Easy, Homemade Caramel Maple Sauce From Scratch Recipe

Learn how to make a delicious maple caramel sauce with only six ingredients! It makes for an excellent drizzle or mix-in with ice cream, pancakes, cookies, pies, or even eating it by itself from the spoon!

Pie, ice cream, cookies, chocolate, bananas, apples, and more. They’re all great foods on their own, and they all have something in common. They are only made better with ooey-gooey buttery-ness of caramel. Caramel has always been one of my personal favorite sweets. By itself in the little caramel squares, as a gooey filling in the middle of a candy bar, or drizzled on top, caramel always takes a dessert to the next level. However, after giving up sugar, I found that most caramels were hard for me to pallet if they were made with granulated sugar. So, like with almost every other food that I love, I started looking into alternatives and discovered salted maple caramel sauce. After making my first batch, I never looked back.

What is caramel?

Despite there being multiple kinds of caramels, the salted, the chewable candies, or the sauce, caramel is always a mixture made by just melting sugars down. After the heat has broken down the sugar’s molecules, they refigure themselves in a way that makes that distinct caramel flavor. The only difference between each kind of caramel treat is how much milk, butter, and water you add. Even using different kind of sugars only mildly changes the texture and profile of the caramel. Maple syrup, for example, makes a sensational replacement for granulated cane sugar because of its high sugar content.

Why maple syrup caramel?

The main reason we use maple syrup instead of granulated sugar is because we can palate the syrup much more easily than pure sugar thanks to it being more natural than many of the granulated sugars sold in the baking aisle. Not only this, but there are also some things the maple syrup does that granulated sugar doesn’t. Compared to sugar caramel, maple syrup caramel has a greater complexity. It creates a slightly nutty, dark, and bold caramel that can’t be beat. I personally love to enhance this nutty flavor of the maple syrup with a dash of almond extract.

Maple syrup caramel isn’t just about the taste either. Did you know that maple syrup actually has numerous health benefits when consumed in moderation? It doesn’t spike blood sugar or insulin levels as quickly. It also has higher antioxidants and vitamins/minerals, helps fight inflammatory diseases, aids digestion, and could even help minimize your chances of cancer. Sounds like a win-win for this maple caramel sauce.

How to store caramel sauce?

Store your caramel in a glass jar in the fridge or freezer. It’ll store for about two to three weeks in the fridge or about three months in the freezer (if it hasn’t been eaten before then!). Bring the caramel back to room temperature if it’s too solid, or warm it up if you want it to be extra runny and hot.

Maple Caramel Sauce

Yield: 8oz

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 15 minutes

Make the butteriest maple caramel sauce from scratch that pairs perfectly with fruit, chocolate, pancakes, cookies and more!

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Ingredients

• 1 cup maple syrup
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/8 tsp almond extract (optional)
• 2 Tbsp salted butter (cubed at room temp)
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 1/4 tsp sea salt

Instructions

Bring the maple syrup to boil over medium heat in a tall saucepan. You'll want a saucepan with a taller lip since the maple syrup will bubble up pretty high. Clip a candy thermometer onto your pan with the tip going into the maple syrup, making sure the tip doesn't touch the bottom of the pan.

Simmer until the candy thermometer reaches 230℉ . This should take around 10-15 minutes, but it varies by stovetop. The maple syrup should already be starting to thicken and will have changed color.

Once at 230℉, immediately remove from the heat and add the butter. Stir the butter in until it's fully melted.

Add the cream, salt, vanilla, and almond extract. Stir until incorporated.

Pour into a glass jar and let cool to room temperature.

Once room temperature, put the caramel in the refrigerator to finish cooling.

Notes

Keep in mind that the caramel's hardness after cooling will change depending on when you take it off the heat. If you want it to remain liquid enough to drizzle, make sure to take it off the heat the moment it hits 230℉. If you want something with an even thicker consistency, you can let the caramel cook a little longer to 235℉. However, for this recipe, we would suggest taking the caramel off the heat right when it hits the perfect liquid temperature.

Frequent Questions:

Why is my caramel sauce not hardening?

If you’ve put your caramel into the fridge and it’s still too liquidy, it might need to be put back onto the heat. Put it back into your medium saucepan and bring it to a boil on high heat. Return the caramel to a simmer again until it reaches 244℉. Remove the caramel from the heat and transfer it back into the glass jar. Allow the caramel to cool before putting it back into your fridge.

Why is my caramel sauce so grainy?

If your caramel becomes grainy, that means the sugars in the maple syrup have crystallized. Don’t fret, though! It can be saved. Immediately take the sauce off the heat and add two tablespoons of water. Put the caramel back on medium-low heat and SLOWLY stir the water into the syrup. The crystals will start to dissolve. If it’s struggling to dissolve, add two more tablespoons of water and repeat. Once all the water is evaporated, you can take the caramel off the heat and let it cool before transferring it back to a storage container. To prevent grainy caramel in the future, avoid disturbing the mixture until it starts to deepen in color.

We hope you enjoy this recipe! Feel free to share in the comments the desserts you’re going to pair your caramel with.