Dark caramel sauce is the perfect drizzle for your favorite desserts and drinks. This Starbucks staple is super easy to make at home, and you only need a few ingredients!
Why you will love this Starbucks dark caramel sauce
- It is very easy to make. You only need six ingredients to make this recipe, and it takes less than 20 minutes to prepare.
- Dark caramel sauce is the perfect topping for all your fall drinks, cookies, and desserts. I've drizzled this caramel sauce over my apple caramel oatmeal cookies!
- You can easily adjust the flavor to your taste. The darker you let the caramel get, the richer the flavor will be.
Ingredient notes
Sugar: To make your own dark caramel sauce, you need sugar. I always use granulated sugar for this recipe. While you can use brown sugar, white sugar makes it easier to see when your caramel is ready.
Butter: If you're looking for a silky smooth caramel sauce, you need to add butter. This is key for the best texture. Make sure to use unsalted butter, as we add salt at the end.
Vanilla: Adding vanilla extract enhances the rich caramel flavor and provides a smooth sweetness that pairs perfectly with desserts and drinks. I prefer using extract because it's what I have on hand, but you can also substitute vanilla sugar if you like.
Salt: It might feel a bit strange to add salt to a sweet recipe but trust me, you don't want to leave it out. The salt adds depth of flavor and enhances the sweet caramel notes. I prefer using coarse sea salt for my dark caramel sauce, but any type of salt will work.
Heavy cream: The heavy cream keeps the caramel from hardening and provides a smooth, creamy texture to the sauce. Ensure it has at least 35% fat content for the best results. If you don't want to add dairy, you can use plant-based butter and cream for a dairy-free caramel sauce!
How to make dark caramel sauce
Begin by measuring all of your ingredients. This step is crucial because you want everything prepared before working with hot sugar, as distraction can be dangerous. Next, add the sugar and water to a heavy-bottomed pan and allow the sugar to melt over low heat.
After the sugar has completely dissolved, reduce the heat to medium-low and allow it to cook until it reaches your desired color. Initially, you may notice that the sides start to change color first, but this is normal; the rest of the mixture will catch up. Be careful not to let the sugar turn too dark, as it can burn. If it does burn, you'll unfortunately need to start the process all over again.
Once the sugar is dark enough, add the butter and heavy cream. Be careful, though, because it will bubble! Continue stirring until everything is combined and the sugar has cooled down a bit.
Add the salt and vanilla to the caramel, then let it cool completely before pouring it into a heatproof bowl.
My tips for the perfect dark caramel sauce
- Begin by using low heat. Making dark caramel sauce at home is quite simple, but there are a few important steps to ensure the best results, and this is one of them. Caramel can burn easily, so I always start with low heat to control the cooking process.
- Use a candy thermometer. While caramel can be made by observing its color, using a thermometer is helpful, especially for beginners. For dark caramel sauce, you should wait until the sugar reaches 375F.
- Add seasonings. Adding cinnamon, pumpkin spice, or speculaas spice mix to the caramel transforms it into the ultimate fall goodness.
- Don't stir! When you use the wet method to make caramel, don't stir the sugar when everything has dissolved, or the sugar can crystalize at the sides of your pan.
Frequently asked questions
If you're looking for dark caramel, simply heat the sugar longer, but be careful because sugar can burn easily.
Lighter caramel sauce, like my caramel sauce for cinnamon rolls, has a lighter more delicate flavor, while dark caramel sauce has a rich, deep flavor.
All you need to make this recipe is sugar, heavy cream, butter, salt, and a little bit of water.
How to use homemade dark caramel sauce
If you're a Starbucks lover you probably know that this sauce is amazing when drizzled over your frappucino but that's not all you can use this sweet sauce for.
- The rich, deep flavor of caramel pairs perfectly with dark chocolate. Consider pairing it with chocolate ice cream or chocolate scones or using it as a topping for my vegan Halloween cookies instead of spider web icing.
- I’ve mentioned it before, but this sauce is amazing drizzled over coffee or used as a sweetener for tea. It’s also delicious with a generous dollop of whipped cream as a topping for Nutella hot chocolate or white hot chocolate.
- And don't forget about desserts! Serve it with apple crisp (no oats!) to make it extra special, or substitute a few tablespoons of heavy cream with dark caramel sauce and make cocoa-dusted truffles!
- Make your Valentine's Day breakfast extra sweet and pair the sauce with apple pie-filled cinnamon rolls, cinnamon scones, sourdough scones, or gluten-ree blackberry scones!
Storage
Homemade dark caramel sauce can last for a few weeks when stored in the fridge, but I doubt yours will last that long! While it may thicken in the refrigerator, it will return to a thick liquid consistency once it reaches room temperature. If you'd like to drizzle the sauce over your drink, you can warm it up in the microwave.
More recipes for caramel lovers
Dark caramel sauce
Ingredients
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ⅓ cup water
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 5 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Add the sugar with the water to a large heavy-bottomed pan. It is important that the pan you use is large enough because the caramel will bubble and rise once you add the cream.
- Stir the sugar until it has completely dissolved, and turn the heat to medium.
- Once the caramel has the desired color, turn down the heat and add the butter and heavy cream. This can take up to 10 minutes. Don't worry if, at the beginning, only the sides start to color.
- Keep stirring until everything is combined. If your sugar starts to set, simply return the pan to the heat and stir until all the lumps are gone.
- Last, add the salt and vanilla before pouring the caramel into a heatproof bowl to cool. This is also the step where you add seasonings if you want to.
Notes
- Keep stirring until all the sugar has dissolved.
- If you're using a candy thermometer, aim for a temperature of 375 F (190C).
- Warm the heavy cream before adding it to hot sugar to help reduce extreme bubbling.
- Dark caramel sauce lasts for a few weeks in the fridge.
Kim says
When making the caramel sauce it doesn't say how much caramel to use are you using caramel pieces and how many I don't see where it says on the recipe itself thank you
Maayke says
Hi Kim! You make the sauce without caramel pieces by melting sugar and caramelizing it before adding cream and butter. I hope this helps! Good luck!