I'm amazed at how superior your vanilla is!
– Des, The Grommet
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This is a very velvety sauce, perfect over ice cream or frozen yogurt, but also lovely as a sauce over pound cake or other freshly baked cakes. Mix it into milkshakes or even cold or warm milk for a sexy caramel, vanilla milk. Personally, I think caramel is pretty wonderful warmed slightly and eaten by the spoonful. My grandsons agree, but our current favorite is freshly baked brownies topped with vanilla ice cream and caramel sauce. Yummmm!
What I most like about this recipe is that it contains no corn syrup. Just make sure to cook the sugar/water mixture until it is at least a mid- amber color. The sauce in the photo is a little deeper amber in color, which gives it a more distinctive flavor. For a butterscotch or praline flavor, substitute light or dark brown sugar for the white.
1–1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup water
1 cup heavy or whipping cream
1/2 teaspoon salt — more if you want salted caramel
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 teaspoon Rain’s Choice pure Vanilla Extract or 1/2 teaspoon Vanilla Bean Paste or more to taste
In a heavy medium saucepan, combine sugar and water and turn heat to medium-high. Bring mixture to a boil, stirring constantly. When sugar has dissolved, turn heat to high. Cook without stirring until mixture is medium amber. If part of the mixture is turning brown and the other isn’t swirl pan carefully but don’t stir. This process takes about 6 minutes.
Remove from heat. Carefully stir in cream (it will spit and hiss a bit), then stir in the vanilla and salt. Let cool 5 minutes, then whisk in butter.
Serve warm or at room temperature.
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I was given a small bottle of Rain’s Choice in a gift basket and I have been hooked ever since. The flavor makes all of my baking so much better! I will never use grocery store vanilla again!
