Caytlin’s Well-known Apple Bourbon Caramel Sauce

This apple bourbon caramel sauce has grow to be a staple in Chef Cayt’s kitchen, and it’s an all-time favourite recipe along with her family and friends. It’s grow to be so standard that she even makes huge batches to promote, and across the vacation season, orders come flooding in months upfront. With this recipe, you may whip up this crowd-pleasing sauce in your personal kitchen utilizing only a few primary components and a splash of apple bourbon. You’ll not imagine how many individuals will love this, and it’s positive to raise any dessert that makes use of caramel!

For extra caramel sauce recipes, attempt our Sea Salt Caramel Sauce or our Fireball Cinnamon Caramel Sauce.

Our apple bourbon caramel sauce is so scrumptious, and it solely requires a number of components, most of that are most likely already in your pantry or fridge. The particular ingredient is apple bourbon, which supplies it that flavorful punch that makes it to die for!

Ingredient Notes

• Salted butter: You may also use unsalted butter, simply be sure you add an additional pinch of salt to the recipe.
• Sweetened condensed milk: This helps make the caramel creamy and candy.
• Mild corn syrup: For this recipe, be sure you get gentle corn syrup relatively than a darker selection.
• Apple bourbon: That is what makes the flavour of this caramel sauce so distinctive and thrilling, so do what you may to seek out apple bourbon! Should you can’t get any although, you may substitute plain bourbon. And if you would like an alcohol-free model, you may omit the bourbon altogether, and also you’ll nonetheless get a yummy caramel sauce.

Caramel Phases

When making caramel, it’s useful to be accustomed to the varied phases it goes by because it cooks. The method of sugar remodeling into caramel happens over a number of distinct phases which might be identifiable by temperature, and every leads to its personal consistency.

The method begins with the “thread stage” (230–235°F), the place the sugar syrup varieties skinny threads when dropped into chilly water. That’s adopted by the “gentle ball” stage (235–240°F), so named as a result of the syrup varieties a malleable ball in chilly water, however flattens as soon as eliminated. The “agency ball” stage (245–250°F) is when the syrup holds its form when fashioned right into a ball however nonetheless stays pliable. As the warmth rises, you attain the “arduous ball” stage (250–265°F), which supplies you a agency ball that holds its form. The “gentle crack” stage (270–290°F) and “arduous crack” stage (300–310°F) create a agency, brittle syrup. If continued previous these factors, the syrup will flip right into a darkish, richly-flavored caramel at round 320-350°F, excellent for sauces and confections.

Understanding these phases is essential to find out the ultimate consistency of your caramel. For this recipe, intention for a temperature between 200–205°F. That will provide you with a clean and velvety sauce with out reaching the gentle ball stage.

Sweet Thermometers

Sweet thermometers are probably the most correct approach to get your caramel to the specified consistency, however it’s undoubtedly attainable to make caramel with out one.

When your caramel begins to simmer, pay shut consideration to its look and texture. For this recipe, we’re aiming for a clean and velvety sauce. The caramel ought to grow to be thicker, and small bubbles ought to persistently break the floor.

To test the consistency of the caramel, you may fastidiously take a small spoonful of caramel and let it cool for a second. As soon as it’s cool sufficient that it received’t burn you, use your fingers and pinch the sauce between your thumb and index finger. Pull your fingers aside, and as you do, the sauce ought to kind a thread that stretches however doesn’t instantly break. When you’ve hit that time, you’ll know that you simply’ve gotten to the suitable consistency.

From there, take away the saucepan from warmth and permit it to chill for a couple of minutes earlier than you stir within the vanilla extract, apple bourbon, and salt. Then you’ll stir till all of the components are nicely mixed. Let the sauce calm down, then switch it to jars for storage.

Troubleshooting Grainy Caramel

Grainy caramel is commonly a results of sugar crystallization in the course of the caramelization course of. To stop this, stir the combination persistently whilst you warmth up the caramel.

Graininess may happen due to condensation, which might occur should you cowl the caramel when it’s nonetheless too heat. If that occurs, reheat the combination till it boils once more, and that may assist remove the grainy texture.

Serving Options

This sauce can go on absolutely anything that like to make use of caramel sauce for. We love dipping apples in it, making apple nachos, drizzling it over ice cream, or utilizing in nearly any dessert you need! Be at liberty to get inventive and incorporate this superb sauce nevertheless you need.