caramel sauce from scratch can seem intimidating if you’ve never tried it before. When I was a kid, I remember seeing caramel made in giant copper kettles at candy stores.

I was convinced it was some complicated process that required all kinds of special equipment. But it doesn’t have to be complicated!

My caramel drizzle recipe can be made without a candy thermometer and uses just four ingredients. Did I mention a batch comes together in about 5 minutes?? It doesn’t get much easier than that!

Simple, 4-Ingredient Recipe

One of the best parts of this recipe is that it’s made with such simple ingredients. To make this caramel, you need granulated sugar, butter, heavy cream, and a bit of salt.

While store-bought caramel needs additives and artificial flavorings to be shelf-stable and taste good, this caramel drizzle doesn’t!

Its incredible flavor comes from the deliciously caramelized sugar and the richness of the butter and cream. 

Pro Tip: Add the Sugar Gradually!!

The only part about this caramel drizzle recipe that can be a little scary is melting down the sugar.

My biggest tip when doing this is to add the sugar in gradually. I add about a quarter of a cup at a time.

This helps the sugar liquefy more quickly and reduces the risk of big clumps forming. It makes a world of difference.

I didn’t know that I was supposed to do that when I first started making caramel, and I used to just dump it all in at once.

The caramel will still turn out if you add all the sugar at once, but it takes a lot longer to melt down and is less smooth.

Caramel Substitutions

While this caramel drizzle recipe doesn’t use a ton of ingredients, you might not have them all on hand. Or if you have food allergies or restrictions, I’ve got you covered.

Below are some swaps and substitutions that you can make:

• Unsalted Butter – If you only have salted butter on hand, you can use it in place of the unsalted butter. Just be sure to omit the salt that this recipe calls for. You can also use vegan butter in its place!
• Heavy Cream – To make vegan caramel sauce, use coconut milk in place of the heavy cream in this recipe.
• Salt – I love adding a bit of salt to balance the sweetness of this caramel and enhance its flavor, but you can omit it if needed.

What Desserts Can I Top with This Caramel?

This caramel drizzle is the perfect thickness for drizzling over ice cream, adding caramel drips to a cake, or even filling cakes and cupcakes!

I use this caramel recipe to make everything from chocolate caramel cupcakes to caramel apple cinnamon rolls, and it’s one of my favorite flavors.

Let Me Know What You Think!

If you try this caramel recipe, let me know what you think of it by leaving a rating and comment below.

And don’t forget to tag me on social media @chelsweets and use #chelsweets! 🙂

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